Questions reguarding the suspension for 13' GT500

[dmullgt500]

I just recently purchased this car and really haven't had much time to research the suspensions products available for it. The only experience that I have is with my 95' GT, needless to say this is a completely different beast. I was just wondering what mods are worth the $$$? I noticed BBR had a decent deal on a rear end kit which includes their lower control arms, whitline upper, upper bracket, whiteline panhard bar, & brace for about $600. Any suggestions is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
D.

 

[COOL COBRA]

Contact Van. Tell him how you plan to use the car & he'll show you what you need. He's that good...

 

[BIRDDOC]

Contact Van. Tell him how you plan to use the car & he'll show you what you need. He's that good...

+1

Van from Revan Racing is the person to talk too. I updated my suspension for my application with his help.

 

[ON D BIT]

You purchased a 60k dollar car and want to put a 600 buck suspension in it? You do realize it was designed from the factory to pull over 1g correct?

 

[Devious_Snake]

You purchased a 60k dollar car and want to put a 600 buck suspension in it? You do realize it was designed from the factory to pull over 1g correct?

trust me on this, as an owner this car still needs some help to get the best out of it. Its capable, but not the best. I do not have a watts link though, im going a different route for now.

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

FYI. I've had a report from one owner of a GT500 with issues regarding fitment and noise with Whiteline product.

 

[Red_Devil]

I have my doubts anyone has had a legitimate fitment issue, but I would be curious as to who said it and what issues they reportedly had.

 

[SteveG@Lethal]

You purchased a 60k dollar car and want to put a 600 buck suspension in it? You do realize it was designed from the factory to pull over 1g correct?

I can promise you that the stock stamped UCA and mount, panhard bar and brace on the Shelby is the same ones on the GT, BOSS, V6, ect... The LCA has a better material but still uses the basic rubber bushing.

Sadly, the 60k you mentioned did not go towards that on these cars.

The parts the OP are looking for will simply destroy what Ford puts on them. Whiteline make an amazing product. We have been using them a lot on local installs and the quality is simply fantastic.

The combo of the BBR billet aluminum poly bushings by Enerygy Suspenion (which offers a lifetime warranty) and Whiteline UCA with mount has proven itself more than enough. Without the "noise"

Their PHB and Brace are a nice add-on and will help a lot with deflection.

 

[Tob]

I have my doubts anyone has had a legitimate fitment issue, but I would be curious as to who said it and what issues they reportedly had.

Most any aftermarket manufacturer has to deal with fitment issue claims. WL isn't somehow different in that regard. Are WL Watt's Link kits now coming equipped to fit Track Package cars?

 

[Lethalchem]

Ford has to at least make SOME compromise in design choice in an effort to appease the largest amount of owners. That means they have to sacrifice in certain areas. You will always be able to improve upon a stock factory car because you will be able to fine tune it to your own needs/preferences.

 

[ON D BIT]

I can promise you that the stock stamped UCA and mount, panhard bar and brace on the Shelby is the same ones on the GT, BOSS, V6, ect... The LCA has a better material but still uses the basic rubber bushing.

Sadly, the 60k you mentioned did not go towards that on these cars.

The parts the OP are looking for will simply destroy what Ford puts on them. Whiteline make an amazing product. We have been using them a lot on local installs and the quality is simply fantastic.

The combo of the BBR billet aluminum poly bushings by Enerygy Suspenion (which offers a lifetime warranty) and Whiteline UCA with mount has proven itself more than enough. Without the "noise"

Their PHB and Brace are a nice add-on and will help a lot with deflection.

So you are saying that you have spent more money on testing, racing, and engineering than Ford?

How is your product better engineered than the Ford stock parts?

 

[Draiter]

So you are saying that you have spent more money on testing, racing, and engineering than Ford?

How is your product better engineered than the Ford stock parts?

That's like asking why a Pioneer head unit is better than a stock head unit....

 

[ON D BIT]

Hey, I know that by taking out the comfort one can get a little faster if driven to the limit. This is not really the question.

The question I have is my original one. If you would change a solid handling car oem make sure you get the best, one that has done their homework. I am sorry 600 bucks shows my nothing of the investment they have put towards their product. Maybe I am wrong, and they have better engineered the roll center, roll axis, motion ratio, roll bind, etc with their couple hundred dollars worth of products.

What does Van think of cheap aftermarket suspension products? This is simply my opinion.

 

[shelbysvt]

Hey, I know that by taking out the comfort one can get a little faster if driven to the limit. This is not really the question.

The question I have is my original one. If you would change a solid handling car oem make sure you get the best, one that has done their homework. I am sorry 600 bucks shows my nothing of the investment they have put towards their product. Maybe I am wrong, and they have better engineered the roll center, roll axis, motion ratio, roll bind, etc with their couple hundred dollars worth of products.

What does Van think of cheap aftermarket suspension products? This is simply my opinion.

I believe BMR isn't much more expensive. Panhard bar and brace prices are similar only difference is UCA which BMR has the more expensive unit.

If you want to go by cost and homework then griggs all the way. But then there goes the DD.

 

[SteveG@Lethal]

So you are saying that you have spent more money on testing, racing, and engineering than Ford?

How is your product better engineered than the Ford stock parts?

If you take a V6, a GT, Boss, and a Shelby and put their UCA and mount, PHB, and Brace side by side....you will see the SAME stamped steel with rubber bushing. Same products since 2005.

The shelby and boss have the same LCA. It better but still a stamped steel material using rubber. (this deflects the sound only)

And the cost of the product isn't based off the retail price but the R&R put into it to create the product. Whiteline, BMR, Griggs, ect have spent thousands to create suspension parts that over due anything stock.

You can ask anyone who has done the swap on suspension and can confirm it's different and better.

 

[Slowponycar]

Love my BMR suspension and other goodies I got from Van. Plus there is no added NVH with the BMR parts. It is different and so much better than stock.

 

[ON D BIT]

And the cost of the product isn't based off the retail price but the R&R put into it to create the product.

This was my point. If I was going to upgrade I would want something that was extensively researched, engineered, tested, and found to be better. This testing/RR is not cheap and would cost significantly more than the materials and the man hours it takes to create.

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

Hey, I know that by taking out the comfort one can get a little faster if driven to the limit. This is not really the question.

The question I have is my original one. If you would change a solid handling car oem make sure you get the best, one that has done their homework. I am sorry 600 bucks shows my nothing of the investment they have put towards their product. Maybe I am wrong, and they have better engineered the roll center, roll axis, motion ratio, roll bind, etc with their couple hundred dollars worth of products.

What does Van think of cheap aftermarket suspension products? This is simply my opinion.

It's not really about cheap as much as functionality and integration. WL is a fairly new product to the Mustang and has been picked up by a number of companies. I too spoke with WL but holding true to form I don't get involved with and/or sell a product that I have not tested or my customers have not tested. I also like to support American manufacturing like Griggs and BMR.

I believe BMR isn't much more expensive. Panhard bar and brace prices are similar only difference is UCA which BMR has the more expensive unit.

If you want to go by cost and homework then griggs all the way. But then there goes the DD.

Expense wise BMR is going to be slightly more expensive and it's also more advantageous for some dealers of WL to sell their product because of profit. For Revan Racing it's not always about profit margin it's about delivering products that I've tested.

Yes, I have tested every form of Griggs and BMR Suspension on the street and the track. My licensing allows me to actually run my cars in a controlled and timed environment so I can determine how certain suspension items improve handlilng. I do this on my own cars and some customer cars.

When I speak to a customer I'm giving real world feedback from someone who drives a GT500 and races GT500's.

A Griggs Suspension does not eliminate it from daily driving. Griggs has multiple set ups and chassis components that work very well on the street. I have a LOT of customers running Griggs on the street and most of them will tell you they have more confidence in their ability to handle the car on the street with a Griggs suspension than any other suspension they had in the car before.

My favorite compliment came from a customers wife. Her words. "the car is more comfortable to ride in and doesn't feel like it is going to break loose at any minute, like it did before"

Love my BMR suspension and other goodies I got from Van. Plus there is no added NVH with the BMR parts. It is different and so much better than stock.

Right on Slowpony! Thanks for the business and your input.

 

[shelbysvt]

A Griggs Suspension does not eliminate it from daily driving. Griggs has multiple set ups and chassis components that work very well on the street. I have a LOT of customers running Griggs on the street and most of them will tell you they have more confidence in their ability to handle the car on the street with a Griggs suspension than any other suspension they had in the car before.

My favorite compliment came from a customers wife. Her words. "the car is more comfortable to ride in and doesn't feel like it is going to break loose at any minute, like it did before"

QUOTE]

I was talking from an NVH perspective for us anal people with sensitive ears:beer:. I know those coil overs can be adjusted to make the ride very soft.

Van you should look into doing a coil over set up with the bilstein shock. I know on the GTR for the aftermarket a company worked with bilstein to make the same exact shock but in a coil over form to adjust ride height and such.

Maybe this could be the next project you undertake like with the past radiator and heat exchanger? oke:

EDIT 1: Though to the OP I will say this about whitelines UCA if you plan on getting it you won't be able to adjust the pinion angle past 0 degrees. That is as low as it will go unlike BMR where you can go negative.

EDIT 2: I can't speak about BMR but the whiteline UCA does not create ANY NVH at all so that was a huge plus for me.

 

[Red_Devil]

It's not really about cheap as much as functionality and integration. WL is a fairly new product to the Mustang and has been picked up by a number of companies. I too spoke with WL but holding true to form I don't get involved with and/or sell a product that I have not tested or my customers have not tested. I also like to support American manufacturing like Griggs and BMR.


Expense wise BMR is going to be slightly more expensive and it's also more advantageous for some dealers of WL to sell their product because of profit. For Revan Racing it's not always about profit margin it's about delivering products that I've tested.

Hey Van,
Thanks for bringing up some great points. It is extremely wise to always make sure that the product you are selling is quality, and certainly gives people the ability to stand behind the product they sell. However, just because you haven't personally tested the product doesn't mean it isn't a quality product. Frankly I am guessing most shops are not in the business of testing every single product on the market, because that time and money is better spent actually selling a product.

Like any quality part design and manufacturing, we had our own extensive in house testing, as well as outside testing ranging from our dealers that race (both drag racing, autocross and track), Street testing for comfort, and even OE level testing which we passed all with flying colors; no surprise for a company that has over 20 years experience in Ford Performance.

As a global company that makes parts for thousands of vehicles, we do have some overseas manufacturing, however we currently manufacture all of our Mustang parts locally in Southern California.

As far as profit margin, we try to pass that along to our retailers; I've never heard of that being a problem! I get the feeling you are insinuating that is the only reason people push our products, but I think if you actually tested our parts you would find that to be incorrect. For us, it is all about creating a QUALITY product that our partners CAN sell, and MAKE money on so we can all grow our business together.

Btw, Griggs uses a standard T/A differential cover that only has 2 plugs (just like ours) so it has the exact same fitment with track pack Shelby cars as well.

http://www.griggsracing.com/images/tawattsl.jpg