ohskigod

Finally installed my BMR Lower control arms and EBC rotors and yellow pads. Jesus, I had no idea just how weak the weak links in my car were. Putting down power is just so much more....efficient I guess is the right word? God the stock LCA's are atrocious!!

When people say they should be one of the first mods, they apparently weren't kidding.

And I have front brakes that dont feel like sponges now, so rejoicing to be had all around..lol

next Autocross is gonna be fun

Derf00

Nice, I'm in the process of upgrading my rear upper and lower control arms with Steeda's.

With respect to brakes and spongy, that' usually either air in the system or old brake fluid (older than 2-3 years)in the system. I'm guessing you flushed the brake system when you did the brake work? That would be a big part of the improvement.

jz

I remember years ago when I changed the LCAs. It was my first suspension mod, and I was blown away. Completely changed the way the car handled and put power down.

ohskigod

nope, brakes had a Day late and dollar short feeling from the moment it left the factory. if you havent at least put better pads in, do so. I also changed the rotors but I heard the stock rotors are actually fine.

bl817

glad your car is feeling better now. the issue isn't the steel part of any of the arms, its the rubber part that's, you know, between 9 and 15 years old. there are several companies that sell poly bushings for the stock steel arms, front and rear, that will really bring your pony back to an exciting driving experience. Like JZ, the rear LCA were my first mod and I went with the GT500 silver ones, turns out they are exactly the same as all the other GT S197 cars, I was bummed. with everything in your sig, why did it take so long to upgrade those jw.

Norm Peterson

The silver GT500 arms may look exactly the same, but they are not the same in at least one important respect - the bushings in the GT500 arms are a bit stiffer than regular-production GT. Just not as stiff as polyurethane (which has a downside or two all its own especially if your thing is more about cornering than straight lines).


Norm

Norm Peterson

Good brake feel seems to be a ways down the list of priorities for most OE brake systems, well below more consumer-oriented aspects such as dusting and noise generation. As long as the car stops, that's good enough.

Even within the enthusiast community, quite a few people will intentionally downgrade their pads because of the above. As long as the car stops, that's good enough.


Norm

ohskigod

why'd it take so long? apparently because I am an idiot...lol

In my defense when I did the other suspension upgrades I was so happy with the results over stock that I wasnt worried about it at the time. Since starting autocross late last year, I think I'm getting even more in tune with the car and what it needs. Brakes were the biggest need obviously.

ohskigod

screw that, dust is annoying, but I demand car control. The Fiesta ST I had for 3 years (traded it for a Taurus SHO which I still have) had phenomenal brakes although my god....the dust.

bl817

Norm, I thought the same as well, why else would sites sell the silver GT500 arms as an upgrade? I had both arms side by side in my hand, I even have a pic somewhere, even down to the rubber casting numbers they were the same. IIRC, the silvers I had were off an 07' GT500 if that matters.