So I'm planning on doing a suspension overhaul sometime in the next years or so. All at once too. I'm just curious as to what brands are best for a 2014 for LCAs, Relocation Brackets, Springs, Shocks, Struts, and PHB

As of now, I have BMR LCAs, Relo Brackets, and PHB
Eibach Springs, and Bilstein Shocks and Struts.

Any of you guys have any preferences or bad experiences? Thanks!

 

Getting ready to upgrade my suspension as well. I've read a lot about j&m and haven't seen one reason to not buy from them. I'm going with their panhard &, if I decide to buy them, their CA's too.

SR springs are great and usually go on sale for $100 at Americanmuscle.com, as well as Koni Str.T dampers if your stang is just a street machine like mine.

 

I may be biased, but I recommend UPR LCAs, Relos, PHBs, and Springs, and then Koni shocks & struts. (for handling) UPR Products are Made in America, and they carry a Lifetime Guarantee.

 

I used J&M UCA, LCA's, and panhard. Whiteline for relo brakets. I will be installing J&M CC Plates with Eibach pro kit springs. Still undecided on shocks/struts. As much as I tried, it is just impossible to stick with 1 brand when doing the entire suspension in a car.

 

I've had BMR panhard, uca, lca, eibach pro springs, J&M caster plates, koni shocks and struts on my last stang and loved the setup. I've heard great things about MM strut mounts but can't afford the price tag .

 

When you do an "overhaul", it is only necessary to replace those parts whose condition has deteriorated or that you have found to not give you all you wanted or expected.

Can you describe your driving and what you want to change or improve about your car's behavior?

Relo brackets - only two things here (strength/durability and function). Given that you're almost certainly running bolt-on BMRs, is there any visible damage (bent metal, bolt holes ovalled, etc.)? Are they giving you good launch bite? No odd handling effects? If there are any adjustments, have you tried them all?

PHB - strength/durability here is with respect to the bushings only. The PHB itself hardly matters whose, other than detail differences in the method of adjustment and ease of access to the adjustment. There's only a little functional difference in function between poly and rod ends, although perhaps more difference in gear and tire noises transmitted into the cabin.

LCAs - same thing as with the PHB about bushings, as LCAs themselves are not likely to bend or break. But do you want better all-around function between straight line acceleration, good cornering behavior, and (almost) daily driver quietness? If so, then you want LCAs with one rod end or spherical joint. Adjustability - if you don't have this do you need/want it? If you have it, are you having trouble keeping the jam nuts tight?

Springs - it's not like these things "wear out", so it comes down to whether you're looking for a different ride height, a firmer ride, or slightly flatter cornering. I don't think there are any "bad" springs, although I do think that you can go too low, as in past the point where you're sacrificing function for appearance.

Shocks/struts - Bilsteins should be a sound choice if you don't want adjustability (I've had them on another 3500-ish lb V8/RWD car), but I'd go with Koni yellows if there's much chance you'd consider dialing them in to better fit your ride/handling preferences and whatever springs you end up with.


What I don't see is any mention of sta-bars ("sway bars"). You might want to consider these, particularly adjustable versions of both front and rear, to dial in the rest of your combination. This can be done later, after you've had a chance to see if there's any further tweaking you want to do to make the car feel a little better in the turns.


Norm

 

Wow, this is really informative!
I'm mainly a daily driver, so street performance is key, though I do plan on hitting the strip occasionally. I like taking turns harder than I should be, but it's limited because I feel the car has understeer. I kind of want my car to feel more responsive on turns. Haven't had a launch quite yet, so can't say if there's been much wheel hop. And the car is pretty new, so nothing is damaged yet.
As for springs, I did want to lower my car, not too much, but just a little, and I suppose stiffer springs make for better turns.
As for sway bars, I have thought of them, but I haven't "considered" them for lack of better terms
And I see what you mean about functionality and durability. I do prefer to not hear the suspension, so I'm guessing the poly bushings are the way to go?

 

First place I'd look is at the existing wheel and tire package. Tire size and mfr/model, and at least the wheel width(s). That's mainly where the car's potential cornering and steering response performance limits are defined, and all the things you do with suspension tweaking are basically done in order to let you readily access that performance. But the potential has to be there first.

It might be a good idea to take the car out to an autocross and find out what it wants or needs when you drive it a good bit more enthusiastically than anything you'd consider doing in traffic. "Understeer" is a vehicle property, but in any reasonable street driving I don't think it's as bad or as noticeable as many people seem to think it is. Don't confuse this with any slightly lazy turn-in you might notice during mild to moderate cornering, which is something else.

As you lower the car, you need the springs to be somewhat stiffer so that you aren't running into the bump stops a lot more of the time and harder when you do. What "stiffer" will do for you is shorten up the time it takes for the car to react to a steering input and take a set at some roll angle. I doubt that any of the more commonly used "lowering springs" are so stiff that they'd make the ride harsh. "Solid" or "firm", sure.

I think there was a thread somewhere in this forum where the spring rates and amounts lowered were tabulated. But I'd use that only as general reference at this point (some springs may have changed spec slightly, new ones added, others no longer as readily available, etc.).


Norm