Autocross mods recommendation

[Aluehrs11]

I have a 2015 Mustang GT performance pack with Steeda lowering springs, Steeda camber plates, brake pads, and wheels and tires. Running in CAMC because why not. With a small budget, trying to figure out the next modification to do. I am leaning toward struts/shocks or sway bars. Was curious what people in the forum thought. And also what brand of recommended item.

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[CDAVIS]

Good morning, this is Chris Davis, I work at Steeda. I would be glad to help you! Call me when you have a few minutes to talk. 229-249-8879.

 

[NightmareMoon]

In approximately this order:

1. Seat time and instruction
2. Great tires and wheels (including supporting mods - spacers and studs, camber) - adds mechanical grip.
3. Good quality adjustable Shocks (to help tune balance)
4. Adjustable Swaybars to help tune balance and speed up transitions (slaloms)
5. Springs to speed up transitions as well as improve dive/squat.
   ...
6. everything else.

If you're good on 1 (i.e. 11" wheels front and rear and 295-315 200TW tires such as the Yokohama A052 or RE71RS), then I'd probably do adjustable shocks and springs next since at least on the fronts the springs are nearly zero labor since you're doing shocks anyway. Also consider some good coilovers supporting much higher spring rates (like 500lbs front not the usual ~230lbs), especially if you want to build the car to be competitive and if the car isn't really a daily driver anymore.

Swaybars are cheap, and you're welcome to start there, but you'll want adjustable shocks at some point to better control the rate of weight transfer.

All that's great but if your tires aren't top tier and if you're not getting enough seat time, put the money there first.

 

[Aluehrs11]

In approximately this order:

1. Seat time and instruction
2. Great tires and wheels (including supporting mods - spacers and studs, camber) - adds mechanical grip.
3. Good quality adjustable Shocks (to help tune balance)
4. Adjustable Swaybars to help tune balance and speed up transitions (slaloms)
5. Springs to speed up transitions as well as improve dive/squat.
   ...
6. everything else.

If you're good on 1 (i.e. 11" wheels front and rear and 295-315 200TW tires such as the Yokohama A052 or RE71RS), then I'd probably do adjustable shocks and springs next since at least on the fronts the springs are nearly zero labor since you're doing shocks anyway. Also consider some good coilovers supporting much higher spring rates (like 500lbs front not the usual ~230lbs), especially if you want to build the car to be competitive and if the car isn't really a daily driver anymore.

Swaybars are cheap, and you're welcome to start there, but you'll want adjustable shocks at some point to better control the rate of weight transfer.

All that's great but if your tires aren't top tier and if you're not getting enough seat time, put the money there first.

Thanks for all the information. Any recommendations on brand for struts/shocks?

 

[NightmareMoon]

Thanks for all the information. Any recommendations on brand for struts/shocks?

Ideally, figure out your springs first and then work back to shocks which are in a good range to control those spring rates.

That said, your options will be pretty limited if you're not going to full on coilovers.

Koni Yellows or Steeda proaction adjustables are pretty comparable and work up for normal performanc springs in the 250 lb front range. On stiff settings they can be fast with up to 350ftlb springs but with those stiffer springs the daily ride quality will kind of suck no matter the shock settings you use as the shocks aren't really ideal for higher rates. With lower spring rates for the standard off the shelf Steeda or BMR handling springs the daily ride quality will be quite good.

Steeda/Konis will not have the best longevity (budget to replace one failed shock every year or so on average). On the up side they'll get a great performance value for your money on stiffer settings and you can dial them back for daily use, and use them to tune balance on corner entry or exit.

If you want to get serious (and can wait a while), you can call up ProParts.com and talk to the owner and he can get you an affordably priced coilover setup which can run very high spring rates with good quality shocks which are much better suited for performance - and the ride quality is actually pretty good or better than the Koni/Steeda off the shelf shocks on normal roads. Over bumpy roads the higher spring rates are obviously going to be rough. The ProParts option is probably the cheapest coilover that's worth running for autocross. Above that you have Ohlins. MCS, etc etc, which are worth saving up for.

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