Best Mods for Daily GT

[Albertcado]

This is my first RWD car so please bear with me.
My previous Accord Coupe was lowered 1.5 inches with spacers and a rear sway bar, and that's all it took to handle like a go cart.

What are the best suspension mods that would make the biggest difference when taking corners, hard acceleration on curves, and just overall "planted" feel?
My base GT is stock ride height and just a daily with occasional drives in the hills, but I don't have much confidence in it when taking turns at moderate speeds .
The car feels front heavy and almost like the rear is about to get loose; I'm sure everyone who has driven it stock can relate.
I drive a lot in the city and would like to keep my ride height stock so...Are there other upgrades that will improve the handling even if I don't lower the car?

What are the absolute must upgrade? Do I even just go for wider aftermarket wheels/tires first? Front sway bar? Rear sway bar? etc...

Thanks in advance,

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[NGOT8R]

I have every single part (except shocks and springs) that Steeda offers for the rear suspension on my Bullitt. You will need to eliminate wheel hop to help preserve the half shafts. I didn’t lower mine either because I have LTHs and didn’t want to risk scraping them, although I do love the look of a lowered S550.

 

[kluke15]

stop the hop kit or some kind or irs tie down kit was good. rear shock mounts help bounciness. maybe sway bars if youre not gonna lower it.

 

[Albertcado]

I have every single part (except shocks springs) that Steeda offers for the rear suspension on my Bullitt. You will need to eliminate wheel hop to help preserve the half shafts. I didn’t lower mine either because I have LTHs and didn’t want to risk scraping them, although I do love the look of a lowered S550.

Can you go into a bit of detail on what kind of parts you got for the rears and if it improved the stiffness and hugging when taking corners? What about for the front? I've read mixed opinions on the front sway bar not being worth the upgrade. As for the rears, the only thing I have for now are the Steeda IRS subframe alignment sleeves.

 

[Ewheels]

Maybe my experience can help with your decision making process. Granted, my car is 99% track use so my street feedback is limited.

First "handling" upgrade was 285 wide tires front and rear. Noticeably more grip on the streets but wasn't blown away by the difference.

Next was springs, shocks, sway bars, camber plates, IRS lockout. This combined with the 285 tires made a massive difference on the street. At this point, it felt as though I could take freeway onramps at any speed.
Now that's a lot of mods all at once so it's difficult to tell which piece made the most impact.

In general:
1. Sticky/wider tires will keep the car in contact with the road better which will prevent the feeling of the back end kicking out. Conversely, you will notice more body roll because of this.

2. Sway bars will give that "go kart" feeling side-to-side but you'll still have nose dive under heavy braking

3. Springs/shocks/coilovers will reduce body roll in every direction but this upgrade is usually one of the more expensive ones and most involved for install

4. Camber plates (or F/R camber in general) + an alignment will massively improve initial turn-in and overall tire grip. I would say one of the better upgrade choices.

5. Bracing: honestly, I would skip for now. It will make the car feel ever so slightly more rigid which is great but other mods will make more of an impact.


Hope this helps

 

[K4fxd]

The steeda stop the hop kit will tighten up the rear of the car. The rear subframe moves quite a bit giving you the about to lose the rear feeling. Before I added the kit mine felt like the rear was held on by rubber bands.

 

[NGOT8R]

Can you go into a bit of detail on what kind of parts you got for the rears and if it improved the stiffness and hugging when taking corners? What about for the front? I've read mixed opinions on the front sway bar not being worth the upgrade. As for the rears, the only thing I have for now are the Steeda IRS subframe alignment sleeves.

Yes, please see post #20 in the link below. I haven’t done anything to the front, as I don’t feel any mods are needed up there just yet. Yes, my car handles very well in the curves, although I haven’t pushed it as hard as I could. I am setting my car up for street/strip, but the rear components could greatly benefit a person that loves to drive aggressively through the curves. I also have a magneride suspension and don’t want to do away with that.

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...cy-and-reliability.173735/page-2#post-3519355

 

[Albertcado]

Maybe my experience can help with your decision making process. Granted, my car is 99% track use so my street feedback is limited.

First "handling" upgrade was 285 wide tires front and rear. Noticeably more grip on the streets but wasn't blown away by the difference.

Next was springs, shocks, sway bars, camber plates, IRS lockout. This combined with the 285 tires made a massive difference on the street. At this point, it felt as though I could take freeway onramps at any speed.
Now that's a lot of mods all at once so it's difficult to tell which piece made the most impact.

In general:
1. Sticky/wider tires will keep the car in contact with the road better which will prevent the feeling of the back end kicking out. Conversely, you will notice more body roll because of this.

2. Sway bars will give that "go kart" feeling side-to-side but you'll still have nose dive under heavy braking

3. Springs/shocks/coilovers will reduce body roll in every direction but this upgrade is usually one of the more expensive ones and most involved for install

4. Camber plates (or F/R camber in general) + an alignment will massively improve initial turn-in and overall tire grip. I would say one of the better upgrade choices.

5. Bracing: honestly, I would skip for now. It will make the car feel ever so slightly more rigid which is great but other mods will make more of an impact.


Hope this helps

which rear sway bar would you say make a noticeable improvement if any? Is getting a front strut worth it or the improvements too small to notice?

 

[Dana Pants]

If it’s really a street-only car, 10 inch wide wheels and summer performance tires are step 1. Step 2 is springs and shocks. There is probably no 3rd step.

which rear sway bar would you say make a noticeable improvement if any? Is getting a front strut worth it or the improvements too small to notice?

you put the swaybar on the side you want to lose traction. A rear swaybar makes the car rotate. A front swaybar makes the car more pushy.

 

[tj@steeda]

We currently have up to 20% off during our Extravaganza Sale - based on your input above, start with the IRS & move up from there if you are keeping the springs stock:

https://www.steeda.com/shop?keyword=Stop+the+Hop+Kit


550 Stop The Hop Kit
Upon launch of the S550 Mustang generation, it was the first of its kind amongst the Mustang stable to ever come standard with independent rear suspension (IRS) for all models. This launched the Mustang into the twenty-first century of modern sports car performance. Enthusiasts everywhere were raving about how it would finally corner like a Mustang should, not to say the Mustang didn't handle like a dream before with its live-axle counterpart.

For over thirty years, Steeda has been the leader in Mustang performance suspension, so it was a no-brainer when the S550 came out that we would give enthusiasts precisely what they needed to tear up the competition. What Ford created was nothing other than an engineering marvel to bring the Mustang to modern suspension status. Like every performance vehicle in the market today, there is always room for improvement. One of the IRS's characteristics on the S550 Mustang is a tendency to wheel hop due to the IRS subframe moving irritably when launched hard.

 

[K4fxd]

Not only does it move when launched hard it moves when in a corner.

Start with the stop the hop kit or the IRS braces at a minimum.

 

[tj@steeda]

Still one of our best videos to explain what it taking place with the IRS:

 

[VIPR01]

Keep in mind when you go down the suspension rabbit hole it never ends. Upgrading to improved struts/shocks like the Ford Performance M-18000-F, and whatever flavor springs is a substantial improvement over stock.

 

[K4fxd]

I wish Steeda would do the same on a stock car on a road course. The IRS movement will show up on cornering.

 

[K4fxd]

If you stop the IRS subframe movement, even the stock springs and dampers work pretty good, even on the track.

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