The Hype is Right-On: Steeda Shock Mounts (plus a review on rear sway bar)

Yes, the ever-present hype pertaining to Steeda rear shock mounts is just. They are incredible, period. Well built, extraordinarily easy to install (45 minutes or less), and the refinement to the overall ride is unparalleled.

The best "proof" of the ride improvement is subjective indeed, but nevertheless I'll share: a road I drive everyday is in decent repair, but is wavy and has scattered, repetitive, frequency-type bumps. This road has always bothered me due to the bounce and unsettled feeling it produced, and I shrugged it off as not improvable via car modification. Enter the Steeda shock mounts and this road was nearly like glass. Seriously. As another 6G member has stated, the mounts completely eliminate "after shocks"; you hit a bump and that's all of it.

Now for the BIG improvement...the Steeda rear sway bar. I installed this with hopes of eliminating understeer and improving the time to hit roll-center on any turn. Objective complete. The bar is on full-stiff, with the front bar the stock PP piece. The combination is absolutely intoxicating. I turn the wheel, and the car moves as one solid piece to EXACTLY where I point. I found myself screaming, "this is PERFECT" on the many test runs after install. It is really that good.

My last note that I test everything on twisty roads, not the track and not slowly putting about town. So many of you could benefit, perhaps, by a different setup. For those of you canyon or mountain road explorers out there, I may have cracked the code on the "perfect" setup (at least in my eyes).

More tests will tell when I execute a 2000km, 5 country, rally later this year through the Alps. Until then, enjoy the day, and thanks to Steeda for top-notch equipment and support.

- Mike

Interesting - you went with just a rear sway bar?

If you drive down Bahnhofstrasse in Wiesbaden, say hello to my old apartment opposite the park.

wildcatgoal said:

Interesting - you went with just a rear sway bar?

If you drive down Bahnhofstrasse in Wiesbaden, say hello to my old apartment opposite the park.

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Great location for travel there in Wiesbaden. Army?

Yes, only the rear sway bar for me, and for a few reasons: I didn't want to deal with installing the front, I wanted to retain the front sway bushings, and (most of all) my bar-napkin beer-math led me to believe that I could achieve my goals by retaining the PP front bar and going full stiff on a Steeda rear.

It really does feel amazing. The roll-to-center is so fast it is kart-like, and the precision is something I've never felt before when piloting a car. It's incredible. I still do need to feel what it's like at some much higher speed (100kph is the most I've done so far), but I'm fairly confident that for a street machine this setup (I have springs, struts/shocks, and k-member brace as well) will be unmatched at this price point.

Stock struts/shocks and springs? I'm totally on board with the rear sway bar only. I've often wondered why many replace the PP front bar,it seems plenty stiff, but a rear bar would really help the car rotate more, in theory anyways.

Ryan P said:

Stock struts/shocks and springs? I'm totally on board with the rear sway bar only. I've often wondered why many replace the PP front bar,it seems plenty stiff, but a rear bar would really help the car rotate more, in theory anyways.

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I'm on Steeda Ultralites (1/4" space in rear), fixed Pro-Actions, and the 2-point K-member brace to finish things off.

I really don't think it's theory that the OEM PP front sway paired with a beefy rear bar will help rotation...it's moved into the hypothesis realm or, from my seat, the vivid reality of absolute fact.

Roadway 5.0 said:

Great location for travel there in Wiesbaden. Army?

Yes, only the rear sway bar for me, and for a few reasons: I didn't want to deal with installing the front, I wanted to retain the front sway bushings, and (most of all) my bar-napkin beer-math led me to believe that I could achieve my goals by retaining the PP front bar and going full stiff on a Steeda rear.

It really does feel amazing. The roll-to-center is so fast it is kart-like, and the precision is something I've never felt before when piloting a car. It's incredible. I still do need to feel what it's like at some much higher speed (100kph is the most I've done so far), but I'm fairly confident that for a street machine this setup (I have springs, struts/shocks, and k-member brace as well) will be unmatched at this price point.

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I'd expect cornering at 80+ mph might be a little puckering. If you keep the staggered tire setup it might be fine. I'd also expect you to have a little bit more difficulty putting power down when in/coming out of tight corners near the limit. Big rear bar without corresponding front stiffness increase will put more cross weight to the outside front and less on the inside rear. You need a good amount of load on the inside rear to let the torsen diff work. Things to keep in mind...

And yes, the shock mounts are awesome

Roadway 5.0 said:

I'm on Steeda Ultralites (1/4" space in rear), fixed Pro-Actions, and the 2-point K-member brace to finish things off.

I really don't think it's theory that the OEM PP front sway paired with a beefy rear bar will help rotation...it's moved into the hypothesis realm or, from my seat, the vivid reality of absolute fact.

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Traditionally, experienced drivers like more rear bar.

Steeda Tech

Roadway 5.0 said:

Great location for travel there in Wiesbaden. Army?

Yes, only the rear sway bar for me, and for a few reasons: I didn't want to deal with installing the front, I wanted to retain the front sway bushings, and (most of all) my bar-napkin beer-math led me to believe that I could achieve my goals by retaining the PP front bar and going full stiff on a Steeda rear.

It really does feel amazing. The roll-to-center is so fast it is kart-like, and the precision is something I've never felt before when piloting a car. It's incredible. I still do need to feel what it's like at some much higher speed (100kph is the most I've done so far), but I'm fairly confident that for a street machine this setup (I have springs, struts/shocks, and k-member brace as well) will be unmatched at this price point.

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I was always under the impression the front bar was the same regardless if the GT was a PP or not, and that the rear bar was thicker on PP cars.

I lived in Germany when I worked for a prior employer. I was a secret CIA agent, actually. Some call me Jason Bourne, some call me 'wildcatgoal' - depends. Nah, I was there for work, not military.

Front Sway Bar:
GT (non-PP) = 32mm
GT (PP) = 32mm
GT350 = 34mm
GT350R = 34mm

Rear Sway Bar:
GT (non-PP) = 21.7mm
GT (PP) = 22.2mm
GT350 = 22.2mm
GT350R = 24mm

The busings are different on the PP front sway, aren’t they? I’ve never tinkered on a base GT to know.

The PP bushings are"sticky"
Meaning that they are bonded to the bar for more stiffness.

Chef jpd said:

The PP bushings are"sticky"
Meaning that they are bonded to the bar for more stiffness.

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Correct. No additional roll stiffness, but different feel from the bushings. The PP brackets are also much stiffer.

I also run just a rear bar, but I’m not running one quite so stiff as the OP.

Handling balance is improved. Putting power down on corner exit is the downside.

NightmareMoon said:

I also run just a rear bar, but I’m not running one quite so stiff as the OP.

Handling balance is improved. Putting power down on corner exit is the downside.

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[MENTION=19599]Bluemustang[/MENTION], this could be related to your issue.