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Just out of curiosity what is it exactly that's so bad about the PP dampeners? I'm asking because with the X springs they work great and I'm curious what the downsides to them are....without just saying "the track dampeners are better" or something to that effect.
My gripe with the OEM PP dampers is a lack of longevity and balance. My PP monotube shocks leaked badly at about 8k miles. The (subjective) balance in turns was never quite right...it was floaty as well.

The PP spring rates, as well as the FP X Street Springs, are at an excellent rate and frequency for dynamic street driving. Upgrading the dampers, alone, will completely change the car for the better.
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shogun32

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He says it feels very firm on the street but on the track it feels cushy / Rolly - too soft really.
the PP1 is not remotely 'firm' on the street - it's soft and bouncy - noticeably underdamped in rebound, especially the rears. On fast compression it's 'hard' - ie the piston orifice is too small. You want actual firm run Steeda dual-rate springs and pro-Action with the rebound turned up.

Springs are not the issue - you can pick any of the PP1 up thru 250/1000 combos and be fine. It's the damper that is key to ride quality.
 
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Dave2013M3

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To be fair the 2018+ dampers are somewhat better than the 15-17 but still to soft. Also, the track dampers are firm and very controlled but not harsh. Thats why a lot of us say the FR Track dampers should be OEM for the PP cars. The springs are the cheapest part of the suspension upgrade. So if you are going to do the struts/shocks might as well get the springs as well.
 

Dr. Norts

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I don't notice and of the aforementioned bounce and hard hits / underdamped. Could be because of all supporting mods / chassis + subframe stiffening actually letting the suspension work vs rubber bushings deflecting all over the place. Could be the lowering street springs which have different spring rates and at rest compress the shocks more than stock PP1. Could be the streeda lateral / tension links (which have higher durometer bushings than PP1) could also be the streeda rear shock mounts or the front underbrace. The list goes on. There's more to suspension than shocks and springs IMO. All of this stuff works together.

My car before this was a Infiniti G37S with every suspension mod known to man and konis. That was my gold standard of how a car should handle, which understandably is different from other people's "gold standard"

The mustang is a bigger car so it doesn't have that small car feel but it handles just as well / composed as my G did if not better.

I take your guy's word for it that better shocks / struts can improve the handling but I find no faults with my current setup.
 

Norm Peterson

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To be fair the 2018+ dampers are somewhat better than the 15-17 but still to soft. Also, the track dampers are firm and very controlled but not harsh. Thats why a lot of us say the FR Track dampers should be OEM for the PP cars. The springs are the cheapest part of the suspension upgrade. So if you are going to do the struts/shocks might as well get the springs as well.
Yeah, springs are relatively cheap. But that's not enough reason by itself for changing them.

On edit, not even if you have everything apart to upgrade the dampers.


Norm
 
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IamCDNJosh

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I have a PP1 with the x-springs. My plan down the road is to upgrade the dampeners to the FP version. I believe this will be an excellent combination for a street car that will see the track occasionally.
 

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I agree, I'm fine with the street handling. My trackdays will be far and few in between. And, daily lit up, once the base suspension was collecting dust. I personally believe at the bare minimums the base should have been released with the street, PP1 with track, and PP2 something more. Just me thinking tho...
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IPOGT

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Get the street springs, but pair with Bilsteins. Excellent combo for a street car.






FP Street and Track springs are indeed linear. The fronts are purely linear, the rears have a helper portion tied to the active linear portion. Here’s the Ford engineer who designed these springs (go to 2min):

1000% and damn respectable on track.
 

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Anyone have any experience with the Ford performance Street handling pack? I’m interested in installing it on my S550 GT convertible, however American muscle shows it’s for fastback units only. They also state in their Q&A section that it does not fit convertibles due too different weight distribution between the models.

That being said, performanceparts.ford.com Shows it fits both fastback and convertibles.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have the FP Track Handling Pack on my FP Supercharged 2016 GT Convertible. The handling improvement brought about by the kit is phenomenal. It eradicated a significant amount of body roll and pitch, giving me much more level turns and more stable launches and stops. To my thinking, it has tuned the suspension to what I would have hoped it would be coming off of the assembly line.

Yes, the ride is a bit harder, but, for me, quite tolerant as my daily driver, and soooo much more fun.

I also installed a strut tower brace (This is a specialized one that works with my supercharger. There are cheaper and better solutions for a NA engine) and the BMR front subframe brace, both of which also significantly improved handling by eradicating front-end chassis flexing. This made the car much less sloppy at the front end, allowing the suspension to better do its thing. I installed the Track Handling Kit and each of these two modifications a couple months apart from each other so that I could understand the effect that each would have on the car's handling. I was astonished at the improvement brought by both of these two mods.

I am about to install Steeda tension/lateral links (I went with the version that uses bearings instead of bushings) and Steeda bump steer kit to correct roll center distortion brought about by the lowering of the car, and so as to provide better steering feedback.

Due to the undercarriage bracing that Ford puts on the S550 convertibles, put there to compensate for the absence of the coupe's chassis-stabilizing roof structure, there are limits to what one can do to stabilize the rear subframe. I am going to be installing a bunch of BMR bushing, bearing and suspension members, including the BMR Cradle Bushing Lockout Kit Level 1 (level 2 is not compatible with the convertible), that address the rear subframe flexing issues that occurs with the stock set-up. This flexing causes the rear wheels to break from the pavement, giving rise to the Mustang's notorious rear wheel hop issue, adversely affecting handling and launching/acceleration.

Getting back to the Track Handling Kit, I have its sway bars bolted at their most outboard mounting holes --- the least "tight" settings. I am going to wait to see what effect my upcoming modifications have on handling before I consider tightening up the sway bars. Again, i like to make changes incrementally, when possible, so as to isolate the effect of each.

Apologies for expanding beyond the scope of your question, but I hope this helped
 

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The track springs are different from the street spings. M-5300-Y (track) vs M-5300-X (street)

Is anyone running the track pack shocks with the M-5300-X street springs?

Anyone that has the street M5300-X springs, what shocks are you running with those?

Does anyone know what the difference between the M-5300-Y and the M5300-X are? I assume just the spring rates?

Now I'm trying to fix something that isn't broke. Thanks guys lol
 

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I have the FP Track Handling Pack on my FP Supercharged 2016 GT Convertible. The handling improvement brought about by the kit is phenomenal. It eradicated a significant amount of body roll and pitch, giving me much more level turns and more stable launches and stops. To my thinking, it has tuned the suspension to what I would have hoped it would be coming off of the assembly line.

Yes, the ride is a bit harder, but, for me, quite tolerant as my daily driver, and soooo much more fun.

I also installed a strut tower brace (This is a specialized one that works with my supercharger. There are cheaper and better solutions for a NA engine) and the BMR front subframe brace, both of which also significantly improved handling by eradicating front-end chassis flexing. This made the car much less sloppy at the front end, allowing the suspension to better do its thing. I installed the Track Handling Kit and each of these two modifications a couple months apart from each other so that I could understand the effect that each would have on the car's handling. I was astonished at the improvement brought by both of these two mods.

I am about to install Steeda tension/lateral links (I went with the version that uses bearings instead of bushings) and Steeda bump steer kit to correct roll center distortion brought about by the lowering of the car, and so as to provide better steering feedback.

Due to the undercarriage bracing that Ford puts on the S550 convertibles, put there to compensate for the absence of the coupe's chassis-stabilizing roof structure, there are limits to what one can do to stabilize the rear subframe. I am going to be installing a bunch of BMR bushing, bearing and suspension members, including the BMR Cradle Bushing Lockout Kit Level 1 (level 2 is not compatible with the convertible), that address the rear subframe flexing issues that occurs with the stock set-up. This flexing causes the rear wheels to break from the pavement, giving rise to the Mustang's notorious rear wheel hop issue, adversely affecting handling and launching/acceleration.

Getting back to the Track Handling Kit, I have its sway bars bolted at their most outboard mounting holes --- the least "tight" settings. I am going to wait to see what effect my upcoming modifications have on handling before I consider tightening up the sway bars. Again, i like to make changes incrementally, when possible, so as to isolate the effect of each.

Apologies for expanding beyond the scope of your question, but I hope this helped
Please, don’t apologize! I appreciate the info. I feel this thread has moved me from the street handling pack to the track pack. While based on so many’s advice I have started looking springs, dampers, toe links etc etc but given my other mods (Ford Performance by Borla cat-back & Ford Performance Power pack 2) think I want to keep the car true to Ford parts.
 

IPOGT

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Please, don’t apologize! I appreciate the info. I feel this thread has moved me from the street handling pack to the track pack. While based on so many’s advice I have started looking springs, dampers, toe links etc etc but given my other mods (Ford Performance by Borla cat-back & Ford Performance Power pack 2) think I want to keep the car true to Ford parts.
I had the same idea. Lately, I decided to try poly steeda vertical links, IRS subframe connectors, sub alignment kit and jacking rails. I’m not sure exactly what to expect from the “upgrade” but we’ll see.
 

Roadway 5.0

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Does anyone know what the difference between the M-5300-Y and the M5300-X are? I assume just the spring rates?
Y springs are similar in rates to OEM GT350 (non-R) springs, while X springs are similar in rates to OEM PP springs.

In your case, I wouldn’t jump ship from your street-pack dampers; give them some miles, then upgrade dampers when due.

When it’s time, I would pair Bilsteins with the X springs (and FP Track dampers with the Y for those reading along). These dampers are specifically calibrated for these springs and are very solid.
 

shogun32

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Y springs are similar in rates to OEM GT350 (non-R) springs
so approx 190/900?
while X springs are similar in rates to OEM PP springs.
160/700 'ish?

Do we have more than supposition? How do we still not have hard data after 5 years?
 
 




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