VerginaStang

Hello all.
The next piece of the mustang puzzle= suspension.

Plans for the car- Keep the car streetable, as it is my daily driver. I'm looking for max performance, and do not want to go lower, OR much lower than a 1" drop.

Right now, I'm looking at the Steeda Sport Springs. Not sure what the differences are between the sport springs, and the ultralights though???

As for Dampers, I'm looking at either Tokico D-Specs, or the Koni 'yellows'. Anyone have any unbiased reviews of each?

I plan to do this in stages due to $$$ limits
Is there anything I should buy NOW while I do the springs/dampers that can be installed while the car is in the shop (most likely not doing the install myself)? In other words, I do not want to pay 2x for labor.
Also, keep in mind I live in NYC, so the roads arent fantastic, and we do get some bad weather.

Thanks guys- hopefully F1Fan reads this post!

Simon1

I beleive the ultralights will give you more drop than the Eibach Pros. Go to their website and double check.

You may need:

Camber bolts to get the front aligned correctly. I didn't need these but some do and some don't.

Adjustable lower control arms to correct your pinion angle,if it adjusts enough to make a difference.

Adjustable pan hard bar. To re-center your rear endafter it's lowered. Some say they haven't needed this but I can't see how.

I have the tokicos D-specs and love them, along with the Eibach pros, adj LCA's, BMR relocate bracket, adj pan hard.

YOu can do most everything your self if you mechanically inclined at all. It is rather easy.

Sam Strano

I sell both D-specs and Koni's. I'd be happy to give you an opinion and recommendation on dampers, as well as springs and anything else you'd like to know about. However, I work in more detail than I can get across by e-mail. I will not tell you something like "I have D-specs and like them". I have run both dampers, can compare and contrast them for your, as well as tell you how the differ, being the adjustments are not the same.

Really the best ride is with the stock springs, and the cars handle very well on stock springs too. You need to prioritize your want to lower the car. I'm familiar with NYC (drive through faily often) and the road condition. I've even done suspensions for some magazine cars that live in and around NYC. Do not assume you have to lower the car to get quite impressive control and handling. Frankly I like the way stock springs work, just wish they weren't so tall.

And yes, know that if you lower you are also wise to do an adjustable PHB, which will add a bit more cost.

Feel free to give me a call @ 814-849-3450. Happy to talk so things over with you. I think it'd be worth the time to call, you can decide if I'm off my rocker or not when we're done. Please leave a message if I can't answer (I'm really quite swamped with work), I will get back to you.

UrS4

F1fan will most likely suggest the Steeda sport springs and the Tokico D-specs as he has said this many times in his posts.

You could PM him directly instead of waiting for him to stumble onto your post.

I would seriously consider talking to Sam though as he is a supporting vendor here. I know I will when spring time comes around.

F1Fan

Hi VerginStang,

WOW! you are almost going to have an anniversary here on Mustang Forums! Happy Happy!

I don't know what your level of driving experience is but I'm assumming that you really mean it whan you say you want maximum performance.Hmmm, you live in NYC and want to lower your car? You are on the right track in thinking that a minmal drop in ride heightneeds to be considered. But even this may not be a really good idea if you use the car and load it up with people and stuff on a regular basis. Do you tend to drive solo or with only with one other person on the car? If sothen Steeda's regualar Sport springs which are only slightly lower and havea slightly higher (50%)spring rate than thevery soft stock Mustng GT springs will work well. Otherwise if youload up your car all the time with people and/or stuff you may want to consider keeping the stock springs whichis good for wheel travel and good ride.I would not gomuch lower than 1" and expect your car to retain good handling and ride traits on the bumpy NYC surface roads. You also need to consider tires. You really can't expect to get good performance AND ride on wheels and tires larger than 18" and you really need to keep your tire height at least the stock 27" tall to retain ground good clearance.

Pick a spring based on what your useage and local roads are like. Rough roads means you need longer travel to getover the roads in reasonable comfort. Smooth roads means you can squeeze a bit more performance out of the car with a lowered CG (center of gravity) but this takesaway some of your suspension travel which means that you will need a firmer spring and firmer dampers to control them. Youwill also tend to bottom out a bit more often which can give you a moment of discomfort. Personally, having driven thestreets of NYCI might leave the springs alone andoptimize the basic chassis before installing a set of springs. You can always installthem later is youfeel the need once you get further down the road on your suspension. But if you want to eek out the most from your chassis improvements I'd go for the lower CG.

Here is what I suggest for your first stage:

Steeda Sportsprings, 1" drop and moderate rate increase just enough to offset the lower ride height

D-Spec or Koni Sport dampers all around. Both dampers are excellent and will do a very goodjob of dealing with your roads and actually improve your car's ride, handling and controlover the stock dampers if you take a few minutes to adjust them once they are broken in after a few thousand miles. I can also recommend Bilstein HD dampers but I don't like their lack of adjustability and with the stock springs theyare a touch too firm on rough roads.

Steeda HD adjustable Strut mounts,Steeda strut mounts are isolated and give you stock levels of isolation but have a high quality roller bearing instead of the plastic bearing Ford used which caused so many people problems with their sport springs. The Steeda HD strut mounts can take the abuse and you can stay comfoftable with no increase in NVH.

Steeda billet camber plates, I say this because you just cannot avoid the potholes and rough pavement in NYC if you drive more than 10 feet onto the island once off the expressways. The usual offset ground cam action camber bolts rely on a severlyreduced size bolt shank to get the clearance needed to get the cam lobes inside the strut ears for camber adjustment and are limited in their range of camber adjustment not that you need it with only a 1" drop. There are two strut mounting bolts used on the S197 struts and the specified torque is 200nm or about 148ft/lb. The strongest of the camber bolts out there I have see are from Eibach and the maximum torque on their camber bolt for the S197 to 105nm or about half the clamping force of the stock bolts. This is why the camber bolts sometime slip out of adjustment, they just can't achive the same level of clamping force as the stock bolts. For the rough roads in NYC your camber will be out ofwack in short order if you use a camber boltto achive your desired camber spec. and you will need to goback at the alignment shopoften to keep your expensive tires from wearing prematurely. The Steeda billet camber plates providepositive location and you cannot possibly slip out of adjustment at these plates. If you do you have broken your suspension.

Steeda adjustable Panhard bar and the matching HD Panhard bar brace, the handling differences are very noticable over the stock Panhard bar and OEstampedbrace.

Depending on your driving level and interest the car may beright for you without going any farther. But the next stage of things really liven it up and increaseyour ability to tune and set the balance up for your local roads and where you like to drive fast. You will want bettertires and as a consequence wheels for the next stage to reallytake advantage of the car.

Here is the second stage:

Steeda front 35mm anti-roll bar, this piece is only 10% stiffer but the key word is adjustable, it will come in handy down the road as your skills improve and you learn the car.

FRPP GT500 24mm rear anti-roll bar, cheap and effective with the most isolation of any of thelarge A/R bars. Helps keep the car quiet with less road thrumming over bumps. Hey if you order a PJ Watt's link this one comes FREE and saves money LOL!

FRPP GT500 LCA's, cheap and effective, quiet even. O.K. for N/A motors but if blown you may want something different here.

Steeda adjustable Comp/Street UCA/UCA mount, HD adjustable UCA mount with extra long control arm and unique 3-piece multi-duromter poly bushing. kills wheel hop and and amazingly adds no additionalNVH! This piece works great but is a PITA to install.

Here is the third stage:

Steeda bumpsteer kit, not truly necessary on your modestly lowered carbut can make your work easier on bumpy roads.

Steeda X5 ball joints, 18" wheels only but this part is much more durable than stock and improvesroll center height in front after mild lowering.

Agent 47 single strut towerbar, I don't normally recommend them but an STB is a good idea in your case so I'm recommending theone thatactually is design to work.

Steeda G-Trac brace, ties the front lower control arm mounts together which are unsuported on the K-member. Not critical but on your roads doesn't hurt and it's cheap.

That should about do it for now. Add anymore and you are going to have too much fun.

Sam Strano

I really wish I could make recommendations like that by e-mail. I'm sort of sorry I can't because it'd make my life easier. I don't really feel there is any one neat and tidy answer.

I truly think that people are different, cars are different for various reasons, uses are different, wants and needs are different. I feel it's important to be able to discuss what the individual is seeking to change about the way the car drives because it is, after all, *your* car. My job, while selling parts is part of it, is to make the customer as happy as possible. The only catch is, I won't do things based solely on a "look" because I'm much more about function over form.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I think a lot of folks OVERbuild cars for street use. What's really ironic is that I'm often told that I do things because I race. I know the difference, and I can assure you that I don't do something because I race. I might because I know from competition that it works in a certain environment, but I do notfeel everyone needs to build a car exactly like something I'm competing in.

I'd suggest you explore you options and take your time. Steeda isn't the only answer. I have a hollow 35mm front bar that's adjustable. And I have a hollow 22mm rear bar here ready to be test fitted, and if it's a go, weeks away from production (less weight). I'mquitecareful to make sure folks know where I'm coming from, but more importantlywhyI feel as I do about a certain part or combination of parts.

I'd love to give you some long drawn out answer to it all. I won't, because I can't. I have parts I prefer for specific reasons..... I want to know what we're trying to cure before I start"prescribing" meds.

F1Fan

Hi UrS4,

I was going to suggest that the OP use the stock springs but they said max performance and mind the bumps. Sowith thatin mindI suggested Steeda Sportsprings but I think the same setup will work just fine using the stock springs. The OP also wanted some suggestions to get there phasing parts in over time so I offered these suggestions. I'm in SoCal and drive these cars all over on smooth roads and rough but nothing is quite like the streets of NYC out here and thats the truth. Many folkswho live in NYC have gone to D-Specs, Steeda Pro-Actionand Bilstein HD dampers and all have been tremendously happy with the improved ride and handling even on stock springs.

HTH!

VerginaStang

Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone. I really appreciate the lengthy responses. Sam, I will try giving you a call over the weekend, unfortunately I'm going to be really busy the next few days, but I'll try to fit in the convo, as I hope u will take some of your busy time with me.

What I'm looking for is a great handling car, not too low- but definately lowered a bit to get rid of the gap. The car MIGHT see a road race course, but just for fun- no competition. A buddy of mine has a steeda, and in normal driving situations,his car seriously outperforms mine. So i'm looking for something better than stock but maybe not AS extreme as the Steeda, which is more or less built for the track, and isnt really a daily driver. Note, my car is my DD.

Based on the research I've done, the Steeda springs seem to be what I'm looking for, or something comparable if theres anything else out there.

Its still a toss up between the d-specs and the koni's- What are the main differences for the two, and which one is best for what I'm looking for?

For that 1" drop that I'll be achieving with the Steedas, will the camber plates be necessary? I was under the impression that it wouldnt- F1fan, I'm definately not doubting you, just double checking- same thing with the strut mounts?

The Panhard bar/brace is something that I'll definately be looking into, and intend on getting. Does anyone know if the Steeda PB is lower than the stock one? I have the mid muffler system, and it MIGHT be rattling on the bar, so a lower one would be great lol If not, can anyone recommend a lower one- also, are there any drawbacks to it?

Thanks again everyone! I appreciate all the info!

VerginaStang

Oh, I forgot to add my wheel/tire setup:

Wheels- 18x9 Chrome GT500 Replica's (not sure of the weight)

Tires- Front= 255/45/18 Nitto 555's, Rear- 285/40/18 Nitto's- The same exact size tires as what is found on the stock GT500.

UrS4

the GT500 replica wheels should be 18x9.5

A 9.5" wide rim is the narrowest wheel than will fit a 285/40/18 tire. Putting that size tire is not recommended on a 9" wheel.

If you really are going with the 18x9 wheel, I would go 255/45/18 all around or maybe the 275/40/18 and adj the speedo to correct for the shorter tire.