Lowering my '14 questions

[Pentalab]

Ahh makes sense, noted! I think this looks like a better option.

The BMR on car adjustable PHB is dead simple to tweak. The adjustable portion is located on the pass side. Pass side is bolted to the body, the drivers side is bolted to the axle.

Most other adjustable PHB's are a pita to adjust. Some are not even rvs threaded on one end, which means you have to remove the entire PHB, tweak it, then re-intsall it, then cross ur fingers...they are a fubar design. Some are made of aluminum, another fubar design, al threads won't last 10 mins.

The oem PHB is only 1" OD, and is filled with either lead shot...or sand. The BMR on car adj PHB is 1 1/8" OD, made from DOM steel..and the adjustable portion is made from Chromolly steel. If you buy it, buy the mating BMR PHB brace.... the oem brace is just 3 sided stamped steel. the bmr version is rectangular steel DOM tubing, with a slight bend in it, to clear any exhaust setup. http://www.americanmuscle.com/bmr-panhard-support-0512.html

BMR on car adj PHB http://www.americanmuscle.com/bmr-adj-panhard-0512.html

 

[Pentalab]

I'll just add to your post by stating that first of all, I'm far from being considered as one those Stang site experts in which you refer to who claim the stock suspension is nothing but junk..

As for your particular application is concerned, you have the track/handling pack which already includes upgraded front/rear sway bars, lca's, panhard bar, strut mounts and FRPP lowering springs along with FRPP shocks/struts if I'm not mistaken ?

Therefore it really isn't necessary for you to upgrade your springs nor do you need to upgrade to any of the suspension components I've already mentioned..

However for the rest of us that don't have the track/handling pack, it is indeed recommended to upgrade towards the suspension components that I've mentioned, as the stock dampers will wear quicker thanks to not being designed to handle the stress from shorter travel distance/valving due to changing the height and geometry of your stock springs to aftermarket lowering springs, in addition to changing your pinion angle, steering and toe..

At any rate, once again.. I am no expert nor do I claim to be, however it doesn't really take a rocket scientist to comprehend common sense when it concerns understanding the principles of geometry..

With that being said.. If Ford didn't think it's track/handling packs were necessary, they wouldn't bother offering the suspension components for purchase, let alone include them as factory optional equipment on Mustangs such as yours in the first place !

The oem stock ford suspension IS junk imo..at least on my 2010 GT. Nose dives under braking..and back end lifts like crazy. Hit the gas when the light turns green, and front end lifts, back end squats. Take a sharp left turn, and body rolls to the right..and vice versa. Oem rear differential is junk....and ditto with the oem 2 piece DS...+ oem brakes. At least these issues are all fixable with after market pieces. Ford finally figured it out, and offered the track pack version on later production mustangs. Most 11-12 mustangs have wheel hop, right out of the box.

My rear axle was out almost 3/8"..towards the driver's side when OEM ride height....and remained the same 3/8".....after lowering the rear 1.25"...go figure. At least the adj BMR PHB solved that issue. Blatantly obvious with wider rear tires.

 

[bujeezus]

I dropped mine 1.5" front an 2" in the rear. Axle shifted 3/8" to the driver's side. My alignment shop said my front end was still within spec but I had them install the camber bolts any way because it was pretty close to the limit. Plus if I ever go to the H&R springs I'll probably need them then.

 

[06 T-RED S/C GT]

The oem stock ford suspension IS junk imo..at least on my 2010 GT. Nose dives under braking..and back end lifts like crazy. Hit the gas when the light turns green, and front end lifts, back end squats. Take a sharp left turn, and body rolls to the right..and vice versa. Oem rear differential is junk....and ditto with the oem 2 piece DS...+ oem brakes. At least these issues are all fixable with after market pieces. Ford finally figured it out, and offered the track pack version on later production mustangs. Most 11-12 mustangs have wheel hop, right out of the box.

My rear axle was out almost 3/8"..towards the driver's side when OEM ride height....and remained the same 3/8".....after lowering the rear 1.25"...go figure. At least the adj BMR PHB solved that issue. Blatantly obvious with wider rear tires.

I was going through the very same shit as you were, which is exactly why I did the GT500 strut mount upgrades along with upgrading to Koni yellow adj struts/shocks and Eibach camber bolts..

My next upgrades will be BMR adj panhard bar and BMR relocation brackets.. Eventually I'll also upgrade both front/rear swaybars as well..

 

[06 T-RED S/C GT]

Getting your alignment corrected after lowering your car is definitely something that needs to be done. The toe can change from lowering, but a bump steer kit isn't necessary to correct that. The bump steer kit will change your tie rod angles relative to your a-arms, preventing bumps from steering the car for you. In my experience, it's not really a huge deal on the S197 and you probably wouldn't notice a huge difference by installing a BS kit. If you decide that you want one, you will also have to install taller ball joints as well. Between the cost of ball joints (or a-arms) and the bump steer kit, I don't think the cost vs benefit is there for the casual enthusiast/street car.

That's why I needed the Eibach camber bolts, as they were required to correct my alignment after installing the Eibach pro springs..

Since adding the camber bolts, my front left/right camber have been -1.1 degrees.. Caster is at 7.4 degrees, both sides.. Toe is 0.03 degrees left front and 0.09 degrees right front.. Total front toe is 0.12 degrees and steer ahead is at -0.03 degrees..

This is with running 285-30-20's on 20x10's rear and 255-35-20's on 20x8.5's up front..

Hopefully the camber bolts have made enough of a difference for my particular application

 

[Pentalab]

Instead of camber bolts, I installed the steeda HD strut mounts.... which allow for +/- 1 deg of camber adj. ( that's +/- 1 deg of whatever you have to start with).
I set both to -1 deg of camber. Without some kind of camber adjustment, it drove me nuts...with -1 deg on one side..and -1.4 deg on the other side. The spec sez 0 to -1.5 deg. Spec doesn't say anything about making both sides the same. At least let's try and make em both the same.

I read through the steeda bump steer kit install pdf, and the alignment procedure is a nightmare. The front suspension has to be loaded way down, and the suggested method is to put the car on a drive on lift, elevate it, then use two cum-a longs to pull the front suspension down. The story I got was unless the front is lowered beyond 1.5", you don't require a BS kit. My front is lowered 1"...so decided to pass on the BS kit. A 1" drop on the front is ample for my application, much more, and you complicate things real quick.

When my JBA LT's were installed, JBA suggested replacing oem eng mounts with steeda HD eng mounts..which I did. The steeda eng mounts (and most other aftermarket eng mounts)..allow for a 0-.25-.5-.75 inch eng drop. I used the .25" eng drop option, so I would have a tiny bit more clearance between Roush CAI tube and my steeda STB. You can only lower the eng so much, otherwise #8 primary will end up rubbing against the steering shaft. Lowering the eng via eng mounts like the steeda, etc, is just another way to lower the center of gravity a bit.

 

[06 T-RED S/C GT]

Instead of camber bolts, I installed the steeda HD strut mounts.... which allow for +/- 1 deg of camber adj. ( that's +/- 1 deg of whatever you have to start with).
I set both to -1 deg of camber. Without some kind of camber adjustment, it drove me nuts...with -1 deg on one side..and -1.4 deg on the other side. The spec sez 0 to -1.5 deg. Spec doesn't say anything about making both sides the same. At least let's try and make em both the same.

I read through the steeda bump steer kit install pdf, and the alignment procedure is a nightmare. The front suspension has to be loaded way down, and the suggested method is to put the car on a drive on lift, elevate it, then use two cum-a longs to pull the front suspension down. The story I got was unless the front is lowered beyond 1.5", you don't require a BS kit. My front is lowered 1"...so decided to pass on the BS kit. A 1" drop on the front is ample for my application, much more, and you complicate things real quick.

When my JBA LT's were installed, JBA suggested replacing oem eng mounts with steeda HD eng mounts..which I did. The steeda eng mounts (and most other aftermarket eng mounts)..allow for a 0-.25-.5-.75 inch eng drop. I used the .25" eng drop option, so I would have a tiny bit more clearance between Roush CAI tube and my steeda STB. You can only lower the eng so much, otherwise #8 primary will end up rubbing against the steering shaft. Lowering the eng via eng mounts like the steeda, etc, is just another way to lower the center of gravity a bit.

If only I knew about the Steeda HD mounts prior to purchasing the GT500 strut mounts, I would've went with those instead.. But for now my front alignment appears to be within Ford factory specs at -1.1 degrees of camber with the Eibach camber bolts.. IIRC if the GT500 strut mounts are installed with the arrows facing inward towards the engine bay, it may also help get a bit more camber from them as well, even though they're not really adjustable..

As for the bumpsteer kit.. Dylan from BMR also mentioned they're not really necessary for lowered applications under 1.5 inches.. And after finding out what you read about them being such a nightmare, I can do just fine without them lol.

I've also thought about purchasing the Steeda engine mounts, but concerned that my front is lowered approx 1.3 - 1.4 inches from stock that I may encounter bottoming out issues if I lower the engine.. However now that you've brought to my attention that you haven't had any issues bottoming out with the Steeda mounts and JBA LT's.. I'll definitely look into adding the Steeda engine mounts to my mod's list

 

[Pentalab]

If only I knew about the Steeda HD mounts prior to purchasing the GT500 strut mounts, I would've went with those instead.. But for now my front alignment appears to be within Ford factory specs at -1.1 degrees of camber with the Eibach camber bolts.. IIRC if the GT500 strut mounts are installed with the arrows facing inward towards the engine bay, it may also help get a bit more camber from them as well, even though they're not really adjustable..

As for the bumpsteer kit.. Dylan from BMR also mentioned they're not really necessary for lowered applications under 1.5 inches.. And after finding out what you read about them being such a nightmare, I can do just fine without them lol.

I've also thought about purchasing the Steeda engine mounts, but concerned that my front is lowered approx 1.3 - 1.4 inches from stock that I may encounter bottoming out issues if I lower the engine.. However now that you've brought to my attention that you haven't had any issues bottoming out with the Steeda mounts and JBA LT's.. I'll definitely look into adding the Steeda engine mounts to my mod's list

Bucket loads of room below the engine, bottoming out isn't even a remote issue. That's with a 1" drop on the front with roush suspension kit, and the 1/4" eng drop via the steeda hd mounts. Another .3 to .4" lower isn't going to be an issue in your case. You can also use the no redux in eng height option with the steeda HD mount. ( it allows for a 0-.25 - .5 -.75" drop). I wanted better eng mounts, with less flex. The 1/4" drop was to get a bit of room between STB and CAI. b4, they were just touching a bit. The steeda HD eng mounts work great. If you have a shaker hood.... it won't shake ! It won't budge. No increase in NVH either.

 

[06 T-RED S/C GT]

Bucket loads of room below the engine, bottoming out isn't even a remote issue. That's with a 1" drop on the front with roush suspension kit, and the 1/4" eng drop via the steeda hd mounts. Another .3 to .4" lower isn't going to be an issue in your case. You can also use the no redux in eng height option with the steeda HD mount. ( it allows for a 0-.25 - .5 -.75" drop). I wanted better eng mounts, with less flex. The 1/4" drop was to get a bit of room between STB and CAI. b4, they were just touching a bit. The steeda HD eng mounts work great. If you have a shaker hood.... it won't shake ! It won't budge. No increase in NVH either.

Consider the Steeda HD eng mounts as being added to my mod list