Coilover time! Pedders Extreme!?

[PtheGman]

So its time, got my tax returns, going for s9me suspension upgrades and leaving the power until i have a meaningful way 9f transmitting it to the pavement. The goal for the car is a canyon carved so I'm going to focus on the handling for now.

I'm looking at the pedders extreme coilover setup with the castor and camber plates and possibly some sway bars. I want performance that tops the PP cars. I had been looking at the street/track Ford performance stuff but 8ts pretty much what comes on the stock pp cars.my budget is about $1200 for parts.

What does anyone recommend?

-paul

I'm will8ng to sacrifice ride quality but this is my daily driver...

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[Nagare]

The Ford Performance Track setup is definitely way above what the Street setup is. Track > Street = PP.

I've never messed around with coilovers, but general consensus I've seen is proper shock/strut setup is better than cheap coilovers. Unless you're just going for the adjustable height that is.

For 1200 (with a discount code) you could probably piece in:

- Steeda Adjustable Pro-Actions
- Ultralite Linears
- Camber Plates
- Bump stops

This doesn't include anything for stabilizing the rear end though like CB005/CB762 or Steeda's stop the hop kits. Both of these have great reviews and definitely help before you go further with camber arms or control arms.

If you don't need adjustability, I'd say do something more like what I have which is fixed Pro-Actions, Sport Linears, Camber Plates, bump stops, CB005 (mine is a DD, got 30k in a bit over 2 years).

 

[strengthrehab]

I have the Pedders extreme and they arent horrible (I use the car on track about 90% of the time).

If I hadn't got things at a great discount, I'd have done the FP track dampers (550 dollars from Autonation White Bear Lake) and BMR handling springs. Add in Camber plates and you are about about 1100 dollars. Rates are 250F, 980R and very balanced.

Very balanced system.

I have the Pedders, but the 391F, 782R spring rates are not very balanced. As a matter of fact, I'm pairing 1300lb/in rear springs with the front setup to get better balance.

TLDR: Get FP track dampers, BMR Handling series springs and Camber plates of your choice.

 

[PtheGman]

Thanks for the heads up. Im still on the fence about lots of this. Im really looking to improve the handling to at least PP level, want about an inch of drop. Hard to judge which one I want without having some firsthand experience. One mans comfort is anothers harsh ride. The search continues.
-Paul

 

[Bluemustang]

For a handling setup on a budget I recommend this:

-BMR SP083 handling springs
-FP track dampers
-FP toe-knuckle bearing
-BMR CB005
-BMR front sway bar or GT350/R bar for on the cheap

For the smiles/dollar this will out handle anything you can find.

 

[strengthrehab]

For a handling setup on a budget I recommend this:

-BMR SP083 handling springs
-FP track dampers
-FP toe-knuckle bearing
-BMR CB005
-BMR front sway bar or GT350/R bar for on the cheap

For the smiles/dollar this will out handle anything you can find.

I agree

 

[PtheGman]

I agree

Out of curiousity, what would be your second choice? Should I go with a ford performance track pack and call it done?
-paul

 

[strengthrehab]

Out of curiousity, what would be your second choice? Should I go with a ford performance track pack and call it done?
-paul

Yep.

Had I not been the recipient of a great deal, I would have gone the FP/BMR combo. Heck, before I bought my new rear springs, I was ready to drop to that combo, but I talked to Kelly and it didn't make sense to lower my front rate from 391 to 250

 

[PtheGman]

Yep.

Had I not been the recipient of a great deal, I would have gone the FP/BMR combo. Heck, before I bought my new rear springs, I was ready to drop to that combo, but I talked to Kelly and it didn't make sense to lower my front rate from 391 to 250

So the kit outlined above is better than off the shelf kits because it has better spring rates in general, just so I'm getting this right?

If I can go ahead and find those parts for lower prices I may go ahead and put that kit together. Going for an off the shelf one stop thing seems so much easier and I know better, I'm just lazy lol.

What other benefits does your outline offer above the pedders extreme or other similar kits?

Drawbacks?

Thanks again! Good information here!

-Paul

 

[BmacIL]

So the kit outlined above is better than off the shelf kits because it has better spring rates in general, just so I'm getting this right?

If I can go ahead and find those parts for lower prices I may go ahead and put that kit together. Going for an off the shelf one stop thing seems so much easier and I know better, I'm just lazy lol.

What other benefits does your outline offer above the pedders extreme or other similar kits?

Drawbacks?

Thanks again! Good information here!

-Paul

Well it's a two stop shop instead of one ;)

The setup outlined offers an engaging driving experience with very good track competence and maintains good street manners. If you want a GT350R-like handling setup (though actually better in a few ways), this is it.

 

[strengthrehab]

So the kit outlined above is better than off the shelf kits because it has better spring rates in general, just so I'm getting this right?

If I can go ahead and find those parts for lower prices I may go ahead and put that kit together. Going for an off the shelf one stop thing seems so much easier and I know better, I'm just lazy lol.

What other benefits does your outline offer above the pedders extreme or other similar kits?

Drawbacks?

Thanks again! Good information here!

-Paul

Depends on your goals. For a very well sorted, balanced system, the full track performance package is a set it and forget it thing.

The FP damper and BMR setup is "better" for higher levels of handling as the spring rates are more improved. If you just want a higher level if control then piece it together as outlined above with extra bearings to remove the binding and soft bushings.

As for the Pedders, it is set up for comfort. The front spring rates are ok, but they are way out of balance for the rears which can result in wonky handling at the limit. If youre just driving around and want the ability to go super low...get the Pedders.

I am keeping the Pedders setup, but I'm adding a crap ton of rear spring rate to better balance them out, but my car is about 90-95% track car.

I'm stubborn and one if the reasons I'm keeping the setup is to experiment and attempt to prove that they can be useful for entry level, non competitive track cars.

I've had a lot of custom work getting them to fit with my setup though. I had to open up the strut towers to actually adjust the camber with everything installed, had to use camber bolts to keep my 18x11 wheels from rubbing, had to order special rod ends to be able to use the BMR rear shock mounts, etc.

If I was in your position I'd do the FP kit and a set of camber plates or piece it together for more serious setup.

 

[PtheGman]

Depends on your goals. For a very well sorted, balanced system, the full track performance package is a set it and forget it thing.

The FP damper and BMR setup is "better" for higher levels of handling as the spring rates are more improved. If you just want a higher level if control then piece it together as outlined above with extra bearings to remove the binding and soft bushings.

As for the Pedders, it is set up for comfort. The front spring rates are ok, but they are way out of balance for the rears which can result in wonky handling at the limit. If youre just driving around and want the ability to go super low...get the Pedders.

I am keeping the Pedders setup, but I'm adding a crap ton of rear spring rate to better balance them out, but my car is about 90-95% track car.

I'm stubborn and one if the reasons I'm keeping the setup is to experiment and attempt to prove that they can be useful for entry level, non competitive track cars.

I've had a lot of custom work getting them to fit with my setup though. I had to open up the strut towers to actually adjust the camber with everything installed, had to use camber bolts to keep my 18x11 wheels from rubbing, had to order special rod ends to be able to use the BMR rear shock mounts, etc.

If I was in your position I'd do the FP kit and a set of camber plates or piece it together for more serious setup.

Well, I guess my goal would be a very seriously improved street machine. My last high performance 2 door was a 2007 Civic Si Coupe (FG2, k24 swapped, 300whp) had a great Buddy Club Racing set up, fully adjustable coilovers, sway bars, endlinks and every bar and brace known to riceboy kind. It was not uncomfortable but capable of lifting (both) inside tires given the correct circumstances, rear broke loose and oversteered instead of understeer, compliant, comfortable and reliable with almost not NVH increase....Id like to shoot for something like that if possible although I believe it to be hard and expensive not to mention time consuming. My car will rarely see the track, unlike my civic. did. It will however see mountain and canyon roads, long trips and general around town stupidity. Im seriously thinking about the FP/BMR setup instead of a coilover, as I dont really need the adjustability and wont in the future. From what I can tell, sway bars on this car are kind of unnecessary but we'll see what rear grip and lateral G look like before new tires...which I need.

-Paul

What is the install on the bearings like? Straightforward? Will a tuning shop know what to do with them? Are they worth the cost or does the kit as outlined have a pretty good function without them?

Also anyone have links to the aforementioned FP/BMR setup? Thanks!

 

[strengthrehab]

Sounds like the FP/BMR setup will be good.

The list BlueMustang put together is a good one. Autonation White Bear lake has the FP dampers only for 550 plus shipping (it was 30 bucks from MN to TX)

 

[BmacIL]

Well, I guess my goal would be a very seriously improved street machine. My last high performance 2 door was a 2007 Civic Si Coupe (FG2, k24 swapped, 300whp) had a great Buddy Club Racing set up, fully adjustable coilovers, sway bars, endlinks and every bar and brace known to riceboy kind. It was not uncomfortable but capable of lifting (both) inside tires given the correct circumstances, rear broke loose and oversteered instead of understeer, compliant, comfortable and reliable with almost not NVH increase....Id like to shoot for something like that if possible although I believe it to be hard and expensive not to mention time consuming. My car will rarely see the track, unlike my civic. did. It will however see mountain and canyon roads, long trips and general around town stupidity. Im seriously thinking about the FP/BMR setup instead of a coilover, as I dont really need the adjustability and wont in the future. From what I can tell, sway bars on this car are kind of unnecessary but we'll see what rear grip and lateral G look like before new tires...which I need.

-Paul

What is the install on the bearings like? Straightforward? Will a tuning shop know what to do with them? Are they worth the cost or does the kit as outlined have a pretty good function without them?

Also anyone have links to the aforementioned FP/BMR setup? Thanks!

There are MANY of us on this forum w/ it. It's a proven setup. I would do the BMR adjustable front bar with this setup. It really makes the front end work how it should.

@Bluemustang @Biggsy @J.P.B. @H1shawn1 @Flyhalf @Rebellion @CTH621 @Demon Coyote @mindys @jbird60 and many more...

 

[Bluemustang]

The setup I mentioned will make it a very serious street machine. The whole package will provide tremendous confidence and composure to the car. Of course you can always add more bits later, but this is the "go-to". It delivers the goods, man.

The bearing should be fairly easy for a shop to do. The kit will function without them, but you will want them. Theres a reason Ford Performance put them in their track kit. It'll make the car more predictable in the corners that you can notice.

The other big one I didnt list here is the rear lower control arm bearing which offers tremendous improvements but it's a pain in the ass. You can probably hold off on that until you can re-evaluate how the suspension is working for you and figuring what else you want to improve.

But anyway simply the parts I listed plus a good alignment, yes! Winning.

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