[navyman8903]

chad what do you use?

 

[shanec]

i absolutely love mine. im so glade i bought them. I have the Adjustables D specs. You can make your ride really soft if you want to. it will ride better then stock, quality wise even with stiff springs. I have H&R SS springs. Or you can Stiffen them up A LOT and you will feel as if you are riding on Speed bumps but oh they handle so nice in the turns though when stiffen up. I dont go around corners at 90MPH but on a 270Degree on ramp. I've gone 60 around those with PLENTY of speed left that i could use. the only thing holding me back from getting the car to maybe 75+ is my tires, which should be arriving by Wednesday. and i can go pretty fast around a 90Degree corner with pretty much no body roll at all and all my tires stay planted pretty well.

What suspension mods do you have besides he D-spec's?

 

[PowerShiftz02GT]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
H&R SS Springs
Tokico D specs Struts/shocks
MM C/C Plates
Steeda Bump Steer
Steeda X2 Ball joints

Strut tower brace awaiting install.

 

[ReverendDexter]

Good: Cheap, stiff, all around decent
Bad: not as good as other shocks, decreased ride quality, adjustable shocks are very imprecise in regards to how much dampening a click is worth, or even how much dampening X clicks is on 2 different same model number shocks/struts.

My preference for dampners is as follows:
Non-performance car/DD - Sensatracs
Cheap Performance - Tokico
Have the money - Bilstein
Full-out race - don't know, never had the cash, lol, but probably Ohlins.

 

[shanec]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
H&R SS Springs
Tokico D specs Struts/shocks
MM C/C Plates
Steeda Bump Steer
Steeda X2 Ball joints

Strut tower brace awaiting install.

Let me check that against my plans...

Already have FRPP springs in the garage.
Will likely buy D-specs

Will buy GT500 strut mounts as a preemptive measure against the "clunk" problem.

CC plates....plan to get camber bolts and hand it over to the alignment shop

Bump steer - what's that? Do I need it?

Ball joint - what's that? Do I need it?

 

[shanec]

Good: Cheap, stiff, all around decent
Bad: not as good as other shocks, decreased ride quality, adjustable shocks are very imprecise in regards to how much dampening a click is worth, or even how much dampening X clicks is on 2 different same model number shocks/struts.

My preference for dampners is as follows:
Non-performance car/DD - Sensatracs
Cheap Performance - Tokico
Have the money - Bilstein
Full-out race - don't know, never had the cash, lol, but probably Ohlins.

..was just reading Blistein's site. Their lowering springs - which I assume the strut/shocks are built for - lower 1/2 inch in the front and 1 1/2 inches in the back.

Does this mean Blistein's might not be so good for folks with FRPP springs that lower 1 1/2 inches all the way around? Seems the their front struts might not like a 1 1/2 inch lowering.


...and self adjusting? These shocks rides soft over bumps and stiffens up when you lean on them hard?

 

[ReverendDexter]

...and self adjusting? These shocks rides soft over bumps and stiffens up when you lean on them hard?

Yeah, it's called digressive valving. The shock is "soft" when resisting high speed motion such as impacts, and stiff when resisting relatively low speed motion such as body roll. High/low speed here referring to suspension travel, not how fast the car is traveling.

That valving is not unique to Bilsteins, of course, but their implementation is certainly much better.

EDIT: Regarding ride height, bilsteins are rebuildable, so if you talk to Bilstein, you can have them built to your specification. The setup they sell is probably what they consider to be ideal in terms of handling, not what's going to "look better". I know Maximum Motorsports sells a set of Bilsteins for more lowered cars, as well.

 

[shanec]

Interesting. Says here they recommend Blistens for the following springs:

H&R Race
H&R Super Sport
H&R Sport
Eibach Pro-Kit
Stock Springs

Maximum Motorsports :: The Leader In Mustang Performance Suspension

Maybe something about this design doesn't care what your ride height is?

 

[07stanggt]

..was just reading Blistein's site. Their lowering springs - which I assume the strut/shocks are built for - lower 1/2 inch in the front and 1 1/2 inches in the back.

Does this mean Blistein's might not be so good for folks with FRPP springs that lower 1 1/2 inches all the way around? Seems the their front struts might not like a 1 1/2 inch lowering.


...and self adjusting? These shocks rides soft over bumps and stiffens up when you lean on them hard?

Bilsteins are not height sensitive they work anywhere in the stroke range. And those springs are not being released the last time i talked to bilstein and they were an afterthought to the hd shocks.

They are also the only inverted strut which provides some weight benifit and some durability benifit becuase the valve is in the strut casing and protected from the elements.

They are a monotube design which none of the others are.

 

[07stanggt]

Yea they work with any spring as long as you are not bottoming the shock out. Dont cut down your bump stops. It works normally in any part of the stroke.



"Some shocks and struts have tapered grooves in the walls of the tube that allow the fluid to freely flow around and through the piston in a certain range of travel. The result is a smooth and comfortable ride. When the piston travels beyond the tapered grooves, fluid is directed totally through the valving in the piston. This results in a stiffer shock. Remember, this shock is height sensitive and installing this type of unit on a vehicle with an altered ride height can negate its benefits."

 

[ReverendDexter]

Maybe something about this design doesn't care what your ride height is?

A shock is going to perform optimally with the piston operating within a certain range of extension. I'm honestly not sure how much variation that is, if that's a wide range, say 2-10" of extension, or if they're only ideal for much less travel, say 2-4" of extension.

I think talking to the guys at Maximum Motorsports or Bilstein will best answer your question, honestly this is skating right at the edge of my dampner knowledge, lol.

 

[navyman8903]

So my setup will be
Vogtland springs
Tokico d-specs
steeda 3rd link......anything else I need? I might get that bump steer kit/x-5 ball joints also.

 

[ReverendDexter]

I'm not a big fan of Steeda suspension parts, though I would suggest a bump steer kit. On a S197, you'll probably also need an adjustable panahard bar to recenter your axle after the drop.

 

[Nasty]

I've had Tokico D-Specs for 10,000+ miles and don't have any complaints. My car is a daily driver that hits the 1/4 mile track, a few road courses and they suit my needs.

I'm not a big fan of Steeda suspension parts, though I would suggest a bump steer kit. On a S197, you'll probably also need an adjustable panahard bar to recenter your axle after the drop.

Why is that?

 

[ReverendDexter]

Why is that?

Because no one that's serious about handling chooses to use their parts. I make my suspension recommendations based on what works in American Iron, and all of the top Mustangs seem to get their parts from one of three companies: Maximum Motorsports, Griggs Racing, and Agent 47.

 

[Nasty]

Because no one that's serious about handling chooses to use their parts. I make my suspension recommendations based on what works in American Iron, and all of the top Mustangs seem to get their parts from one of three companies: Maximum Motorsports, Griggs Racing, and Agent 47.

Steeda does have full race parts. However, I have a hard time believing anyone asking for part suggestions here is competing in American Iron.

Steeda's suspension parts are just fine.

 

[ReverendDexter]

If "just fine" works for you, cool. I'll take "race proven".

Besides, I'm biased - Griggs Racing's shop is about 15 miles from my house, lol.

 

[Nasty]

I'm a realist.

 

[PowerShiftz02GT]

Let me check that against my plans...

Already have FRPP springs in the garage.
Will likely buy D-specs

Will buy GT500 strut mounts as a preemptive measure against the "clunk" problem.

CC plates....plan to get camber bolts and hand it over to the alignment shop

Bump steer - what's that? Do I need it?

Ball joint - what's that? Do I need it?

From steeda site:
Steeda's X2 Balljoint improves suspension geometry on lowered Mustangs
by raising the spindle relative to the balljoint pivot-point. This raises the roll
center back into the correct range for optimum handling, resulting in
reduced body roll, quicker steering response and improved overall front tire
grip. Steeda's special balljoint reduces the need for oversize front swaybars
and allows the use of lower front spring rates, creating more grip over
uneven pavement and better ride quality

Bumpsteer is a change in toe* angle caused by the suspension moving up or down. Bumpsteer is built into the geometry of the suspension and steering system, and has nothing to do with turning the steering wheel. The effect of bumpsteer is for the wheel to toe-in or toe-out when the suspension moves up or down. This toe change or “steering” occurs any time the suspension moves, whether it is from body roll, brake-dive, or hitting a bump in the road. Bumpsteer is undesirable because the suspension is steering the car instead of the driver.


Not really sure if you need the X2 ball joints. they were a ****in pain in the ass to install since i didnt have the right tools. And i didnt want to pay a shop to do it. they wanted 400 bucks to install them. I just bought the X2 and the Bumpsteer because thats what people told me i should buy if i didn't want to run into problems down the road so i just went almost all out when i lowered my car. and i got a really good deal everything too so i figured why not. But it's up to you if you want to do them. Id do the bumpsteer though. x2 will be optional.

 

[07 Boss]

Hey 07stanggt, what do you think, should I get a set of Bilsteins or a PI torque converter (3000 stall)?

Sorry Navy for pirating your thread.