GT350R Springs for GT (high rate, minimum lowering)

[Bluemustang]

Tomorrow's the day: GT350R front springs, BMR SP085 rear springs, and Steeda Pro-Action Fixed struts and shocks. Can't wait to get to work

Good luck dude! Let us know how it goes!

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[valentinoamoro]

Tomorrow's the day: GT350R front springs, BMR SP085 rear springs, and Steeda Pro-Action Fixed struts and shocks. Can't wait to get to work

Good luck and thanks for all your help to the 6g community!

 

[BMR Tech]

Good luck and thanks for all your help to the 6g community!

I second this. It's great to have him on here, that's for sure!

 

[BmacIL]

Thanks guys

It's a pretty awesome community to be a part of. I had no idea how fun it'd be when I first started browsing, let alone getting my car and beginning to make it my own. Can't wait to have my handling machine come tomorrow afternoon. The sad part is it'll be on my snow tires so I won't really be able to give it a good test, but I'm sure I'll be able to tell the difference in response, ride and overall handling.

 

[SteedaTech]

Thanks guys

It's a pretty awesome community to be a part of. I had no idea how fun it'd be when I first started browsing, let alone getting my car and beginning to make it my own. Can't wait to have my handling machine come tomorrow afternoon. The sad part is it'll be on my snow tires so I won't really be able to give it a good test, but I'm sure I'll be able to tell the difference in response, ride and overall handling.

looking forward for good feedback on your project. Very well thought out for your objectives!
The best,

Mike D

 

[BmacIL]

GT350R front springs, SP085 rear springs, Steeda fixed valve shocks and struts

In summary, I love this suspension setup. The ride and handling are both substantially better than stock and make it feel like a sports car. The ride quality is overall BETTER than stock, despite significantly higher wheel rates (50% and 46% higher front and rear, respectively). The most noticeable thing regarding the ride is that bumps are dealt with and over immediately. Bump, then settled. There's no pogo-sticking of the entire body of the car over moderate to large bumps. Yes, because of the increase in spring rate, you do feel more road imperfections, but not harshly at all. The initial impact of bumps is just a hair more harsh than stock. It's really amazing.

Handling, oh yes the handling. There's obviously still some body roll, but it is very significantly reduced, and during and exiting corners, the car feels like it rotates about the CG rather than the front axle. It inspires so much confidence to push it hard, which I have not really done yet (only up to ~6-7 tenths). Turn-in response is far quicker and actually takes a little getting used to! It's not darty or twitchy, it just takes some time getting used to a car that responds how it should compared to the more lazy response of stock.

Looks: Well, I finished the install after the sun had set, so I haven't really gotten a chance to see how it looks or take pictures (tomorrow though!) That said, from the best I could tell, the 0.75" front drop and 0.5" rear drop seem to be on the money. Walking up to the car, you can definitely tell it's lower.

Other notes: brake dive and front lift on decel and accel are reduced by ~50%. Shifting is smoother as a result. The car just seems to plant itself and go.

Update: this spring setup with the Ford Performance Track dampers is even better! The Steeda fixed were at the threshold of enough damping, and didn't really have enough for all situations. Their adjustables would have been excellent, too.

 

[BmacIL]

Updated!

 

[hvysoul]

I decided to attempt the full 350r spring setup. I'm going to attempt to install the rears along with the fronts. I'll let everyone know how it turns out and take some pictures of the process as well as get the parts numbers that are needed for the install. I ordered 2 350r fronts, 2 350r left rears, and will be running them with Koni's. I'll let everyone know what else is needed when I attempt the install once the stuff comes in and I get it to my buddies shop. I'm hoping before Christmas or during Christmas week to have it all installed.

I am very interested in how this comes out...
Currently I am running bmr handling springs 300 front 980 rear with koni yellows all the way around
And car sits a little to low in front me (jacking rails to the rescue)

 

[BmacIL]

I am very interested in how this comes out...
Currently I am running bmr handling springs 300 front 980 rear with koni yellows all the way around
And car sits a little to low in front me (jacking rails to the rescue)

Why don't you just keep the handling rears and change the fronts to the R? That's exactly the spring setup I just installed yesterday (love it). Front drop is about 0.4-0.5" higher than handling fronts, but still ~0.75" lower than stock.

 

[hvysoul]

Why don't you just keep the handling rears and change the fronts to the R? That's exactly the spring setup I just installed yesterday (love it). Front drop is about 0.4-0.5" higher than handling fronts, but still ~0.75" lower than stock.

I find the handling springs are a little to stiff for rear I had to loosen rear sway and tighten front trying rein in the rear of the car. So with that I am concerned about installing a softer spring up front upsetting the balance. I figure the Ford engineers probably did a pretty good job with the 350r. I'm not that concerned about the ride being stiff, but I am concerned about to low for daily driving.

 

[Rebellion]

I find the handling springs are a little to stiff for rear I had to loosen rear sway and tighten front trying rein in the rear of the car. So with that I am concerned about installing a softer spring up front upsetting the balance. I figure the Ford engineers probably did a pretty good job with the 350r. I'm not that concerned about the ride being stiff, but I am concerned about to low for daily driving.

The GT350R fronts are a good option...they handle very neutral with the handling rears with non-PP sways. You might have to go back to full soft on the sways at the beginning. On my setup, if anything, I want the rear sway to be slightly stiffer...but I'm not sure.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Fellas,

I have read through the entire thread and still have some questions if you don't mind... I have a EB Premium with Performance Package, so I'm assuming I already have the correct PP struts/shocks and would not have to necessarily upgrade those components at the present time, is this correct?

I am interested in trying the upgrade as mentioned throughout this thread - but since I have an EB with 4-less cylinders, the weight over the front end is a little different when compared to a GT or Shelby. Would the setup mentioned in this thread still work?

If so, for the GT350R front springs, I would need Ford Part # FR3Z-5310-M - is this part number correct?

Would I need any other front parts if keeping the PP struts (isolators/spring seats, strut mounts, etc)?

For the rear, again keeping the PP shocks - I've seen BMR SP085 and SP088 rear springs mentioned. Would the SP085s be a better choice, or the SP088s? Again, would I need any other parts for the rear?

One other thing in this thread that caught my eye was the discussion of the Shelby GT350 & 350R front and rear sway bars (post #123 & 150). It was mentioned that the PP front sway bar may be the same as what is used on the Shelby. True??

Do I 'need' to also upgrade sway bars if using GT350R fronts and BMR rears, or are the sways that come with a PP more than suitable??

Thanks for any additional info and help - it's really appreciated (and all of the research performed by all participants in this thread is extremely beneficial and great work too!!).

 

[Rebellion]

Fellas,

I have read through the entire thread and still have some questions if you don't mind... I have a EB Premium with Performance Package, so I'm assuming I already have the correct PP struts/shocks and would not have to necessarily upgrade those components at the present time, is this correct?

I am interested in trying the upgrade as mentioned throughout this thread - but since I have an EB with 4-less cylinders, the weight over the front end is a little different when compared to a GT or Shelby. Would the setup mentioned in this thread still work?

If so, for the GT350R front springs, I would need Ford Part # FR3Z-5310-M - is this part number correct?

Would I need any other front parts if keeping the PP struts (isolators/spring seats, strut mounts, etc)?

For the rear, again keeping the PP shocks - I've seen BMR SP085 and SP088 rear springs mentioned. Would the SP085s be a better choice, or the SP088s? Again, would I need any other parts for the rear?

One other thing in this thread that caught my eye was the discussion of the Shelby GT350 & 350R front and rear sway bars (post #123 & 150). It was mentioned that the PP front sway bar may be the same as what is used on the Shelby. True??

Do I 'need' to also upgrade sway bars if using GT350R fronts and BMR rears, or are the sways that come with a PP more than suitable??

Thanks for any additional info and help - it's really appreciated (and all of the research performed by all participants in this thread is extremely beneficial and great work too!!).

The sways, I would wait until after you've done the springs/dampers...wait a few weeks, drive hard for a while, and then evaluate if they need upgrade. [MENTION=10281]BmacIL[/MENTION] uses the rear PP one with a non-PP front, and I'm using both non-PP, so far the ride has been impressive enough to not need more sway bar. Not that it won't be useful, just that it needs more evaluation before spending money.

About the springs, I'm not sure if the EB PP uses the same dampers as the GT PP, but one thing is for sure...they don't have enough dampening for the R/85 setup. Supposedly, for PP dampers the 89/82 is the right setup for a similar drop, but obviously the rates will be much lower.

I'd say that, apart from the track and steeda fixed/adj dampers, the only other ones appropriate for the R/85 would be konis (talking about sets of four).

 

[BmacIL]

I'd concur with pretty much everything Rebellion said on the springs and dampers. You need a higher rate damper for these springs. Steeda, FRPP track or Koni. Koni is the least DD friendly of those options.

If you are intent on keeping the PP dampers, I'd suggest the BMR SP080 spring set. It will have a bit less front drop than on a GT, in the 0.9-1.0" range vs. 1.2". It's the best linear spring set on the market for use with the PP dampers. Once you go aftermarket dampers, your choices increase dramatically.

 

[BmacIL]

I find the handling springs are a little to stiff for rear I had to loosen rear sway and tighten front trying rein in the rear of the car. So with that I am concerned about installing a softer spring up front upsetting the balance. I figure the Ford engineers probably did a pretty good job with the 350r. I'm not that concerned about the ride being stiff, but I am concerned about to low for daily driving.

Perhaps try a different rear bar (like the stock PP rear) with the GT350R front springs?

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