Suspension help

[Dragonacc]

First I'd like to say that I've been lurking on this forum for a little over a year and the guys on here seem to know the most about non-drag racing set-ups. I have a 2011 GT on order, it will be the 6th mustang I've owned, the first that I've bought brand new, and the first newer than 1984. That being the case I don't know how to set these cars up for handling so I'm hoping you guys can point me in the right direction.

I'll be using the car mostly on the street, but will be hitting the track every once in a while. I'm not overly concerned about sacrificing some ride comfort or increasing road noise.

My suspension budget is going to be $2500 - $3000 to start, with more to come later if need be. Here's what I was looking at so far -

-KW variant 1 coil-overs (I'm not real concerned about adjusting dampening rates, but I do want to be able to change ride height)
-Fays2 watts link
-Strano parts front and rear sway bars
-UMI upper and lower rear control arms

Thoughts, opinions, advice, etc on the above list would be greatly appreciated. Like I said, I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to handling on these cars.

 

[GrnBullitt08]

Send a PM to Sam Strano, he's now a vendor on here. Give him your budget and what you plan on doing with the car and he will set you up accordingly. He is the man to know when it comes to suspension.

 

[Dragonacc]

Send a PM to Sam Strano, he's now a vendor on here. Give him your budget and what you plan on doing with the car and he will set you up accordingly. He is the man to know when it comes to suspension.

I sent him a PM, he hasn't gotten back to me yet. I know he's a busy guy, thought I'd post a thread to see what other people's opinions are as well.

 

[Philostang]

Sam is a great guy to talk to - but be ready for some very straight questions.

For example, from your stated intended use, I wonder why you want to adjust ride height but don't have an interest in adjusting the dampers. What do you think you're getting by adjusting ride height?

Please note, I'm not implying you don't have an answer, just that this sort of thing needs to get aired out before you plop down a bunch of money. For example, if you just want to occasionally go to a car show and get that "slammed look," then sure, makes sense to care about ride height without caring about damper rate. But if you think you need to "go low" to get good handling on the track, then no, you're wrong. So what I'm saying is I wonder at why you want the coil-over set up for mostly street use and a few track days. You could be throwing away a bunch of money on an overkill set up.

Everything else in your list looks fine to me, not all necessary for many guys who have your stated goals in mind, but nothing as over the top as the coil overs.

BTW, WELCOME!

Best,
-j

 

[Bizzyb0nes]

will the watts link do away with the upper 3rd mount? if not, the UMI piece is really nice and not very expensive. You have quite the nice setup, but take it from a person who bought bilsteins and has no adjustability....i wish to go I had it!!!! Get something that uses tokicos or konis

 

[Dragonacc]

Sam is a great guy to talk to - but be ready for some very straight questions.

For example, from your stated intended use, I wonder why you want to adjust ride height but don't have an interest in adjusting the dampers. What do you think you're getting by adjusting ride height?

Please note, I'm not implying you don't have an answer, just that this sort of thing needs to get aired out before you plop down a bunch of money. For example, if you just want to occasionally go to a car show and get that "slammed look," then sure, makes sense to care about ride height without caring about damper rate. But if you think you need to "go low" to get good handling on the track, then no, you're wrong. So what I'm saying is I wonder at why you want the coil-over set up for mostly street use and a few track days. You could be throwing away a bunch of money on an overkill set up.

Everything else in your list looks fine to me, not all necessary for many guys who have your stated goals in mind, but nothing as over the top as the coil overs.

BTW, WELCOME!

Best,
-j

Thanks for the reply. I guess the coil-overs could be overkill, but I'd like to be able to raise the ride height of the car during winter and lower it when I hit the track and during summer. I live in Northern Italy right now and there's some places where driving with a lowered car is not a good idea. I want the option of being able to change the ride height more easily than swapping springs.

I don't know, anyone out there have problems scrapping on rough pavement, inclines, or plowing through snow with a lowered S197? Keep the advice coming, I appreciate it!

 

[Sam Strano]

I sent him a PM, he hasn't gotten back to me yet. I know he's a busy guy, thought I'd post a thread to see what other people's opinions are as well.

I sent you an e-mail back (you sent me both, didn't you?) on 6/14 Adam...

 

[Dragonacc]

I sent you an e-mail back (you sent me both, didn't you?) on 6/14 Adam...

I never received an email back from you Sam, must be a glitch in the matrix... I'll PM you an alternate email address that may work better if you don't mind resending the info.