76 replies to this topic

[Mr. Haney]

The work is progressing with my car and I thought you guys would enjoy some photos of it. The new K member uses poly motor mounts, but doesn't lower the engine from the stock location. The picture of the rear components is missing a relocation bracket for the panhard bar that will lower the roll center of the rear axle substantially

[3ponies]

I have a Roush Stage 3 Black Jack and have added the Kenny Brown Subframe and Jacking Rails. The Roush guys really liked the KB stuff last time I had in their Michigan shop. I need to figure out what rear components might help me on the track. I have about 15 track days with the car and love it. I have to ask about yours. Do you keep it in a bubble? OMG it is so clean! Thanks for the pics... Keep those updates coming. Where are you having the work done?

[Mr. Haney]

3ponies, on 16 October 2012 - 03:16 PM, said:

I have a Roush Stage 3 Black Jack and have added the Kenny Brown Subframe and Jacking Rails. The Roush guys really liked the KB stuff last time I had in their Michigan shop. I need to figure out what rear components might help me on the track. I have about 15 track days with the car and love it. I have to ask about yours. Do you keep it in a bubble? OMG it is so clean! Thanks for the pics... Keep those updates coming. Where are you having the work done?

No bubble, in fact I drove through numerous thunder storms when I brought it home from TX when I purchased it. The car is a 2013 with roughly 2600 miles on it that is the only reason it looks this nice underneath of it.

After doing a considerable amount of research I felt that the Kenny Brown suspension was a better than an average upgrade for the money after comparing it to BMR, Steeda and few of the others. Is it as good as Griggs or Cortex set ups with coil overs?  I don't know. I wasn't after a full track set up, but I wanted the best street set up and I think this will do very well. KB suspensions have been doing very well in both the American Iron and Pirelli World Challenge Series in the Mustangs, but these car also utilize coil overs with the KB parts. I also liked the fact they engineered some geometry changes into the suspension pieces for anti-dive in the front, along with anti-squat and anti-lift in the rear. The car has the Bilstien Electronic Dampers and I wanted to retain them for street use, because I doubt I'll ever track the car in the future. Unfortunately I have a back injury that gets very aggravated/painful doing anything during the heat of anything competitive in nature and the adrenalin rush associated with it.

Performance Autosport in Richmond VA is doing the work. Here is a link to their website, you can also look them up on Facebook and follow the build as they are posting daily photos of the transformation

http://www.performanceautosport.com/

[MJN]

I have been watching on FB   looking good I must say.  You doing different springs at all or just leaving that stock?

[Mr. Haney]

MJN, on 16 October 2012 - 04:37 PM, said:

I have been watching on FB   looking good I must say.  You doing different springs at all or just leaving that stock?

Thank You

Ford Racing part number M-5300-L which should drop it 1.25"  from stock and are approved to work with the electronic dampers.

I was hoping they would post a little more than they are. I noticed in the photos that they already have changed the springs and have the bump steer tie rod ends installed. In the picture of the silver GT500 I noticed my car in the back ground with the wheels and tires installed sitting on blocks. I was wondering if they already have the rear suspension done but aren't posting them yet. I don't have the time to go by the shop to see how they're making out, but I'm hoping everything is ready for me to pick it up Saturday

[patrickshelby]

With all these heim joints, I would be interested in knowing what increase in NVH you'll get.

[svt13]

What sway bar is that?

[Mr. Haney]

From what I'm gathering the car is done. I won't have time to pick the car up until Saturday morning. I;ll let everybody know what I think of it after I drive it. I'm expecting an increase in NVH, but from what I'm being told it isn't supposed to be bad and the car should be very street worth.

The front bar is a 36mm that is adjustable and is an option from KB. Does he buy it from another vendor and supply it as an option to his kit? I don't know.

[Mr. Haney]

I've seen some more pictures of my car since it was finished. Too bad I don't have the time to go pick it up....ARGH!!!!!!!

[svt13]

How come in the 2nd to last picture the space between the wheel and the fender is 2x as large on the right side then on the left?

And no stripes?

I like your color choice. If I could do my order over again I would have gone candy red with black stripes.

[Mr. Haney]

svt13, on 18 October 2012 - 08:17 AM, said:

How come in the 2nd to last picture the space between the wheel and the fender is 2x as large on the right side then on the left?

And no stripes?

I like your color choice. If I could do my order over again I would have gone candy red with black stripes.

I would assume the steering wheel is turned slightly to the right, so the wheel/tire isn't centered in the fender opening. If you look at the tire closely you can see that it is turned slightly.

Yes..............The Tape Stripe Delete and Over the Top Stripe Delete is my friend. My wife never liked the stripes on the muscle cars from the late the sixties and still doesn't like them on cars today, so to keep the peace in the house, the car doesn't have stripes.

[MJN]

Bautiful, can't wait to hear what you think once you drive it.

[patrickshelby]

MJN, on 18 October 2012 - 04:17 PM, said:

Bautiful, can't wait to hear what you think once you drive it.

+1 !!!

[3ponies]

patrickshelby, on 18 October 2012 - 10:40 PM, said:

+1 !!!

+2 you know its good when you are smiling as you look at the pics!

[Mr. Haney]

Thanks guys, I'll give you my thoughts on it after I pick it up tomorrow. I have to go to a truck show for a customer after I pick it up, so I'll have 320 mile test ride by the time I get home

[TrakRat]

svt13, on 18 October 2012 - 08:17 AM, said:

How come in the 2nd to last picture the space between the wheel and the fender is 2x as large on the right side then on the left?

And no stripes?

I like your color choice. If I could do my order over again I would have gone candy red with black stripes.

If I'm not mistaken, I thought the KB K-member moves the front wheels forward about an inch for better caster and weight distribution.  I know some Griggs and MM kits do that varying degrees.

[Mr. Haney]

Ding ding ding,.........we have a winner

The car handles very well. As far a NVH the car has gained some, but not enough in my opinion to be bothersome. The rear is very stable compared to the stock set up. You can launch the car hard without fear of the tail end trying to steer the car now. It no longer squats with the panhard bar turning the car as the axle moves side to side with the suspension movement.The car is much safer to drive at the limit or past the limit of rear tire traction. The KB set up lowers the rear roll center significantly with the panhard bar being parallel with the axle by relocating the mounting points on both the body and axle housing. The spherical bearings don't make as much noise I anticipated. The steering wheel turn in is actually much lighter than stock and the car reacts quickly to steering wheel inputs. Even with the electronic steering set on the Sport mode the effort to turn the steering wheel is lower than it was stock in the Comfort mode. The ride is not abuse on standard roads, but was a little harsh on the rough city streets of Richmond. On the Interstate the difference in ride harshness wasn't much of a difference from stock in my opinion. I used the FRPP spring part # M-5300-L

The stock air dam will need to be removed, as it is scraping on driveway entrances if they're steep and I can't hit them at an angle to keep this from happening.

Yes the front tire is moved ahead slightly for more caster and high speed stability.

[svt13]

Mr. Haney, on 21 October 2012 - 01:54 PM, said:

Ding ding ding,.........we have a winner

The car handles very well. As far a NVH the car has gained some, but not enough in my opinion to be bothersome. The rear is very stable compared to the stock set up. You can launch the car hard without fear of the tail end trying to steer the car now. It no longer squats with the panhard bar turning the car as the axle moves side to side with the suspension movement.The car is much safer to drive at the limit or past the limit of rear tire traction. The KB set up lowers the rear roll center significantly with the panhard bar being parallel with the axle by relocating the mounting points on both the body and axle housing. The spherical bearings don't make as much noise I anticipated. The steering wheel turn in is actually much lighter than stock and the car reacts quickly to steering wheel inputs. Even with the electronic steering set on the Sport mode the effort to turn the steering wheel is lower than it was stock in the Comfort mode. The ride is not abuse on standard roads, but was a little harsh on the rough city streets of Richmond. On the Interstate the difference in ride harshness wasn't much of a difference from stock in my opinion. I used the FRPP spring part # M-5300-L

The stock air dam will need to be removed, as it is scraping on driveway entrances if they're steep and I can't hit them at an angle to keep this from happening.

Yes the front tire is moved ahead slightly for more caster and high speed stability.

I thought so with that last part.

How come they made the steering so light? On comfort I feel if I blow on the steering wheel it will turn. Now yours is lighter than that? I would think that feels weird. Though now I want to see how your car compares to a stock one.

[MJN]

Thats awesome.  Been keeping a eye on here just waiting for your post   and now hearing how much you like it, It makes me want to save even harder now for the complete package.

[Tob]

Mr. Haney, on 21 October 2012 - 01:54 PM, said:

The spherical bearings don't make as much noise I anticipated.

Huge difference between a three piece Teflon lined rod end and a steel on steel two piece.