3. BMR Fabrication Tubular Adjustable Panhard Bar (w/ Rod Ends)
For an additional $100, I can also pick up a BMR Fabrication Strut Tower Brace.
ALL PARTS ARE NEW IN BOX W/ HARDWARE THAT NORMALLY COMES WITH EACH ITEM.
I can also purchase the parts singularly, ie, the shocks, but not the sway bars.
My application is for a DD with exceptional cornering ability (1/4 track & auto-x no more than 2-3x/year).
I will have a s/c installed in June and the car will have over 420rhp.
Q: Is $700 a good deal for the three items listed? Q: I know the shocks & panhard are definietly good upgrades, but are the sway bars worth it? Q: Is the strut tower brace worth it? How does it help? Will it fit on the car with a Paxton s/c? For an extra $100, is it worth picking up? Q: Do the parts above provide a significant handling performance upgrade over stock, or minimal? If the part doesn't significantly help with the overall handling performance of the car, I don't want to pay for it.
I posted the thread "HOW MUCH $$$ TO COMPETE IN THE TWISTIES..." I just want a well balanced sports car, nothing too over the top.
Any advice would be helpful!!
< Message edited by crazystylin -- 5/4/2008 5:15:18 PM >
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Brenspeed tuned Stage III Saleen VI s/c, Steeda CAI, 4.10''s, Steeda Triax, JBA Shorties, Magnaflow exhaust w/ SLP catbacks, FR Springs, 20''s w/ Nitto555''s, Tokico D-Specs, Eibach Rear Sway, Steeda UCA & LCAs, BMR PH Bar
Posts: 825
Joined: 10/9/2007 From: Harrisburg PA Status: offline
I've been on AX tracks a lot this spring and for this use, IMO, the sways are not needed. The D-specs are great. PHB, sure, I have rod/polly combo and NVH increase was virtually nil. Strut tower brace, um...waste of money. Dampers, street comp or r-comp tires and a good alignment will make the car handle very, very good. The rest is up to the driver.
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07 Vista Blue GT 5spd, BBK CAI, Brenspeed, Raptor, 18" DD Bullits, MGW Shifter, 4.10s, Eibach Pro, D-Specs, Violators, Cervini's Grill, Spohn adj PHB & UCA
I just drove the stang for a 200 mile round trip to pick up the suspension parts. I called the seller offered him $800 for the PH Bar, Tokico's, Strut tower brace, and Eibach front/rear sways. Alll were brand new in the box, with matching part numbers. The seller was also a very nice guy.
Sway bars not needed? While driving back I was cruising anywhere from 75-120mph. The nose was dipping left and right and there was body sway when I would purposely jerk the wheel left and right.
Are you saying the sway bars won't aid in tightening the car around whip turns?
Strut tower brace not wirth $? I got it for $50 extra bucks (+ gas to get out there = 1 tank)
Why is the tower strut brace worthless IYO?
If the sways and strut are not significant handling performance mods, I will resell them or trade them for LCA's & UCA's!
IYO, are Control Arms > Struts & Sways?
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Brenspeed tuned Stage III Saleen VI s/c, Steeda CAI, 4.10''s, Steeda Triax, JBA Shorties, Magnaflow exhaust w/ SLP catbacks, FR Springs, 20''s w/ Nitto555''s, Tokico D-Specs, Eibach Rear Sway, Steeda UCA & LCAs, BMR PH Bar
i'd keep the rear sway, but sell off the front sway. the our cars have really bad under steer tendencies so by restricting roll in the back, you are able to shift the tendency a little more toward over steer than under steer (a GOOD thing IMO). another way to further promote over steer instead of under steer is to make sure tires are the same width on all corners, if you have thicker tires on the back it'll grip more and the front end will lose grip first (make the car "plow").
the front end of our cars is already really stiff, the strut tower brace does virtually nothing. you'd need to be running an r-compound tire for it to help at all. if you like the look (i know i think they look pretty cool, if they are a bit useless) and picked it up for $50, i'd go ahead and put it on. if you don't want anything that doesn't improve performance and you don't want to add unnecessary weight, i'd try to sell the strut tower brace for $10-20 more than you bought it for and use the $60 to buy a Steeda G-Trac brace that will tighten up the front end much better. depending on the s/c, the tower brace won't fit any way... if you get a centri, it'll probably be fine, but if it's a roush, saleen, kenne bell, whipple, etc. it won't fit.
again, the sway bars will help body roll, but they won't do anything to stop nose diving when braking or squating when accelerating. you have to be careful not to make the front too much more stiff than the rear or else you'll plow every turn. also since you're adding an s/c, that's a lot more weight on the front which will promote under steer even more.
control arms better than struts & sways? when you say struts are you talking about shocks/struts (dampers) or a strut tower brace? dampers are pretty much the best suspension mod you can do... definitely keep those tokico's you got. if i had to pick between new LCA's/UCA or front/rear sways, i'd take the control arms first and add the sway later.
so... if it was me, i'd sell the front sway bar and use the cash to try and buy some poly/rod end LCA's and then sell the strut tower brace and buy a Steeda G-Trac brace. next up do a UCA. that's just me though.
Posts: 825
Joined: 10/9/2007 From: Harrisburg PA Status: offline
I've had 3 national championship level guys drive my car along with several very good regional drivers (talking AX here). Not one of them has anything but praise for the handling and I have stock sways. I'm not doing 120 mph turns but the principles are the same (although I will be at Pocono later this month). The D-Specs and Eibach springs really tighten things up, along with the tires and good alignment...thats all she needed. Can I understeer? absolutely but thats my mistake, not the car's. At this point on my car I have no need of a stiffer rear sway (as noted above, front is definitely not needed).
PHB Brace - yes there is a stock one. Do you need to replace it - I did, but there are mix opinions on the subject. I can't say I really noticed any difference.
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07 Vista Blue GT 5spd, BBK CAI, Brenspeed, Raptor, 18" DD Bullits, MGW Shifter, 4.10s, Eibach Pro, D-Specs, Violators, Cervini's Grill, Spohn adj PHB & UCA
I've had 3 national championship level guys drive my car along with several very good regional drivers (talking AX here). Not one of them has anything but praise for the handling and I have stock sways. I'm not doing 120 mph turns but the principles are the same (although I will be at Pocono later this month). The D-Specs and Eibach springs really tighten things up, along with the tires and good alignment...thats all she needed. Can I understeer? absolutely but thats my mistake, not the car's. At this point on my car I have no need of a stiffer rear sway (as noted above, front is definitely not needed).
PHB Brace - yes there is a stock one. Do you need to replace it - I did, but there are mix opinions on the subject. I can't say I really noticed any difference.
You say all you need is springs and shocks, but then you say you have the PH Brace. What's your set up? Do you have LCA's? How much HP?
I am fixin on selling the front sway bar and strut tower brace (which is really a beautiful/sexy piece particularly for shows) so I can get LCA's and then I would consider myself done with it for the time being.
For handling performance, I am of the mind that LCA's > Front sway & strut tower brace.
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Brenspeed tuned Stage III Saleen VI s/c, Steeda CAI, 4.10''s, Steeda Triax, JBA Shorties, Magnaflow exhaust w/ SLP catbacks, FR Springs, 20''s w/ Nitto555''s, Tokico D-Specs, Eibach Rear Sway, Steeda UCA & LCAs, BMR PH Bar
if it was me, i'd sell the front sway bar and use the cash to try and buy some poly/rod end LCA's and then sell the strut tower brace and buy a Steeda G-Trac brace. next up do a UCA. that's just me though.
What does the g-trac brace do?
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Brenspeed tuned Stage III Saleen VI s/c, Steeda CAI, 4.10''s, Steeda Triax, JBA Shorties, Magnaflow exhaust w/ SLP catbacks, FR Springs, 20''s w/ Nitto555''s, Tokico D-Specs, Eibach Rear Sway, Steeda UCA & LCAs, BMR PH Bar
Posts: 825
Joined: 10/9/2007 From: Harrisburg PA Status: offline
My total Suspension mods: Springs, D-specs, camber plates, adj UCA, adj PHB and brace, light wt 17x9 wheels and street comp tires, 2 degree negative camber, slight toe out. I have not installed LCAs because they throw me into a higher AX class.
The Springs, dampers, tires and alignment are the biggies. The others are much more subtle and thus why I didn't point them out in previous post. Sorry if that was confusing. HP is stock + 93 Tune and intake.
The G-trac brace ties the front K-members together. On a Vert its standard (I believe) because the chassis is more flexible. I've seen mixed opinions on its value, especially for stock HP cars.
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07 Vista Blue GT 5spd, BBK CAI, Brenspeed, Raptor, 18" DD Bullits, MGW Shifter, 4.10s, Eibach Pro, D-Specs, Violators, Cervini's Grill, Spohn adj PHB & UCA
I was thinking of adding these to my ride for better handling...along with the shocks/struts, steeda billet LCAs, springs I already have. I don't race but I love to drive.
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Paxton Novi 2200 Intercooled for sale PJ Wheels for sale
Maybe I am wrong, but aren't the control arms supposed to help with higher hp applications? Launching and cornering?
I'd drive it with the other stuff (springs/dampers/performance alignment/maybe rear bar/maybe G-trac) without the control arms before seeing if I needed them at all. They are removeable/replaceable independently of all the other stuff, so you won't be doing anything twice other than jacking/lifting the car so you can do the work. If you get wheel hop (which is most likely the easiest thing to pick up that's control arm related), you probably do. Otherwise, they aren't "broken" so they don't need "fixing". The OE caster is already about 7°. It's unlikely that you'll need to change that, so just camber plates if you end up needing them to get your camber spec.
Norm
< Message edited by Norm Peterson -- 5/12/2008 5:47:48 AM >
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08 GT Premium Black/Light Graphite, stick, un-FStock weenie-EP 626/V6, Prepared just enough, sometimes
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Offer I can't refuse? Tokico, Eibach, BMR, etc... - 
