Just a reminder.....

[Sam Strano]

If you are after something, give me a yell...

What prompted this is that I see some guys are buying Whiteline bars. While I make my own bars that are hollow and all, I also carry others, including Whiteline, Hotchkis, Eibach, Steeda, etc. and the pricing is more than competitive...

I'm happy to discuss options, and remember I'm not only a sponsor here, but an active member, and I've owned, competed in, and won in S197's for more than a few years!

I have great Koni pricing. And the advice you get isn't from some random dude with a phone.

 

[19COBRA93]

I autocross fairly often, and felt the car performed great, but since I dropped in the GT500 motor which added nearly 300lbs to the nose the car now feels all wrong. I installed some Ground Pounder GT500 front springs to at least replace the GT based K springs I had. But it's still all wrong.

So, I'd like to start over with the suspension. Can I get a recommendation for shocks/struts, springs, and front/rear sway bars? With autocrossing in mind, and with the weight of a GT500. As for tires, I'll be running 285's front, and 305's rear.

 

[Sam Strano]

I have to be honest... I'm here to help, but I need some sort of idea that we can work together. FAR too often, at least 2 or 3 times a week anymore, folks pick me for information and then I later find they get this and that and other things from various places.

I'm very upfront, I am here to make a living. However, I sell parts for very fair prices. I am brutally honest about what you don't need, and I don't just say "sure let's do that" if it's not what I think is the right move. In the end, I hoping to develop a relationship where you can trust me to do what you need, and I gain a good customer.

Now 19CORBA93, I'll be honest with you. I have nowhere near enough to go on to make a recommendation. I have no idea what dampers you are on, what feels wrong. I would never recommend a smaller front wheel/tire than the rear just on basic balance and I ran 315's all around on my car... so why only 285 fronts and 305 rears?

 

[19COBRA93]

I have to be honest... I'm here to help, but I need some sort of idea that we can work together. FAR too often, at least 2 or 3 times a week anymore, folks pick me for information and then I later find they get this and that and other things from various places.

I'm very upfront, I am here to make a living. However, I sell parts for very fair prices. I am brutally honest about what you don't need, and I don't just say "sure let's do that" if it's not what I think is the right move. In the end, I hoping to develop a relationship where you can trust me to do what you need, and I gain a good customer.

Now 19CORBA93, I'll be honest with you. I have nowhere near enough to go on to make a recommendation. I have no idea what dampers you are on, what feels wrong. I would never recommend a smaller front wheel/tire than the rear just on basic balance and I ran 315's all around on my car... so why only 285 fronts and 305 rears?

I appreciate what you do here, and I completely understand where you're coming from with offering up free information. When I'm ready to purchase, I'll be coming to you.

Right now I'm running the FRPP handling pack for a GT. Basically stock Shelby GT parts. Ford Racing shocks/struts, and the Ford Racing sway bars. The front feels heavy now. It reacts to bumps very differently compared with the rear. This might sound odd, but it's like when you're pushing a shopping cart around and you throw a 50lb bag of dog food on the front of it. As for the tire sizes, it's simply because I didn't have a full set of either size. But I'm picking up another pair of 305's to run on the front. Prior to this though, I have been running a square 295 setup.

 

[Sam Strano]

Well... you did add a lot of weight.

Frankly everything needs stepped up some... if I left anything alone it'd be the springs, but you could use more help all around in both wheel rate and damping rate because of the mass you added. My front bar is the same size, but a thicker wall tubing then the FRPP. I'd run Koni Sports which have a lot more rebound control than the FRPP's, again helping the car feel more nimble because the car won't generate roll as quickly. I also have a rear bar that's 3 way adjustable, and a little stiffer than what you have which helps take some of the work of the front end.

In the end we can do our best to deal with the weight, but it's still there. All we can really do it deal with it as best we can. Remember a lot of that weight was added up high too, which makes things that much more ponderous.

I have no idea what budget is, we might discuss some more aggressive coil-overs if you want to be able to try and corner weight and play with spring rates.... There are a lot of options.

 

[Ivan 5.0]

Sam - I emailed you regarding your sway bars.

 

[Sam Strano]

Responded.

 

[ArizonaGT]

Sam on the 11+ do I need to remove the Z-Brace to get the front bar changed, or can I get it out through the engine bay if I remove the airbox?
I've got this FRPP oil cooler installed and the lines run under the front bar, trying not to remove those unless absolutely necessary. Don't have a lift to work with unfortunately.

 

[Sam Strano]

I always took mine off to change a bar... I've heard folks fishing the bar out with it on, but I've not tried. I would not try and fish it up, too much risk to other things with a big cumbersome bar. But in theory maybe you could do that.

 

[ArizonaGT]

OK I'll just pull the brace and see if I can snake it past the cooler lines. Thanks. Got your front adjustable sitting in a nice white box for over a month now.

 

[Sky Render]

Sam on the 11+ do I need to remove the Z-Brace to get the front bar changed, or can I get it out through the engine bay if I remove the airbox?
I've got this FRPP oil cooler installed and the lines run under the front bar, trying not to remove those unless absolutely necessary. Don't have a lift to work with unfortunately.

Yeah, that brace has to come off to install any front sway bar, regardless of brand. Good news is that it's pretty easy to remove; it is simply held on by 5 or 6 bolts. Put some anti-seize on the bolts when you reinstall them.

You can see in this picture it would be pretty dang hard to put that bar on there without removing the brace.