Suspension Upgrades (Damper focussed)

[Bulldog9]

I've had my Non Magnaride Bulitt since 2020, and love the car more and more.

Early on, I swapped in the Steeda Sport Springs (lowered) and Dampers front and rear. At 30K miles, they seem to be spent. I'm looking for something else, and leaning towards Bilstein but know there are other options.

I don't track the car regularly, but do occasionally, drive aggressively, want good ride quality and response/control.

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[Sparky1337]

I’m a real big fan of the mono tube Ford Performance race shock/strut kit. I paired them with Steeda min drop springs and while they are more firm than the factory shocks (mine is non perf pack) they aren’t anywhere near as rough when I dropped my GTI 2.5” on H&R springs and Bilstein dampers. I am very surprised at how well these shocks work.

Although, if you want anything adjustable you’d need to go Steeda/Koni.

Or you could go all the way with some KW coilovers. Big money though. About as much as bagging the car.

 

[Dana Pants]

Bilstein monotubes is a very correct answer.

 

[Steeda-Sergio]

Depending on what type of balance you're trying to achieve, it can go either way. Here's some knowledge to help you come to your own conclusions on what's best for you.

Here's a link to all Strut/Shocks we have available: 2015-2023 Mustang Suspension | Steeda

Ford and Bilstein - Monotube
Steeda and Koni - Twin Tube

Feature	Monotube (High Pressure)	Twin-Tube (Low Pressure)
Best For	Racing, heavy towing, off-roading	Daily commuting, city driving, Canyon Carving
Ride Quality	Firm/Stiff	Soft/Smooth
Response	Very fast and precise	Slower reaction time than Monotube

 

[NightmareMoon]

The twin tube adjustables are quite useful if you want to set them stiffer for high speed driving or for any kind of back road twisties or autox/track.

if you dont want to mess with adjustables, then look towards the monotubes mentioned above.

OP didnt ask, but the affordable end of the coilover market is more about cheap parts for profit margins and lowered stance, not about actual handling performance so I’d stay away from those unless you have enough budget to jump into mid range sets like the Olins.

 

[ShadesOfBloo]

...the affordable end of the coilover market is more about cheap parts for profit margins and lowered stance, not about actual handling performance so I’d stay away from those unless you have enough budget to jump into mid range sets like the Ohlins.

^ THIS!

We're long past the days when American OEMs left so much on the table that any aftermarket damper was an improvement. The cheapest brands will actually degrade your car's ride, handling and grip all at once.

The "affordable" (cheapskate) end of the market is mostly made in Chinese sweatshops, where workers don't have rights, so they don't give a f*@% about the end user.
Better still, I've heard of people shopping by price and getting a coilover kit from eBay, then it turns out they have a Chinese knockoff of a Chinese brand.

Tein moved most of their production from Japan to China, and KW might be making some stuff there.

Bilstein is a German brand.
Fortune Auto buys parts from Japan and assembles them in Virginia (though I've run into some quirks...)
Moton is from the Netherlands.
Multimatic is from Canada.
Öhlins is from Sweden.

Unfortunately, when I searched for which brands came from where, I couldn't find articles newer than 2018.

This web site avoids saying which brands are using Chinese components, but I like the column that says which users are buying each brand.
https://thebuildjournal.com/tech-gu...1jtREae9F_cJ1PbopC1b0d8foI_9eQiclTe_8WXdYFvof

To put it another way:

 

[ShadesOfBloo]

Bilstein monotubes is a very correct answer.

If the dampers in my Mustang wear out, I want to try replacements from Bilstein.

I don't track the car regularly, but do occasionally, drive aggressively, want good ride quality and response/control.

I, too, want good ride quality, so if I ever buy another coil-over kit I'll look for which ones use "pillow ball mounts" and avoid them like nuclear waste.

A "pillow ball mount" is a metal-on-metal ball-and-socket joint, and doesn't resemble a pillow at all. I think the name might be a bad translation.
The coil-overs I've tried on my Nissan all have that on the front struts, and the car only rides well on super-smooth surfaces. ...Like, that test track I visited once a year. ...Not the roads I drive to work, daily.

 

[luc]

Interesting that nobody mentioned the #1 handling improvement that you can do on the Mustang…. Getting rid of the crazy understeering……
The car need way bigger tires in front and not on the rear like most people do
1 is for look, the other one for handling

 

[Sparky1337]

^ THIS!

We're long past the days when American OEMs left so much on the table that any aftermarket damper was an improvement. The cheapest brands will actually degrade your car's ride, handling and grip all at once.

The "affordable" (cheapskate) end of the market is mostly made in Chinese sweatshops, where workers don't have rights, so they don't give a f*@% about the end user.
Better still, I've heard of people shopping by price and getting a coilover kit from eBay, then it turns out they have a Chinese knockoff of a Chinese brand.

Tein moved most of their production from Japan to China, and KW might be making some stuff there.

Bilstein is a German brand.
Fortune Auto buys parts from Japan and assembles them in Virginia (though I've run into some quirks...)
Moton is from the Netherlands.
Multimatic is from Canada.
Öhlins is from Sweden.

Unfortunately, when I searched for which brands came from where, I couldn't find articles newer than 2018.

This web site avoids saying which brands are using Chinese components, but I like the column that says which users are buying each brand.
https://thebuildjournal.com/tech-gu...1jtREae9F_cJ1PbopC1b0d8foI_9eQiclTe_8WXdYFvof

This link is pretty interesting. BC is higher than I would have expected, racelands though…..lol.

I looked into KW before I went the FP/Steeda route and they do make a “cheap” coil over set for ~$1500. Then they jump up to $3,000-$4,000 for a set of what I guess is their real race setups.

 

[Bulldog9]

I was happy with the Steeda, but seems to me they are almost spent after about 25K miles, especially the rear.

 

[Fusion Training Systems]

Mine went out before that. Adjustable pro actions.

 

[tj@steeda]

I was happy with the Steeda, but seems to me they are almost spent after about 25K miles, especially the rear.

They shouldn't be spent after 25K miles - is there anything leaking or what draws the conclusion that they are spent?

 

[tj@steeda]

I have over 30K on mine with the Steeda Dual Rate Springs & haven't had any issues - what springs are you running them with?

 

[NightmareMoon]

I was happy with the Steeda, but seems to me they are almost spent after about 25K miles, especially the rear.

which Steeda do you have? They have a few dampers. The pro action non-adjustables are a kinda low end part. Maybe an upgrade from OEM, maybe.

25k isnt many miles, but still shocks dont last forever. Even great dampers need to be rebuilt (ideally) or replaced from time to time.

Gwnerally 30k is about when I’d expect shocks to be fading off for many cars. Most drivers wont really notice. 60k and I’d replace em due to mileage and if you make it to 90k and they feel fine, the driver is probably noseblind to damper degredation

 

[Emilbadal]

Bilsteins that I had in the rears became noisy(clunking) in less than a month(mounted on H&R Sport springs), replaced under warranty, and the replacements became noisy again in about the same length of time and by then the fronts started making noises too, so I just went back to stock. Just wanted to share my experience. Bilsteins are not what they used to be, or I was really really unlucky with them twice.

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