Need guidance on suspension for daily driver trying to firm it up...

[madsedan]

Just picked up a 15 GT PP car with 43k miles. I daily the car, spirited driving, might do a track day or two a year and I do NOT drag race it, strictly road racing canyon carving type of stuff.
I am used to driving M3's, had a number of them over the years, and would like to duplicate the firm/direct feel, get rid of the loose handling over bumps, etc.

When I bought my first 15 GT PP back in 2015 there weren't many options, now that I have my second purchase after a two year hiatus I see allot more options.

I'm thinking Koni yellows with matched springs, maybe sway bars, but what else do I need to be looking at to get a more direct feel on the road and less bump steer over rough?
Is there a secret sauce combination that I can't find when doing a search on the forum?

Sponsored

 

[Chef jpd]

You need to lock down that rear subframe.
Steeda and BMR will get it done for you.
You will get rid of that squishy loose feeling at the rear. (That doesn't sound right, but you know what I mean)

 

[BmacIL]

BMR CB005 or CB762 + CB010 (or CB005)
BMR SP083 Handling Springs or GT350R springs
FP Track or Koni Yellow dampers (the FP are a bit better for street, Koni a bit sharper but crashier ride, though adjustable, a plus)
FP Toe knuckle bearing

Do all that and you'll have an M3 feeling/beating machine.

 

[Nagare]

I think you might do well with something like @wildcatgoal's or @Roadway 5.0's setups. I recommend Steeda based on my great experiences with them and their products.

Ideal would be:

• Steeda Adjustable ProActions (although I would suggest waiting for Jan/Feb to see what comes of the new Koni Active collaboration)
• UltraLite Linears or Competition Dual Rate Springs
• Adjustable Sway Bars
• Stop the Hop kit (or BMR CB005)

If you want to go further: control arms/bearing, vertical links, camber arms, toe links, and a G-trac brace.

Based on what I've heard of proper M cars, they're pretty harsh and I don't think this will be as harsh but should beat it on handling.

 

[Cathul]

My recommendation for enhancements for a daily driver are as follows:

- Get rid of the stock tires and get some good quality Michelin or Continental tires
- Steeda IRS base kit
- Steeda Extreme G-Track brace
- a good quality spring and shocks combination (if lowering the car is an option), preferably a coil-over system with adjustable shocks (Pedders, KW Suspension, Bilstein or others), but as a minimum get better shocks (if no lowering is wanted) as the stock ones are not that good.

Instead of Steeda you can also get similar quality components from other vendors (like BMR), but I cannot comment on them as i started out with Steeda and am really satisfied.

This should give you a really good ride without any negative side effects that other mods might have.
And you could always improve from this if you want.

 

[madsedan]

Thanks guys, the car is not on stock P-Zero's, previous owner had put on some Firehawks and they work pretty well once the car is settled.
I've not heard of Pedders until I was poking around at some vendor sites last night, are they a quality option?

 

[Brian V]

Just go get you some CJPony springs , drop er an inch . And you ;ll be dialed in .

 

[Grimace427]

Thanks guys, the car is not on stock P-Zero's, previous owner had put on some Firehawks and they work pretty well once the car is settled.
I've not heard of Pedders until I was poking around at some vendor sites last night, are they a quality option?

I installed a set of Pedders coilovers and I don't recommend them at all. The quality is subpar and the adjustment design both ride height and the CC plates are frustrating compared to any other options.

 

[madsedan]

Good to know, I have done this many times over the years on my M3's and always used Bilstein/Koni/H&R/Eibach combinations and always been happy. The cheap stuff is cheap for a reason lol.

 

[Roadway 5.0]

Just picked up a 15 GT PP car with 43k miles. I daily the car, spirited driving, might do a track day or two a year and I do NOT drag race it, strictly road racing canyon carving type of stuff.
I am used to driving M3's, had a number of them over the years, and would like to duplicate the firm/direct feel, get rid of the loose handling over bumps, etc.

When I bought my first 15 GT PP back in 2015 there weren't many options, now that I have my second purchase after a two year hiatus I see allot more options.

I'm thinking Koni yellows with matched springs, maybe sway bars, but what else do I need to be looking at to get a more direct feel on the road and less bump steer over rough?
Is there a secret sauce combination that I can't find when doing a search on the forum?

ProAction dampers with Ultralite Springs will get you what you want. I just drove home from Munich with this setup...2 hours at 120mph and it was nothing short of exhilarating.

I came from the BMW world and I can say my car ligitmately handles “like an M3”, but with better dampening. Sharp, precise, and fun.

Add IRS braces, G-Trac braces, and some other bits (as seen in my signature) and it only gets better. Oh, and if you’re interested in having your steering wheel beefed-up to M-car specs I can tell you with 100% certainty that it can be done.

Good luck with whatever route you choose; the S550 GTPP is a hell of a deal and a great canvas to modify.

 

[Jigar@Steeda]

Just picked up a 15 GT PP car with 43k miles. I daily the car, spirited driving, might do a track day or two a year and I do NOT drag race it, strictly road racing canyon carving type of stuff.
I am used to driving M3's, had a number of them over the years, and would like to duplicate the firm/direct feel, get rid of the loose handling over bumps, etc.

When I bought my first 15 GT PP back in 2015 there weren't many options, now that I have my second purchase after a two year hiatus I see allot more options.

I'm thinking Koni yellows with matched springs, maybe sway bars, but what else do I need to be looking at to get a more direct feel on the road and less bump steer over rough?
Is there a secret sauce combination that I can't find when doing a search on the forum?

Hi Robert, since you are mostly daily driving the car and looking to upgrade to a more direct feel without losing any bit of ride quality and adding any NVH, I recommend the following parts.


Steeda sport progressive springs
Steeda non-adjustable pro-action shocks and struts, if you comfortable adjusting rebound for those select track days you may also go with the adjustable pro-actions.
Steeda Shock mounts correctly paired with the shocks you choose
Steeda stop the hop started pack to give you that direct feel and fill the void in bushings
Steeda adjustable sway bars will help control body roll and stiffen up the car

That sir is the secret sauce!! If you have any questions, feel free to PM if you have any additional questions about the setup.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Be very wary of lowering the car if your backcountry road are very bumpy. Pick your mods from big to small. So Tires and Shocks are a lot more valuable then braces or bushing replacements. Swaybars can get you that responsive turn in w/o going to a stiffer lower spring.

1. Minimum - Koni yellows or Steeda Pro Action adjustables will firm up the ride. Definitely start there. I spent 3 years on basically Konis alone and the car is very capable and responsive when they're dialed up, even with stock ride height and springs. Easy to adjust so you can have your cake and eat it too.
   
   then....
   
   
2. Square tires - you want front tires as wide as your rears to get the front end to turn well.
3. Next up would be Swaybars (GT350R or BMR/Steeda adjustable are good choices). A bigger front bar does improve the response, and a rear bar can be used to fine tune the dynamics.
4. then if you want more, go to some stiffer handling springs... if your springs lower the car much, then you can pickup the bumpsteer and geometry correcting parts from Steeda.
5. finally, after all that, there are a number of bushing replacements and braces you can add to secure things and make the car more predictable. Steeda upper shock mounts, rear suspension subframe braces, bushing replacements, etc.

 

[Norm Peterson]

A few general things, since there's already pretty good variety in the way of specific parts recommendations . . .

Adjustability for things like shocks, struts, and sta-bars means you can more closely dial things in to your preference. For the bars, there's no need to keep adjusting them once you've found what works best for you. For shocks & struts there is a definite advantage in establishing setting pairs for both street and track driving. I say "pairs" since there is no need to put all four dampers at the same setting. Maybe include one more pair of settings, for when passengers less tolerant of a firm ride are on board for much of any distance. Code for "she will appreciate this" in a great many cases.

Choose wheel widths no less than "measuring width" for the tire size. Wider than "measuring width" being better here.


Norm

 

[Brian V]

OP if ya want your pocket picked do all of the above and then some to find out that in reality all you really need to do is loose around 200 lbs. Rear seat delete a few lbs. Here and there adds up quick when ya get to cutting ... and a higher weght spring . GT 350 springs come to mind ...

 

[Cathul]

I installed a set of Pedders coilovers and I don't recommend them at all. The quality is subpar and the adjustment design both ride height and the CC plates are frustrating compared to any other options.

And i had this done through the garage. So i cannot complain at all about the Pedders coilovers. Adjustability for bump/rebound (combined) is great, but you cannot set bump and rebound seperately (which doesn't really matter for a daily imho). Is it as good as a KWv3? For sure not, but it's a lot better than a KWv1 or ST-XA (KWs cheaper brand). I got my Pedders at around 45.000 km and am now at 90.000 and it rides great.

Sponsored