Margarita Girl

Love all things Steeda. I want the Q500.

PayDay99

See sig file for mods. I liked where I was with the steeda sway which got rid of my understeer but the roll bar stiffened the car slighty more after the fact and now I may have too much oversteer. Will know more after my next track day.

oh6ponygirl

I'm a little late to chime in butI just recently installedthe Steeda Sports on mine. The front drop was within spec but the rear drop ended up at 2 inches on the dot. Unless my car sat higher than average initially, from what compartisons I can make that puts me in Eibach Sportline territory -- something I don't know if I'm quite comfortable with. I like the look but my practical side mayforce me to throw a set of roushes on the back. The weather has been too crappy for any real world tests so far. Oddly enough, Steeda lists seperate springs for convertible GT500's but not for us with regular S197's. As far as coupe/vert differences there are at least 2 big braces on the back I know of. You'll have to take these off to do the spring install. They seem rather cheesy which makes me wish someone would come out with beefier versions of these just for us with convertibles.

[IMG]local://upfiles/88377/5D9D51E8B57540A0B4E074BA76E51ED2.jpg[/IMG]

Margarita Girl

This is my vert before the springs.
You can see the car sits pretty level to start with:



And after, Roush front and back, Koni yellows:

exx1976

With the weird lighting difference in the pics, it's hard to tell.. How much was the actual drop, Margarita? Did you measure before/after?

Larmo

Suspensions are like women.... sometimes its fun to try them all.[:@]

brdm266

Been off the net for a while. FRPP ride is a little stiffer than stock. I love the way it handles on the road, but I think any decent package would do about the same thing for daily driving/ccassional aggressive driving. I am away from my home computer right now but may be able to send you some pics in a couple of days.

carockwell

The strut brace is the first thing to install. Next are better shocks, I went with Bilsteins despite swearing I would never buy another set in the 80's. The Bilsteins seem to cure all handling woes on the street or track, I don't get anymore bobbing or wallowing. So far I have BMR LCA's and notice quicker turn in with them. Next I will install a BMR panhard rod and see if that helps.
Even though I have not personally tried it on my Mustang, a set of stiffer anti roll bars should make a big difference if you want a more tossable car.

Margarita Girl

I also considered the Bilstein shocks/struts. Many good reviews.

I ended up going with the Koni yellows. Drove with them wide open for a while and now have them adjusted to +180 front and back and the ride is nice.

F1Fan

Hi Martin,

The reaons for the reviewers comments arewell known. First the static weight balance of the convertablecar is more rearward than the stock coupes.This is due to the additional bracing and chassis reinforcments used in the verts that is missing on the coupes. The vert's weight is also located lower down with a lower CG because all the extra weight with the top down is over the rear axle instead of being over head like on a coupe.The more compliant ride and reduced wheel hop is due tothe softer springs and dampers verts getfrom the factory. The verts have to havesofter spring rates even with all the extra bracing and internal frame gusseting and reinforcementdue to chassis flex that is notpresent in the coupes.

FRPP handling pakswill physically fit the verts just fine with some addtional effort due to the additional bracing verts have. But due to the extrachassis flex of a vertthe handling pakscannotwork as well as inthe coupes and the extra stiff struts, dampers, springs and anti-roll barsalso over time reek havoc with the chassis and make for a lot of squeeks and rattles that should not be there. Convertable owners generally don't buyverts for performance so much as to see and be seen in is the thinking so Forddoesn't recommend it.I can say I don't disagree with Ford's decision after having driven a couple of verts with the FRPP kit showhorned into the chassis and some miles on them.

If you want to upgrade the suspension keep it mild, don't over lower the car andbe sure youinstall a set ofD-Spec adjustabledampers so you can tune the ride to suite the springs andway you use the car. Bigger bars hurt ride as do stiff poly bushings. Whatever you do don't let them remove your vert specific braces and leave them out you will be hating life if you let them do this.

That stock goodness was very carefully engineered intoyour Mustang. To change too much will ruin this goodness and you will regret it sooner or later.I suggest D-Specs run soft, Steeda Ultralites, Steeda adjustable Panhard bar withthe matching HD PB braceand a set of GT500 LCA's andcall it a day. The car will handle much better, ride as well as stockwith stock NVHwthmuch better body control and display much less chatter over road irregularitieslike railroad tracks. Leave it this way and enjoy the best part of driving a vert, top down cruising in the sunshine.

HTH!