has anyone install and what do they think of the frpp handle package kit. and is there any feedback on bmr stage 1 package...late model mustange has the best deal on the frpp of 1090 which is not bad...

 

Hi 45dag,

For a road course handling car pass on the BMR kit. The BMR kit has stuffBMR wants to sell youbut that you don't need orhelp your car's handing any. If your budget is in the $2K rangeyou can build a good basic handling kit up using the best parts on the market if you do the install yourself.

The FRPP FR3 Handling Pak is O.K. but is really just a set of Eibach Pro-Kit springs, Eibach anti-roll bar kit and OE struts and dampers tuned by Multi-Matic. The springs are good if a bit softand the bars are also pretty goodbut the rear bar is maybe a bittoo small. The dampers are notsogood as they are over damped in compression andO.K. in rebound so makes for a harder ride and you can't adjust it out because they are not adjustable.

Here is alist ofparts that comes in the FRPP kit but with some improved parts. Slightly morebut far superior to the FRPP FR3 Pak:

$480 Tokico D-Specs, double adjustable w/single ****, can beadjusted for betterhandling and ride
$225 FRPP/Eibach Pro-Kit springs,buya pair ofEibach Sportline axle bumpstops to improve ride
$190Steeda Adjustable front anti-roll bar, usemiddlesetting to get balance right
$360 Steeda rear anti-roll barw/billet links, order the 7/8"(22mm) bar, not 13/16" or15/16" bar

$1,255 total

Here is the $720worth of stuffthat nobody tells you about that you needto get the most out of the core suspension above.

$ 70 FRPP GT500 Strut Mounts
$150 Steeda X-5 Ball Joints,restoreslost roll center height due to lowering, improves front end grip
$30Eibach Camber Bolt Kit, best camber bolts on the market, easily adjusted
$160 SteedaAdjustable Panhard Bar, betterrear axel control withmuchbetter driver feedback
$80 Steeda HD Panahrd Bar Brace, critical part for long chassis life and driver feedback
$130 Steeda LCA relocation brackets, correct IC, more adjustment points than any other bracket
$100 FRPP GT500 LCA's,quiet,cheap and effective

HTH!

 

whats a pan hard brace....im just guessing it goes rear shock tower to tower, but still just a shot in the dark..

 

Hi 45dag,

The Panhard brace is a reinforcementbrace that helps stabilze the Panhard bar's pivotmounting bracket on the chassis. It is designed to spread the load to the other side of the chassis to reduce the flex or movementof the pivot mountreducing metal fatigue and increasing chassis life. The S197 chassis comes with a thin U-section shaped stamped steel Panahrd bar brace which is very flimsy and obviously has plenty of flex. Theheavy duty Panahrd bar brace is usually a tubular piece with very heavy mounting brackets whichresist Panhard barmont and chassisflex much more effectively.

HTH!

 

I'd have to recommend a different course of action.

First, I won't recommend anything without a better idea of what you want to change. And by that I mean what you want to change about the way the car acts, not what parts you think you should change based on some package or a bunch of internet opinions (mine included). Parts all do a job, and if a job needs done then great. But if not, I think it's a waste of time and money to be changing things that are not an problem.

I can tell you that I respectfully disagree with F1Fan's total plan. I don't think camber bolts are in any way required. I don't feel that money should be spend on the PHB brace (a PHB, sure, but not the brace). I also feel there are better parts for maybe not as much money in some of the instances. I don't feel LCA relocation brackets are necessary, it's a known fact lowering the car and putting the LCA's on an angle actually lessens wheelhop. And that means you don't necessarily need to buy different LCA's.

Depending on the conversation and where it leads I'm pretty sure we'd do shocks (I tend to prefer Koni quality and way of damping and adjustment vs. D-specs, but sell D-specs too). I'm not against swaybars if we want more roll control. We have a set of bars now that are both hollow 35mm front, 22mm rear, and the front is adjustable. Production is starting an the next couple weeks the test fitting is all done. And while we don't run billet aluminum rear drop down hanger brackets on the rear bar (some refer to them as endlinks though they aren't), we use tubular steel which isn't any way weak, and costs less. A set of our bars (the front bar is also 3 way adjustable) will be well under the $400 mark. If you need or want lowering springs, we can discuss options. Eibach's are easy, but not the best choice IMHO and F1Fan actually mentioned some things that I agree with in another thread stating as much, so I'm not sure why he's recommending them here.

Basically, I prefer to work with the customer and build a suspension to the needs or goals required and spend the money where it makes the most difference. I do a lot of competiting in pony-cars, the S197 Mustang included with great success. I also have won many a National Championship in other cars with fewer parts than my competition had and I think that's proof positive that a well thought out course of action trumps a bunch of "you must to do this" packages. Some items need changed, that's true. However, I will happily tell you why or why I think an items is in need of, or should be changed and for what reason.

I'm not anti-F1Fan. I dont' even know him. I agreed with him in another thread just yesterday, pretty completely. I just really feel that the car does not need a thousand different parts, and I have some results you can see that prove it. I ran a very stock S197, no trick camber plates, or PHB braces, etc. I run that particular car in a class where I can't change much.... but even when I move up a class to the class I run my other car in, I won't be changing nearly as much as many folks think. The car is a good base to start from, and what gets changed will be based upon what the car is doing wrong and the appropriate part will be addressed.

MHO.

 

well to answer some but not all...money is beinnng save for wheel , tires , just for looks. I like to lower it , again for looks but for handleing...if it doesn't perform don't need....My goal is to put together my self as much as pos to make a bad a$$ running and performing stang...A car that will leave a stock vett behind and alot more...a power adder is in the mix also..Im a x sport bike rider whos been at mock speed, and now im having fun playing w/ this...i want looks and handleing w/out trying to lose to much ride quality..wheel i care for are torq-thust 20+10s in rear and front 20+9 245/35 and 295 or285/30 , now i might go a profile larger for ride quality....but i think they look good...so looking for a handleing pac. and w/ some power behind it , in the 400+ range..Once again not looking cazy hp but good hp w/out blowing up my motor...400-450 Im rambling again..car 08 gt

 

Hi 45dag,

Oh,wellknowing now that you want to have a soft rideI'd suggest you get to know the car first and drive it once you get the wheels and tires on the car. Chances are you will want new dampers and springs (I'd suggestlinear rate springs) with only a modest drop in ride height. By all means drive the car and see what you don't like about the way it behaves and make another pass at the suspension once you have some miles under your tires.

However in your original post you asked about the FRPP FR3 handling kit and I replied as though you were already set on this basic setup. IMO the FRPP kit is NOT a great deal because you will find what are IMOserious flawsin the way the FRPP kit's dampers andsprings work. But I'm pretty sure that sooner or later you will wind up wanting to replace the same parts I suggested above therefore this is actually a moreexpensive way to go.

As to wanting to kill Corvettes and keeping your ride allnice and cushyit's not going to happen. You are at a very large disadvantage with thestickaxle and unfavorable weight distribution Ford has built into the S197 chassis. You can improve on the car quite a bit but unless you are willing to give up some ride comfortand the track/road is fairly smooth you will have a hard time keeping up with aC6 Corvette especially with a big heavy blower in the noseall other things being equal. But you can make him have to work damn hard to stay in front if you make some changes to your chassis, get some upgraded brake components and addreal brake cooling and compromise on ride. But you are never going to be able to deal with irregular surfaces as well as the C6's IRS no matter what you do to that stick axle. Trust me on this.I've played with a lot of partson these cars and installed literally everything there is to install and tweak on mycar. What I've learned is thatyou can make the S197GT anamazing handling car with amazinglevels of gripcompared to stockandfactory hot rods likeShelby GT's, Roush Stage 2or even a Steeda Q car but the stick axle will always be a limiting factor if the road is anything other than a billard table.

HTH!

 

I know this will sounds weird but im looking for a spring/lowering setup that will kinda give me a rough ride. Im usta that kinda rid in my prev. stangs. Im not to big of a fan on the soft kida luxury ride in our new stangs. What spring setup will give me what im looking for? h&r? bmr?

 

Hey fellas,
Not really looking to hijack a thread, but since we are on topic...what's your take on the different Roush and Steeda suspension packages?

Thanks,
Aris

 

Honestly, if you're willing to shop around a little bit, I think a better deal than any package from any company can offer can be had.

This list posted by F1Fan is everything you'd need to have an almost perfect handling 'Stang.

Using F1Fan's advice, I put together the following package for myself:

Tokico D-spec's
Steeda Sport springs
Steeda adj. Panhard rod and brace
Steeda HD front strut mounts

It was about $1200 all told, and will be even cheaper nowadays. I have to say, it did WONDERS to improve the handling of the car. I reccomend the HD strut mounts because they allow easily adjustable camber, so you can really dial in the front suspension.