Does anyone know what the difference is between the strut mounts in the Ford Racing GT500 strut mount kit, and the Motorcraft AD1073 (which are listed as strut mounts for the GT500 and look very similar to the Ford Racing units in pictures)?

 

Same question.

 

FWIW, I got the aforementioned strut mounts yesterday and they look EXACTLY like the mounts in the Ford Racing kit, except that you can get both of them off LMR for $25 less than the Ford Racing kit costs. I am definitely wondering what the difference is, if any?

 

FRPP part number M-18183-C (OE strut mount for the 2011 -2014 GT500 but fits a few other S197's) describes it as having "increased Durometer over base strut mount".

I know that there are two struts that differ slightly where the strut shaft goes through the strut mount, and the application isn't quite as simple as "up to some year use one, after that use the other" across the entire S197 range.

Maybe the thumbnail can be of some help, picked straight out of the 2014 FRPP catalog.


Norm

 

These are the ones I bought:

https://lmr.com/item/LRS-18183A/must...rut-mount-0514

Says "Original equipment on the 2013/2014 GT500."

But then their listing for the Ford Racing GT500 strut mount kit says "Original equipment on 2011 GT500 with Track Pack."

From the pictures everything looks identical, unless the spring seat rubber is a different durometer or something...

I thought the 2010+ had a different strut mount, maybe that was only the GT's.

 

LMR's tech representative just informed me the only difference is the name on the box. He said they are exactly the same part. For around $30 less than the Ford Racing counterpart, I will be buying these for my car and writing a review of the quality, install, and ride noise/comfort after I install them. They will be paired with Koni Yellow shocks and struts with stock springs. Hope this helps someone else out there save some money!

 

Check out this video

 

And the relevance of that video to this discussion is...?

BTW, I swapped all my stuff out. My original mounts looked very similar to the GT500 mounts I was swapping in, but without a durometer tester I couldn't really see what all was different.

 

I think you'll enjoy that combination, especially after finding the settings you like the best for you, and possibly different settings for when you've got passengers aboard. I have several, track, street (just me, driving a little harder than normal), street (general use), and street (longer drives with my wife along), in order of decreasing firmness.

Honestly, it's a good enough combination (with slightly stiffer stabilizer bars) all the way up to kind of a mid-intermediate level out on the road courses driving the car at the driver's 9/10ths level. And it'll help teach you smoothness out there (instructors really like to see this in students who have only a limited amount of track time).


Norm

 

Just giving a prespective on the difference in the size of the strut mount holes and damper shafts in different years. Good to know when changing out front suspension parts. Sorry for spoiling your day pal.