Suspension Upgrade Stage 1: commencing

[morgande]

Project Silvermane is getting a new suspension. My 2017 GT PP is getting all new gear courtesy of Steeda Autosports. Everthing should be buttoned down by tomorrow. Ill send some before/after pics and an initial review.

Springs: Steeda Sport Progressives

Shocks: Steeda Pro Action Adjustables

Caster/Camber Plates: Steeda Camber Plates

Rear Shock Mounts: Steeda Shock Mounts

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[Nagare]

That should be a very nice combination! Did you get anything for the IRS too?

 

[Roadway 5.0]

Nice setup. You’ll love what a better suspension brings to the S550

Be sure to get a solid alignment after the install, and yes, let us know how it goes!

 

[Norm Peterson]

Nice.

Now just drive it for a while to get used to the new 'feel' without doing anything other than a little tinkering with the shock/strut settings and tire pressures. Anything else includes things like stabilizer bars and a custom alignment that more specifically target the way you're going to be driving it once you have a better feel for what that's going to be..

Having the parts is only the first part of the battle. Optimizing any available adjustments to best suit you and your driving is where the finishing touches lie.


Norm

 

[morgande]

That should be a very nice combination! Did you get anything for the IRS too?

No. That's part of phase 2. I'm going for the starter kit. That and maybe the control arms. Or maybe leave the control arms to phase 3. Not sure yet LOL

Nice setup. You’ll love what a better suspension brings to the S550 Be sure to get a solid alignment after the install, and yes, let us know how it goes!

Yep! I got the car aligned by the shop who did the install. They have an alignment rack in-house, which was one the reasons I had them do the install.

 

[morgande]

So my initial observations....

The looks
I took delivery of the car on Friday. Before and after pictures really don't do it justice. I have some, and I will post them. But a picture doesn't really give you a sense of what the car REALLY looks like on lowering springs. You have to see it in person. The stance is very aggressive. You would be shocked just how aggressive it looks, and how much the +1" drop does to improve the stance of the car. I have a sho-n-sto license plate bracket on the front of the car that use to occasionally scrape depending on how steep the driveway or speed bump is. It scrapes A LOT MORE now. Enough to where I'm going to have to look at some sort of alternate license plate bracket. That 1" is a lot! Also, the PP rims offset really doesn't lend itself well once you lower the car. The wheels are too tucked in. The look is exacerbated on the lowered car. I will be investing in a new set of wheels at best, or hub-centric spacers at a minimum to get this fixed.

The ride
So..full disclaimer: first sport car, first lowered car, first modified suspension. My daily is an 2013 F-150. My former daily was a 2007 Mercedes Benz E550 Sport. Call me an old man, because I like a soft suspension. Obviously soft suspensions are not the most performant from a handling perspective. But they sure do ride comfortable. I would consider the Mustang GT, even with the Performance Pkg, to be more on the soft side. When I first took delivery of the car, I was surprised at just how comfortable the car rode. Push the stock car and it still performs quite well. But you can tell its got a lot of 'GT' in the GT. Take it to a track, and you can see where the limitations are. Granted, I'm no track rat, and I can count on one hand the amount of track experiences I've had. But I know enough to know what body roll is and what it feels like, what turn in is and how it should feel, and some of the very basics that allows a novice such as myself to judge what a performance car should feel like.

There is a reason why the Mustang GT, even in PP trim, comes up short in the handing area when compared with something like a Camaro 1LE. Its got too much GT in it. And this is by design by Ford. Ford has estimated that the average buyer doesn't need more out of the GT suspension then what Ford is giving them stock. And I can understand that. In many ways, I am that target buyer...or at least I was LOL. I wanted something with more aggressive handling, but still wanted that comfortable ride. After I purchased the car and decided I wanted to do some suspension upgrades, I did A LOT of searching on this forum. And I asked Steeda their recommendations. The suspension pkg I got was the one they recommended. With respect to the springs, Steeda advertises the following:

"These Steeda Mustang Sport Progressive Springs optimize the center of gravity and suspension geometry creating a huge improvement in handling with a noticeable reduction in nose dive, launch squat, and body roll, while still maintaining an outstanding ride quality for daily driving.

Steeda springs provide the best combinations of handling and ride quality available!"
​

This advertised statement from Steeda is dead to rights 100% accurate. However, do understand that you are going with a lowering spring. As such, the suspension is going to tighten up, as its riding on less spring that it was before. You are going to feel the road more with any lowering Spring. I didn't quite understand this when I was researching it, or that is to say I didn't have any experience in this area beforehand. However, just because the suspension is not as 'soft' doesn't mean its harsh. There is a BIG DIFFERENCE as I'm coming to learn between a more firm suspension and a harsh suspension. These Spring are not hash at all. By my own tush-o-meter, a harsh ride is (or was) a BMW M car. I've ridden in Z Coupe M cars, and M3s that I felt rode like absolute crap. Extremely harsh rides. This was NOT what I wanted. Lucky for me this is NOT what I got. With the sport progressive springs, you do feel the road more, but its not unpleasant. I can see why some people might prefer this, because it gives you a greater sense of what is going on at the contact patches. Again, this is all a new experience for me. So I apologize if I sound like a novice. It's because I am LOL.

The ride is complimented by the shocks and the shock mount. Steeda recommended going with the adjustable pro-action shocks. At first I was hesitant, and there is quite a difference in price between the adjustable and the non-adjustables. I was able to convince myself and my wallet this was the right move just because it gives me flexibility. Right now they are effectively tuned to the recommended initial setting, which is one full turn from its softest position. I might revisit this and go full soft just to see, but I need more seat time to see if this really needs adjusting. I also like the fact I have room to grow. As I gain more confidence in the performance capability of the car, and of myself behind the wheel, I can dial in the shocks to fine tune that experience. If by chance I ever decide I'm ready for an even more aggressive experience, I can upgrade to stiffer springs and not worry about the shocks. So I am 'future proof' if you will in that respect. The rear shock mounts I got because of fear of using the stock PP shocks with lowered springs, and the fact that they got such good reviews here on the forum. Saw they were on discount one day and decided to pull the trigger. I purchased the springs first, then the camber plates, the shock mounts and finally the shocks. Then I had them all installed as one pkg.

The firmer ride did come as an initial surprise to me, but then I came to the pleasant realization that the suspension might be more firm, but not unpleasant, I was also amazed at the change in body roll and steering response. Maybe the steering is placebo...but the car seems to want to change direction with more immediacy. Pull the steering wheel right or left and the car responds as immediate as you pulled the wheel. When you enter a turn the car feels very planted. Not that the stock PP car has a ton of roll the begin with, but you can really FEEL the reduction. The car drives aggressively. It made me want to attack a corner in the way the PP car did not. The PP car would perform when asked to, but this car feels different. This also might be because of the how well the shocks and the springs work together, but I noticed a lot less osiliation in the supension. If and when you do go over a bump, the do feel it more. That is what happens with a more firm suspension. But its sooooo much more controlled now. Some people call this the PP 'bounce'. That is GONE now. Its down and back up. Easy-peasy. No fuss.

I was in a lot of traffic and on public roads, so I didn't go crazy here. I can't wait to do some extending driving. But there is a night and day difference between what I had, and what I have. And I like the direction I'm going!

Summary
So to summarize, the car looks much more aggressive. It drives aggressive. I wants you to attack corners. Its a Sport/GT car now. Where as before it was a GT/Sport car. There is more emphasis in the sport car side of the Mustang, but without loosing the GT. The more I drive it, the more I'm impressed with it. Will take some getting adjusted, but I'm glad I got what I got. Hope this feedback helps anyone who has considered doing a suspension upgrade, but is new to doing something like this.

 

[Roadway 5.0]

Nice write-up bud, I'm glad you like your new setup!

I can save you a bit of trouble: skip buying the wheel spacers and save up for wheels with a proper offset. I gave the spacers a shot, and expensive ones at that (Eibach), but at the end of the day I still had that unsettled feeling that I had added an extra point of failure, and one that I can't check the torque specs easily when needed. This, and vibrations became present at high speeds (110mph+). Gut es ist nicht.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Agree with Roadway concerning spacers, especially the kind that bolt to the hubs and then have the wheels bolt up to them separately.

For the kind that just slip on, you'd need longer (and stronger) studs for anything but the thinnest spacers, which aren't going to be enough here. And which will more than likely require different lug nuts/wheel locking nuts as well, as I haven't heard that ARP is making 14mm wheel studs yet.

A better solution, though a more expensive one, would be to pick a correct-offset wheel and summer/3-season tire setup that you prefer for most of the year and run tires more suitable for colder weather on the OE PP wheels.


Norm

 

[morgande]

Yeah a lot of people have recommended against spacers. IF I did them they would only be hub-centric ones. The only reason I’m considering it is because I really like the look of my Silver PP wheels. The car is ingot silver and I really like how the two shades compliment each other.

I’m not personally a fan of black wheels, especially on my car, and it’s even harder to find a set of aftermarket wheels I like in a shade other then black.

Here is before shot:

Here is after shot:

 

[Roadway 5.0]

Yeah a lot of people have recommended against spacers. IF I did them they would only be hub-centric ones. The only reason I’m considering it is because I really like the look of my Silver PP wheels. The car is ingot silver and I really like how the two shades compliment each other.

I’m not personally a fan of black wheels, especially on my car, and it’s even harder to find a set of aftermarket wheels I like in a shade other then black.

Fair enough. If you do venture into looking for new wheels, check out the wheel & tire section here on Mustang6.com. There are a good deal of vendors who can help you find what you need, and get perfect off-sets and custom finishes as well.

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