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Ford Racing Suspension Upgrades

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Just so everyone knows this was a waste of money and the nuts didn't fit the new dampers. The new dampers come with new nuts and are not in the way of adjusting camber.

5 DOT 0 said:
Thanks guys.

I also ordered some M14-2.0 10.9 Spec Strut Nuts from Vorshlag. They should allow a bit more camber adjustment if needed.

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adam81 said:
For the last time- THE 18000-C DAMPERS ARE NOT 302S EQUIPMENT

They are not and never were offered on the 302S in any way shape or form. They are strictly Ford Racing upgraded dampers for all S197 Mustangs. Nothing more and nothing less...... They are Tokico D Specs that were spec'd out by Multimatic/Dynamic Suspensions for Ford Racing. This is the same company that makes the UPGRADED suspension for the 302S not the standard equipment that comes on the 302S.....that is by Sachs.
So should we call them upgraded 302S dampers? :D

Ok, the label on the shipping box states "SVT Mustang Cobra Performance Dampers" so let's call them SVT dampers for short. ;)
 
I gave my new suspension upgrades a break in yesterday at Laguna Seca. I can say I accomplished my goals of reducing brake dive and body roll and lowering the car a bit. I'll post photos later but my Boss was parked in between two stock Bosses and it was obvious mine was lowered.

Here's my assessment and keep in mind that I'm a novice at tracking a car. The brake dive was virtually eliminated. Of course the front still dives under hard braking but you don't notice it where with the stock suspension you do. LS is not a high speed track with top speeds for me around 110 going into turn 2. The car felt more stable under braking with a better balance. What I noticed was I didn't notice anything where before you were aware of the brake dive. Mission accomplished. I'll post photos later but as with cloud9's photos the reduced body roll is very evident.

I also installed Maximum Motorsports camber plates and have them set at -2.1 camber. The initial turn in was much sharper but no surprise there. Where I felt an improvement was with the initial rotation of the car at turn in. I could be more aggressive and the car would set and hook up. In general I felt I could toss it more and was getting more feedback which improved my confidence level. Not sure if that's the springs, dampers or more likely the LCA's with the stiffer bushings and less flex. Anyone know if the stiffer bushing in the panhard bar will impact that?

For the most part accelerating at the apex seemed fine and the car hooded up really well but I did get some throttle induced over steer and there seemed to be less communication of that happening. Not sure if that was my tires but a couple of times is snapped around on me with little communication. Seems like I had more communication of that with the stock setup. One time my instructor says "nice save" :D The dampers have a different adjustment from stock where 0 if full firm and 6 is full soft. I had them set at 2 on the front and 3 in the rear. I probably should have softened the rears a bit but I was having too much fun and never got around to it.

For those on the fence with the P springs I had a 200+ mile drive each way to and from LS and with the dampers set on 5 the ride was comfortable but firm. While not significantly harsher than stock you do feel more of the little bumps. It is not tiresome for me and I have no issues driving it like this. My car is not a DD so for those of you DD your Bosses of rough roads you'll want to think about this. For those of you tracking your cars I think this is a nice step up from the stock suspension.
 
Nice write- up! Definitely pulling the trigger on my setup soon, just still having the coil over debate with myself :)

I'd say you nailed it - going softer on the rear likely would have taken care of the oversteer. Sounds like a great improvement overall ;D
 
LateApex said:
Nice write- up! Definitely pulling the trigger on my setup soon, just still having the coil over debate with myself :)

I'd say you nailed it - going softer on the rear likely would have taken care of the oversteer. Sounds like a great improvement overall ;D
I guess it all depends on your goals. At this point I wish I hadn't done coilovers on my GT500 as the street ride is brutal. I'm not sure how much additional gain there would be on the Boss with the coilovers versus the setup I have, but as it stands now using it as a street/track car, I'm glad I didn't go that route.
 
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808Boss said:
Wow, Looks great Rick. Thanks for posting pics. Jealous...

You could also call them Shelby GT350 dampeners. The MGTAA suspension pack is suppsoed to be the GT350 suspension as well as the SVT package suspension for the GT500. :)

That is definitely one of my future upgrades.
 
cloud9 said:
LateApex said:
Nice write- up! Definitely pulling the trigger on my setup soon, just still having the coil over debate with myself :)

I'd say you nailed it - going softer on the rear likely would have taken care of the oversteer. Sounds like a great improvement overall ;D
I guess it all depends on your goals. At this point I wish I hadn't done coilovers on my GT500 as the street ride is brutal. I'm not sure how much additional gain there would be on the Boss with the coilovers versus the setup I have, but as it stands now using it as a street/track car, I'm glad I didn't go that route.

Which coil overs were you using on your GT500?
 
LateApex said:
cloud9 said:
LateApex said:
Nice write- up! Definitely pulling the trigger on my setup soon, just still having the coil over debate with myself :)

I'd say you nailed it - going softer on the rear likely would have taken care of the oversteer. Sounds like a great improvement overall ;D
I guess it all depends on your goals. At this point I wish I hadn't done coilovers on my GT500 as the street ride is brutal. I'm not sure how much additional gain there would be on the Boss with the coilovers versus the setup I have, but as it stands now using it as a street/track car, I'm glad I didn't go that route.
Konis

Which coil overs were you using on your GT500?
 
PJWANNABE said:
808Boss said:
Wow, Looks great Rick. Thanks for posting pics. Jealous...

You could also call them Shelby GT350 dampeners. The MGTAA suspension pack is suppsed to be the GT350 suspension as well as the SVT package suspension for the GT500. :)

That is definitely one of my future upgrades.
Well the GT350 is an aftermarket car too. I'm sticking with SVT.

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