Why does this car ride like a shopping cart?

[FoxRodStang]

My roommate's 96 Mystic has steeda sport springs, bilstein shocks & struts, & maximum motorsports camber/caster plates. It rides horrible! All the suspension parts were installed at the same time so I'm not sure whether the springs or the shocks are causing the rough ride. She also has a 90 LX with bilsteins, but, it has H&R springs. The ride is firmer than my 90 GT with H&R springs & stock shocks & struts, but, it's not harsh. I've talked with the guy she bought the springs from (he had them on his mach1 with stock shocks/struts) - he said they rode fine...What gives?

edit: the car handles great, but, just rides really rough. Also, the guy with the mach1 sold them because they didn't drop his car more than about 1/2 an inch, but, the cobra drop is where it should be .....strange IMO

 

[ShortThrow50]

Not all cars are the same. If you have a different stang but with the same suspension setup brand, the specs are still gonna be different depending on year

 

[FoxRodStang]

Steeda's website lists the same springs for 79-04 v8 cars. What specs are you talking about? I know different year cars will respond differently to different mods, but, the difference here is too much to be normal.

 

[ShortThrow50]

Sorry man. I had my head up my ass when I posted. That is how they are listed. The only thing i can say is that suspension setups do ride differently on diff on diff stangs from my experiences. I love the a good stiff suspension where it rattles my teeth going over a bump in the road. Makes the car feel nice and solid.

 

[19mustang95]

Steeda springs suck IMO, i would switch to eibach or H&R. Or even better would be to go to coilover.

 

[bmxr152]

Yeah i love a stiff ride, it feels more solid that way

 

[prochargedcobra]

Steeda springs suck IMO, i would switch to eibach or H&R. Or even better would be to go to coilover.

I beg to differ. I have the full g trac on my car and they dont suck at all. I switched from eibach to this and love it. Stiffer springs might be good on a groomed road course where there arent many bumps, but on most streets you dont have that luxery and a stiffer ride isnt always good.

 

[Red98CobraStang]

exactly. i have the exact same setup as my buddies other 98 cobra and his car rode WAYYYYY smoother than mine. I guess all the poly bushings on my car arent helping either..

 

[FoxRodStang]

thanks for the replies ya'll. So, is the vote for the springs as the culprit?

as for the ride, if the roads around here were roadcourse smooth, yeah, nice & stiff....BUT(!!!) our lovely roads are maintained by a bunch of idiots that don't have a clue what smooth is. Potholes, dips, grooves, etc everywhere! A super stiff suspension will beat ya to death around here.

 

[Stavesacre21]

its been awhile since i've ridden in a shopping cart...

i'd have to say springs if anything. As mentioned, the same setup on 2 different cars can ride surprisingly different. Not a ton, but still now the exact same.

potholes are bad enough with stock springs...however i couldn't dream of the back trauma incurred by some of these LOOOW cobras hittin the same holes. good gosh.

 

[crystalwhitesvt]

I'm not too familar with bilsteins, but are they adjustable at all. My Konis you can adjust the rebound and if it is set to firm, the smallest dip or bump in the road can feel like a two foot drop.

 

[RoadZOmbie]

Yeah i love a stiff ride, it feels more solid that way

:lol:
hahaha Nice late night laugh! Thanks!:beer:

The culprit will be the springs. The shocks do affect the speed the spring will compress and rebound but not to the point where it is rock solid stiff. Get H&R's or Eibach and some adjustable shocks down the road would complete a streetable performance suspension.

 

[PSUCOBRA96]

if the shocks are adjustable the setting is prob. just set too high which will cause a harsh ride

 

[My94GT]

its been awhile since i've ridden in a shopping cart...

.

:lol1: i find its benificial to get in one from time to time :rockon:

 

[FoxRodStang]

:lol1: i find its benificial to get in one from time to time :rockon:

true true

& lets not forget how much cart launching is :rockon:

thanks for the input ya'll.

 

[na svt]

It's the springs.

 

[Toasty]

My roommate's 96 Mystic has steeda sport springs, bilstein shocks & struts, & maximum motorsports camber/caster plates. It rides horrible! All the suspension parts were installed at the same time so I'm not sure whether the springs or the shocks are causing the rough ride. She also has a 90 LX with bilsteins, but, it has H&R springs. The ride is firmer than my 90 GT with H&R springs & stock shocks & struts, but, it's not harsh. I've talked with the guy she bought the springs from (he had them on his mach1 with stock shocks/struts) - he said they rode fine...What gives?

edit: the car handles great, but, just rides really rough. Also, the guy with the mach1 sold them because they didn't drop his car more than about 1/2 an inch, but, the cobra drop is where it should be .....strange IMO

I had a similar experience when I put my frpp B springs, tokico blues and MM plates on. Kept having a very bumpy ride. Turns out I didnt get a shorter pinion snubber so my rear end would bottom out easily on my stock pinion snubber causing a very rough ride in the ass end.

 

[Ciotti]

Here's a chart of spring rates that will help you out, The Steeda springs are definitely on the stiff side, but my guess is also that the Bilstein's are valved pretty stiff as they tend to be. Great on the track but in the real world that combo will be quite harsh.

For a daily driven car you probably want to go with a bit softer spring and an adjustable set of shocks & struts.

http://www.miracerros.com/mustang/springs_calcs.htm