Shocks/struts Opinion

gride1999 · Jun 17, 2012

I'm thinking of buying the Ford K springs but have seen in my research it is highly recommended to also buy and install better shocks/struts. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the best ones to buy are... on a budget?

jpplaw · Jun 17, 2012

Check out the Koni STR.T's. Not real expensive and great for stock replacement and for when lowering. I am very happy with them. AM just started selling them too.

BackInBlack · Jun 17, 2012

Every Brand will have their faults, and great products. most of the time you're paying for a brand name. like SmithOptics VS Oakley glasses. Oakley will be more expensive but Smith is equal in quality.

So go with what feels right even since youre on a budget. Ford parts are always great, but steeda and other brands are just as comparable. Check Americanmuscle.com, they normally sell the better products of brands.

gride1999 · Jun 17, 2012

Thanks for you suggestions. So many choices to chose from. That's why I love the mustang!! there is endless aftermarket parts for us. Do you think that a camber kit will be nessasary as well?

StreetsideStig · Jun 18, 2012

Eibach, Bilstien, and Koni all make pretty good stuff. Check Ebay for lightly used ones.

Sharad · Jun 18, 2012

gride1999 said:
I'm thinking of buying the Ford K springs but have seen in my research it is highly recommended to also buy and install better shocks/struts. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the best ones to buy are... on a budget?

I have the UPR springs on my '06 GT which are actually made by Eibach to the same spec as the K springs (from what I'm told) so my experience should be the same as what you would experience with the FRPP Ks. I installed the springs almost a year ago and drove it on the stock shocks and struts during that time. Then I installed a set of Koni Yellows last month. In my opinion, the springs improved the cornering ability without hurting the ride quality very much. Then when I installed the Konis, the handling was UNREAL, but I could feel the bumps in the road more with the Konis (even on soft).

It should be mentioned that the FRPP K springs shift the rear axle over toward the driver's side by about half an inch. I used an adjustable panhard bar to re-center it. However, I did not use camber bolts or cc-plates. My camber ended up around -1.7° which is actually good for cornering, but doesn't really accelerate tire wear if you zero out the toe.

gride1999 · Jun 19, 2012

Interesting. I've never heard of UPR. I just checked out the site and from what I saw prices look good. I almost dont know if it wouldn't be worth my time to just save a few more bucks and get a handling pack. You look at springs and think hmmm... 209.00 + install.. not bad, but then you relize you will need shocks, struts, camber plates and whatch that 209 go to more like 800-900! I'll be real honest here.. I have about 600 to stuff into my car, and this is my first performance upgrade. Think I might be better off starting with a cold air intake to get some noticable HP gains? I was looking at the FRPP one on AM and it the reveiws were good.

joe_momma · Jun 21, 2012

I'm in the same boat as you...I just picked up an '06GT with only 6k (yes, 6k) miles on it. I'm torn between some appearance items - specifically, springs, and a CAI/tune. It has 18" wheels already, but I'd love to to get rid of some of the gap in the fenders. It seems that the CAI/tune really wake these girls up.

SteedaBrandon · Jun 21, 2012

gride1999 said:
I'm thinking of buying the Ford K springs but have seen in my research it is highly recommended to also buy and install better shocks/struts. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the best ones to buy are... on a budget?

Is this your daily driver or weekend car? Do you track it?

Sharad · Jun 21, 2012

gride1999 said:
Interesting. I've never heard of UPR. I just checked out the site and from what I saw prices look good. I almost dont know if it wouldn't be worth my time to just save a few more bucks and get a handling pack. You look at springs and think hmmm... 209.00 + install.. not bad, but then you relize you will need shocks, struts, camber plates and whatch that 209 go to more like 800-900! I'll be real honest here.. I have about 600 to stuff into my car, and this is my first performance upgrade. Think I might be better off starting with a cold air intake to get some noticable HP gains? I was looking at the FRPP one on AM and it the reveiws were good.

Like I said, my car is sort of a budget project, so I did the springs themselves just to get a little handling improvement and some aesthetic improvement without dropping big money on a complete handling package. Then over the course of the past year, I added more upgrades one part or two at a time until I had completely upgraded everything. My advice is to perform as many upgrades as you can afford. Don't go overboard with the mods and put yourself in a bad place financially... be wise with your money. I'm just saying that once you DO have the upgraded springs AND shocks/struts, you'll be blown away by the handling.

I have to say though, if you don't have a CAI & tuner yet, that is a GREAT mod for these cars. The CAI & Tuner I installed on my car was good for over 30hp and the install took minutes. You can't beat that!

gride1999 · Jun 26, 2012

I called my local Ford dealer to see if they can tune it for me if I get the FRPP CAI and they said they can not? Do I actually have to buy the tuner? that thing is kind of pricey.

CrescentWrench · Jul 2, 2012

Steeda Sport springs and Koni Yellows work magic.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

Sharad · Jul 3, 2012

gride1999 said:
I called my local Ford dealer to see if they can tune it for me if I get the FRPP CAI and they said they can not? Do I actually have to buy the tuner? that thing is kind of pricey.

I don't know man... I was pretty sure that Ford has some sort of "power pack" that has the CAI & Tuner. I don't know how much they charge for it though... The CAI & Tuner I used was only $499 for the package with free tunes for life. To me, it's worth every penny.

gride1999 · Jul 4, 2012

I'll have to take a look at AM again. The CAI I was looking at from Ford was for just the intake... no tuner.

gride1999 · Jul 6, 2012

I'm so torn.. Do I have to replace my shocks and struts to use the Ford K springs? or can I simply install the lowering springs with factory shocks/struts??

tjsteeda · Jul 6, 2012

You can save money by doing the shocks/struts with the springs. The labor will be more expensive if you do them seperately. Typically if you are not doing a "drastic" drop, you can just change out the springs.

To tune the car you will need a tuning device. That is the way you load the tune.

Let me know if I can be of any service with Steeda springs or a CAI/Tuner combo. We are a very reputable company that sells American Made parts. Give us a look and let me know your thoughts?

www.steeda.com

Best Regards,

TJ

gride1999 · Jul 7, 2012

Is a 1.5" considered a drastic drop?

gride1999 · Jul 7, 2012

I saw these as well. The are new so they dont really have any reviews. Anyone have any experience with them? I love the price!
http://www.americanmuscle.com/sr-springs-0513gt.html

Jeff Cox · Jul 7, 2012

gride1999 said:
I'm thinking of buying the Ford K springs but have seen in my research it is highly recommended to also buy and install better shocks/struts. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the best ones to buy are... on a budget?

I have a set of tokico d-spec struts and shocks with the ford racing/lowering springs that have less than 300 miles on them, I upgraded to full blown race coilovers, if you are interested I will ship them to you for 650.00. They came off of my 2010 GT500. They work much better than stock, but I autox my GT500 and went to the KW Variant III coilovers.

Sharad · Jul 7, 2012

gride1999 said:
I'm so torn.. Do I have to replace my shocks and struts to use the Ford K springs? or can I simply install the lowering springs with factory shocks/struts??

You don't HAVE to replace the stock shocks & struts to install the lowering springs, but it will handle better if you do.

1.5" is not a drastic drop. My '06 is lowered 1.5" and I feel it has a nice mixture of good looks, good handling, and good ride quality. You should seriously consider installing an adjustable panhard bar with the lowering springs though.

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