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Bilstein b12 pro kit

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3
1
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Canada
Hey all,

So I'm driving a 2012 mustang gt. Currently my suspension is lowered on sportlines and just stock struts and shocks. I have a leaking strut and it's time to upgrade and get rid of the sagged out sportlines. I have a local shop that is selling the bilstein b12 pro kit (bil46-228871) for roughly $1200cad which seems like a pretty good deal. I would end up pairing them with a vorshlag or maximum motorsports camber plate.

Does anyone have any feedback on this setup? Or is it worth to spend the extra 1000bucks and get koni yellows and say some speeda sportlites or other lowering spring setup? There are just so many options out there and am stuck on what to actually get. It is mainly a street car with hopes of getting to some tracks this year for some autocross and some hpde events. I also do a lot of spirited driving up in the mountain roads. Stiff ride isn't a huge concern, I just want good performance.

I've also looked at some BC racing coilovers, the upgraded DS series as I have ran them on previous cars and had no complaints. It seems these are hated by the mustang forums though.

Any advice or feedback is very appreciated. Thanks!
 
I have experience with them combined with Vorshlag camber plates and Eibach springs (in a nutshell, the combo Vorshlag sells as the 'StreetPro Monotube Kit' with the Eibach Pro 11-14 V8 spring option). Great system for the road, feels connected without extreme harshness. You may eventually max out their capabilities if you go really hardcore into autocross or HPDE, but they're a mature choice if you recognize you mostly street drive or want to use them as a stepping stone to potentially something more serious down the road once you feel like your driving skills have grown enough.
 
3
1
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Canada
You might want to consider the Ford Racing track suspension kits, they are very good. I have one on my S550 and it absolutely transforms the car.
I have looked at the kit, I just cant find out a ton of info about it. I also already have an adjustable panhard and control arms, as well as whiteline sway bars. So the kit itself is awfully pricey when I dont need a bunch it comes with already.
I have experience with them combined with Vorshlag camber plates and Eibach springs (in a nutshell, the combo Vorshlag sells as the 'StreetPro Monotube Kit' with the Eibach Pro 11-14 V8 spring option). Great system for the road, feels connected without extreme harshness. You may eventually max out their capabilities if you go really hardcore into autocross or HPDE, but they're a mature choice if you recognize you mostly street drive or want to use them as a stepping stone to potentially something more serious down the road once you feel like your driving skills have grown enough.
I have looked at the setup that Vorshlag sells and have thought about it too. Ive tried to do some reading on it. From what im understanding is that they are actually the bilstein struts from a 04-10 because they are shorter? So would they need 11-14 springs and cc plates, or would they need 04-10 parts?
I appreciate the feedback though, as of right now im not planning on anything too hardcore. There really isn't a huge amount of actual events and tracks around where I am at unfortunately. What would the next step be? Im about to order some new wheels and run a 19x10 square setup with some 285/40/19, havent decided on which tire yet though. Or should I just jump right up to 11 inch wide now and only buy once. Everyone seems to say that you can never have enough tire on these cars. Besides wheels and tires, the next step would be good coilovers? Or is there a even better spring/strut setup?
 
If you plan to run predominantly street, the 19x10 may be a good option since it will sit within the fender using less camber. 19x11s, per Apex's guide, are recommended for use with about 3 degrees of negative camber to tuck them in at the top (otherwise you get a bit of a Ford Raptor look). You'd have to adjust the camber between street and track mode to get the most out of either scenario (even if you went with 19x10s and wanted to get the most out of autocrossing). If you want to get seriously into it, buying the 11s up front would be a good choice but I'm pretty confident the Bilsteins will not clear the wheels. The OEM-style springs and perches are a significantly larger diameter, which is one of the reasons most people are getting coilovers: clearance. Apex has a great write up regarding wheel fitment on S197s that can be found here: https://support.apexraceparts.com/h...5526493-S197-Mustang-Wheel-Tire-Fitment-Guide

If you have questions regarding the Vorshlag set up, I'd suggest reaching out or giving them a call. They're extremely helpful and very customer-focused.
 
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If you want to get seriously into it, buying the 11s up front would be a good choice but I'm pretty confident the Bilsteins will not clear the wheels. The OEM-style springs and perches are a significantly larger diameter, which is one of the reasons most people are getting coilovers: clearance.
I ran the Vorshlag "street pro" setup for years on my '11 GT with a square 19x11 track setup, 50mm offset LMR SVE wheels and a variety of 305/30/19 tires, never any rubbing problems. You do need the front 25 mm spacers, extended hubs, and camber provided by the cc plates as is almost always noted.

and just stock struts and shocks.
@slw5oh this right here is your easy button for hugely improved handling. From the factory these cars were seriously under-damped and now your shocks are old and leaking so even worse. Focus on good dampers, don't over lower it, and don't go too crazy stiff on spring rates. Bilsteins are monotube and generally considered a little better shock but Konis are good too and the adjustability is nice. Either will be a dramatic improvement. Also check out Billy Johnson's project S197 over on motoiq, it's a great source of info and he put together a spring/shock package with Steeda that you might want to consider. Good luck.
 
I've had the b12 for 6 months. I'm completely satisfied. It's quite sporty and hard but not too hard and it doesn't bounce over bumps. I can compare it against the eibach pro kit and fortune auto 510 coilovers. it's a bit harder than the eibach kit but not as hard as fortune auto. I cannot recommend the fortune auto 510 in any way. the rear springs are much too short so that it has around 0.5" of spring travel at the highest level. it also squeaks extremely with every turn of the steering wheel. If you mainly drive on the road, I can only recommend the OEM strut mount. I run 10.5" wheels with 15mm spacers in the front
 
3
1
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Canada
I've had the b12 for 6 months. I'm completely satisfied. It's quite sporty and hard but not too hard and it doesn't bounce over bumps. I can compare it against the eibach pro kit and fortune auto 510 coilovers. it's a bit harder than the eibach kit but not as hard as fortune auto. I cannot recommend the fortune auto 510 in any way. the rear springs are much too short so that it has around 0.5" of spring travel at the highest level. it also squeaks extremely with every turn of the steering wheel. If you mainly drive on the road, I can only recommend the OEM strut mount. I run 10.5" wheels with 15mm spacers in the front
The b12 setup runs the same springs as the eibach pro kit. Must just be the dampening that stiffened it up then. What struts were you running before?

You seem to like it though, what offset are your wheels?

Thanks for the feedback
 
The eibach springs in the b12 kit have a completely different part number than the springs in the pro kit. I can't tell if it's just the number that's different or if it's really different springs.
I installed the pro kit together with the eibach pro-damper.
I use the following wheels:

Jongbloed 700
18x10.5 48mm

For the road, however, I would rather recommend 19x10 wheels as mentioned above.
 
My car is mostly street driven with the occasional track day. I have Bilstein "B6" shocks/struts with Ford P Springs and am really happy with them. 305 square Pilot Sport 4S on Apex 19x11, 25mm spacer. P Springs lower just enough but not too much. I run about -2.5 deg camber on street/track (max I could get without hitting the shock tower with the spring) and do not notice any uneven tire wear. I went through Koni Oranges before I found this site and would probably just do the Ford Racing suspension package if I started over. Bilsteins were great on my SN95 as well.
 
1,289
1,113
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Philly Metro Area
I'm running Roush springs that offer not too low of a ride. I have these with Koni adjustables* and the Steeda HD Strut Mounts that allow about -2.2 degrees of camber. For the street I run Conti ECS 285/40-18 and for the track I run this with square 295/40-18 Falken RT615K+ on Apex EC-7 18x10.

Ride on the street is great and, once stiffened up, they're great on the track for HPDE.

On the track, with the 10" wheels, the tires are ever so slightly pinched and therefore even with "only" -2.2 degrees camber (0 toe) and the wear is perfect when the tire rolls over to the sidewall wear line.

*I think that the spring perch on the Koni is slightly lower than the spring perch on the OEM strut and therefore adds a little more lowering in addition to that of the spring. Maybe 1/4" more.
 
I've had the b12 for 6 months. I'm completely satisfied. It's quite sporty and hard but not too hard and it doesn't bounce over bumps. I can compare it against the eibach pro kit and fortune auto 510 coilovers. it's a bit harder than the eibach kit but not as hard as fortune auto. I cannot recommend the fortune auto 510 in any way. the rear springs are much too short so that it has around 0.5" of spring travel at the highest level. it also squeaks extremely with every turn of the steering wheel. If you mainly drive on the road, I can only recommend the OEM strut mount. I run 10.5" wheels with 15mm spacers in the front
I have the Fortune Auto 510 on my car and very much agree with the rear ride height issue you mentioned. I was constantly hitting the rear bump stops and switched to a longer spring to get ~1" more travel. Made a night and day difference driving on the streets, and also saw huge improvements in autox events.
 
72
65
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
New Jersey
I have the Fortune Auto 510 on my car and very much agree with the rear ride height issue you mentioned. I was constantly hitting the rear bump stops and switched to a longer spring to get ~1" more travel. Made a night and day difference driving on the streets, and also saw huge improvements in autox events.
I noticed the same rear height issue with my 510s. I got a spacer for the rear and it's better but I'll probably swap out to a longer spring as well.
I otherwise like the 510s so far, it's nice to finally have a proper spring rate up front.
 

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