RonG

I have 18K miles on my Steeda Sports and D-Specs. I love the way it looks, but I'm getting tired of the ride. Bouncing around on my daily commute is just not as much fun as it used to be. I have been playing with the shock settings to see if I can get a smoother ride, but the looser I go on the shocks the more it feels like I'm hitting the bump stops (the stops are not modified).

I'm thinking of going back to stock front springs and roush rear springs in order to get more suspension travel and a softer ride. I also thought I would swap out the D-Specs for some Bilsteins.

Would this give me a better ride or am I waisting money and should just go back to my stock setup? Any other ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Sam Strano

Please don't take this the wrong way.... By softening the shocks you are going the wrong way. You aren't alone in assuming that softening the shocks should make the car ride better. But the fact is the shocks need to damp the springs, and the springs are both stiffer and shorter than stock that requires better damping control, not less. By turning the dampers down you are mis-matching the damping to the spring more and more, which is why your ride actually suffers. Basically it's like you are putting on worn-out shocks, because the shocks can't handle the spring rate. Bilstein's are best suited to stock springs, so using them wouldn't really be a wise move on your lowering springs.

If you were to run stock springs, the ride will be softer because you'll have softer wheel rates. And when teamed with good damping, the stock springs do work quite well. If you are to stay on lowering springs you need a damper that can deal with the spring in the best way possible, and this is one reason I've moved from D-specs to Koni's, they give you the rebound damping you need, but without changes in compression damping. In short they ride better, more polished than do the D-specs at similar levels of control. That said, lowering springs are still lower and stiffer...

Dampers and springs work together. But feel is something every person has a bit different take on, and much of that comes from dampers, some from springs. What I can tell you is that the Bilstein's aren't really ideal for lowering springs, and you can't do anything with them to try and dial in the feel you seek.

I went through this with one of the first folks I met on this site. He's the one that gave me the feedback I posted in the "d-spec vs. Koni" thread. In fact, he also had Steeda springs. He found the Koni's to be better, but ultimately he went back to stock springs and the Koni's and found just what he was after. A taut, well damped car that didn't beat he or his wife up in any way. It took him a while, and many changes to find what recommend most start with if they can live with a stock height.

If you need more in depth help in determining what's shock and what's spring related, I'd be happy to talk to you. I can't give you a lot of absolutes but the more info you can give me, the more I can give you.

I can tell you that these are classic reasons I prefer Koni's. This is why I have them on both the Shelby GT, and my Mustang GT (on stock springs). They are the most well rounded damper for the car. They can be used with stock or any lowering spring as they range of damping is quite big. And they go about their damping in a more polished, composed way then the D-specs.

RonG

Sam,

Thanks for the info. This is exactly what I was looking for.

So, I think I'm going to move back to the stock springs. I know you favor the Konis over the D-Specs, but is it a great enough difference for me to toss my 18K mile D-Specs? I'm okay with jumping into the Konis if I get a transformed ride. On the other hand, I also want to have realistic expectations.

kidnizmo

Hey Sam, im also thinking about going koni shocks, are you refering to koni red or yellows. im getting my setup together right now, let me know if im headed in the right direction. mind you its not about saving some coin for me, its about saving the skin on my ***. my wife rides shot gun also, and i never kno when i may have to pick up the lil ones from school. i have had lowered cars before with ground control coilovers, koni yellows, kybs, u name it. hell i have spent more money on suspension on the less exspensive vehicles then the stang i.e civics, integras blah blah

the mustang by far needs the most geometry compensation

on my list:
roush rears
stock springs up front
konis, yellows rear...reds up front. i think?
lca relocation brackets
phb....watts maybe i dont like the structual design of most ive seen yet

am i getting warm yet, thanks

Sam Strano

Hard call. I've certainly had folks find the Koni's more to their liking... Including myself. Realistically you really can't compare until you've compared. What some find a very nice difference, some might not. To me it's not just the feel, but the endurance and longevity of the Koni's as well. I know I've found that I can run the Koni's at more "settings" and have a feel I like than I can the D-specs. They are more fickle, and I was often left with the rears especially set in only one place that gave the only compromise I could live with. I basically didn't have a lot of range to use for tuning, I have more leeway in that regard with the Koni's. You can up the damping with out near the degregation in ride, mostly impact harshness as the D-specs.

Again, I can't say if it's the springs you don't like or the dampers. But I woudln't be at all surprised if its the shocks that are the issue as the Ultralites aren't all that stiff or all that low. One way of knowing would be how much the shock changes effect the car. If you change them and don't get any change in feel (good or bad) either way, I'd lean more springs. If you do change them and you get a difference (and it seems you do), but can't get things "right" that's a damping quality issue. It sounds to me like the firmer you make the shock, the more under control the car is, but the ride is suffering along with it. The softer you make it the car just gets sloppy and underdamped period. This is an issue with cheaper shocks in general, they tend to get control via just being "firm" all the time and don't react well to high shock piston speed situations (short, sharp impacts). That's one place the Koni's excel vs. the D-specs. IMO.

Sam Strano

Koni only makes Sports (yellow) for this car. There is no Special (red) damper for an S197, (your info shows you have an '08).

I don't think you need anything but springs (if you want them), dampers and either an adjustable PHB or a Watts link to center the axle from the drop. The PHB is the easy, cheap way. The Watts is the "glue the rear down and make it a lot less nervous" way.

I certainly don't in any way think LCA brackets are necessary on all cars, and in fact lowering an S197 tend to lessen wheelhop.

In the end I "do" as in recommend parts based on what the car needs to do a job. I don't just like to toss stuff on because it's accepted that every car "needs" a part. Sometimes that's true, but often it's not and I think parts should be used to actually solve some problem, not slapped on just because...

kidnizmo

thanx good info, good advice

legendlime05

are you going to sell you d specs?

Sam Strano

As a person who believes in giving the best information, I wanted to let you all know about the new dampers coming from Koni in the next few months for Mustangs:

Koni has a new damper coming in Feb. 2009 for 1994-2009 Mustangs. 1987-1993 dampers will be coming approximately March 2009.

The dampers are knows as "STR.T" dampers. These dampers are twin-tube, gas-charged, *non-adjustable* dampers. Intended for those who have lowering springs, but do not want or need adjustable dampers such as Koni Special or Koni Sport dampers.

The target price point for the dampers are shocks like Tokico Premium Performance (otherwise known as "Blues") and Bilstein Touring Class shocks. However, unlike those dampers the STR.T line is designed for use with appropriate damping for most normal street lowering springs. The STR.T dampers are not intended to be a replacement for Koni Special or Sport adjustable dampers, but a lower cost, performance oriented damper. Some of these dampers are out for various cars, and results have been excellent from those currently running them. Damping rates are setup to basically match a Koni Sport set @ full soft.

Pricing is TBA, but as mentioned the pricing will be significanly lower than the Sport and Special dampers due to the fact the STR.T are not adjustable.

kidnizmo

that might be perfect for my setup. will you be selling those ASWELL?

One thing will a full soft setup be ideal with lowered cars?