Suspension Advice

[Ballistixxx]

I am new to the forum and apologize in advance for my lack of knowledge regarding suspension components and set-up.

That said, I recently bought a 2020 GT Base 6 SPD and would like to entertain hot laps at a couple road courses available in my area. I have replaced the stock wheels with SVE wheels (10/11x19) w 305's front... and 325's rear... for the street. The larger tires have amplified the "softness" of the stock suspension.

I have been reading reviews on several adjustable coilover "packages" eg Roush, SR, Steeda, Eibach, Bilstein, etc... but believe someone here may prevent me from wasting a lot of money, only to find out there are better options.

My intent is not to build a track car, but to have a very "trackable" car... that I can still jump in for a road trip. I am very willing to sacrifice some comfort... but prefer the ride not become reminencent of a state dump truck I would also like to budget 1,500 or less, if possible.
Any advice will be highly appreciated.

 

[TMSBOSS]

First....Welcome to the site.
Second. Drive the car before you do any upgrades. See if the car is better than you are then decide where to spend money.
Then look at some of the "Systems" Ford offers. A low cost well sorted track day system can be had there without a whole lot of thought or expense.

Since you have wheel to wheel experience, I assume you have the safety items you need already.

Again....Welcome.

 

[xr7]

One area to look at is the brakes, if your car has the front brake rotors with the venting to the outside you will need to look at doing something there because those brakes won't last. The following will take you to Vorshlag's site and describe what the problem is.

Mustang S550 Brakes - Uses, Limitaitons and Upgrade Options - Vorshlag Motorsports Forum

 

[RodS197]

(From an S197 driver...) I ran Ford Racing suspension components on my car for the first three years of track/street driving. It is a great way to go, complete package as mentioned, and very marketable. When I was ready to move up to coil overs, I sold them to a fellow Mustang driver. He continues to use them two years later. Good quality stuff.

 

[JDee]

These cars are front heavy and ultimately they understeer, you need 11" square wheels and 305s at both ends for the track. For sure you don't need more tire on the rear for road course work. As mentioned, the Ford Performance track suspension is the easiest way to make the car better on the track, that kit works wonders, probably because it's been engineered by the people who know the car best. Hard to go wrong with that kit and it is also quite liveable on the street. The problem with coilovers and adjustable suspensions is you can engineer yourself right out of the game, unless you have a very advanced knowledge of suspension dynamics I'd leave that alone.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

I agree with @TMSBOSS ; just drive it first. And if you do decide to mod, avoid Steeda.

Welcome and happy tracking!

 

[ChrisM]

Just going to jump on the dogpile here and endorse what everyone else said. Drive it as-is first then:

Make it stop (better brakes, brake fluid, etc)
Make it turn (improved handling with a square wheel/tire setup and a Ford suspension package)
THEN make it go faster (power mods, most people erroneously do this first when they don't need it at all).

 

[ShatterPoints]

I am new to the forum and apologize in advance for my lack of knowledge regarding suspension components and set-up.

That said, I recently bought a 2020 GT Base 6 SPD and would like to entertain hot laps at a couple road courses available in my area. I have replaced the stock wheels with SVE wheels (10/11x19) w 305's front... and 325's rear... for the street. The larger tires have amplified the "softness" of the stock suspension.

I have been reading reviews on several adjustable coilover "packages" eg Roush, SR, Steeda, Eibach, Bilstein, etc... but believe someone here may prevent me from wasting a lot of money, only to find out there are better options.

My intent is not to build a track car, but to have a very "trackable" car... that I can still jump in for a road trip. I am very willing to sacrifice some comfort... but prefer the ride not become reminencent of a state dump truck I would also like to budget 1,500 or less, if possible.
Any advice will be highly appreciated.

Monotube shocks are your best bet. Bilstein would be my first choice if you are on a budget AND want aftermarket suspension. Couple that with swift, hyper-co, or eibach springs. I also recommend the cortex racing rear control arms to give you round end mounts so that you can run a traditional round end shock mount in the rear AND have a true coilover in the rear. The factory ride rate is actually really good, and puts you in the realm of a rally setup (albeit without the suspension travel). I will say $1500 for a "very trackable" car is a low budget and you can spend that on tires to get as much performance benefit as you would in an equally priced off the shelf coilover setup.

 

[EF1]

I agree with @TMSBOSS ; just drive it first. And if you do decide to mod, avoid Steeda.

Welcome and happy tracking!

What's wrong with Steeda? I have several Steeda suspension parts under my car and have never had a problem with them.

 

[JDee]

I'm 50/50 for success with them. Motor mounts. Absolute junk, red ones useless and even the black ones melted from heat with stock exhaust. They gave me more pucks but even after wrapping them in heavy gauge foil they melted. They were good about supplying replacement ones, but when they fail you can't reliably shift so they had to go. Put in BMR, problem solved.
H-pipe resonator delete so far seems to be hanging in there though.

 

[EF1]

I knew there were problems with the motor mounts, but this thread was about suspension parts.I was wondering why people were warning against their suspension components. I have not heard of issues with their suspension parts. I have had springs, rear control arms, camber plates and sway bars under my car for 5+ yrs now without issue.

 

[thelostotter]

I've got quite a few Steeda parts and had good impressions on most of it. I've been dissatisfied with their K-member brace (the BMR version is a much better design) and their rear brake rotors.

Their dual rate springs on Ford Performance Track struts/shocks work great for me. I'm not as competitive as many on here so I'm just one data point.

 

[xr7]

Ball joints have not been the best either.

 

[JDee]

I knew there were problems with the motor mounts, but this thread was about suspension parts.I was wondering why people were warning against their suspension components. I have not heard of issues with their suspension parts. I have had springs, rear control arms, camber plates and sway bars under my car for 5+ yrs now without issue.

If they can't make a motor mount that can live, are you really going to trust them with suspension pieces? Your car, your money, have a good one.