Suspension Upgrades - Coilovers

[lm1z]

Hi guys,

New '17 GT350 owner here. Loving the car thus far. Quick question for you:

One thing I cannot find, and possibly for good reason, are individuals who have upgraded suspension components, specifically coilovers, for the GT350.

While I enjoy the Magneride, I am looking for something a bit stiffer with more driving 'feel'. Coming from an F82 M3, I wish this car had a bit more front axle 'feel'. The car is definitely nimble and responsive, but as a secondary vehicle, I want to try and hone this car in to be the best that it can be for both street and track use.

I believe the first attempt will simply be to drop the car on either Eibachs or FP springs, however I would rather save the coin if someone with suspension upgrades chimed in.

This might all come down to just the steering feel, but I figured I would at least ask the question. A lot of R&D went into tuning the car with Mageride, so I am in no way 'bashing' how it came stock - again, I do enjoy it, but would love to see what's on the horizon.

Has anyone had experience with the Rousch Single or Triple Adjustable coilovers?

Thanks,
Lane

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[GT350Brakes.com]

If you don't care about your mag ride then you have a good amount of options.

If you do, DSC will have a coilover system which puts the oem mag ride system on steroids.

 

[50 Deep]

Have you gone to the track attack yet? If you have not then you should hold off on doing anything until you really see what the limits of the car are. I can almost guarantee that any other modification will be a downgrade. What you may gain in stiffness you are going to lose in ride quality

If you want to tune the suspension differently than you should look into buying a controller that you can change the settings of the magneride with

 

[lm1z]

If you don't care about your mag ride then you have a good amount of options.

If you do, DSC will have a coilover system which puts the oem mag ride system on steroids.

Thanks for your response.

 

[lm1z]

Have you gone to the track attack yet? If you have not then you should hold off on doing anything until you really see what the limits of the car are. I can almost guarantee that any other modification will be a downgrade. What you may gain in stiffness you are going to lose in ride quality

If you want to tune the suspension differently than you should look into buying a controller that you can change the settings of the magneride with

Thanks! I didn't realize you could tune the mag ride. No, I have not tracked it. Ultimately, I am willing to sacrifice ride quality but only if there is an increase in performance - 2nd vehicle so I want it the exhaust loud and the steering/ride tight! I think what I am ultimately asking is, will improving the stiffness increase the steering feel? The car is already rolling on significant rubber. If tuning the mag ride can achieve this, I would be ecstatic.

Last thing I would want to do is modify the suspension (be it $3-4k), and not notice a significant improvement. Hard to find reviews for anything aftermarket, which might be stating the obvious

 

[GTthree50]

Alignment settings will have a greater effect on steering feel than lowering the car. Stiffer and lower is not necessarily better. To state the obvious, the suspension system is just that, a system. What I think gets lost for many would be modders is throwing a bunch of aftermarket parts in without thinking of it as a complete system that needs matching of components and tuning to get the most out of it. That is exactly why the car is such a joy off the showroom floor. Ford Performance did indeed sweat the details and produced a fabulous car for us. Not implying at all that you would just throw parts at it but rather, proceed with caution.

 

[nastang87xx]

F8* cars are an embarrassment to the M line. There is zilcho steering feel in that car.

With that being said, the steering is a bit numb in normal and comfort modes on the 350. Run sport all the time if you want more feel all the time and it can stay set to sport mode even when the car is turned off. Then replace your front sway bar with BMR's SB044 product number. Blamo! Problem solved.

 

[Donkey]

If you're looking to upgrade you're going to have to spend some coin to do so, something along the lines of JRZ. As good as they are you will find it impossible to have a coil over that provides the same ride quality on the street that the stock MR provides with the ability to have track worthy dampening characteristics. My original plan was to buy a base and do all of this. Then it became apparent that coolers were a must and that adding them wasn't exactly a bolt on affair. So I went with a track pack car. Biggest upgrades for this thing would be alignment and lighter wheels/tires, imo.

 

[FogcitySF]

Have heard really great things about these customized suspensions with race applications in mind. Not sure if they've developed everything for the GT350R but given their engineering and race backgrounds, they can steer you in the right direction. Alternatively, they sell a MagneRide control module.

http://cortexracing.com

 

[Krogen]

Have you put the Magneride into track mode? That brings up a steering setting that's not available in normal or sport mode.

Also, I second another poster's comment about attending the Ford Track Attack. A hot lap in a GT350 with a pro driver dispelled my foolish notions I'll reach the car's limits anytime soon!

 

[lm1z]

Alignment settings will have a greater effect on steering feel than lowering the car. Stiffer and lower is not necessarily better. To state the obvious, the suspension system is just that, a system. What I think gets lost for many would be modders is throwing a bunch of aftermarket parts in without thinking of it as a complete system that needs matching of components and tuning to get the most out of it. That is exactly why the car is such a joy off the showroom floor. Ford Performance did indeed sweat the details and produced a fabulous car for us. Not implying at all that you would just throw parts at it but rather, proceed with caution.

Agreed!

 

[lm1z]

F8* cars are an embarrassment to the M line. There is zilcho steering feel in that car.

With that being said, the steering is a bit numb in normal and comfort modes on the 350. Run sport all the time if you want more feel all the time and it can stay set to sport mode even when the car is turned off. Then replace your front sway bar with BMR's SB044 product number. Blamo! Problem solved.

Thanks, I am going to look into the sway bar!

Ouch! I would tend to disagree about the F8* line being an embarrassment w/ zero steering feel, but I will say, coming from 2 E92 M3's and an F10 M5, the electric steering took a little getting used to! What I will say is that the car lacked the 'soul' that made the M3 so special. Don't even get me started on the sound F8*'s make...:headbonk:

If you're looking to upgrade you're going to have to spend some coin to do so, something along the lines of JRZ. As good as they are you will find it impossible to have a coil over that provides the same ride quality on the street that the stock MR provides with the ability to have track worthy dampening characteristics. My original plan was to buy a base and do all of this. Then it became apparent that coolers were a must and that adding them wasn't exactly a bolt on affair. So I went with a track pack car. Biggest upgrades for this thing would be alignment and lighter wheels/tires, imo.

Thanks for the input!

Have heard really great things about these customized suspensions with race applications in mind. Not sure if they've developed everything for the GT350R but given their engineering and race backgrounds, they can steer you in the right direction. Alternatively, they sell a MagneRide control module.

http://cortexracing.com

This control module has me thinking!

Have you put the Magneride into track mode? That brings up a steering setting that's not available in normal or sport mode.

Also, I second another poster's comment about attending the Ford Track Attack. A hot lap in a GT350 with a pro driver dispelled my foolish notions I'll reach the car's limits anytime soon!

See, I never got the 'thorough' run down on the different modes. I felt there was a slight difference in track vs. sport - I run track pretty much everywhere I go now. Can you still enable traction control when in track mode, or is this not possible? I will say that the car puts down power so well anyway it doesn't really matter.

 

[nastang87xx]

Thanks, I am going to look into the sway bar!

Ouch! I would tend to disagree about the F8* line being an embarrassment w/ zero steering feel, but I will say, coming from 2 E92 M3's and an F10 M5, the electric steering took a little getting used to! What I will say is that the car lacked the 'soul' that made the M3 so special. Don't even get me started on the sound F8*'s make...:headbonk:

Well I'm an E92 lover so maybe that's not fair lol. And yes, that is the worst sounding straight six probably ever made. Even the NON M 3/4 sound better. Why that is just astounds me..:tsk:

 

[Minn19]

I came from an M4 as well. While I didn't think it was an embarrassment.....the more I've driven my GT350, especially on the track, I realize how little feeling there was in the M4's steering. The feeling I only/always got was from what the rear was doing and it was usually dancing. The M4 is obviously a very capable car, but it is quite numb and boring IMO to drive compared to the GT350. I also had a DCT, which is an amazing piece of tech, but that got a bit boring to me as well.

I go agree though about the front end feeling between the two cars. I think this is where you can feel the weight difference between the two cars. The M4's nose just stuck and felt a bit more nimble on turn in. But, so does the GT350's, it just gives you more feedback as to what is going on up there so it threw me off for awhile. I thought I was losing traction way earlier than I was, now I'm used to it though and love it. I agree with others, drive it for awhile and get the feel of it before you do any major changes to the suspension. Do the Track Attack if you can and you may find you only need camber plates. Stock vs stock the GT350's magride is much better, balanced and corners flatter than my non comp pack M4 did. Plus I love that comfort in the GT350 is actually comfort as opposed to the tedious version in the M4 IMO.

Just my 2 cents from a former F82 owner as well. I'll never go back unless BMW majorly steps up their suspension and traction control/MDM mode management. I love track mode in this car as does still have some protections, but gives you a lot more leeway than MDM does. Too bad they don't let you use it at Track Attack, but I get why that is. It will let you go around on a track if you aren't careful.

 

[Minn19]

Well I'm an E92 lover so maybe that's not fair lol. And yes, that is the worst sounding straight six probably ever made. Even the NON M 3/4 sound better. Why that is just astounds me..:tsk:

Agreed, I had an N55 powered 335 with an Mperformance exhaust/tune and it sounded much better than my stock M4. I though it still sounded better then when I had my Remus on it as well. It was bummer, but unplugging the fake sound module did help quite a bit.

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