2013 GT - Auto-X upgrade - tires or suspension?

paulyboy928 said:

That'll definitely be an upgrade over stock. If you want to go to the next level, get a watts link. Easily one of the top 3 mods I've don't to my car.

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Second that! A watts link absolutely transforms the handling dynamics of the s197 chassis. If your really looking to go all out, a BMR k member, a-arms and watts link is the trifecta for any s197 thats geared for corner carving and autocross.

I would not recommend any lightweight K-member for autocross or road course work.

Maximum Motorsports K-member is better suited for non-dragstrip track applications.

Why?

Thanks for the input...wasn't looking at a k-member, but will have to check into the watts link for next year. With the konis/springs/cc plates done, tires are next month. Still looking at the new Continental Extreme Contact Sport vs Michelin Sport 4S...leaning towards the Continentals due to cost delta.

The lightweight K-members are designed for drag racing and are not robust enough for sustained g-loads in auto-x and especially road course events.

Agreed, I wouldn't add any BMR products on a road race vehicle. Maximum Motorsports make a great K-member as far as quality and performance.

cheeser said:

Thanks for the input...wasn't looking at a k-member, but will have to check into the watts link for next year. With the konis/springs/cc plates done, tires are next month. Still looking at the new Continental Extreme Contact Sport vs Michelin Sport 4S...leaning towards the Continentals due to cost delta.

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Come join us on trackmustangsonline.com for more handling oriented mustang owners/racers. Over there you will find a unique view point on Watts links, particularly a lack of time to be gained on most tracks and a large cost associated with the upgrade. There appears to be more then alittle hype associated with a Watts, and there are tons of smoking fast S197's that do it with a good ole panhard.

Honestly you sound very value driven. You are going to have the best bang for buck setup with your current setup. As others have said your challenge will be spring rate and camber control. The only change i would make is a more performance oriented spring and an adjustable front sway to help you dial in balance and manage front end camber degradation. Other then that let it eat and enjoy your drama free, easy, high performing modifications and save for tires, fluids, and brake pads.

I would drive the car how it is. Get a baseline. Figure out what really needs to improve . Personally in stock trim my car would understeer then snap over steer. It has been a long journey getting it to handle but its sticks now. Get ready to spend some coin if you're gonna go all in. I have well over 5k in suspension . My torque arm has been the biggest improvement. I would not do the continentals thats too hard . In order to be somewhat competitive you will need a tire thats a 200 treadwear. Something like a rival s Or 71r. I have bridgestone 71rs on my mustang I am more than happy with them .

I hear what you guys are saying about the Watts not giving you much of a time benefit on track...but I do know the car feels so much more planted and stable in turns, especially when hitting bumps during turns, with the Watts compared to the Panhard. If OP finds a good deal on a used local Watts ( one that doesn’t bolt to the diff cover ) it would be worth considering IMO.

Yeah, I'll go ahead and say once again, get a watts link if you've got the coin.

paulyboy928 said:

Yeah, I'll go ahead and say once again, get a watts link if you've got the coin.

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If you have the money, a true motorsports level shock will out perform a koni yellow'ed and watts link car. Much better places to spend money then a watts link until you are reaching very high performance levels.


If there are other factors that make you feel good about the car and you think its planted, cool. But its just introduced complexity, weight, and potential noise for the mere opportunity in very unique circumstances to outperform a performance bushing'd panhard.

Ill say this again, come over to trackmustangsonline for real chassis discussions. SVTP is usually just catalog slinging and brand whoring when its comes to handling mustangs unfortunately.

Cheers

In the end, I decided to go with the Koni Yellows and Eibach pro package, in addition to the Continental ExtremeContact Sports for now.

As I am just out there for the fun, this package seems to work for me...was a nice upgrade from stock. I have run one AutoX event with this setup, and it feels much better. For now, I am probably the limitation in the setup, and wanted to attend a local SCCA one day school they will have this month.

One thing I am not happy with is the lack of the Maximum Motorspots Caster/Camber Plates to meet the stock alignment specs...couldn't obtain any more positive than -1.5 for caster....the plate appears to be hitting something underneath on both sides. During the install, made sure it was smooth per the instructions.

Actually -1.5 isn't bad for everyday driving and I think at the negative limit of the Ford specs. Just make sure that toe is 0. For autocross something like -2 and some toe out would be ideal.

I have the Steeda HD mounts, Roush springs, Koni Yellows and run -1.6 with 0 toe for everyday driving on Conti ExtremeContact DW tires. No abnormal wear.