Oh man, good to know!I love my ford performance handling springs but now the car is too low to install the extra HP front splitter
Still love the look and the handling
The rear guards were the one thing the previous owner did not do to mine. I put them on pretty quick, they do help keep rocks off the rear quarter panels.I think I took a similar approach with my car and did it in stages after a year or two of owning it.
I did everything I could to get my car as close as possible to the factory Handling Package spec as it wasnāt available at all over here. (Saying that my Torsen diff is still in a box in the garage but Iām sure itāll make it onto the car eventually!)
Thereās not much difference in the suspension components but my reasoning was that it was all designed to work together with the wheels and tyres, and all the reviews of the HP cars were very positive so it was probably worth doing as a package. Itās not like those parts are the expensive ones compared to wheels etc either!
Thereās a lot of other good options others have mentioned in this thread but I just wanted to stick close to factory HP wherever I could.
I didnāt find there was much difference in ride height with the HP springs but it did help close up the wheel gap with the lower profile tyres just a little. This was the thing I was most worried about and held off doing as there are plenty of speed bumps near my house! No issues to date thankfullyā¦
I also recommend the Steeda Stop the Hop package, I did that before any of the HP mods and it was noticeable, and is even better in combination with the HP parts.
One thing I didnāt see you mention was the rear splash guards which was one of my first mods, so you might want to check them out if youāre doing the rest of the external stuff.
-0wen.
I was about to say the Torsen is on all Mach 1ās, but then I saw the license plate and remembered that European cars donāt come with the Torsen. Like you I didnāt find much difference in the springs but with the lower splitter attached I cannot tolerate a lower ride height than I have right now. If the car becomes a dedicated track car I certainly could.I think I took a similar approach with my car and did it in stages after a year or two of owning it.
I did everything I could to get my car as close as possible to the factory Handling Package spec as it wasnāt available at all over here. (Saying that my Torsen diff is still in a box in the garage but Iām sure itāll make it onto the car eventually!)
Thereās not much difference in the suspension components but my reasoning was that it was all designed to work together with the wheels and tyres, and all the reviews of the HP cars were very positive so it was probably worth doing as a package. Itās not like those parts are the expensive ones compared to wheels etc either!
Thereās a lot of other good options others have mentioned in this thread but I just wanted to stick close to factory HP wherever I could.
I didnāt find there was much difference in ride height with the HP springs but it did help close up the wheel gap with the lower profile tyres just a little. This was the thing I was most worried about and held off doing as there are plenty of speed bumps near my house! No issues to date thankfullyā¦
I also recommend the Steeda Stop the Hop package, I did that before any of the HP mods and it was noticeable, and is even better in combination with the HP parts.
One thing I didnāt see you mention was the rear splash guards which was one of my first mods, so you might want to check them out if youāre doing the rest of the external stuff.
-0wen.
I definitely like the look better
but all the actual handling things are not that critical for me. The non HP has WAY more than I can ever use, especially with the added HP tire patch . I did do a Steeda rear sway to kinda mitigate the hollow rear bar though in addition to all the other subframe bushings and brace.
That's something I wondered about, but credit to @kb19 who confirmed with Ford Performance that the Magneride tuning adjusts to the HP spring rate if fitted.
Magneride was alleged to be different by some because Fordās marketing mentions revised chassis tuning but tuning also refers to springs, sway bars etc. Iāve driven both side and side and there is no difference. Ford Performance doesnāt recommend reflashing the VDM on the Mach 1 for their track springs which are stiffer than Mach 1 HP springs. I would have preferred to start with an HP, but it wasnāt an option when I got mine. That being said for a serious track guy the non-HP is actually a better bargain since youād be changing wheels, springs, camber plates etc anyways.
The rear sway bar and springs have to be able compensate for the larger mass, functional resistance and increase in weight to be optimal for the HP wheel and tires, reverse is true for the standard Mach 1.
I havenāt changed a damn thing but the start buttonā¦
