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2
0
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Indiana
Looking for a good suspension setup for a 2020 Mustang GT. It will mainly be used on track so not too worried about keeping the ride comfortable. After a few track days, the stock suspension is way too soft. I have looked at the FP Track handling pack but some reviews had me second guessing it.
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,790
1,990
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
I have the complete Ford Performance track suspension kit along with a bunch of other aftermarket stuff intended to take compliance out of the suspension. The FP racing suspension is a very good kit, the car's balance is virtually perfect, tending to understeer slightly at the very limit. It is extremely rare that the car will oversteer and when it does it's not snappy loose. The car is fast enough with a stock motor that I run mid pack in the race car group.
Only downside is that locking out all the rubber in the suspension results in a pretty harsh ride, though since I don't street drive it anymore it's not really an issue, for me. Without all the lockout stuff, the street ride is very civil indeed. And again, the lockout stuff is not part of the FP kit, so just don't do the lockouts and solid bushings if you're concerned about street ride and NVH.
 
2
0
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Indiana
I have the complete Ford Performance track suspension kit along with a bunch of other aftermarket stuff intended to take compliance out of the suspension. The FP racing suspension is a very good kit, the car's balance is virtually perfect, tending to understeer slightly at the very limit. It is extremely rare that the car will oversteer and when it does it's not snappy loose. The car is fast enough with a stock motor that I run mid pack in the race car group.
Only downside is that locking out all the rubber in the suspension results in a pretty harsh ride, though since I don't street drive it anymore it's not really an issue, for me. Without all the lockout stuff, the street ride is very civil indeed. And again, the lockout stuff is not part of the FP kit, so just don't do the lockouts and solid bushings if you're concerned about street ride and NVH.
Thanks for the info. Another question I haven't found an answer to is adjustability of that setup. Im no expert on suspension but I do have a shop nearby that does really good work. Is this a fairly adjustable package for camber, toe and stiffness?
 
6,345
8,135
Thanks for the info. Another question I haven't found an answer to is adjustability of that setup. Im no expert on suspension but I do have a shop nearby that does really good work. Is this a fairly adjustable package for camber, toe and stiffness?
I think that depends on which kit you buy, you can go with the basic bars and springs, or get the adjustable shocks.. whatever package you decide, If you go full nutso coil springs, then (IMO) any shock package you buy for under $6K is probably going to be disappointing (the hi zoot Penskes are about $10K) If you stay with the Ford omponents not only do they provide a balanced vehicle like @JDee mentioned, but it is serviceable as well. If you decide to get rid of all your rubber bushings, I would highly recommend you talk to Bruce at Full Tilt Boogie Racing, he builds quality parts, know his stuff and is a Ford guy.
Cortex is also starting to build some really good pieces to fill in the gaps in the Ford Performance line, they would be my second choice.
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,790
1,990
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
Thanks for the info. Another question I haven't found an answer to is adjustability of that setup. Im no expert on suspension but I do have a shop nearby that does really good work. Is this a fairly adjustable package for camber, toe and stiffness?

The sway bars are adjustable, the shocks are not. I personally am not knowledgeable enough to know how to adjust shocks, or how stiff the springs should be. I'm a driver not an engineer and I'm not real interested at this point in my life in spending a lot of time trying to learn and figure out shock valving. I know lots of guys feel they are capable of doing this and some of them really are, I applaud them but I'm not one of them. In my racing days, I knew many guys who adjusted themselves right out of being competitive. I get the concepts but I do not have the technical knowledge necessary to second guess Ford's engineers. I trust Ford has optimized the spring/shock/bar package, and the way the car drives with this kit makes me confident they have. It truly is a very driveable and fast package with no bad habits.

I kind of doubt that a shop that mostly deals in street cars will know much, if anything, about adjusting for racing conditions. The guy I used just about had a heart attack the first time I told him the numbers I wanted for camber. He came around with time. :) If the shop you are referring to does work on road racing cars then they'll know what you need and by all means take advantage of that experience.

Camber is going to depend on whose camber plates you're using, I personally find the Vorshlag units to be very good and can get me a little over -4 degrees if I want to go that far, I typically run -3.5. I get very even tire wear at that number. The max camber you can get varies a bit for each individual car, production tolerances are a thing.

Toe is often something that's a matter of preference, you will have to experiment and see what you like. I found there is not a whole lot to be gained/lost with toe, if you're within 1/32" inch of neutral. It seems more a feel thing to me.

What I really like about the Ford racing package is it meets my need to follow the KISS rule and that works for me. I just want to get in and drive and not have to worry about tinkering with settings. Even if you outgrow this package in a few years, you will have gained a ton of experience about how this car should feel when it's working right and that will stand you in good stead down the road.
 
12
7
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Long Island NY
I also recommend the FP Track Suspension. I have it on my 2020 GT and I strictly track the car. It handles amazing, way better than my stock 2020 GT350. For the money you cannot beat it. You can adjust the sway bars. Also agree that its simple and you dont have to try and figure out spring, shock settings. Also want to let you know from my experience turning my 2020 into a track car you will need more than just suspension. At minimum you are going to need a rear end cooler or the car will go into limp mode. Also important if you run anything other than stock tires unplug the traction control (dyno plug) under the hood. That will completely turn off the Traction control and Stability control. I have seen many, including my own car just lock a wheel up and spin for no reason because the Stabity Control freaked out on the track. Any questions let me know.
 
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87
105
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
20+ Years
MN
I run mostly BMR components and am happy with them, but like everything, its all a compromise for the track. The MR minimum drop handling springs are stiff and its definitely noticeable on the street and may be too stiff for some tracks. Every track (race setups) require something different to be "competitive". If you're like me and rarely street drive, I picked the parts that worked on the track I frequent most and left it that way. I don't have enough free time or money to swap out parts for every track event. And unless you're driving for money, its not worth it IMO. There is always someone faster, so the sooner you come to grips with that, the easier it is on your wallet and ego. As for unplugging that TC plug by the airbox ... I'd be very careful unless you have a lot of track experience.
Pick a setup, install and go have fun. Seat time is the best mod you can do.
 
I was running the ford performance track pack "y" springs and shocks. I really liked those, i decided to try BMR handling and they felt identical. The front springs are exactly the same. The rears I couldn't tell because one was progressive and the other was linear, but like I said. Car was basically the exact same.

That is all I would do, as well as sway bars to allow you to tune the chassis to your style of driving. Then brakes and tires that's really all the cars need to be relatively quick in my opinion. Getting the roll angle down and running good tires will make a huge difference.
 
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I tell you what I did.
Stock then
BMR HANDLING SPRING with ford perf struts and shocks.
Then put a bmr front sway bar and a 350R bar in the rear.
The car will dramatically change.
The cost is 250$ spring and 500$.struts.

Also suggesting cortex mono ball bushing front arm and rear LCA bushing

After that. I sold the set up and bought the CORTEX JRi coilovers also to sustain better the downforce from aero .
coilovers are not plug and play tho. They require micro adjustment to become "perfect".
Cost around 5grand.

Hope this help
 
333
285
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Bulgaria
I will add my 0.2 cents as Flyhalf. I started with OEM PP1 suspension and drived it for a few seasons. Added Camber Plates+Jacking Rails + Steeda front swaybar and that was enough to dramatically improved lap times to be fair was never able to get the max out of the OEM suspension in terms of lap times. Recently upgraded to Ohlins R&T and 19x11 wheels with 305 tires this made a dramatic improvement over the OEM PP1 stuff like taking 6 seconds out on a 3 km lap. With that in mind if you really want to make a race car on race tires (slicks) you need a lot more spring especially front than any street lowering or performance spring which mean you need coilovers. MCS and jRi are the best options in the budget performance section in fact even Steeda run MCS RR2 on the Number 20 car so this is a reasonable option. However as @flyhalf said coilovers could be a bit intimidating for a novice track driver without performance shop support.
 
6,345
8,135
I wonder if Ford sells the Gt4 stuff in a kit, that would be the shortest route. The weights are close ( sort of) because all the interior removal is replaced with roll cage.
 
6,345
8,135
Does Multimatic change all the parts? Or just the shocks and rear a-arms?

That would sure be the way to go.
I really don't know, all the Gt4 cars come assembled, maybe Kohr would know. That would certainly solve all the compatibility issues.
If not, then I'd get a package from Ford Performance or Cortex.
The thing is, all modern suspension packages are built around the shocks, so $$$$$.
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,790
1,990
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
Kind of standard with race cars that anything with compliance in the suspension goes out the window. Even in the early 90s with "showroom stock" cars we were pulling all the bushings out, take them to a machine shop with a bunch of urethane stock and get them to duplicate the stock rubber in the urethane. The noise the suspension made was phenomenal, we sprayed graphite all over the contact points to try to make it less obvious that it had solid bushings.
That particular car (which was supposed to be "showroom stock") went from 1:53's stock to 1:42's at Mosport. There were other changes, none to the motor though, it was all suspension and brakes.
 

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