Getting a stiffer ride without lowering excessively

[Ampire]

I was planning on upgrading my suspension so this car handles as good as it looks, but I like having the stock ride height right now. I had a slammed car before and the stress of watching the road for holes and debris really got to me. The roads suck around me anyway and I hated scraping up my subframe and exhaust all the time and having to touch up paint my front bumper etc etc.

Has anyone ever just kept the stock springs and combined them with aftermarket adjustable shocks?

 

[RedMosesSC]

Springs make the most difference in handling, Shocks are meant to compliment the springs. I was just in DC this weekend with the Saleen, the roads are not as bad as NYC and i get away the lowered Saleen suspension. I also had an 07 GT with Steeda sport springs, both are a mild lowering, 1"F/1.25"R and provide enouhg clearance to drive without loosing your mind about bottoming out, harshness is another story...

 

[Sinner]

i know how you feel but with just a 1" drop it's not bad at all. on one car i have a full eibach system por kit and it can be a pain, but with the roush i've never rubber going over speed bumps and such. the front on both cars are lower due to chins spoiler and roush front so those are a pain as they are.

all in all, the roush is great and i don't stress when drving that set up.

 

[Ampire]

Thanks for the replies, If I do springs, I would probably do the FRPP springs since they are supposedly the same as the eibach pro kit (AFAIK) and pretty cheap, I just always got frustrated with the amount of minor damage I'd get just driving around with a low car.

It seemed to me I could do adjustable struts, keep the stock springs, and get the best of both worlds but I don't know much about mustangs.

Most importantly, the mustang is my only car and it is my daily driver.

 

[Sleeper_08]

The alternative of just switching to good shocks/struts has been discussed frequently and is a good alternative.

The best choices are Koni non adjustable, STR.T?, and Koni Yellows/Sports for adjustables.

 

[skwerl]

I believe the Bullitt springs are about 5/8"-3/4" lower than a regular GT and that's plenty low enough for me. I have no plans on lowering my car any more just for looks, I'm more into function than flash. I'm running the Koni yellow adjustables which I got from Sam Strano and I can go from cruising comfort to almost solid with a few turns of the adjustments.

 

[Sinner]

Thanks for the replies, If I do springs, I would probably do the FRPP springs since they are supposedly the same as the eibach pro kit (AFAIK) and pretty cheap, I just always got frustrated with the amount of minor damage I'd get just driving around with a low car.

It seemed to me I could do adjustable struts, keep the stock springs, and get the best of both worlds but I don't know much about mustangs.

Most importantly, the mustang is my only car and it is my daily driver.

i don't know how much you can spend but the roush stage 2 and 3 suspension kit is only 1100-1300 and comes with springs, shocks/struts and sway bars and is well worth it. i have the stage 3 on my roush and the stage 2 is just a bit softer ride. both the stage 2 aand 3 is much less harsh then the eibach full kit.

frpp handling pack is the same as roush stage 2, i think.

 

[Ampire]

The alternative of just switching to good shocks/struts has been discussed frequently and is a good alternative.

The best choices are Koni non adjustable, STR.T?, and Koni Yellows/Sports for adjustables.

Thanks bro that was straight and to the point, I was reading this thread
http://mustangforums.com/forum/s197...ble-shocks-and-struts-with-stock-springs.html

and it had some good material from Sam Strano but then turned into a massive flamewar. I would like to keep it under $600 because I need a second set of wheels and tires for autocross, I'm tired of wearing out my expensive all seasons.

I'll do some research on the Koni's. Thanks everyone. The koni yellows sound nice. I can always throw some springs up on it later. i've done suspension installs before (on far rustier cars) and its not a huge deal.

 

[skwerl]

Keep your eyes peeled for a set of GT500 upper strut mounts. The stock Mustang upper shock mounts are kind of wimpy and it's a very worthwhile upgrade.

Read this: http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69714

 

[Rasmus]

Sounds like Steeda springs would be right up your alley; very slight to moderate drop, but much improved handling. The only reason I switched to other springs was to get a bit more drop.

 

[obofglob]

I have an 07GT and live in Metro Detroit with the worse roads I have seen.

I did not like the handling of my car stock. Too much lean in corners and too floaty on the freeway.

Tried Eibach Pro Kit springs, then Steeda Ultralights and H&R sports, all with Koni Sports and frpp bars.

After talking to Sam Strano I ended up putting on a set of 08 Bullitt springs with the Koni's/FRPP bars and GT500 strut mounts.

I think the Bullitt springs may be a touch lower but otherwise the same as GT springs.

Whatever, I am very happy with the results. I don't autocross or road race and I am sure I don't drive anywhere near my cars limits, so for me with the FRPP bars and the Koni's I don't see much difference in handling from when I had any of the lowering springs on my car and IMHO my car rides very well.

 

[jayel579]

Has anyone ever just kept the stock springs and combined them with aftermarket adjustable shocks?

Yes, I have stock springs on Koni Yellows (for now, AST 4100s are planned this winter) and the ride is great. I put the Koni Oranges on my DD (SVT Focus) on stock springs as well and rides very nice also.

BTW, does any know if is there a "Ridz in Stylz" section in this forum?

 

[SilentScope]

Coil overs

 

[Norm Peterson]

I was planning on upgrading my suspension so this car handles as good as it looks, but I like having the stock ride height right now. I had a slammed car before and the stress of watching the road for holes and debris really got to me. The roads suck around me anyway and I hated scraping up my subframe and exhaust all the time and having to touch up paint my front bumper etc etc.

Has anyone ever just kept the stock springs and combined them with aftermarket adjustable shocks?

At least two of us now, though I've also got Sam's bars to go with the Koni yellows and the Steeda HD strut mounts.

It's a daily driver, and I autocrossed it earlier this year.

Like you, I'm looking for slightly to somewhat stiffer springs that aren't particularly lower than stock, but I'm not looking all that hard. There are some other suspension properties that get affected by lowering that I like right where they're at.


I never got the feeling that my GT rolled all that much, even when its suspension was all-OE.

I can see where the combination of dead/dying shocks and struts plus simply cranking the wheel over as fast as is physically possible and throwing the car into the corners at the last possible instant might make it seem like it rolled a lot.

But that's a driver [lack of smoothness] problem, not a car suspension weakness or shortcoming.


Norm

 

[Sam Strano]

Yeah, sadly flamewars happen when you disagree with some people. And the think I hate most about the 'net is you hear from all kinds of random people who think they know everything, and I don't deal with that very well, I admit. Sorry.

You don't have to lower the car to make it work a whole lot better. What I find most of the time when folks want the car "stiffer" is that they want it to respond better, be more crisp and locked down feeling. And I'll tell you now that shocks and bars together will make a huge, huge difference.

Bars will cut roll, less roll makes the car change direction faster and just feel less tippy. My bars happen to also be adjustable so you can play with the balance of the car as well.

Better dampers, they don't control how much roll you get (like bars) but they control how quickly the car generates the roll. The slower the car rolls the quicker the response to steering inputs. Also increased rebound damping gives a more "german car" feel and much greater control. The car takes a set more quickly. And oh, by the way.... better shocks settle the jumpy-tail syndrome down by a massive amount, which gets worse as shocks age and get softer--not better.

 

[frank s]

I have FRPP "P" springs on my coupe. They seem to have a rate similar to that of the "K" springs but lower the car just half an inch in the front and three quarters in the rear. I'd say the Ps have ride quality (bouncier than stock) very like the Steeda Sports that I had on a 2006 V6 convertible, without the extra half inch drop front and rear.

On the convertible with otherwise stock suspension I have the Eibach Shelby Super Snake optional anti-sway bars. With no other changes, the car seems much more nimble, taking instructions much more seriously, assuming its final set with little drama and increased sense of control by the driver. It's practically a new car - about 8200 miles - and the shocks/struts work OK so far. I don't really want to lower it, and one day I'll try Sam's Koni Sports*, although I'm a little apprehensive about what they would do to the "boulevard ride" of a convertible.

*Surely you knew I meant STR*T, right?

 

[Ampire]

Thanks for the help guys. Very good ideas, in a few months (when i have more $) I will probably go with the Koni adjustable yellow struts and adjustable bars, I was also planning on doing steeda motor mounts and a upr upper and lower control arms in addition to a dedicated set of wheels and tires beyond my daily all season setup.

Goal being a nice daily driver with a weekend mix of autocross and drag racing.

 

[AMDanBailer]

Dollar for Dollar sway-bars are the best-handling modification out there!
Starting with them is something I highly suggest, so that you eliminate a majority of the factory body roll. This will make the car respond and react more easily. From there, as Sam had said, shocks/struts will be helpful as well. In stock class in the SCCA, the only modifications to the suspension you can do are shocks/struts(along with the proper/legal mounts) and a front sway-bar. If you don't plan on running in stock class, I recommend getting front and rear sway-bars together/at the same time.

If you plan on autoXing the car and want to compete, make sure you modify the car according to the class you want to run in. If you are going just to have fun, do what you want and make the car drive how you like to drive it.

Have fun with it, good luck!

 

[Ampire]

Dollar for Dollar sway-bars are the best-handling modification out there!
Starting with them is something I highly suggest, so that you eliminate a majority of the factory body roll. This will make the car respond and react more easily. From there, as Sam had said, shocks/struts will be helpful as well. In stock class in the SCCA, the only modifications to the suspension you can do are shocks/struts(along with the proper/legal mounts) and a front sway-bar. If you don't plan on running in stock class, I recommend getting front and rear sway-bars together/at the same time.

If you plan on autoXing the car and want to compete, make sure you modify the car according to the class you want to run in. If you are going just to have fun, do what you want and make the car drive how you like to drive it.

Have fun with it, good luck!

Thanks I fit into the just looking to have fun category I guess I'll do the GT500 strut mounts as well while I'm at it.

 

[Tbone]

My car is in storage right now, but I just found brand new tokico d spec struts for 200 total locally, snatched those up. So now in the market for the rear shocks. My car came with a eibach pro kit, and had a crazy harsh ride. Noticed the bump stops were hittin so cut those an inch off and rides much better. Now its floaty at higher speeds lol.

Freedom racing is currently making their relocation brackets, so once thats done Im getting those along with adj panhard, lower and upper control arms. Then my suspension will be corrected from the previous owner lowering it. And almost complete once I get my rear shocks.

After that its swaybar time, so Ill be buggin Sam Strano in the spring for a set of his. Oh and when the tokicos go in, im getting gt500 strut mounts also. They dont creak or anything now already being through a strut change, but I doubt it would survive a second change without the popping noise you get.