Ruflying74

I've got a pair of Roush Rear Springs, and a set of the new Koni Non-Adjustable Struts and Shocks ready to go in the garage, but I'm on the fence about what to do about the strut mounts. I was told that if I'm careful enough I can reuse the OEM ones, but I'm a little leary. Seen the heavy duty Steeda's out there, but $300 for just a pair of Strut mounts makes me feel like I'm bending over and taking one raw! Leaning towards picking up a set of the GT500's. Interested in some opinions, also curious to know if anyone knows where I can pick up the GT500 strut mounts the cheapest?

For all you guys battling the dreaded "thunk", I have a Vert. and haven't had to deal with that. Feel for ya.

Also quick side question, do the Shelby stock LCA's swap with the GT's without modification? Is there much noticable difference if done?

Thanks guys

Rubrignitz

You don't have to feel like you're getting ripped off on the Steeda HD's. They're worth every penny. Roller bearings as opposed to ball bearings in a plastic race (which I believe even the 500 mounts utilize) and the ability to adjust camber a bit. You really want to replace your upper mounts with some adjustable units. I haven't heard a peep from my front suspension after installing the Steeda HD mounts. Check ebay and some local craigslist listings... maybe you can pick some up at a discounted price. But again, they are worth every penny of their list price.

And if you swap your springs out again (something you're bound to do once you start messing with your suspension ) they mount/dismount very easily. You won't have to worry with tiny ball bearings dropping out all over your garage. I still have bearings from the original mounts rolling around in my garage crevices. They go everywhere when you remove the stockers. And that was being "careful".

As for the stock Shelby LCA's... I don't think you would notice a difference over the stock units. Pick up some of the less expensive tubular models such as J&M @$114 a pair when you have the money. J&M also makes some nice looking adjustable strut mounts for $250. Can't comment on quality as I've never used them on my car but have heard nothing but good regarding J&M products.

Sleeper_08

If you are running close to stock HP and not flogging the car on a drag strip then the GT500 LCAs should be given consideration. The main difference with them is the rubber bushings are a higher stiffness than the stock GT ones so they thus help with wheel hop but because they are rubber they don't increase NVH as much as poly bushings. The other disadvantage with a poly/poly LCA is that it can bind up during hard cornering and thus affect handling. If you are planning on serious road course work then a poly/rod LCA combination is the best alternative otherwise the GT500 LCAs are a good alternative.

If you haven't seen it yet this is a useful thread

http://www.cherod.com/mustang/HowTo/LCA%20_adj.htm

In my case I started by going to poly/poly LCAs last year and then this year switched to poly/rod ones. Even though my car is a DD I am not that concerned about NVH and for me the improved stability on the track overrides the street NVH issues.

Ruflying74

Thanks guys, I've found a set of GT500 LCA's that are slightly used that I'll probably pick up and install due to your responses. Since the Roush's only lower the rear like 3/4" to 1" will I need any further adjustment to the LCA's or can I swap the GT500's right in? Don't want to fuss with any welding on relocation brackets. If its not a straight forward swap, probably won't dick with it.

Still on the fence about the strut mounts. I'm sure that the Steeda's are worth every penny but unless I hear an overwhelming explanation from someone as to how they're better than the GT500's, I'll probably still go that way as well.

Still love to hear any opinions, though.

Ruflying74

Curious about the whole "Roller Bearings as opposed to Ball Bearings in plastic" difference though? Any further explanations?

Rubrignitz

I searched for some exploded-view illustrations to better show the differences but having a hard time locating them (I can always find those things when I'm not looking for them). The roller bearings are self contained in a metal bearing race so they will not fall out when the strut mount is disassembled and are able to handle heavier radial loads due to the stress being distributed over a larger area. The stock and GT500 mounts have loosely contained ball bearings with the mount holding them in place and therefore serving as the bearing race. If you go that route, just be VERY careful that NONE of the little ball bearings fall out unnoticed. They will be noisy if you lose any bearings.

The adjustable mounts also allow you to adjust camber w/o having to modify your suspension with "camber bolts". Just having the adjustablility is worth the price of AM strut mounts IMO, the better bearings and design notwithstanding. FWIW, if you're just going to put Roush rear springs on and leave the stockers up front then I would just keep your stock mounts but if you plan to lower the front in the future then I would highly suggest some adjustable ones. Once you start messing with your suspension it will be like exhaust mods. Several swaps will be made I'm sure .

Doogie65

Keep in mind that even with the mild drop of the rear Roush springs, your LCA angle will be less than ideal for good traction (also could cause additional wheel hop). As outlined in the previously mentioned CHEROD article (scroll to the end), you ideally want the LCA level or the rear mount slightly lower than the front mount.

And as a point of reference, when I installed the Roush rear springs on my car (which is also a vert), the rear mount was a lot higher than the front. I subsequently installed CHE LCA brackets (mine are not welded) and that angle was fixed. You also may see some axle shift (towards the drivers side) after installing those springs as mine shifted about 1/2in. But this was not that noticeable with the stock wheels/tires, but I otped to install a Steeda adj panhard bar as I knew my CS69s and larger tires were coming soon.

Vapour Trails

The Steeda mounts are better because they are not a couple of cheap plastic pieces sandwiching ball bearings. Essentially, the ford designed mounts can be considered single use items, and they will eventually fail on a lowered car.

I bought them because I wanted to install the suspension once and only once. Re-use the old mounts and its only a matter of time before you will be disassembling the strut again.

They also allow on the fly camber adjustments by simply loosening the 4 strut mount nuts. However, keep in mind that you will have to check your toe after adjustments (using toe plates).