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Ford Racing Suspension Upgrades

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quick report after getting the car back yesterday with new suspension bits:
- I installed the 'Rick' setup...tokico dampers / p springs / adj panhard / jounce bumbers / poly bushing LCA's / relo brackets / MM camber plates - did not swap sway bars.
- I wanted something very street-able but wanted to get a little drop for cosmetics and COG...also wanted something that would be very trackable

After picking up the car (TPS Motorsports in Campbell did the work...first time doing business with them and I liked them)...and checking over settings I headed 'for the hills.' BTW, they were only able to get -2.4 camber on the left, -2.6 on the right, and I asked them to keep them balanced, so they did -2.4 each side...caster right in spec at 6.9. The tech had set the dampers at 2 off full stiff, and set tire pressures at 38psi all around on the new corsa's that I mounted last week (I'd been running 38f, 35r up til that point).

By 'hills' I mean hwy 9 - aka Big Basin Road - that heads out of downtown Saratoga CA, where I grew up, crests at Skyline Blvd, which runs along the spine of the santa cruz mountains...spectacular views of the Pacific / open space preserves, big redwoods - then heads down to the beach in santa cruz. The stretch from saratoga to the summit at skyline is particularly tight and fun...around here, making that drive is colloquially called 'Basin racin'

Initial impressions after that drive and my drive into work - the slightly long / more fun way this morning - is that this is an impressive upgrade path...particularly for the money. I've already got my stock stuff sold to a local guy with an 11 gt premium doing a 'boss tribute' car....and with the low cost / free shipping of the parts from tousley ford, it just wasn't that expensive.

Even with it close to full stiff it is very street-able...I'm surprised how *not stiff* it feels. I think that really comes down to the fact that it's not harsh...just firmly damped. the damping matches the springs really, really, well. the springs are firm enough to eliminate some obvious body roll and fore / aft weight transfer. brake dive reduced, yes, but you also get a considerable benefit on throttle application. the rear feels much more connected / planted, and the nose doesn't come up as much under acceleration. Big Basin, in particular, has some really tricky elevation changes mid-corner and on entry, and some rough bits. the mid-corner-bump-jitters aren't gone, but they're much-reduced. the car, actually, feels far more natural.

the one place where I'll have some getting used to is 'throttle steering' the car....which is to say that with this suspension / tire setup the car rotates quite quickly...smoothly - not jerky - but quicker to get out of shape when driving it with the right foot. conversely, it'll come back really quickly too, if need be. I tried sport mode, TC full on, and full off, and in every case the system seemed to deal just fine with the changes...not like the stiffer setup had thrown the computer a curve ball.

regarding noise / clunkiness...I haven't heard a peep from the car that makes it any noisier than before...I know I'll get some more over time. camber plates up front are completely un-noticeable in terms of harshness / noise.

it's another of those "should have come from the factory like this" mods in my book. if anything, I'd want it a little stiffer / lower...but understand there's more work to sorting the geometry if we go lower at this point. the monoball ends for the LCA's might be in my future...but I figured I'd go poly for the time being - and do monoball / ball ends all around in one fell swoop if I do it, to maintain some measure of balance.

I took some pics of ride height which I'll post elsewhere and link to. the front doesn't look like it dropped much at all...the rear does. I like the looks better with the rear dropped, but wish these springs maintained a little more of the rake from the stock setup...though I suspect that rake has something to do with the significant brake dive in the stock setup too.

pics here:

http://forums.themustangsource.com/f813/cosmetic-mods-trying-few-new-things-510253/index2/#post6385880
 
[/quote] Hey is this another Laguna Feca? ;)

yep.

parked on my uber-chic permeable concrete driveway extension. it actually works out pretty well...wash the car on it and the stuff filters through the ground versus flowing into the gutter and straight into the bay. looks like a full grass lawn from the street. not that y'all care...
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
Just made the appointment and settled on the price w/ the body shop to get my Tiger Hood, LS Wing, and 302S grille painted and installed...the fun begins July 10th!
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
fuhrius said:
yep.

parked on my uber-chic permeable concrete driveway extension.

Hey dude I think you need to invest in a weed sprayer for that driveway!! ;)
 
ArizonaGT said:
fuhrius said:
yep.

parked on my uber-chic permeable concrete driveway extension.

Hey dude I think you need to invest in a weed sprayer for that driveway!! ;)

it's the best of both worlds....you can park on it, but it's mostly grass...so it's permeable and from the street, looks all-grass. I used a slightly different type grass from my regular to deal with the extra wear and heat.
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
5 DOT 0 said:
Those wheels look sooooo much better than the stock wheels. I keep thinking about buying a set and painting the black part KB. Hey is this another Laguna Feca? ;)

To keep up the LF theme, you should paint them WHITE! :p

Good idea to make this a sticky.
 
fuhrius said:
Initial impressions after that drive and my drive into work - the slightly long / more fun way this morning - is that this is an impressive upgrade path...particularly for the money. I've already got my stock stuff sold to a local guy with an 11 gt premium doing a 'boss tribute' car....and with the low cost / free shipping of the parts from tousley ford, it just wasn't that expensive.

Even with it close to full stiff it is very street-able...I'm surprised how *not stiff* it feels. I think that really comes down to the fact that it's not harsh...just firmly damped. the damping matches the springs really, really, well. the springs are firm enough to eliminate some obvious body roll and fore / aft weight transfer. brake dive reduced, yes, but you also get a considerable benefit on throttle application. the rear feels much more connected / planted, and the nose doesn't come up as much under acceleration. Big Basin, in particular, has some really tricky elevation changes mid-corner and on entry, and some rough bits. the mid-corner-bump-jitters aren't gone, but they're much-reduced. the car, actually, feels far more natural.
A brief update. I drove my car on a 250 mile trip to Lake Tahoe last weekend and took a loop around my local hills last night. The car feels fantastic on the road. The car rides very nice and while stiffer it's not uncomfortable. I'd say it's about 10% stiffer and where you notice it is on the really small stuff. Overall the car feels more planted and is more difficult to upset the suspension on quick transitions. On fast sweepers it goes where you point it and holds your line well. In tighter stuff you can rotate the car quickly with less tendency for it to oversteer or get unsettled. It really feels nice and increases your confidence in driving fast. I think part of the increased confidence comes from the reduced body roll and brake dive. Let's face it, our cars have a lot of mass and it feels better not having it move around as much. I have my new camber plates set at -2.1 and that really sharpens up the steering.

Has anyone else jumped it with similar suspension mods?
 
2012YellowBoss said:
Few more from last weekend...at PBIR

The sameday you were racing at PBIR, I was there too doing another type of racing. :)

IMG_6908-1.jpg

IMG_6909-1.jpg

BTW, that Nissan GT-R drove right off the end of the strip into the gravel and netting. Supposedly, it was his first time at the track and he didn't know he had to slow down and turn off at the end. He wasn't hurt, but it shut down the track for about 30-40 mins. :mad:
 
cloud9 said:
Nice smokey burnout. ;D. Do you have a line lock on your Boss?

Did the GT-R think he was at the Texas Mile ??? How did the Boss do against it?

Thanks. Yes, I have a line lock. ..and the Boss had him for about 3/4 of the way down strip, then he passed me and kept going..and going. My Boss wasn't hooking well and my 60ft times were only 1.9 at best, so the Boss was only doing high 12's that day. My LCAs are actually a little higher on the axle end, so I'm planning to get some LCA relocation brackets to improve my 60ft times. I like the ones from Ford Racing (part# M-5650-A), but I'm not certain my BBR Billet LCAs will fit the brackets.

Here's my setup now.

IMG_6703.jpg

-Steve
 
SoFlaBoss said:
cloud9 said:
Nice smokey burnout. ;D. Do you have a line lock on your Boss?

Did the GT-R think he was at the Texas Mile ??? How did the Boss do against it?

Thanks. Yes, I have a line lock. ..and the Boss had him for about 3/4 of the way down strip, then he passed me and kept going..and going. My Boss wasn't hooking well and my 60ft times were only 1.9 at best, so the Boss was only doing high 12's that day. My LCAs are actually a little higher on the axle end, so I'm planning to get some LCA relocation brackets to improve my 60ft times. I like the ones from Ford Racing (part# M-5650-A), but I'm not certain my BBR Billet LCAs will fit the brackets.

If your LCA fit in the stock location they will fit with the Ford Relo brackets.

Here's my setup now.

IMG_6703.jpg

-Steve
 

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