Installed Steeda Parts today.

[Bulldog9]

Installed the Steeda Front Brace, IRS Brace and Jacking Rails today, was about 1.5 hours total as I had access to a lift. Definitely recommend using a torque wrench on these parts. Had I not, I bet many of the bolts would be under torqued. Very happy with the results, only 30 miles so far, but plan to head out in a bit for an evening drive.

I'll be honest, when under the car and looking at the front suspension and cross members and fixed points, I did not expect a dramatic change for the front brace. WRONG. I noticed it immediately, as it changes on center feel and quickens steering response even in normal driving. Hard to describe, but Normal Steering now feels like Sport, and Sport is almost too responsive. In fact, the change was so immediate that it caught me by surprise as I drove away from the shop. I assumed I would only feel a marginal difference in harder, high speed turns, but you feel it in normal driving.

Same is true for the IRS brace. I did not feel the rear suspension was loose or sloppy before, and I have not really had a wheel hop issue, but due to the comfort oriented rubber bushings (on the suspension arms and subframe mounts) the squat and squish of the rear suspension on hard on/off acceleration and lift of the front is mostly GONE. Everything feels far more buttoned down and dialed in. Very impressed and look forward to more miles. No ide if the jacking rails any discernible chassis stiffening.

Install was easy and straightforward, though watching the Install videos is recommended.

On my car, the punch holes in the front lower subframe still had the punched metal tab that had to be broken out. Not a big deal, but would have preferred that they were clean holes and painted/powdercoated after the punch. When installing the IRS brace, I used the center mount point as my first connection point as it is in the middle of the brace, and is the only one without much adjustment. I did not have to jostle or reposition the IRS subframe, all bolted straight on.

Also took the opportunity to check the full underside of the car and check on the active exhaust wiring to make sure it wasn't chafing. All looks good. It seems that Ford was clearly thinking about the aftermarket by leaving/providing so many 'bolt on' possibilities.

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[Elp_jc]

I waited to get black rear braces, and they're on the way (along with the 2-point front G-brace). I already have the full-length (not quite) jacking rails in place, so my car will look identical to the OP's. I'm glad the rear braces leave the rear factory jacking point open, since the jacking rails are way too forward to just lift the rear (if needed). I'll do the job on rear Rhino ramps, and will also try to paint the rear of the mufflers without removing anything, which look like crap to me. I'll also wrap the tip of the cut wires from the front G-brace's bushings with Tesa tape, so they never make noise if they contact the metal. Will post results after I'm done with the installation.

 

[Bear_Stang]

Steeda's bracing is very solid. It has a noticeable impact on car stability. Even after I move away from their suspension components, I plan to keep their bracing. It looks very clean for what it does.

 

[Elp_jc]

Hey Bulldog, have a few questions for you:
Did you re-use the 3 factory bolts on each side of the jacking rails (which I did), or you used all 8 of the Steeda provided ones? I figured the stock bolts are of better quality, but who knows.
Do you know what torque was used on those 8 rail bolts? I was told 35 ft/lbs by Steeda, but the 2 bolts for the rear sub-frame in that same area say 45 ft/lbs, and are exactly the same bolts, so should be the same IMO.
And did you also re-use the stock bolt on each side of the rear sub-frame braces?

Curious about your opinion. Thank you.
JC

 

[Bulldog9]

Hey Bulldog, have a few questions for you:
Did you re-use the 3 factory bolts on each side of the jacking rails (which I did), or you used all 8 of the Steeda provided ones? I figured the stock bolts are of better quality, but who knows.
Do you know what torque was used on those 8 rail bolts? I was told 35 ft/lbs by Steeda, but the 2 bolts for the rear sub-frame in that same area say 45 ft/lbs, and are exactly the same bolts, so should be the same IMO.
And did you also re-use the stock bolt on each side of the rear sub-frame braces?

Curious about your opinion. Thank you.
JC

I used the Steeda provided bolts for all. Torqued all to #45 except for the two rear IRS bolts (with fat washers) they went to #55 That's what the paper said.

 

[Bulldog9]

Put about 200 miles on the car and continue to be very happy with the changes in stability, especially with on/off throttle situations. The see-saw feeling and strange sensation of sudden of how the front would bite and turn in off throttle is all but gone. Car is much more composed and smoother in transitions. I have the standard suspension. Ride quality is a bit stiffer, but not bad. These are must have bolt ons IMO.

 

[Elp_jc]

I used the Steeda provided bolts for all. Torqued all to #45 except for the two rear IRS bolts (with fat washers) they went to #55 That's what the paper said.

Thanks brother. Steeda Tech finally replied today, and also said to re-torque the rail bolts to 45# too, so that's what I'll do. Fortunately, I hadn't used them yet.

The ride is not supposed to change, but even if it does a little, I want the freaking wallowing of the rear sub-frame when hitting bumps on curves gone. Will let the gang know if I felt any changes with the MagneRide. Will do this either today or tomorrow, along with changing the oil.

EDIT: By the way, the front 2-point G-brace, the full length jacking rails, and the rear sub-frame braces, with all hardware, weigh in at almost 30 lbs, as an FYI. But at least the added weight is as low as it can be, and not a bad trade-off with the advantages it should provide. Hope I can say that when it's all done. Ha ha. We'll see tomorrow .

 

[Bulldog9]

Thanks brother. Steeda Tech finally replied today, and also said to re-torque the rail bolts to 45# too, so that's what I'll do. Fortunately, I hadn't used them yet.

The ride is not supposed to change, but even if it does a little, I want the freaking wallowing of the rear sub-frame when hitting bumps on curves gone. Will let the gang know if I felt any changes with the MagneRide. Will do this either today or tomorrow, along with changing the oil.

I doubt the #10 would make a difference, but better off doing it to spec.

You will like the change, I imagine the magna ride will benifit more as it has better suspension control (in theory) than the standard suspension. The ride isn't 'stiffer', but the car feels more taut and solid/connected if that makes sense.

 

[Elp_jc]

I'm done. What a PITA it was. Took me a long time to remove the metal piece on the driver's side. It was resting against a metal piece inside, so couldn't break it off like on the other side. Had to make a small hook strong enough to be able to pull the stupid thing away from the metal, which finally broke it off. I was surprised how freaking hard it was to drive the bolt into the nut on the front G-brace, so the effective torque was a lot less than 60 ft/lbs. In fact, the passenger's side bushing was still loose, and making a racket, so had to remove the bolt, and put tesa tape on both sides of the bushing so it didn't make noise. Finally on this part, I was a bit disappointed the angle of the G-brace didn't match the car's sub-frame angle. It only touched at the very front on both sides, so the angle needed to be a bit steeper. Oh well. Hope it still works as advertised. Oh, found out by accident 2 plastic parts at each corner of the car (resting against the firewall) were making a racket, so put a piece of foam on each, and zero noise. The oil chance went relatively well. Perforated the oil filter at the lowest point, and didn't work for crap, so don't do that folks. No need for any funnel; the trick is to let it drip until all oil flows out. Minimal mess. And so far, NO FREAKING TICK . Hope it stays that way, but I know I'm far from out of the woods.

Now to the rear braces. It was a royal PITA to be able to hold the nut at the sub-frame to be able to put the required 55 ft/lbs. The rest was easy, and everything lined up well, fortunately. And I'm very glad I waited for black braces; they look MUCH better IMO. And by that, I actually mean you can't tell they're aftermarket, because they blend with all the other black underneath the car. I didn't have a chance to prep and paint the visible part of the mufflers black, since they look like crap now. Might try that tomorrow.

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