BmacIL's Guard GT Build

[NorthernMuscle]

What did you set front camber / caster to? (or if you have front and rear to share, post it all

I've had the bumpsteer kit for over a year, with -1.5 / 7.4 up front. Installing those roll center correcting Steeda links in a few weeks, then getting the alignment redone, so open to further suggestions.

I can echo that the bump steer kit makes a difference. I run 275's up front in the summer, and some of the rural roads around me are horrible for cracks and potholes. My car handles far better most people would expect of a Mustang, and there's never a time when it deviates from where I'm aiming it! Unlink BmacIL, I did my mods in batches, but nonetheless, I attribute the zero bumpsteer to this kit.

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[BmacIL]

What did you set front camber / caster to? (or if you have front and rear to share, post it all

I've had the bumpsteer kit for over a year, with -1.5 / 7.4 up front. Installing those roll center correcting Steeda links in a few weeks, then getting the alignment redone, so open to further suggestions.

I can echo that the bump steer kit makes a difference. I run 275's up front in the summer, and some of the rural roads around me are horrible for cracks and potholes. My car handles far better most people would expect of a Mustang, and there's never a time when it deviates from where I'm aiming it! Unlink BmacIL, I did my mods in batches, but nonetheless, I attribute the zero bumpsteer to this kit.

I was able to get the following:

Front camber: -2.0 L and R
Front caster: 6.9 L and R
Front toe: 0.01 each side

Rear camber: -1.7 L and R
Rear toe: 0.11 each side

The tech is really good and a racer himself, and I actually helped him a little bit when doing the front. I may dial the rear back 0.2 deg to -1.5 but I'm waiting for warmer weather and when I swap the torsen in to decide.

 

[Bluemustang]

It certainly did. When I put my summer wheels on, it got very noticeable. Now it's gone. Some tramlining remains, but that's a symptom of wide tires with positive scrub radius. The bumpsteer was exacerbated by those.

I expect that the max adjustment is going to be needed by nearly everyone. I had zero bumpsteer with stock arms with the GT350R lowering, but many have some with slightly lower cars. This basically is doing a full correction.

The feel is still excellent. The steering loads up with lock nicely, and you can feel the tires working. The grip is pretty tremendous, and the car is still super flat. I tried a few high speed corners and I chickened out before it showed any sign of letting go lol. Easily still one of my favorite mods despite the extra work to get it dialed in.

Awesome dude! Like I was telling someone else, you really can't exploit it on the street. Lol

Glad to hear the arms and bumpsteer kit are working nicely for you. It's all coming together man!

 

[NorthernMuscle]

I was able to get the following:
Front camber: -2.0 L and R
Front caster: 6.9 L and R
Front toe: 0.01 each side

Rear camber: -1.7 L and R
Rear toe: 0.11 each side

The tech is really good and a racer himself, and I actually helped him a little bit when doing the front. I may dial the rear back 0.2 deg to -1.5 but I'm waiting for warmer weather and when I swap the torsen in to decide.

Hmmm, and I thought I had gone aggressive for a daily driver
Last time (for my current alignment), I got:
FRONT: (L/R)
Caster = 7.41/7.44 (asked for 7.3)
Camber = -1.47/-1.50 (asked for -1.5, but tire wear isn't as much as I expected, so might aim for closer to -1.75 this time)
Toe = 0.02/0.02
REAR: (L/R)
Camber = -1.43/-1.42 (asked for 1.5 deg)
Toe = 0.06/0.06 (asked for 0.11, total not >.25, so will push for closer to this next time)
Thrust angle 0.00 (asked for 0.00!! with several exclamation marks!!!)

Not saying this is his default suggestions for all, but a HUGE thanks to BMR Tech, who helped me with the targets I was aiming for with the above. I didn't have any experience with custom alignments on cars, but did a ton of research, and BMR's suggestions seemed right inline with what I was looking for! That said, always open to suggestions and feedback

 

[BmacIL]

A friend went to Roush heat extractors, so I got his black ones! Yeah, yeah she needs a bath, I know.

 

[BmacIL]

Thanks. You probably havent had time to share detailed impressions. Did it remove bumpsteer? How did it change feel and response.
Interesting you went with the max adjustment given you are on low drop springs?

I'll now say that I probably need to dial it back from max adjustment. Probably move all the small washers to the bottom. It still has some mild bumpsteer but it's not the same as it was, and I'm thinking it's overshot and now doing the opposite but much less magnitude. @Bluemustang has the same wheels and setup but has less shims above the joint (second pic).

 

[NorthernMuscle]

Second pic is how I was initially instructed/recommended to space them, and I have similar spring/setup as you, and it feels great (which is why I recently asked you about yours). Also... I feel much better about how dirty and beat up looking mine look after a summer and winter of driving

 

[BmacIL]

Second pic is how I was initially instructed/recommended to space them, and I have similar spring/setup as you, and it feels great (which is why I recently asked you about yours). Also... I feel much better about how dirty and beat up looking mine look after a summer and winter of driving

FWIW @Bluemustang didn't need any adjustment for his, but I think they hadn't gotten it right before.

 

[valentinoamoro]

I'll now say that I probably need to dial it back from max adjustment. Probably move all the small washers to the bottom. It still has some mild bumpsteer but it's not the same as it was, and I'm thinking it's overshot and now doing the opposite but much less magnitude. @Bluemustang has the same wheels and setup but has less shims above the joint (second pic).

Thanks. Is there a way to test this in one shot at the shop (example, turn wheel side to side)? I'm in a place in life where I dont have time to work on my car anymore and shop time is $$$. Going back to dial something like this in could get expensive quickly.

Cheers,

 

[BmacIL]

Thanks. Is there a way to test this in one shot at the shop (example, turn wheel side to side)? I'm in a place in life where I dont have time to work on my car anymore and shop time is $$$. Going back to dial something like this in could get expensive quickly.

Cheers,

A shop with a hunter alignment system has a bumpsteer program. It'll ask for a jounce and extension of the suspension and will measure the toe change. We ran out of time to do it and it was close on the drive over so I wasn't worried.

I will say after a few more days of driving, it's mostly tramlining that I'm feeling. The car doesn't move around with bumps so it's very minimal. Small adjustment would be good but it's not urgent.

 

[GT 550]

Hi @BmacIL great review. IIRC your car isn't lowered more than an inch from stock and consensus seemed to be that if a car is lowered around an inch a change in links isn't really necessary. Presumably you got the PP links for the bearings (vs the base units) what made you decide to swap out the PP links for the Steeda ones?

Apologies if my assumptions are wrong.

 

[BmacIL]

Hi @BmacIL great review. IIRC your car isn't lowered more than an inch from stock and consensus seemed to be that if a car is lowered around an inch a change in links isn't really necessary. Presumably you got the PP links for the bearings (vs the base units) what made you decide to swap out the PP links for the Steeda ones?

Apologies if my assumptions are wrong.

The extended ball joint more or less replicates the GT350R front geometry. That coupled with the GT350R front springs means that I have that overall closely replicated. The handling improvements of the Steeda are are very significant, as I mentioned above. I would say that any car lowered even mildly, if handling is a focus, would see significant benefits from these arms.

 

[Bluemustang]

The extended ball joint more or less replicates the GT350R front geometry. That coupled with the GT350R front springs means that I have that overall closely replicated. The handling improvements of the Steeda are are very significant, as I mentioned above. I would say that any car lowered even mildly, if handling is a focus, would see significant benefits from these arms.

It's nice to see the theory actually work out in reality.

 

[valentinoamoro]

A shop with a hunter alignment system has a bumpsteer program. It'll ask for a jounce and extension of the suspension and will measure the toe change. We ran out of time to do it and it was close on the drive over so I wasn't worried.

I will say after a few more days of driving, it's mostly tramlining that I'm feeling. The car doesn't move around with bumps so it's very minimal. Small adjustment would be good but it's not urgent.

Do you have an update now that you have had more seat time with the arms and bumpsteer kit? I'm about to order it from Steeda and wanted to check in before going ahead.

 

[BmacIL]

Do you have an update now that you have had more seat time with the arms and bumpsteer kit? I'm about to order it from Steeda and wanted to check in before going ahead.

I still really like it. The handling predictability and feel is a lot better overall.

Two negatives I've found:
1) The arms decrease the track width of the front. With larger diameter (greater than say 27.3") tires, it may rub on the inner fender liner.
2) That same decrease in track width also limits the amount of negative camber you can dial in. With my BMR plates nearly all the way over, I'm only at -2.0.

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