Ford Racing Suspension Upgrades

[steveespo]

Reply #125 in this thread has me wondering-

Will the M-5300-P springs and M-18183-C strut mounts not work with the factory struts?

Springs are fine, M-18183-C mounts are for 2005-2010 cars or all 07-13 GT 500s. You can reuse stock paper strut mounts or if changing struts buy ones for the earlier years. I believe the Ford Racing struts are the earlier year shaft size which is larger diameter. Rick, Gary and others know this better, I run Koni Yellows and the C mount upper isolator with P springs and Maximum Motorsports camber plates.
Steve

 

[cloud9]

Springs are fine, M-18183-C mounts are for 2005-2010 cars or all 07-13 GT 500s. You can reuse stock paper strut mounts or if changing struts buy ones for the earlier years. I believe the Ford Racing struts are the earlier year shaft size which is larger diameter. Rick, Gary and others know this better, I run Koni Yellows and the C mount upper isolator with P springs and Maximum Motorsports camber plates.
Steve

Yes the M-18000-C are the 2005-2010 style.

 

[PeteInCT]

Springs are fine, M-18183-C mounts are for 2005-2010 cars or all 07-13 GT 500s. You can reuse stock paper strut mounts or if changing struts buy ones for the earlier years. I believe the Ford Racing struts are the earlier year shaft size which is larger diameter. Rick, Gary and others know this better, I run Koni Yellows and the C mount upper isolator with P springs and Maximum Motorsports camber plates.
Steve

I am officially putting you alongside Gary in the "I just should have bought a 302S" club ! ;D

Rick - you agree ?

(PS: This is to deflect evidence against me : )

 

[sadil]

Has anyone tried the Bilstein B12 Pro-Kit? Seems like a good kit, utilizing Eibach Pro-Kit springs and dampers specifically designed dampers. All the retailers say it can only be used on 2010 Mustangs, but I have seen Vorshlag mount them on their 2012. Any thoughts?

 

[VoodooBoss]

I am officially putting you alongside Gary in the "I just should have bought a 302S" club ! ;D

Rick - you agree ?

(PS: This is to deflect evidence against me : )

completely.

 

[Sesshomurai]

Its more fun to make one than buy one!

 

[Fat Boss]

I did much the same as you guys, with some differences. We'll see how it works at Spring Mtn as it has a few corners, so I'll report back after the event.

My Parts List

P Springs with stock struts and shocks (yeah I'm old school, I still call them shocks)
MM C/C Plates with -2.0* Camber
Adj Panhard Bar (Unknown MFG, double adj, alum, no NVH at all)
BMR Boxed LCA's with spherical bearing at axle side, poly bushing at body side
SVE Drifts 18x10 Square Setup with 285/35 Hankook R-S3's
"ORANGE" TPMS Monitoring System

Here's the 3.4 mile configuration we'll be running again this year. I hope I have enough tread to get home!

 

[cloud9]

I did much the same as you guys, with some differences. We'll see how it works at Spring Mtn as it has a few corners, so I'll report back after the event.

My Parts List

P Springs with stock struts and shocks (yeah I'm old school, I still call them shocks)
MM C/C Plates with -2.0* Camber
Adj Panhard Bar (Unknown MFG, double adj, alum, no NVH at all)
BMR Boxed LCA's with spherical bearing at axle side, poly bushing at body side
SVE Drifts 18x10 Square Setup with 285/35 Hankook R-S3's
"ORANGE" TPMS Monitoring System

Here's the 3.4 mile configuration we'll be running again this year. I hope I have enough tread to get home!

Too bad they won't let you skip all those extra turns on the back straight. It will really slow you down . Looks like fun!

 

[DGRacing]

I did much the same as you guys, with some differences. We'll see how it works at Spring Mtn as it has a few corners, so I'll report back after the event.

My Parts List

P Springs with stock struts and shocks (yeah I'm old school, I still call them shocks)
MM C/C Plates with -2.0* Camber
Adj Panhard Bar (Unknown MFG, double adj, alum, no NVH at all)
BMR Boxed LCA's with spherical bearing at axle side, poly bushing at body side
SVE Drifts 18x10 Square Setup with 285/35 Hankook R-S3's
"ORANGE" TPMS Monitoring System

Here's the 3.4 mile configuration we'll be running again this year. I hope I have enough tread to get home!

Is your TPMS the one with the digital readout that shows psi and temp? If so, I have that, its cool.

 

[Jimmy Pribble]

Came across a post on another forum from Steve at Blow-By Racing. BBR is selling:

* Ford Racing M-5300-P Springs
* Ford Racing M-18000-A DYNAMIC Shock/Strut Kit (not the adjustable ones)

$325 (List:$894, Street: $560)

That was low enough to get this tightwad to call. Supplies limited, blah, blah. I have no affiliation with BBR, but if you do jump on this, tell Steve that I tipped you off and he might hooka-brutha-up a little.

No matter, I'm doing this for the goodwill and because it follows that people subscribed to this thread might be interested in this sale. I will post photos when I get the kit next week. Driving impressions to follow soon after, I hope.

Call Steve at 561-417-5555.

Cheers,

Jimmy

 

[vista6019]

I know that I am not as hard core as some of you guys, but I have had excellent luck with my Steeda Boss springs and Koni Sport adjustables. Way better damping than these FRPP struts and dampers....Just my two cents worth...

 

[VoodooBoss]

I know that I am not as hard core as some of you guys, but I have had excellent luck with my Steeda Boss springs and Koni Sport adjustables. Way better damping than these FRPP struts and dampers....Just my two cents worth...

When you say way better damping than the FRPP struts are you referring to the 18000-C dampers? Please explain way better, did you have the 18000-C dampers on your Boss or another car and then swap them out with Koni Sports?

 

[vista6019]

When you say way better damping than the FRPP struts are you referring to the 18000-C dampers? Please explain way better, did you have the 18000-C dampers on your Boss or another car and then swap them out with Koni Sports?

Way better than the factory struts and dampers on the Boss and better than the 18000-C kit I had on my GT500.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Way better than the factory struts and dampers on the Boss and better than the 18000-C kit I had on my GT500.

Thanks

 

[steveespo]

Koni Yellows have a very wide range of adjustment, from softer but more controlled than my stock Brembo car dampers to full on super stiff to handle whatever spring rate you throw at them. I am running 40% front and 50% rear with the P spring and the car is very solid under braking and in roll transition. I still have to play with tuning out a little slow speed under steer.
Very good for rebound single adjustables.
Steve

 

[Jimmy Pribble]

Came across a post on another forum from Steve at Blow-By Racing. BBR is selling:

* Ford Racing M-5300-P Springs
* Ford Racing M-18000-A DYNAMIC Shock/Strut Kit (not the adjustable ones)

$325 (List:$894, Street: $560)

That was low enough to get this tightwad to call. Supplies limited, blah, blah. I have no affiliation with BBR, but if you do jump on this, tell Steve that I tipped you off and he might hooka-brutha-up a little.

No matter, I'm doing this for the goodwill and because it follows that people subscribed to this thread might be interested in this sale. I will post photos when I get the kit next week. Driving impressions to follow soon after, I hope.

Call Steve at 561-417-5555.

Cheers,

Jimmy

Well, in my cheapskate fantasy world, I was hoping that even though I was losing the adjustability of the stock Boss Tokicos, the unadjustable "A" dampers would be a better tuned match with the "P" springs. I started asking around and Mr. Wilson told me that he didn't think that would be the case. Then FRPP tracked-down their suspension guru and reported back to me:

Our suspension guy is as difficult to catch in the office as he is at the race track.

I do have an answer.

He feels that going to the M-18000-A kit would be a downgrade over the stock Boss dampers.

He highly recommends the M-18000-C dampers.

For Mustang GT guys, I'll have some cheap upgrade dampers for you soon.

Now I need to decide if I want to go with C dampers or Koni Yellows. Stay tuned.

 

[boro92]

Has anyone tried the Bilstein B12 Pro-Kit? Seems like a good kit, utilizing Eibach Pro-Kit springs and dampers specifically designed dampers. All the retailers say it can only be used on 2010 Mustangs, but I have seen Vorshlag mount them on their 2012. Any thoughts?

Take this for what it's worth:

My upgrade path in the past has been: Tokico Illumina (same as on the Boss) > Koni Yellow > Bilstein PSS9. Keep in mind, this is on my current track car (E36 M3). Each step up named above was a significant progression into a better strut. All Boss owners have Illuminas, so I won't discuss those....but:

Going to yellows was an eye opener. Isolating adjustments to only rebound really opened a new world in changing the character of the car in certain situations. In addition, the additional bump travel was *much* welcomed.

Going to Bilstein PSS9 (which is essentially a bilstein sport damper with an adjuster needle) was even a more significant change. Granted, the spring rates changed. However, in my case, the rates were actually increased over my old setup. With the same alignment settings as previous, I was noticing a distinct improvement in the car, and my confidence in throwing it in the corner.

At my local track, there is a bump in the tarmac just before a corner...this bump is encountered either while on the brakes or turn in (depends if trail braking or not). With no change in driving technique, the car took this bump in total stride. The bump did not upset the balance as it did before...thus allowing me to carry much greater speed into the corner. Armed with the confidence that the car was able to take that and still be so stable, I was much more willing to push the car further than I have before.

This really opened my eye to the importance of a quality strut. Granted, Bilsteins are not so special compared with what one can buy with deep pockets. But keep in mind:

1) When I went bilsteins, I had increased spring rates of +100lb/in front and +150lb/in rear over previous setup
2) I re-aligned the car and kept same alignment as previous
3) Ride height was set similar to previous--so no change in roll center
4) Same tires, same tire pressures, same track.
5) Faster, more consistent lap times. Increased driver confidence.

In short, the car became much more forgiving *and* not only that, the car actually rode much better. Higher spring rates be damned! The car felt much more factory in ride than it did before. I had no clue that a strut can affect the ride character and handling of the car in this manner.

What I do find odd, however, is that mustang aftermarket spring rates are surprisngly low for such a heavy car. Does anyone have the motion ratios at each end of the car? My present car, being a strut car should be similar in motion ratio...but I'm rocking rates of 460lb/in front, 680lb/in rear (wheel rates of 406f, 287r).

I'm in the market for the Boss, and am seriously evaluating the purchase...thus I've looked into aftermarket parts
If it were me, I'd either purchase the Bilstein/camber plate/spring kit from Vorschlag (Bilstein BTS springs - mild drop...keeping roll center where it is--plus gain bump travel with the lower stack height of the camber plates), or go with the Steeda Boss springs...which has the highest front rates I've seen available for aftermarket springs for the 'stang.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Take this for what it's worth:

Great post, IMO.

 

[PeteInCT]

So I have succumbed to the influence of Mr. Cloud 9 and ordered the following:

Rear Lower Control Arm (LCA) Kit M-5649-S
Rear LCA relocation brackets M-5650-A
GT Lowering Kit Springs (25mm front, 25mm rear) M-5300-P
Jounce Bumper Kit M-5570-A
Panhard Bar M-4264-A
Bump Steer Kit M-3130-R4
Boss S Front bushing Kit M-5638-B
Control Arm Kit – Extended Ball Joint M-3075-RA

I currently live in the woodshed and Rick promises that he will send me an air mattress to make life easier.

PS: The second set of Enkei PF-01's just showed up today too. I guess that may mean a couple of extra days in the shed :

 

[cloud9]