I need help!!!

[2013MustangGT]

@Jucostud

If your not going to Vorshlags open house on Feb. 22 take the time to goto ECR's track day. I will be there and you can check out my car.

 

[2013DIBGT]

I contemplated getting the MCS Coilovers for a few minutes also but eventually couldn't get past their use of an oblong front strut mounting hole in the top position. IMO it seems like an open door for issues with the strut slipping around and migrating out of proper position over time, especially under heavy side loads from an already heavy car.

I've always been a fan of Bilstien dampers and was pretty disappointed that they have not yet entered the coilover market for the Mustangs other wise I would have gone that route myself. Again, IMO I think their Spring /Shock combo would be too soft for any competitive usage.

If it were me shopping in your budget range I would go Ground Control coilover for sure since the spring rates are much better suited for a dual purpose vehicle.

Good luck either way you go.

 

[Gray Ghost GT]

* Vogtland 1.2" Sport Springs
* BMR Adjustable Upper Control Arm (UCA)
* Maximum Motorsports Caster/Camber Plates
* Steeda Sport Sway Bars with billet end links
* Koni Yellow Sport Adjustable Front /Rear Struts & Shocks
* Steeda X5 Ball Joint & Bumpsteer Kit
* BMR Lower Control Arms with poly bushings
* Fays2 F2S Watts Link

Okay... little more than $1500.

 

[Jucostud]

Valve size on the koni's is why. The monotube bilsteins with a much larger single valve is why he said it is a superior product. He also said I need to save and just get monotube Coilovers. That's why he gave me those 2 options.

 

[NoTicket]

Next time just go directly to the salesman and ask him how much of your money he would like.

 

[Gray Ghost GT]

Valve size on the koni's is why. The monotube bilsteins with a much larger single valve is why he said it is a superior product. He also said I need to save and just get monotube Coilovers. That's why he gave me those 2 options.

You have to ask yourself:

What are my performance goals for the car and what are my skills? Am I going to strip down the car and make it a dedicated race car?

Is my Mustang a daily driver that goes to the track once in awhile? Do I want adjustability vs. a fixed setting in my shocks and struts?

What is my budget? Spend on 2 items vs. 4 items for the money? Both have a lifetime warranty. Think you could tell the difference?

Superior product? A measure that depends on the context of its use. If costs were equal, I would go with the monotube design option.

 

[Jucostud]

No it's not a daily
I don't want to buy something twice
I plan on trying to be competitive in scca autox.

 

[kcbrown]

No it's not a daily
I don't want to buy something twice
I plan on trying to be competitive in scca autox.

But you're operating under a budget, right?

If it's going to be competitive, then you're going to need control over spring rates and damping characteristics, so that pretty much means coilovers.

Since it's autocross you're talking about, I'd expect the difference between monotube and twin-tube dampers isn't going to be nearly as important as it would be in something like endurance racing.

I suspect the only way you're going to get solid advice on the dampers is by talking to someone who has run both GC coilovers and monotube coilovers in autocrosses and who isn't actually selling anything. As far as I know, Whiskey11 is running GC coilovers for autocrossing, but I don't know if he's ever run monotube dampers.


That $1800 difference between the GC coilover setup and the MCS coilover setup will buy you a lot of additional tuning capability (e.g., adjustable sway bars, adjustable panhard bar, etc.).

You really should talk to Whiskey11, because he's also running competitive autocross. There are class rules that will restrict the modifications you can make, and force other choices upon you (e.g., Whiskey11 got a torque arm because, if I remember right, lower control arm relocation brackets would put him in a different, and much more difficult, class).

 

[Sharad]

I think this thread is one of those cases where the mod list spirals out of control. The original $1500 budget could have built a car which handles very well. (of course, I would choose UPR over MM & Steeda) Instead, the damper game escalated very quickly.

With all of this talk of competitive autocross, I would say that F-stock would be a better choice for a beginner, but an F-stock setup wouldn't be too fun for HPDEs (or daily driving). And forget about building a "competitive" open track set up for any kind of reasonable budget.

It all comes down to whatever makes the driver happy, and I feel like the original $1500 package was a good start.

 

[sheizasosay]

Anybody that had any brains would choose UPR over Maximum Motorsports.

UPR is the ultimate authority in road racing and autocross.

 

[Jucostud]

There was never a $1,500 dollar budget. I was just trying to limit my shocks/coilovers to that. But, it doesn't look like I can achieve that, so Im probably just gonna have to save another week or two and skip a few other mods and make sure I get the proper dampners.

 

[NoTicket]

I would recommend in the time that you spend saving for the MCS system that you do some reading on the differences between monotube and twin tube dampers.

Many people swap out their monotube BMW dampers for koni inserts used in TC Klein dampers and have nothing but good things to say about them.

I'm not saying that you should go one way or the other. Terry has sold you on monotubes as the only possible "proper" solution. I would recommend that you read up on why this is or is not the correct answer to your performance question, if for no other reason than to be able to explain it to some guy that will invariably ask you why you chose this setup at some autox or track day event.

 

[Conekiller]

I've autocrossed on koni yellows and now run ast4150s. Only reason I went to the AST4150s is cause I was getting into the bumpstops more than I'd like while using the koni yellows with basic lowering springs. Both have worked very well for me when autocrossing, giving plenty of adjustment to get the transitional responsiveness feeling right.

Driving to and from events the ASTs ride just as well as the konis did on lowering springs even though my front spring rate went from 200lb/in to 450lb/in and the rear up to 225lb from 175. The only time I can easily notice the firmer springs is at lower speeds like in a parking lot.

I do really like my ASTs but I also really liked my koni yellows. A coilover system based around the konis, like the ground control kit, should work well if not better than off the shelf konis cause they pick valving to match the springs you choose (per Whiskey's postings). I would say you couldn't go wrong with either choice.

 

[Jucostud]

I just found that Jason @ Hypermotive has the Ast's in stock. That's top on my list now.

 

[jayman33]

I just found that Jason @ Hypermotive has the Ast's in stock. That's top on my list now.

AST's are a great option however, twin tube setups aren't all that bad. Certain companies will bash twin tube setups but if I'm not mistaken, large name companies use Koni inserts in their coilover setups to include Cortex racing.

I also think a few guys have won national championships using Koni's in autox, Sam Strano I believe is one of them.

Only one company I know of that openly dislikes Konis, everyone else has had success with them.

 

[Jucostud]

That one company is the one working on and setting my car up.

 

[jayman33]

That one company is the one working on and setting my car up.

Yeah, I understand fully on that.

 

[Sharad]

I've autocrossed on koni yellows and now run ast4150s. Only reason I went to the AST4150s is cause I was getting into the bumpstops more than I'd like while using the koni yellows with basic lowering springs.

This is where I am with my car. It has great daily driving manners on Koni Yellows and UPR/Eibach springs, but if I'm pushing it hard in the corners and the road surface isn't smooth, it can get into the bump stops pretty easily. I'd like to increase the compression dampening.

 

[FR500GT]

Jayman, get me a set of used AST's

 

[csamsh]

I contemplated getting the MCS Coilovers for a few minutes also but eventually couldn't get past their use of an oblong front strut mounting hole in the top position. IMO it seems like an open door for issues with the strut slipping around and migrating out of proper position over time, especially under heavy side loads from an already heavy car.

I've never had a problem with my AST's with this feature. Seems like a lot of struts have these holes?