Trying to get together suspension build, appreciate any help

[CreamOnTheCob]

Hello, just wanting to post up my hopeful soon to be built list to get pointers/feedback as I have not done any suspension to my car(2012 auto GT, stock besides minor exhaust mods). First of all I daily drive my car(not during winter though), the car will probably never see a road track, maybe will drag a few times, but I want a setup that can handle corners for some fun spirited street driving(no I wont be street racing I just enjoy taking ramps and corners quick every now and then). I do not mind a rougher ride or the "negatives" that come with upgrading suspension, it is a mustang after all. So here it goes:

www.jegs.com/i/Strange-Engineering/873/S6011LMK/10002/-1?parentProductId=751584

http://www.americanmuscle.com/hr-sport-springs-2011gtv6.html

http://www.americanmuscle.com/maximum-motorsports-adj-panhard-0512.html

http://www.americanmuscle.com/jm-caster-camber-plates-1114.html

bmrsuspension.com/?page=products&productid=170&superpro=0

http://bmrsuspension.com/?page=products&productid=964&superpro=0

http://bmrsuspension.com/?page=products&productid=944&superpro=0

http://bmrsuspension.com/?page=products&productid=157&superpro=0

Would I also need new mounts? I have seen some say they changed mounts then other not mention it. Thank you very much in advance for any feedback, I truly appreciate your time.

 

[white86hatch]

Strange shocks and struts are junk for anything other than drag racing. The camber plates you linked might be ok. The rod end lower control arms will be noisy as hell. Personally I think the noise from rod end control arms is annoying. I've had koni yellows and ground control camber plates and now the vorshlag bilstein and vorshlag camber plate set up. I'd recommend either plate for a daily and I'd recommend investing in the bilsteins for shocks and struts. The ride quality with lowering springs is very good.

 

[Kobie]

Start by reading this thread. I think you are in the same boat as the OP.
http://s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120505

 

[csamsh]

Strange shocks and struts are junk for anything other than drag racing. The camber plates you linked might be ok. The rod end lower control arms will be noisy as hell. Personally I think the noise from rod end control arms is annoying. I've had koni yellows and ground control camber plates and now the vorshlag bilstein and vorshlag camber plate set up. I'd recommend either plate for a daily and I'd recommend investing in the bilsteins for shocks and struts. The ride quality with lowering springs is very good.

Yep to pretty much all of this

 

[csamsh]

Also I would not run sphericals ANYWHERE on a street car, other than in a camber plate

 

[CreamOnTheCob]

Thanks, already started modifying my list, I truly appreciate all of the help so far. Any recommendations on panhard bar and/or the control arms? And also if I go koni yellows will I need new mounts?

 

[white86hatch]

Thanks, already started modifying my list, I truly appreciate all of the help so far. Any recommendations on panhard bar and/or the control arms? And also if I go koni yellows will I need new mounts?

The two camber plates I listed replace the upper strut mounts. As for control arms the bmr LCA's with bushings will be ok. My personal preference is whiteline. See my sig for the list of their parts that I run.

 

[CreamOnTheCob]

Ok, thank you, I was planning on getting all adjustable parts but do I need all of them to be adjustable or which ones should be?

 

[white86hatch]

Ok, thank you, I was planning on getting all adjustable parts but do I need all of them to be adjustable or which ones should be?

You don't NEED adjustable lca's. The only reason I have adjustable control arms is because I added a 1 piece driveshaft and wanted to ensure the pinion angle was set correctly.

 

[Ingwe]

There is a completely different approach to be taken depending on the intended use of the car. If you decide that maybe you want to try some road course action then i'd suggest track time as your first 'upgrade' and then go from there replacing parts where you find the weaknesses.

As this is a daily driver primarily with a little bit of drag use then by far the easiest and most cost effective solution would be to go with a handling package. You will (should) never get anywhere near close to utilising the full capacity of the parts on the street so really not necessary to spend buckets on extreme parts. About the only thing you need to be adjustable is the panhard bar in order to re-centre the axle after you've lowered the car. If you're more serious about drag racing then adjustable shocks may be a potential option so you can soften the dampers for better weight transfer. You don't need to play with camber for daily street driving so expensive camber plates aren't necessary (GT500 upper strut mounts are fine) and polyurethane bushings are more than adequate considering you'd have to be pushing the car (more than you should on the street) to be able to make the most of the rod ends over polyurethane bushings.

If I was you, I'd choose the system based on the ride height you want as springs will drop the car 1 - 2.5 inches depending on the brand so you can get your look just right.

Couple of ideas to get you started.
http://www.bmrsuspension.com/?page=products&productid=201&superpro=0 Just add some Koni yellow shocks for a comfortable street ride with adjustability at the the drag strip.

http://www.americanmuscle.com/frpp-adjust-handlingpack-0514gt-assembled.html Just add some lower control arms with polyurethane bushings.

 

[jmauld]

There is a completely different approach to be taken depending on the intended use of the car. If you decide that maybe you want to try some road course action then i'd suggest track time as your first 'upgrade' and then go from there replacing parts where you find the weaknesses.

You don't need track time to know that the stock shocks are trash and can barely control the car.

You don't need track time to know that the back end is really floaty and unsettling in the stock configuration.

Both of these things can and should be fixed before you go on track. I agree that the items you have listed will address both of these issues. Except, I would go with Bilsteins.

Also, lots of people are suggesting polyurethane bushings. Be warned that poly will squeak at some point. You have to either remove, clean and grease them once a year or have a zerk fitting installed. And you need to be careful to not bind your suspension.

 

[Mike Rousch]

You don't need track time to know that the stock shocks are trash and can barely control the car.

You don't need track time to know that the back end is really floaty and unsettling in the stock configuration.

Both of these things can and should be fixed before you go on track. I agree that the items you have listed will address both of these issues. Except, I would go with Bilsteins.

Also, lots of people are suggesting polyurethane bushings. Be warned that poly will squeak at some point. You have to either remove, clean and grease them once a year or have a zerk fitting installed. And you need to be careful to not bind your suspension.

95% of the people out there would never push the car hard enough to even notice the difference.

There is a completely different approach to be taken depending on the intended use of the car. If you decide that maybe you want to try some road course action then i'd suggest track time as your first 'upgrade' and then go from there replacing parts where you find the weaknesses.

As this is a daily driver primarily with a little bit of drag use then by far the easiest and most cost effective solution would be to go with a handling package. You will (should) never get anywhere near close to utilising the full capacity of the parts on the street so really not necessary to spend buckets on extreme parts. About the only thing you need to be adjustable is the panhard bar in order to re-centre the axle after you've lowered the car. If you're more serious about drag racing then adjustable shocks may be a potential option so you can soften the dampers for better weight transfer. You don't need to play with camber for daily street driving so expensive camber plates aren't necessary (GT500 upper strut mounts are fine) and polyurethane bushings are more than adequate considering you'd have to be pushing the car (more than you should on the street) to be able to make the most of the rod ends over polyurethane bushings.

If I was you, I'd choose the system based on the ride height you want as springs will drop the car 1 - 2.5 inches depending on the brand so you can get your look just right.

Couple of ideas to get you started.
http://www.bmrsuspension.com/?page=products&productid=201&superpro=0 Just add some Koni yellow shocks for a comfortable street ride with adjustability at the the drag strip.

http://www.americanmuscle.com/frpp-adjust-handlingpack-0514gt-assembled.html Just add some lower control arms with polyurethane bushings.

I completely agree with all of this, Op you should seriously consider finding a group in your area ( NASA for example ) and get to the track and enjoy your car, learn something and have a good time. You will never get to experience what your car is capable of until you get out there and try.

 

[CreamOnTheCob]

Thank you all very much. I would like to get to a track sometime, I know it will be trouble because I will be hooked. As a side note: my car currently has a while to go, but I am almost 100% sure I will be going with your tuning Mike. One again thank you all for the help

 

[SD_Stang]

The BMR Pieces all have zerk fittings so he should be good with maintaining them. So other offerings do not. Nice wheels and tires with some LCA's will likely help for being a daily driver. The Suspension is soft stock and rather floaty. If you go Koni mostly full soft will give you a much improved ride but still allow for weight transfer. Strange adjustables for the Street isn't bad for a mild street 1/4 car but there are far better options for actually tracking the car.

 

[BMR Tech]

From reading the OP - I almost think this should be in a different section.

I helped with the development of the Strange Dampers for the S197. They are not catered to drag racing like the previous platform dampers were.

That said, I don't think they would be anywhere near the top 5 dampers I would recommend for anyone, if they call and say they want a suspension package catered towards better handling. I would recommend a set of KR500 FRPP Dampers before the Strange pieces, actually.

That said, you will definitely, no question about it, get a Strange Damper to outperform any OEM GT damper in a handling environment.

I agree with has mostly been posted in the responses. There are many great suspension manufacturers out there for the S197, and I think a simple call to any of them would get you going in the right direction.

ANY time I see the word "Drag" mentioned in a post, I rule out Koni STR.T / Yellows, Bilsteins, and just about any coilover kit readily available.

The Koni and the Bilsteins are not compliant enough for a straight line car, and just about always promote unloading of the suspension and tires.

Being in the cornering section, but mentioning drag use occasionally....that is a really tough spot. Rarely do I say it in this section....but I really believe the Strange Dampers would be your best bet based on your post.

 

[Ingwe]

You don't need track time to know that the stock shocks are trash and can barely control the car.

You don't need track time to know that the back end is really floaty and unsettling in the stock configuration.

Both of these things can and should be fixed before you go on track.

I'd disagree here and would say about the only things that should be improved before going on track are brake pads (probably fluid). A decent set of tires would also help a lot but learning to drive the car to its limit in stock configuration is the best way to improve as a driver and to get a better feel for what the primary issues are that need to be fixed. Yeah I can slap a set of better shocks on before going to the track for the first time but then I may realise that it's the understeer/oversteer characteristics that're really making the car unsettling in a corner and all the shocks have done is change those characteristics rather than necessarily cure the issue.

The BMR Pieces all have zerk fittings so he should be good with maintaining them. So other offerings do not.

Agree there. I've got BMR LCAs, UCA and adjustable panhard on mine and never had an issue with them squeaking. Just a top up of grease through the zerk each time the car is serviced and it's good to go. Well designed, well made pieces.

From reading the OP - I almost think this should be in a different section.

Being in the cornering section, but mentioning drag use occasionally....that is a really tough spot.

Haha. I wrote something to that effect in my first post but deleted it as i didn't want to come across as a dick, flaming the guy trying to learn. But perhaps the chit chat section would be better than corner carvers as you'll get input from guys running street setups with some drag strip action like you're planning. Some of the guys hanging out here have setups with a single shock costing more than a whole handling package

 

[claudermilk]

I'd disagree here and would say about the only things that should be improved before going on track are brake pads (probably fluid). A decent set of tires would also help a lot but learning to drive the car to its limit in stock configuration is the best way to improve as a driver and to get a better feel for what the primary issues are that need to be fixed. Yeah I can slap a set of better shocks on before going to the track for the first time but then I may realise that it's the understeer/oversteer characteristics that're really making the car unsettling in a corner and all the shocks have done is change those characteristics rather than necessarily cure the issue.

This. I feel it was well worth my time to run the car bone-stock (well, better tires) the first time to really see & feel what the OEM parts did. After that I had a much better grasp on what I didn't like in the stock handling. It also slowed me down; these cars get fast enough stock for a newbie on track--making them faster out of the gate isn't necessarily the best idea. TBH, for me the stock brakes worked fine--but I have a Brembo car and didn't push it to the ragged edge; that said, putting better pads & fluid in and adding SS lines improved braking a huge amount.