New shocks / springs for street track setup?

[ShifterX]

First, appreciate any and all feedback. 2011 GT to be used for street/track HPDE with 200tw 285-295 tires. I have plenty of track and suspension experience, not so much s197 experience.

Budget for damper, spring an CC plates is < $2k. Coilovers preffered due to fine tuning ride height and angle of attack. However it seems that budget rules out. Would prefer adjustable damping but not mandatory. Luckily I don’t have to worry about suggestions of bc racing, tein, and other cheap coilovers from this crowd. Thanks for that.

I think my top choice right now is Koni yellow due to value, performance and adjustability. Springs, I need some help with. I want something on the stiff side with minimal lowering. FRPP P springs seems like a good place to start. However, I would prefer even less lowering with stiffer rates. Steeda comp springs seem like another option, or maybe the steeda comp boss springs. Appreciate any other suggestions. Generally need rates 200lbs + with lowering around 1/2” front 1” rear max.

 

[EF1]

I have a 2011 Brembo car. The first time around I went with Steeda Sport Springs, Koni Oranges, and Steeda HD mounts (camber adj only). I did this long before I knew the car would ever see a track. The set up served me well for several years even after finding out I could track the car. When the Koni Oranges started to get weak I took the opportunity to update the suspension since it now sees more track time than street driving. It is currently on Steeda Comp Springs, Koni Yellows, and Vorschlag Camber plates (camber and castor adj). Both set ups have been good for a dual use car. The Steeda Sports made a big difference over the stock Brembo pack springs. The car was more composed. It had less roll and brake dive. Also wheel hop was gone. The car either hooked or spun, but didn't hop. The difference between the sport and comp springs was not as noticeable. You could tell their was an improvement, but not as big a difference.

The spring rates are not that different. The Steeda Competition: Ft 225 Rr 185 lbs/in and the Steeda Sports: Ft 200 Rr 175 lbs/in. The right height is very similar. Steeda claimed the ride height between the two springs is 1/4" or less. I could not tell a difference in stance between the two. I considered the Boss Comp Springs, but Steeda advised against them. They said the Boss Comp Springs are similar to the regular Competition Springs, but were optimized to work with the factory Boss struts/shocks and they wouldn't advise using them with other dampers.

The annual Koni sale is going on now. You can get Koni Yellows, Steeda Comp Springs, and mounts for about $1500. That leaves money in the budget for trailing arms or sway bars if you are so inclined.

 

[Dave_W]

There's a multi-part article on Moto-IQ of racer Billy Johnson setting up an S197 with Steeda suspension parts that you should read, if you haven't already. https://motoiq.com/category/projects/ford/mustang-s197-budget-track-car/

The Vorshlag Bilstein kit comes in right at your budget, and can be had with several different spring kits, including the Ford P-springs. This gets you the highly-regarded Vorshlag camber plates. The Bilstein struts are "inverted" design, which generally gives you more shaft stiffness under high lateral loads.

Vorshlag-Bilstein StreetPro Monotube Suspension Kit (S197 Mustang)

The Bilstein parts occasionally go out of stock, and come back. If you are worried about delivery times, please call us. Introduction We at Vorshlag will be the first ones to tell you that the S197 Mustang's OEM dampers and springs are all sorts of wrong for performance driving. The suspension...

vorshlag-store.com

An oft-overloked choice here is the Ground Control Koni setup for $2200. This uses GC-valved single-adjustable Konis, "divorced" rear spring setup like Vorshlag, camber plates, and ride height adjusters. The big advantages of this kit over the Vorshlag Bilsteins is the ride height adjustment and use of Eibach "race-style" springs, so you can choose from a wide variety of spring heights and stiffnesses, and change them in the future for not much money. Definitely talk to GC before ordering, as they can help with spring choice to fit your needs.

2005-2014 Mustang Complete Kit

Koni Single Adjustable Front Strut - Struts are externally adjustable from underneath the hood, even with the factory strut brace. This strut is prepared for coil over use, and eliminates machining of critical suspension components.

groundcontrolstore.com

The other go-to option you'll see recommended in this forum is Cortex Racing. Their basic Koni kit starts at $2795 and uses coilover-style rear spring location with race-style springs. https://www.cortexracing.com/shop?order=list_price+desc&category=16

Rounding out typical Mustang suspension options are Maximum Motorsports and BMR.

2005-2014 Packages

Free Shipping on all BMR Suspension packages!

Leader in High Performance Suspension and Chassis Products For American Muscle Vehicles.

www.bmrsuspension.com

 

[RodS197]

I did my first 3 years of track driving (street and track) on the Ford Performance lowering spring, adjustable dampers and swaybars. Always good to go with the same vendor when possible. Moved up to Ground Control, ride hight adjustable, single damper adjustable Koni, 450lb front, 250lb divorced rear. It was a great improvement and actually rode better on the street. Drove this for another 3 years until I sold the car. (exceeds your budget, but just slightly...)

Lots of options and opinions out there. You can outfit the car with quality components for about your stated budget. Stepping up to the next level will cost at least double.

Posted this just as @Dave_W was. He lists the Ground Control as well.

 

[Mike_FL]

I have the Vorshlag street pro kit with the Eibach springs as mentioned above.
They are perfect on the street but when on track I would like a little more.

If you are thinking about the Bilsteins from Vorshlag I would give them a call as they are talking about making them into a coilovers again like pictured here which sounds ideal with 450/175 springs rates

 

[Proto]

I might have the Vorshlag street pro setup with eibach pro springs for sale here shortly. The 18th I go to put my coil overs on.

 

[ShifterX]

Great replies as always here. For both good and bad nothing has been mentioned that I haven’t reviewed as yet. The vorshlag kit seems interesting but for 2k, I would prefer some level of adjustability. Either preload or damping. Plus I would prefer something with stiffer rates if possible.

I bought plenty of MM stuff back when I had a fox Mustang. I will probably go with their camber plates. But their road and track springs just have too much drop for me. Same with the H&R race springs.

I am pretty familiar with koni damping profile. I have had them on several cars. Their twin tube design lowers their response, which can give them a soft damping feel in compression. They pair well with stiffer springs, as there is enough rebound damping to control heavier rates. However I am not seeing too many stiff spring options that keep lowering to a minimum. At this point I think the Steeda comps are at the top of my list.

Hoping to find something with more rate and less lowering. Or some other coilovers option I have missed.

 

[Dave_W]

Some people have had trouble with the MM camber plates, I believe with the mounting studs breaking off. Try a search for details.

 

[ShifterX]

Good tip, but I would be surprised that MM didn’t stand behind their product.

 

[JeffV8]

Good tip, but I would be surprised that MM didn’t stand behind their product.

Yea they stand behind their product alright. They charged me for their stud plate plus shipping and handling. And couldn’t get the camber I needed. Go with Vorshlag

 

[JDee]

I had trouble with MM plates as well, the plate was contacting the shaft of the strut and sawing into it. Plus they were very limited in how much camber they produced, hardly got over 2 degrees. I bought Vorshlags and they were great, easily made 4 degrees. But Vorshlags that cost $800 back then now cost about $1400 by the time you import them into Canada. Tough sell. Inflation is a thing, especially up in the frozen north with a rich kid running the country who thinks money grows on trees. Trying BMR this time around, we'll see how that goes.

 

[gww52]

I have the Ground Control with 500/250 and race valving. Good on track and a decent street ride on full soft.
Unless you can use extremely low ride height (which you can't in Pa) you will need 8" front springs and 9 or 10 rear.

 

[ShifterX]

I have the Ground Control with 500/250 and race valving. Good on track and a decent street ride on full soft.
Unless you can use extremely low ride height (which you can't in Pa) you will need 8" front springs and 9 or 10 rear.

How are the camber plates that come with the GC setup?

 

[stevbd]

I have the basic Cortex Koni coilovers. I like the overall quality, offset front struts, easily adjustable spring rates, height adjustability of course, and the true rear coilover location. I didn't like the camber plates they used (I think they were GC?) and swapped in my Vorshlag CC plates which are much better. I also don't love the rear dampers, it's a Koni 30 damper which I think is a decent monotube damper but the rebound only adjustment is a total pita, it's an inverted setup so you have to take the bottom of the coilover off the mount, push a little button on the damper shaft, and rotate the entire damper to adjust. I just set and forget it. If using Koni rear dampers, a divorced spring "coilover" setup puts the damper adjustment knob in the trunk which is a LOT easier to adjust in literally seconds. The Cortex setup does have plenty of rear room though, I run 305/30/19 square with no issues.

 

[JP X]

How are the camber plates that come with the GC setup?

I have Ground Control camber plates. No issues after 4 years.

 

[ShifterX]

Any more recommendations on springs? Thinking Steeda comps or boss comps.

 

[EF1]

+1 on the Steeda Comps.

 

[ShifterX]

Considering my car is pretty old now (I guess they all are) I planned on replacing my front upper strut mount. Because I am going with new shocks, I can go with either the older 05-10/GT500 style or the newer 11-14 style mount. Is there any reason to go with one or the other?

thanks

 

[EF1]

I don’t think one is better than the other. Just make sure the struts and mount are the same style. You can’t mix them.

 

[iigneb]

I might have the Vorshlag street pro setup with eibach pro springs for sale here shortly. The 18th I go to put my coil overs on.

I would be interested in your old setup once you get your coilovers on