2020 GT500 - swapping Base springs for CFTP springs, etc.

[Jmeo]

Great photos buddy, the car looks amazing.

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[marklboris]

That B&W shot is beautiful. I really like the way the car sits. Even though I only wanted to drop the front, I may think of replacing those rears now too. Really like the way it sits.

 

[Jmeo]

And I had to share this one showing the rotors I dressed by hand and the ceramic coating I put on the wheels and brake calipers, all Adam's stuff.

Tob, I look forward to your findings on clearance and ride quality.

I absolutely love that I can both drive on, or back on my 4 post lift with zero clearance issues, and I would hate to loose this convenience. Right now, I can drop the lift, drive off, go for a ride, come home and drive (or back) on the lift without having to add any clearance helpers, like wood blocks or anything. This makes even just the thought of driving the car on simple errands on nice days so much easier, that I actually will drive it more often, which is a huge plus.

Also, I have heard some people say the ride of the CFTP is choppy, or bouncy. I think Kent even said his 2014 rode better, which is surprising considering it's a solid rear axle. I am sure having 4s tires over cup2 would make a difference, but I am not willing to move the ride quality in the worse direction. I am very happy with the way it rides right now.

Lastly, the drop really helped with the wheel gap appearance. One thing I did not appreciate on my past 6g cars was 19" wheels. I always thought they were too small for the overall arch. Between the drop you did, and having 20's the outcome is visually stunning, which has me contemplating dropping based on what you and others assess after doing just that. Of course those wheels glistening s/p the ceramic coating, and intense detailing you did add to the "oh wow" factor. I will most definitely be following your lead on this one.

 

[kilobravo]

Jaime: I certainly don't have the wealth of "Mustang ride qualities," that you, Tob, and others have but there is no doubt whatsoever that the Snack Pack in NORMAL is rougher than the '14 in Sport. WAY noticeable.

We have terrible roads down here, especially the side roads, and to get to an even MEDIOCRE surface, I have to drive about a mile and a quarter...AT 15-30mph. It's a similar analogy to your "lift and ease of use" argument and it DOES keep me from driving more because it seems like it takes forever to get to an even slightly better road surface. The only smooth roads down here are the freeways and a few state roads, forget the county and city versions.

Speaking of 19 inchers, <smile> I never liked the idea of two different size wheels on the '14 but I LOVE the rake. Me thinks the Ford aero guys wanted to keep this vehicle as low as possible, front and rear.

But OMG can it turn! I went out for a short spin yesterday to charge the battery, (and to getTF out of the house,) and when I did the U-turn on the access road under the highway, I was going about forty at the turn. Never touched the brakes, just spun the wheel as fast as I could thinking for sure the rear end is gonna break loose at least a little but, it didn't. The car just went through that tight 90 effortlessly with absolutely zero roll. Zero. I was quite impressed. So I get what Billy and others have said about its maneuverability.

 

[The Chairman]

Tob, as you know, my car sat in a rail yard in TX for a month as well. However, I didn’t have the rust you noted.
Installed my CFTP springs but gave up on their rear sway bar. Went with the Steeda adjustable instead. I’ll post those pix in a bit.

 

[The Chairman]

Steeda rear sway bar and braided brake lines installed.

 

[The Chairman]

I don’t have an “after” pix of the car with the springs installed. I’ll post that when I do. But was surprised that the alignment ended almost exactly where the track settings should be after installation.

I should also point out that I used Maximum Motorsports camber/caster plates and not those with the Handling Package.

 

[Epiphany]

Very nice. I'm a huge fan of all things MM and have used their plates on all the other Mustangs I've owned that I put springs on. They are indeed much better than the OEM plates. I just used the factory ones to see how well they worked and they did the job. Were I making constant camber changes for street to track and back I'd absolutely have used MM's.

What toe did you go with?

 

[The Chairman]

Very nice. I'm a huge fan of all things MM and have used their plates on all the other Mustangs I've owned that I put springs on. They are indeed much better than the OEM plates. I just used the factory ones to see how well they worked and they did the job. Were I making constant camber changes for street to track and back I'd absolutely have used MM's.

What toe did you go with?

It ended up at 1/16” toe out and I left it there.

 

[gfcobra04]

Steeda rear sway bar and braided brake lines installed.

Are those Steeda brake lines?

you do both front and rear?

 

[The Chairman]

Are those Steeda brake lines?

you do both front and rear?

That’s where I bought them. But the label says Goodrich.
I did front and rear.
The GT500 brake lines look like stock Mustang parts. So I figured those marketed for the Mustang would fit.
Steeda part number = 555 6027

 

[gfcobra04]

That’s where I bought them. But the label says Goodrich.
I did front and rear.
The GT500 brake lines look like stock Mustang parts. So I figured those marketed for the Mustang would fit.
Steeda part number = 555 6027

Thanks

 

[The Chairman]

Finally got around to taking a pix of the before & after with CFTP springs installed:

Here’s the numbers (Before/After), measured at the peak of the fender though the center of the wheel:
LF
Fender: B: 28.75” A: 27.75”
Camber: B: .5 degrees A: 2.1

RF
Fender: B: 28.75” A: 27.75”
Camber: B: .5 degrees A: 2.0

LR
Fender: B: 28.25” A: 27.5”
Camber: B:1.3 degrees A: 1.8

LR
Fender: B: 28.5” A: 27.75”
Camber: B: 1.4 degrees A: 1.9

Net affect: front dropped 1” on both sides and the rear dropped 3/4” on both sides.
Front Camber is set to max and ended up near track setting (which is what I wanted).
I added a 5mm spacer between the front wheel and the brake rotor to ensure the wheel rim does not contact the front strut with the higher camber settings.

The ride seems to the same to me. No harshness at all.

 

[Helmzz]

Finally got around to taking a pix of the before & after with CFTP springs installed:

Here’s the numbers (Before/After), measured at the peak of the fender though the center of the wheel:
LF
Fender: B: 28.75” A: 27.75”
Camber: B: .5 degrees A: 2.1

RF
Fender: B: 28.75” A: 27.75”
Camber: B: .5 degrees A: 2.0

LR
Fender: B: 28.25” A: 27.5”
Camber: B:1.3 degrees A: 1.8

LR
Fender: B: 28.5” A: 27.75”
Camber: B: 1.4 degrees A: 1.9

Net affect: front dropped 1” on both sides and the rear dropped 3/4” on both sides.
Front Camber is set to max and ended up near track setting (which is what I wanted).
I added a 5mm spacer between the front wheel and the brake rotor to ensure the wheel rim does not contact the front strut with the higher camber settings.

The ride seems to the same to me. No harshness at all.

Did you just go to ford and order the springs? Do you mind me asking how much they are?

 

[The Chairman]

Did you just go to ford and order the springs? Do you mind me asking how much they are?

Looks like I bought the rears from White Bear Lake & Tasca (one side each — they were hard to find back then....). Receipt for the rear springs shows $153.29 each shipped with tax included. Fronts were about $50 each. They were cheaper than the rears as the rear springs are unique.
Might be easier to find them from one place now.

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