Best LCA
06-06-2007, 05:29 PM
#11
I ♥ Acer
Join Date: Aug 2006
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RE: Best LCA
ORIGINAL: ModernMuscle
Im pretty content with my CHE Lca's, they make a great quality product...
Im pretty content with my CHE Lca's, they make a great quality product...
Also depends on the set-up. For heavy drag use - I like Metco Best. CHE and BMR for all round performance.
06-06-2007, 05:58 PM
#12
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Pittsburg, CA (BAY AREA!)
Posts: 1,399
RE: Best LCA
I keep seeing more and more of you SN197 guys buying LCA's. LCA's aren't as popular as a mod on the New Edge style GT's compared to how many of you guys have them.
I'm just wondering if there is a reason for this? Is there any problems or defects in the stock ones on the SN197? Or does the suspension system that big of a drawback with the stock LCA's?...
I'm just wondering if there is a reason for this? Is there any problems or defects in the stock ones on the SN197? Or does the suspension system that big of a drawback with the stock LCA's?...
06-06-2007, 06:14 PM
#13
I ♥ Acer
Join Date: Aug 2006
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Posts: 1,527
RE: Best LCA
The stockers aren't bad for most on the 3.55's with minor bolt on's, they aren't needed IMO. Many guys have 4.10 gears and once you get the taller gears, they come in handy and do make a difference in grab especially from a stop and slow roll.
If you start laying down some torque in the 400+ range, they become a neccessity and once you srtat laying down torque in the 450+ range, then it also becomes needed to get some good ones. By 'good' I'm talking about the bushings. Many like the Steeda use a weak polyeurethane bushing that doesn't hold for crap. I broke three of them way back when I was only pushing 400 ftq.
The adjustable/non-adjustable just come into play for preference IMO or for those who have other relcoation kits that may require it. I personally don't like adjustable LCA's and opt for having an adjustable upper because that's where it's important to be able to adjust for pinion angle, launch, and other stuff.
A lot of the mags and forums push them so there probably is a few guys who have them who probably don't need them but it's all good. They'll need them eventually if they keep modding. I usually recommend people to get them if they get gears or FI.
If you start laying down some torque in the 400+ range, they become a neccessity and once you srtat laying down torque in the 450+ range, then it also becomes needed to get some good ones. By 'good' I'm talking about the bushings. Many like the Steeda use a weak polyeurethane bushing that doesn't hold for crap. I broke three of them way back when I was only pushing 400 ftq.
The adjustable/non-adjustable just come into play for preference IMO or for those who have other relcoation kits that may require it. I personally don't like adjustable LCA's and opt for having an adjustable upper because that's where it's important to be able to adjust for pinion angle, launch, and other stuff.
A lot of the mags and forums push them so there probably is a few guys who have them who probably don't need them but it's all good. They'll need them eventually if they keep modding. I usually recommend people to get them if they get gears or FI.
06-06-2007, 11:21 PM
#15
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: California
Posts: 1,471
RE: Best LCA
ORIGINAL: fordfanboy
The stockers aren't bad for most on the 3.55's with minor bolt on's, they aren't needed IMO. Many guys have 4.10 gears and once you get the taller gears, they come in handy and do make a difference in grab especially from a stop and slow roll.
If you start laying down some torque in the 400+ range, they become a neccessity and once you srtat laying down torque in the 450+ range, then it also becomes needed to get some good ones. By 'good' I'm talking about the bushings. Many like the Steeda use a weak polyeurethane bushing that doesn't hold for crap. I broke three of them way back when I was only pushing 400 ftq.
The adjustable/non-adjustable just come into play for preference IMO or for those who have other relcoation kits that may require it. I personally don't like adjustable LCA's and opt for having an adjustable upper because that's where it's important to be able to adjust for pinion angle, launch, and other stuff.
A lot of the mags and forums push them so there probably is a few guys who have them who probably don't need them but it's all good. They'll need them eventually if they keep modding. I usually recommend people to get them if they get gears or FI.
The stockers aren't bad for most on the 3.55's with minor bolt on's, they aren't needed IMO. Many guys have 4.10 gears and once you get the taller gears, they come in handy and do make a difference in grab especially from a stop and slow roll.
If you start laying down some torque in the 400+ range, they become a neccessity and once you srtat laying down torque in the 450+ range, then it also becomes needed to get some good ones. By 'good' I'm talking about the bushings. Many like the Steeda use a weak polyeurethane bushing that doesn't hold for crap. I broke three of them way back when I was only pushing 400 ftq.
The adjustable/non-adjustable just come into play for preference IMO or for those who have other relcoation kits that may require it. I personally don't like adjustable LCA's and opt for having an adjustable upper because that's where it's important to be able to adjust for pinion angle, launch, and other stuff.
A lot of the mags and forums push them so there probably is a few guys who have them who probably don't need them but it's all good. They'll need them eventually if they keep modding. I usually recommend people to get them if they get gears or FI.
Hi fanboy,
If you damaged your LCA bushings onSteeda LCA's maybe you did something wrong during installation orover lubed themthrough the zerks or did not toss and replace the O.E bolts and properly torque them down toFord factory specs or some other obscure thing. These bushing failures could have beencaused by a lot of things and if theykept failing the same way on youwhoever installed themdid the same thing over and over. Steeda's bushings are high quality parts and I can't imagine how you could have destroyed them unless there was a bad batch of bushings or some kind of installation error that got repeated a couple of times.
Personally I haven't had any problems with them in my own car nor have any of the carsI've installed Steeda LCA's, UCA's Panhard bars oranti-roll barsin had any problems with them. I've done several suspension installsout in in mygaragefor localS197GT Mustangguys for fun and a few cases of beer for my garage's fridge. Most were N/A buttwo were supercharged with intercoolers. One of them (Saleen),had been hopped up quite a bit with large CAIand 90mm lightning MAF,BBK 62mm TB,small pulley, large 60lbs.injectorsand custom on the rollers tuningon aforged bottom end putting down in excess of 550rwhp on pump gas in"street" tune and to date no problems after manypasses at the drag strip. I suppose it could have been a bad batch of bushings but then there would have been dozens and dozens of Steedabushingfailures posted here andon other boards. But I have not really seen enoughposts about Steeda bushing failures to call the Steeda LCA bushings or LCA'sa problem.
I'm about to pull out myS197GT's complete rear end this weekend for inspection, detail clean up andpainting. All I needis thatspiffynew Steeda AdjustableComp/Street UCA upgrade kitand the last of the misc. Steeda suspension bits not alreadyon my carto show up that I ordered at the last possible minute (maybe too last minute).Gus at Steedaalso sent me a full set of the latest bushings gratis which have since been improved andredesignedsince the original LCA's, UCA and Panhard barsI installed were shipped over two years and 25,000 miles ago. I'll take some pictures of the bushings and post them here so you can see what they look like after dealing with my admittedly lower output motor. These bushing have hadhundreds of passes made on them and many thousand miles of canyon runningand at least 5,000 miles of blasting up and down PCH (Route 1),from L.A. to Laguna Seca and S.F. and back the same way.
So far in over 35 years of canyon carving the Mustang is my favorite car to sneek up and scare the bejeezus out of unsuspecting Porsche and Corvette drivers whoare under the impressionthey are making good timethroughthe twisty bits driving up/down Route 1. I wasone of those Porsche drivers not too long agoandwhilemy S197GTis not as nearly as fast or as quick as my last 911 which actually had California street plates on it,the"thing" was basically a3.6lrace car on the street.My 911had solid motor mounts, a fully fabricatedfrom chrome-mollytube and sheetsuspension with solid spherical ends throughout, welded in cageand a the fullstockinterior withwide Turbo body work and HUGE wheels and tires. Needless to say I had to sell it due to the horribleride and noisewhich I just got sick of dealing withwhen I had to start using it as a daily driver. The hassel ofowning an emissions equipment free engine didn't helpme want to keep it much either. That cargot sold off and became a dedicated trailer queen track car for some rich PCA guyto use asa track toy. 8^(
I will post back in a week or two with pictures of the bushings I pull out of my car when I get the new parts installed. I doubt that they will look that bad because the car is driving perfectly fine.
Cheers!
06-07-2007, 12:30 AM
#16
5th Gear Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: S.burbs Chicago
Posts: 4,793
RE: Best LCA
adj LCA's adjust the pinion angle just fine, and are easier to install that the uppers. No problems with my CHE's
I also have the roush rear springs, you may want to consider the lower relocation brakets since you are lowered also.
I also have the roush rear springs, you may want to consider the lower relocation brakets since you are lowered also.
06-07-2007, 01:09 AM
#18
5th Gear Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: S.burbs Chicago
Posts: 4,793
RE: Best LCA
Really the uppers are easier to adjust? I dunno, never had hands on with them.
The lowers are right there in the open with nothing in the way to turn the Nuts. I could adjust them from the outside of the car reaching thru the wheel well if I wanted to.
The lowers are right there in the open with nothing in the way to turn the Nuts. I could adjust them from the outside of the car reaching thru the wheel well if I wanted to.
06-07-2007, 03:00 AM
#19
I ♥ Acer
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location:
Posts: 1,527
RE: Best LCA
ORIGINAL: F1Fan
Hi fanboy,
If you damaged your LCA bushings on Steeda LCA's maybe you did something wrong during installation or over lubed them through the zerks or did not toss and replace the O.E bolts and properly torque them down to Ford factory specs or some other obscure thing. These bushing failures could have been caused by a lot of things and if they kept failing the same way on you whoever installed them did the same thing over and over. Steeda's bushings are high quality parts and I can't imagine how you could have destroyed them unless there was a bad batch of bushings or some kind of installation error that got repeated a couple of times.
Personally I haven't had any problems with them in my own car nor have any of the cars I've installed Steeda LCA's, UCA's Panhard bars or anti-roll bars in had any problems with them. I've done several suspension installs out in in my garage for local S197GT Mustang guys for fun and a few cases of beer for my garage's fridge. Most were N/A but two were supercharged with intercoolers. One of them (Saleen), had been hopped up quite a bit with large CAI and 90mm lightning MAF, BBK 62mm TB, small pulley, large 60lbs. injectors and custom on the rollers tuning on a forged bottom end putting down in excess of 550rwhp on pump gas in "street" tune and to date no problems after many passes at the drag strip. I suppose it could have been a bad batch of bushings but then there would have been dozens and dozens of Steeda bushing failures posted here and on other boards. But I have not really seen enough posts about Steeda bushing failures to call the Steeda LCA bushings or LCA's a problem.
I'm about to pull out my S197GT's complete rear end this weekend for inspection, detail clean up and painting. All I need is that spiffy new Steeda Adjustable Comp/Street UCA upgrade kit and the last of the misc. Steeda suspension bits not already on my car to show up that I ordered at the last possible minute (maybe too last minute). Gus at Steeda also sent me a full set of the latest bushings gratis which have since been improved and redesigned since the original LCA's, UCA and Panhard bars I installed were shipped over two years and 25,000 miles ago. I'll take some pictures of the bushings and post them here so you can see what they look like after dealing with my admittedly lower output motor. These bushing have had hundreds of passes made on them and many thousand miles of canyon running and at least 5,000 miles of blasting up and down PCH (Route 1), from L.A. to Laguna Seca and S.F. and back the same way.
So far in over 35 years of canyon carving the Mustang is my favorite car to sneek up and scare the bejeezus out of unsuspecting Porsche and Corvette drivers who are under the impression they are making good time through the twisty bits driving up/down Route 1. I was one of those Porsche drivers not too long ago and while my S197GT is not as nearly as fast or as quick as my last 911 which actually had California street plates on it, the "thing" was basically a 3.6l race car on the street. My 911 had solid motor mounts, a fully fabricated from chrome-molly tube and sheet suspension with solid spherical ends throughout, welded in cage and a the full stock interior with wide Turbo body work and HUGE wheels and tires. Needless to say I had to sell it due to the horrible ride and noise which I just got sick of dealing with when I had to start using it as a daily driver. The hassel of owning an emissions equipment free engine didn't help me want to keep it much either. That car got sold off and became a dedicated trailer queen track car for some rich PCA guy to use as a track toy. 8^(
I will post back in a week or two with pictures of the bushings I pull out of my car when I get the new parts installed. I doubt that they will look that bad because the car is driving perfectly fine.
Cheers!
ORIGINAL: fordfanboy
The stockers aren't bad for most on the 3.55's with minor bolt on's, they aren't needed IMO. Many guys have 4.10 gears and once you get the taller gears, they come in handy and do make a difference in grab especially from a stop and slow roll.
If you start laying down some torque in the 400+ range, they become a neccessity and once you srtat laying down torque in the 450+ range, then it also becomes needed to get some good ones. By 'good' I'm talking about the bushings. Many like the Steeda use a weak polyeurethane bushing that doesn't hold for crap. I broke three of them way back when I was only pushing 400 ftq.
The adjustable/non-adjustable just come into play for preference IMO or for those who have other relcoation kits that may require it. I personally don't like adjustable LCA's and opt for having an adjustable upper because that's where it's important to be able to adjust for pinion angle, launch, and other stuff.
A lot of the mags and forums push them so there probably is a few guys who have them who probably don't need them but it's all good. They'll need them eventually if they keep modding. I usually recommend people to get them if they get gears or FI.
The stockers aren't bad for most on the 3.55's with minor bolt on's, they aren't needed IMO. Many guys have 4.10 gears and once you get the taller gears, they come in handy and do make a difference in grab especially from a stop and slow roll.
If you start laying down some torque in the 400+ range, they become a neccessity and once you srtat laying down torque in the 450+ range, then it also becomes needed to get some good ones. By 'good' I'm talking about the bushings. Many like the Steeda use a weak polyeurethane bushing that doesn't hold for crap. I broke three of them way back when I was only pushing 400 ftq.
The adjustable/non-adjustable just come into play for preference IMO or for those who have other relcoation kits that may require it. I personally don't like adjustable LCA's and opt for having an adjustable upper because that's where it's important to be able to adjust for pinion angle, launch, and other stuff.
A lot of the mags and forums push them so there probably is a few guys who have them who probably don't need them but it's all good. They'll need them eventually if they keep modding. I usually recommend people to get them if they get gears or FI.
Hi fanboy,
If you damaged your LCA bushings on Steeda LCA's maybe you did something wrong during installation or over lubed them through the zerks or did not toss and replace the O.E bolts and properly torque them down to Ford factory specs or some other obscure thing. These bushing failures could have been caused by a lot of things and if they kept failing the same way on you whoever installed them did the same thing over and over. Steeda's bushings are high quality parts and I can't imagine how you could have destroyed them unless there was a bad batch of bushings or some kind of installation error that got repeated a couple of times.
Personally I haven't had any problems with them in my own car nor have any of the cars I've installed Steeda LCA's, UCA's Panhard bars or anti-roll bars in had any problems with them. I've done several suspension installs out in in my garage for local S197GT Mustang guys for fun and a few cases of beer for my garage's fridge. Most were N/A but two were supercharged with intercoolers. One of them (Saleen), had been hopped up quite a bit with large CAI and 90mm lightning MAF, BBK 62mm TB, small pulley, large 60lbs. injectors and custom on the rollers tuning on a forged bottom end putting down in excess of 550rwhp on pump gas in "street" tune and to date no problems after many passes at the drag strip. I suppose it could have been a bad batch of bushings but then there would have been dozens and dozens of Steeda bushing failures posted here and on other boards. But I have not really seen enough posts about Steeda bushing failures to call the Steeda LCA bushings or LCA's a problem.
I'm about to pull out my S197GT's complete rear end this weekend for inspection, detail clean up and painting. All I need is that spiffy new Steeda Adjustable Comp/Street UCA upgrade kit and the last of the misc. Steeda suspension bits not already on my car to show up that I ordered at the last possible minute (maybe too last minute). Gus at Steeda also sent me a full set of the latest bushings gratis which have since been improved and redesigned since the original LCA's, UCA and Panhard bars I installed were shipped over two years and 25,000 miles ago. I'll take some pictures of the bushings and post them here so you can see what they look like after dealing with my admittedly lower output motor. These bushing have had hundreds of passes made on them and many thousand miles of canyon running and at least 5,000 miles of blasting up and down PCH (Route 1), from L.A. to Laguna Seca and S.F. and back the same way.
So far in over 35 years of canyon carving the Mustang is my favorite car to sneek up and scare the bejeezus out of unsuspecting Porsche and Corvette drivers who are under the impression they are making good time through the twisty bits driving up/down Route 1. I was one of those Porsche drivers not too long ago and while my S197GT is not as nearly as fast or as quick as my last 911 which actually had California street plates on it, the "thing" was basically a 3.6l race car on the street. My 911 had solid motor mounts, a fully fabricated from chrome-molly tube and sheet suspension with solid spherical ends throughout, welded in cage and a the full stock interior with wide Turbo body work and HUGE wheels and tires. Needless to say I had to sell it due to the horrible ride and noise which I just got sick of dealing with when I had to start using it as a daily driver. The hassel of owning an emissions equipment free engine didn't help me want to keep it much either. That car got sold off and became a dedicated trailer queen track car for some rich PCA guy to use as a track toy. 8^(
I will post back in a week or two with pictures of the bushings I pull out of my car when I get the new parts installed. I doubt that they will look that bad because the car is driving perfectly fine.
Cheers!
On another forum, we actually posted comparisons of the bushings from Steeda, Che, BMR and Metco and you could easily see the difference in the Steedas. Again, for most guys in the average power range I don't think they are an issue. As I said, I didn't have any problems with mine until I hit about 450 rwtq.
As far as the upper being easier to adjust - that is certainly not the case but in my opinion, the upper is much more important to adjust. You can alter your pinion angle with the lowers but the upper really gives you the ability to dial in your launch and weight transfer. I knocked 1 full .10 off my 60' dialing in the upper and videos of the car in slow mo launching showed sigficant improvement in sqaut and weight transfer.
I think as far as parts go - Steeda makes decent parts for typical street use and bolt on power mods. When you start getting some big power, Steeda doesn't cut the mustard for your car. This is my experience and opinion anyway. I don't know of a single person in my power range or greater that uses Steeda parts at all. Maybe a panhard bar or delete plates or something minor but nothing else. It's simply a matter of the minor leagues vs. the majors IMO. No offense Fan, but you're not pushing nowhere near the power to worry about breaking the Steedas IMO so yours SHOULD BE perfectly fine.
Mark
06-07-2007, 11:56 PM
#20
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location:
Posts: 467
RE: Best LCA
CHE, Spoon and BMR are tops, Steeda are better than stock but like already stated may not be the best for higher HP. The pinion angle can be adjusted by EITHER UCA or LCA. some think LCA's are easier because they are easier to get at, some think UCA is easier because it is just one adjustment. I personally have BMR street LCA's and hate them. the rod end is just too noisy for my daily driving. I am in fact changing to nonadjustable LCA's and adjustable UCA-all poly bushings. I don't race so for me I will not be adjusting the pinion that often so I don't mind having to adjust the UCA. Once my driveshaft is inand my car is lowered, it shouldn't need anymore adjusting. and no noise!