34 replies to this topic

[MichaelGoodwin]

As most of you know, I changed the stock springs on my base 2011 GT500 with the Eibach Pro Series springs.  I love the look of having my car lowered, but the ride quality went down the drain.  Every small imperfection is felt and now my wife complains big time about my ride.  I was thinking of purchasing the Eibach struts in hopes of resolving the issue, but I'm coming to you seasoned vets on the GT500's to give me some tips on making a lowered car some what pleasant.  What would help straighten up this mess without going back to the stock springs?

[jnf]

I have both the Pro Springs and struts on my 07. Won't make that much of a difference in ride quality.
Maybe someone who has the Tokico D-Soec struts can chime in.
I think you will get a better ride from those.

[Albino500]

MichaelGoodwin, on 05 November 2012 - 07:48 AM, said:

As most of you know, I changed the stock springs on my base 2011 GT500 with the Eibach Pro Series springs.  I love the look of having my car lowered, but the ride quality went down the drain.  Every small imperfection is felt and now my wife complains big time about my ride.  I was thinking of purchasing the Eibach struts in hopes of resolving the issue, but I'm coming to you seasoned vets on the GT500's to give me some tips on making a lowered car some what pleasant.  What would help straighten up this mess without going back to the stock springs?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a suggestion because I don't know what you and your wife are looking for exactly . Might I suggest that you go with the M-5300-P springs , Tokico adjustable D-Spec shocks and struts , M-5570-A jounce bumper kit , and put on the factory sway bars front and rear from a 2012 Boss 302 Laguna Seca model then check the centering of the rear axle and find out if you need an adjustable panard bar (if so I recommend a Hotchkis one). The only other thing would be to put on some good rubber(tires) that have a softer sidewall and use 19" wheels all around. Good luck to you and the wife in finding the ride quality that the both of you are looking for.

[MichaelGoodwin]

Well the tires i have are great.  Im running Falken 453's and they grip great and have a great ride as well.  I will try the Tokico struts.  i heard alot of good things about them.  Springs I'm running, are they much lower than the M5300P springs?

[Albino500]

MichaelGoodwin, on 05 November 2012 - 09:14 AM, said:

Well the tires i have are great.  Im running Falken 453's and they grip great and have a great ride as well.  I will try the Tokico struts.  i heard alot of good things about them.  Springs I'm running, are they much lower than the M5300P springs?

The springs your running are within a 1/4" lower than the M-5300-P springs .

[svt13]

Apparently the d speck adjustables are the best riding shocks not counting koni coil overs. Though I would add instead of getting boss LS sway bars to get the steeda ones. But the 1 inch diameter rear one not the 1.25 inch one. I would use FRPP springs the L ones. They harshen ride by 10% hardly noticeable. Though I can talk more educatedly about that this weekend.

[MichaelGoodwin]

Thanks for the hlelp.  I'm placing my order for the Tokico D spec struts right now.  I'm also checking on the sway bars as well.  I won't be looking to change the springs because I've seen many good reviews about them so I'm hoping the struts help tame the ride along with the shorter bump stops.

[Albino500]

MichaelGoodwin, on 05 November 2012 - 07:54 PM, said:

Thanks for the hlelp.  I'm placing my order for the Tokico D spec struts right now.  I'm also checking on the sway bars as well.  I won't be looking to change the springs because I've seen many good reviews about them so I'm hoping the struts help tame the ride along with the shorter bump stops.

Keep this in mind - the springs job is to carry the weight load , the struts and shocks job is to control the oscillation rate of the springs , the jounce stops are to aid in the travel length/rate of change at the end of compression of the suspension and the job of the sway bars is to control body roll by inducing or opposing an additional spring rate to aid in absorbing the cross dynamic weight change being transferred during cornering ( NOT forward and aft ). If your sway bars are bound up at the frame bushings they will act more like a torsion bar instead of an anti-sway bar . Have found this to be a reoccurring problem that people who complain about a harsh ride quality have not checked the install of the sway bars for being free of bind before attaching the end links . The results from sway bars should be an acceptable body roll and a desired balance of under steer / over steer . Tire pressures should never be below what the manufacturer recommends as a cure for ride harshness.  JMO

[MichaelGoodwin]

Albino500, on 05 November 2012 - 08:54 PM, said:

Keep this in mind - the springs job is to carry the weight load , the struts and shocks job is to control the oscillation rate of the springs , the jounce stops are to aid in the travel length/rate of change at the end of compression of the suspension and the job of the sway bars is to control body roll by inducing or opposing an additional spring rate to aid in absorbing the cross dynamic weight change being transferred during cornering ( NOT forward and aft ). If your sway bars are bound up at the frame bushings they will act more like a torsion bar instead of an anti-sway bar . Have found this to be a reoccurring problem that people who complain about a harsh ride quality have not checked the install of the sway bars for being free of bind before attaching the end links . The results from sway bars should be an acceptable body roll and a desired balance of under steer / over steer . Tire pressures should never be below what the manufacturer recommends as a cure for ride harshness.  JMO

Thanks.  This is very helpful in getting my ride just right.  I will go ahead and order  my beefier sway bars as well.  What brand do you recommend and why?  Im not taking the car to the track so really don't need anything too extreme.

[Albino500]

My recommendation is for you to go with the factory sway bars for the 2012 Boss 302 Laguna Seca model . A lot of engineering time went into determining the sizes and they work great for a street car . If you find the front is binding at the frame mount bushing then you can place a washer (on the studs) between the bushing clamp bracket and the lower radiator cross member (where the stud is ) in order to space it out and not crush the bushing so tight . JMO - Good Luck and enjoy the ride !

[MMcGuirk]

Eibach springs' ride quality stinks compared to Ford racing. Learned that on my 06 and confirmed it on my 350.

Both cars have D Specs and FRPP springs.

All my fellow S197 owners who ride in my cars, marvel at the ride quality.

[Albino500]

MMcGuirk, on 06 November 2012 - 07:31 AM, said:

Eibach springs' ride quality stinks compared to Ford racing. Learned that on my 06 and confirmed it on my 350.

Both cars have D Specs and FRPP springs.

All my fellow S197 owners who ride in my cars, marvel at the ride quality.

Was that before or after we unbound your sway bars ?

[svt13]

Albino500, on 06 November 2012 - 07:16 AM, said:

My recommendation is for you to go with the factory sway bars for the 2012 Boss 302 Laguna Seca model . A lot of engineering time went into determining the sizes and they work great for a street car . If you find the front is binding at the frame mount bushing then you can place a washer (on the studs) between the bushing clamp bracket and the lower radiator cross member (where the stud is ) in order to space it out and not crush the bushing so tight . JMO - Good Luck and enjoy the ride !

The thing with the leguna seca is they don't look at sturdy or beefy as the steedas. And the steeda are even smaller than the boss LS. The boss LS uses 36mm front and 26mm rear. The steeda use 35mm front and 25mm rear. But the steeda front will be adjustable and they have a beefier design thats why I recommended those. Plus alex used them on his 13 boss LS and he said they were a very good improvement. Plus the steeda end links are better too.

[MichaelGoodwin]

Well for the time being, i love the way the car sits and im sure theres a way to tidy up the ride without getting another new set of sprins, so im going to implement all the advice into a complete package minus another new set of springs

[Afdharley]

I have the same eibach springs as you and also have the Tokico d-specs. The tokicos are so adjustable I'm sure you will find a setting the wife can live with

We took a long vacation recently, close to 3000 miles, and the tokicos were excellent. They are infinitely adjustable. About 7 turns from full hard to full soft. At 6 turns from full hard they ride softer than stock. I would suggest getting the extenders for the rears so you don't have to climb into the trunk to adjust them.

[Albino500]

svt13, on 06 November 2012 - 08:30 AM, said:

The thing with the leguna seca is they don't look at sturdy or beefy as the steedas. And the steeda are even smaller than the boss LS. The boss LS uses 36mm front and 26mm rear. The steeda use 35mm front and 25mm rear. But the steeda front will be adjustable and they have a beefier design thats why I recommended those. Plus alex used them on his 13 boss LS and he said they were a very good improvement. Plus the steeda end links are better too.

LOL "the smaller ones look beefier" As far as adjustable end links go - you don't need them on a S197 because the frame mount brackets on the front bar are mounted vertically not horizontal . All you have to do is have the car on a drive on rack and loosen the frame bracket bolts - let it slide up/down to remove any preload/twist out of itself and then re-tighten the nuts. The 2007-09 GT500 end links were superseded to the 2010-newer to address the issue of the flex they thought to be the cause of premature wear on the ball ends.

[HyperStangs]

MichaelGoodwin, on 05 November 2012 - 07:48 AM, said:

As most of you know, I changed the stock springs on my base 2011 GT500 with the Eibach Pro Series springs.  I love the look of having my car lowered, but the ride quality went down the drain.  Every small imperfection is felt and now my wife complains big time about my ride.  I was thinking of purchasing the Eibach struts in hopes of resolving the issue, but I'm coming to you seasoned vets on the GT500's to give me some tips on making a lowered car some what pleasant.  What would help straighten up this mess without going back to the stock springs?

Any chance they left off the shorter bump stops?  Just a thought....

[Albino500]

That in itself is a possibility .

[svt13]

Albino500, on 06 November 2012 - 09:51 PM, said:

LOL "the smaller ones look beefier" As far as adjustable end links go - you don't need them on a S197 because the frame mount brackets on the front bar are mounted vertically not horizontal . All you have to do is have the car on a drive on rack and loosen the frame bracket bolts - let it slide up/down to remove any preload/twist out of itself and then re-tighten the nuts. The 2007-09 GT500 end links were superseded to the 2010-newer to address the issue of the flex they thought to be the cause of premature wear on the ball ends.

The steeda endlinks are not adjsutable the front sway bar is. And yes I know it sounds weird that a smaller MM bar looks beefier than a larger MM bar. But hey I can't explain it look at Alex's picture here



Edit: I lied on 2nd look the endlinks are adjustable

Edited by svt13, 07 November 2012 - 09:24 AM.

[svt13]

Here is the difference in endlinks.Though I think Alex has the competition ones because on steeda's website the picture of the street one the ends are black not gold color.



These are the ones on the website http://www.steeda.co...r-endlinks.html

Edited by svt13, 07 November 2012 - 09:23 AM.