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These bad boyz have arrived (lightweight rotors, raised lateral links): Will share impressions soon

valentinoamoro

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I've been on a journey to focus on a balance of light weighting, handling and "feel" without compromising daily livability. These are my latest weapons in the war chest. Will share impressions once installed!!!

The Girodiscs are seriously lighter and make a ton of sense for the GT-PP cars (Vs the GT350 and base GT's where the weight savings is far less). Including the central hat we're talking approx 9 pounds per side (33.4 to 24.4, Girodisc mentioned 24.1 and I dont really trust my old scale). That's a lot of unsprung rotating mass.

I'm going clear eyed into this mod - Braking on my car is awesome stock so this is purely a light-weighting move that keeps braking at least as good at stock. Any benefits beyond improvements to the feeling of mass/front end inertia on turn in (which improved a lot with the lighter wheels, camber plates+alignment and a moderate bit with the tension links with bearings and stiffer springs/shocks) and looks is nice to have but not expected (example, improvements in braking feel and stopping distance). I know this is going to be a poor "bang for the buck" mod.

Having said that, between these rotors and my wheels, I have lost a total of 21.5 pounds on each front corner!!!

I considered the Baer Eradispeed which are I think a 1 to 1.5 pounds less per side (same price, which is $$$$) but hate cross drilled rotors. I also wanted to support a company from my home state (Washington!). They are popular with Porsche enthusiasts.

The @SteedaTech lateral links+bumpsteer kit has been ordered as well to further improve steering feedback and response.

If someone made aluminum hubs and knuckles for the GT-PP fronts (similar to the GT350), I would have ordered those as well (only available for rear).

Let me know if there are any questions I can help answer once I install.
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NightmareMoon

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I have the Steeda two-piece rotors and the bumpsteer, control arm kit. The rotors didn’t drop as much weight as I had hoped, but damn they’re sexy.

FWIW, one control arm got replaced under warranty for excessive play, but the car does drive amazing. I’m far from a blind fanboy, but my car had accumulated a lot of Steeda parts. LW wheels and rotors are nice, but you still need good shocks to control the wheel movement. “Lightweight wheels and tires” on this car are still 55-60 lbs.

Did an amateur time trial at a local track last weekend and was able to beat everybody in raw time except one modified Corvette on Hoosier slicks (missed him by <0.1 sec), including beating two Ferarris, three Porsches (Cayman and 911s), a new Camaro ZL1, a Spec Miata (are you faster than a Spec Miata?), and a host of other cars. After all its the Indian and not the Arrow, and I’m very familiar with the track we were on.
 

PoppinJ

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The links from Steeda was one of my most favorable upgrades! My on track experience was a phenominal difference. It fixed turn in 100%
I'm excited to feel the difference. I've got my first track event with them on this coming Monday... And Tuesday, and the weekend after that....
 

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valentinoamoro

valentinoamoro

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Same here. Very excited to try the links and bumpsteer. @BmacIL was the person who got me excited - has never led me wrong on a mod so far ;-).
@NightmareMoon - I have the Steeda shocks, camber plates + GT350 springs so I'm covered there. BTW, my wheel + tire combo is 50 pounds (19.6 for wheel, 30 for tire - the Indy 500 is pretty heavy at 30 lbs, the PS4S in the same size is 27 lbs, PSS 26, so I have another 3-4 pounds I can drop). That's before counting the ~10 lbs loss from the rotors.
 

BmacIL

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The links from Steeda was one of my most favorable upgrades! My on track experience was a phenominal difference. It fixed turn in 100%
Definitely. It's one of the reasons why I am reasonably confident of not needing much more than 400 lb front springs to have a top CAMC car (driver is still WIP) vs the 500-600 lb I see regularly. The higher rates get the car turned in super fast and control the load distribution and geometry better, but so do these arms.
 

Bluemustang

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The links from Steeda was one of my most favorable upgrades! My on track experience was a phenominal difference. It fixed turn in 100%
It was immediately noticeable to me on the street too. It digs up front in the tight turns instead of pushing and then coming back. It gets rid of that initial body roll (or tipping, whatever you wanna call it) sensation entering the turn.

Love what you've done @valentinoamoro . I feel like we have had some similar goals for our cars. Look forward to hearing your feedback on the arms.
 

BmacIL

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Soooooo...??
giphy.gif
 
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valentinoamoro

valentinoamoro

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Soooooo...??
giphy.gif
Lol. Project has stalled. Brad's Custom Auto in Seattle (my go to guys) are badly backlogged so I'm waiting...

I used to do a lot of work myself at Stews Self Serve Garage but its it's impossible these days with the toddler and work.
 

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strengthrehab

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Any update?
 
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valentinoamoro

valentinoamoro

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I also did an alignment in addition to the rotors, Steeda bumpsteer and lateral links. Biggest change was switch to 3-5 degrees of TOE IN in the front from the same amount of TOE OUT previously.

Front:
Camber: -1.75
Caster 6.92
Total TOE IN = 0.06 TOE IN

Rear:
Camber: -1.25
Toe per front side: = 0.13 TOE IN
Total TOE IN = 0.3 TOE IN

The good -

1) The tip in of the outside front corner when the car turns (front) is gone. The front corner feels more supported in all turns, from tight ones to sweepers. This also seems to have resolved that "disconnect" during super tight fast turns where the front turned, tipped in, then the rear followed with a tank slapper at the end. I will be able to confirm this more when the weather warms up as grip is lower now.
2) Front end feels nice and light. Between the wheels, camber plates and now these mods, the front end has lost the sense of mass that it had OEM. It feels light, nimble and agile. There is still a sense of "Visual mass" because of the (sexy) long hood. German performance car owners (ex: Audi RS5) will still find the rack to be slightly slower but its much more linear than those cars. In the Audis for example, a small turn creates a sense of rapid directional turn from the front followed by a massive amount of push/understeer. With my car, the car turns in naturally with no understeer to be found at any speed (oversteer on the other hand ;-). The rears will break free progressively before the front, especially under power but even without.
3) The weird feeling of twitchiness immediately off center/wandering is totally gone. This was an issue at high speed and made the steering feel odd and started after my last alignment where I switched to toe out. However, even though I did toe in, interestingly, the response is still super tight. Self centering seems better.
4) The steering rack/response seems better. Smaller turns make the car move more, but in a natural way. Its like the lateral links are shorter than OEM and the wheels have moved inboard?
5) Steering effort off center has increased more progressively (thank god). I think there is more feedback, but I cant be sure. If any, its minor. I think if I hadnt done the bumpsteer kit, feedback would have been better. OTOH, there is no bump-steer (I didnt have an issue here though prior).
6) Pleasant surprise - These rotors are NICE LOOKING. I had fellow car enthusiasts ask me if I had a "BIG BRAKE KIT" LOL. I told them our cars come with those, its just aftermarket rotors. They have a mirror/gleaming look and with the slots look absolutely awesome and with my wheels can be seen from far away. The beautiful hats look so much better than OEM as well. OK, this is something I didnt even think about when purchasing - but it makes the car look aggressive! It also doesnt seem to rust when sitting out.

Unknown -
1) At >100mph highway sweepers, I felt the mass of the front gently resisting efforts to turn (ie, you feel the considerable weight of the car continuing to resist the turn). I havent been able to test due to cold, but based on 80mph (hypothetical runs :p) pretty sure the lighter rotors and the lateral links have solved this.
2) I suspect the steering is a lot better off center in ways I cant test it yet - i have a feeling I will get more information from the front the more I turn the wheels at the limit. Before, I wasnt getting anything from the front on when the wheels were loosing grip or hitting bumps. I will know more in the summer when grip levels grow.

The bad -
1) The weather means I cant get a full test in of the system. I'm only pushing the car max 50-60% of cornering speeds. The only gentle powerslides I do is a couple of seconds long from a stop on tight rights and left hand turns when there is no traffic and no barriers. Its not enough to tease apart differences.
2) There isnt an increase in feedback on center (ex: I dont feel the steering sending more road conditions driving around in a straight line)
3) Holy cow - my shop charged me $750 for the alignment. They said the alignment for bumpsteer was much more expensive (they asked me for my weight etc, which I have never had anyone do before). I was surprised by this, as the lady at the cashier (who didnt know I had bumpsteer kit) said it was a normal alignment initially. Having said that, the alignment seems much better now.

All said and done, I am very pleased with my Mustang. Short of a wreck, I will keep it till its junked as I dont think I will be happier in any other car <100K. Corvettes (C8 would be nice but I have a toddler), M2s, Stingers, Supra, Camaros. I've driven the 350 and like my car better - mainly because I didnt notice a big difference in straight line speed and the engine in the 350 was very harsh/vibrated and buzzed a lot. I'd say mine has better chassis feedback as well (after spending $$s) but I didnt give the 350 a fair shake as I didnt have it for a long time.

The car is dialed in just the way I like it (E92 M3 ++) and all mods are done! The downside is I've spent GT350 (not R) money between the car, all the parts and labor and will never recoup it (unlike purchasing a GT350). On the other hand, I have a custom car that I built up over four years to overcome limits I was hitting as my familiarity grew with its dynamics. Money well spent.

Next car (no more mods!) - Maybe a Mustang Mach E GT (or above) for a family car after a couple of years once they have a chance to work out the launch bugs. I was getting the itch to buy a ZR2 or Land Cruiser but my wife made me promise never to have more than 2 cars at one time. LOL! Unlike most, I am totally digging the bold design and interior of Mach E, the specs (it has aluminum control arms and knuckle in the front) and price are just right too!
 

Tuxedomouse

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$750 for an alignment? Holy mackerel.

Hope you got a happy ending! :crackup:
 
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valentinoamoro

valentinoamoro

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$750 for an alignment? Holy mackerel.

Hope you got a happy ending! :crackup:
LOL. Amen. I'm not sure what happened. I've been going to this shop for years and they have never over-charged. This charge was like a slap in the face. I didnt have the heart to argue to be honest and felt better about just moving on and living my life. This kind of stuff affects trust though and while I'm sure they have lots of clientele and I know they do good work, the last incident didn't sit well with me.
 

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I've done the same in the past. It's especially hard AFTER the work is already done. Last time it happened to me (actually it in fact was an alignment - on a lowered Ford Flex that they wanted to charge me $350 for, citing "shop rate" for 2 extra hours - and they completed the alignment in ONE hour) - I told the service manager "I will pay this... but please know it's the LAST time I set foot in this dealership". The service manager knocked $100 off on the spot.
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