- Thread starter
- #21
They look.nice . You wouldn't recommend the SR performance coilover kit ?
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How much to lower car for the street?
- Thread starterDarrylS76
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In a stockish Boss 302 with 18" wheels, 275/40 tires, stock Boss springs and Koni yellows, I scrape occasionally daily driving on not that bad roads in TX. For me, the parts that scrape are either the front splitter on inclines like driveways and ramps. Sometimes the side pipes scrape on areas of roads where there's an incline on one side and a decline on the other (the part that connects the H-pipe to the side pipes). I've decided I don't want to go any lower unless I go bigger on the wheels.
A guy I know has a '13 Boss, stock Tokicos, and FRPP T springs on 20" wheels. Somehow this all fits with 285/35 square tires, and his car sits higher than mine! I thought maybe my old stocker springs may have sagged but when I compare to others with the same springs, they seem fine. I decided it must be those 20" wheels. Together I think that'd make his car around 1/2 - 1" higher off the ground than mine. Not sure if he has rubbing. My guess would be that he does have some tire rubbing. He has very little visible gap between his front tires and fenders. Keep in mind, neither of us track our cars (yet).
Delicate balance for street cars I guess. Safest thing to do is probably to compare other's builds and copy the one you like.
As far as coilovers, I've never used them. I only know that all of the TMO guys say that if you go coilovers, get good ones (I don't know the downside of not taking this advise). I think the cheapest set I remember seeing on a serious TMO car was a Koni set (@Mad Hatter's car).
A guy I know has a '13 Boss, stock Tokicos, and FRPP T springs on 20" wheels. Somehow this all fits with 285/35 square tires, and his car sits higher than mine! I thought maybe my old stocker springs may have sagged but when I compare to others with the same springs, they seem fine. I decided it must be those 20" wheels. Together I think that'd make his car around 1/2 - 1" higher off the ground than mine. Not sure if he has rubbing. My guess would be that he does have some tire rubbing. He has very little visible gap between his front tires and fenders. Keep in mind, neither of us track our cars (yet).
Delicate balance for street cars I guess. Safest thing to do is probably to compare other's builds and copy the one you like.
As far as coilovers, I've never used them. I only know that all of the TMO guys say that if you go coilovers, get good ones (I don't know the downside of not taking this advise). I think the cheapest set I remember seeing on a serious TMO car was a Koni set (@Mad Hatter's car).
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I have no personal experience with that kit but some of the comments on AM say that it's super stiff, which might be great on track but not so great on the road. I had KW V3s on my last Boss 302 and they were very good overall, although I think I would try something else if I got back into an S197.
Maybe consider something like this? Only thing it's missing is camber plates.
https://www.americanmuscle.com/frpp-handlingpack-0514gt-assembled.html
A good set of shocks and springs is better than a cheap pair of Chinese coilovers in my opinion.
The eibach pro kit and Bilsteins made a noticeable difference, car felt a lot more stable and less ‘floaty’ also the camber plates allowed me to dial in more camber. They are perfect for street use and a few track days a year.
- Thread starter
- #25
Love that Boss! You dont see many in that green. So question for ya . If im going to do the occasional track days am I better going with nice 18s over 19s?
- 540
- 579
275/40/18 square on 18x9.5 or 10 is a great all round street and track setup. If buying just for track you want 18 or 19x11 and 305 square. Choose the tire and use case first and then buy wheels to fit. Some good tires are available only in 19” and vice versa.
Shocks make a bigger difference than lowering springs imo. Bilstein or konis are always good for quality entry level stuff. Bilstein is a little better on track, monotube, stiffer, konis ride nicer on street (less compression damping) and rebound adjustable.
Totally agree that a good spring and shock combo is better than cheap coilovers. Biggest advantages of coilovers is you can run serious spring rates (if decent quality) and height adjustment of course.
Whatever you do get cc plates if you’re going on the track. Have fun and welcome, TMO is awesome I’ve learned so much here.
- Thread starter
- #27
Nice man.I can't wait to get an a nice size square tires in the spring..I, guess there is no need for them now being its Raining a d 50 degrees where i m at
- Thread starter
- #28
My experience is that you want to consider your wheel size as a system with your suspension and tire setup. For my car, I think 18" takes me about as low as I am willing to go. I will say that my high speed stability is pretty good considering I'm on stock springs - and I think that the lowness of the car contributes to that. I do have a fat wheel gap in the rear b/c of the stock spring and 18" wheel combo:
If you go coilovers, you can pretty much choose your ride height so you have more freedom with your wheel size. On springs, if you go lower you're probably gonna need 19's. 20's are too big for most builds; will likely cause fitment issues especially with lowering springs. The serious race guys seem to use 18's or 19's. Drag race guys use even smaller wheel sizes so they can fit more meat in there.
As far as tires, 275/40 is a decent size for a dual purpose car. I'd say the size leans towards being more streetable, but is probably good as an entry level track tire for HPDE or autocross. With the right tires, 18x10 or 19x10 are a pretty safe fitment bet if you don't want to use spacers. A max effort race car will use 11" wide wheels or sometimes even 12" I think. As far as track tires go, the guys here will tell you that what you want is the widest tires you can fit on your car. After you've decided on the suspension setup you want, you can choose the type of tire and tire size you're going for and see what size wheels fit.
Agree with others that camber plates are something you'll want regardless of which way you go with your suspension setup. Racecar guys seem to like the Vorshlag plates for maximum camber adjustment, lots of different types of people use Maximum Motorsports. Personally I use the Steeda plates. Steeda plates have no caster adjustment and will only give you around 1.5 - 2 degrees of camber, but they're solidly built and are more daily driver (NVH) friendly.
blacksheep-1
Epic Contributor
I would recomend one of the Ford racing kits. They are pretty engineered so all the parts work together, they come complete, springs, shocks, bars and are pretty much a no brainer
JDee
Ancient Racer
I second that. That kit transformed my '16 into a track beast. Took 7 seconds a lap off at Mosport. Extremely well balanced, zero loose snapiness and very easy to find the edge without going over it. Highly recommend it. It was so much faster that I got booted out of advanced group and into open with the vettes, vipers and porsches. That was on a stock engine, only mod was a K&N air filter.
blacksheep-1
Epic Contributor
I know, you cant beat them, only thing else you might need is a camber kit, I never understood why people do something else. I'm glad it worked for you. FWIW I loved Mosport, but hated working there, The pits have one way in and it's also the only way out. Guys are always parking their tuggers at the loop at pit in, We need Tim Hortons in Florida
Fabman
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I'll third that....the ford kit gives you exactly what you need and its very well engineered to work together and still be very streetable.
Coilovers aren't the best choice for the street and cheap coilovers are not worth the money or the hassle.
Now if you're going to build a race car or heavily track focused car....that's a different story, but for a mostly street car stick to stock style parts from Ford.
The worst thing you can do is shop the websites and buy a bunch of misc. parts from different manufacturers and then mix and match based on what's cheap or looks sexy....
Pick a reputable manufacturer and buy a matched kit from them. That's the easy button and where the smart money is.
I will be surprised if you can still find the Ford Racing kits for an S197. Ford parts are getting hard to find for these cars since the platform has been out if production for 10+ years.
Fabman
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Ford Performance Mustang Assembled Handling Pack M-FR3A-MGTA (05-14 Mustang GT Coupe) - Free Shipping
FREE SHIPPING! Track Car Handling. Lowering springs alone are fine to change the appearance of your Mustang, but if you want your GT to handle like a true track
www.americanmuscle.comHmmmm…..out of stock. Might have to do some research. Be a shame if these are out of production. Probably be an eibach Kit. I believe that’s who makes the
sway bars for ford….maybe someone can add to this.
And it is listed as Out of StockFord Performance Mustang Assembled Handling Pack M-FR3A-MGTA (05-14 Mustang GT Coupe) - Free Shipping
FREE SHIPPING! Track Car Handling. Lowering springs alone are fine to change the appearance of your Mustang, but if you want your GT to handle like a true track
Fabman
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Yep, as I stated. Gonna take some looking around.
Ford Racing Handling Kit - Mustang GT Coupe - Assembled
Buy Ford Racing Handling Kit - Mustang GT Coupe - Assembled - PN: M-FR3A-MGTA. Shop discounted parts & accessories & save up to $309.56. Fitment, price & details available.
www.levittownfordparts.comStill around. Best price found on quick search.
Fabman
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Okay here's the deal....I found many places online that claim to have it....several let me put it in my shopping cart with no warning. (as much as one can rely on that)
I called Jegs as they show a 1/24/26 ship date.
I had them call Ford Racing to see if they were still in production and if that ship date was valid but they were closed.You could call around and see if anyone has one on hand or call Ford and find out if they are still in production.
397-M-FR3A-MGTA
Ford Performance 05-2014 Mustang GT Coupe Assembled Handling Pack
Ford Racing's assembled handling pack includes pre-assembled struts. No spring compressor required, strut/spring assembly is ready to bolt-in! Put a little "road race" into your Mustang GT with Ford Racing's handling pack. It's tuned to deliver improved handling without sacrificing ride quality...
Ford Racing Handling Kit - Mustang GT Coupe - Assembled
Buy Ford Racing Handling Kit - Mustang GT Coupe - Assembled - PN: M-FR3A-MGTA. Shop discounted parts & accessories & save up to $290.06. Fitment, price & details available.
www.levittownfordparts.comhttps://www.topflightautomotive.com...tm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={campaignname}&utm_content={assetgroupname}&utm_term={search_term}&utm_id=21437600611&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21433679927&gbraid=0AAAAAD_tlllsBRD4VdIoEqi5P1Q11tjOn&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjL3HBhCgARIsAPUg7a6hqdEX4Rhd3cUY0SMxCKzEwkyM9S8fvNKlwzjjBjQ1KR9UdbVjIcsaAr6FEALw_wcB
Fabman
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I am too slow at this and I make too many mistakes....Ford Racing Handling Kit - Mustang GT Coupe - Assembled
Buy Ford Racing Handling Kit - Mustang GT Coupe - Assembled - PN: M-FR3A-MGTA. Shop discounted parts & accessories & save up to $309.56. Fitment, price & details available.
Still around. Best price found on quick search.
I'm a lot better with the cars than I am with the internet.
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