Suspension Tech: Bring It!

BMR Tech

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switching from sportlines to sp009's and dspecs to viking d/a's (keeping dspecs out front) , other suspension parts are bmr lcarb(welded in), upr lca's hiem joint on both ends, spherical diff bushing, poly uca with mount that keeps it at stock location. looking for a baseline for the vikings and which hole on lcarbs

For the track (strip)? If so:

Middle Hole LCA Brackets
Start with 6C / 3R on the Vikings
Start with 75% full loose on the D-Spec Fronts

Let me know how it does.

Nice to meet you today Kelly, already have an appointment with racing integration to put all those new shinny goodies in!

Awesome! Let me know how it goes! Collin does great work.

Hey guys is it true that if we spin our upper strut mounts it will fix our negative camber?On my 2011 I had full coilovers.But on the 13 Im going with 1.5" drop for now.

You will gain a little bit of positive camber by flipping the USM 180 degrees.

When you rotate the tops, it will move the upper portion of the strut "outward" about 1/4". This will definitely help fight against negative camber, but, just a little.

Installed eibach shocks/pro springs and my alignment is within spec but a bit off in the front (-.9 passenger side, -1.4 driver side). How do I get the driver side alignment to match the passenger side? It doesn't look like there is any camber adjustment but I was wondering if I loosened the spindle nuts and kind of banged it out a bit more it would shore up some of that negative camber. Thoughts?

In your case, I would loosen the driver side lower strut/spindle pieces....pull the TOP of the spindle OUT as much as possible....and have a second hand tighten the hardware down. It should get you to -1.1 range; possibly even within the same range as the pass side.
 

DSG2003SVT

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Kelly, what's your recommendation for caster and camber settings on the S197 for handling? I've heard max POSITIVE matching caster and -1.5 camber. The -1.5 camber sounds about right, but that caster setting is contrary to most of what I've been taught. I've been told that max NEGATIVE matching caster is best for turn-in speed and steering feel. This may be more applicable to cars other than Mustangs, but that's just what I've always seen in my limited dealings with performance autox/road race alignments. Thoughts?
 

dirtyd88

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Kelly, what's your recommendation for caster and camber settings on the S197 for handling? I've heard max POSITIVE matching caster and -1.5 camber. The -1.5 camber sounds about right, but that caster setting is contrary to most of what I've been taught. I've been told that max NEGATIVE matching caster is best for turn-in speed and steering feel. This may be more applicable to cars other than Mustangs, but that's just what I've always seen in my limited dealings with performance autox/road race alignments. Thoughts?
I think Vorshlag runs like -3° or so camber on their shop car
 

BMR Tech

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It really just depends.

I can tell you, that, my build for handling application would feature camber in the -2.7 to -3 range.

As for caster, the most positive caster you can get on this chassis, the better. My preference is to shoot for somewhere around 7.5 - 7.7 on each side.
 

modernbeat

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Kelly, what's your recommendation for caster and camber settings on the S197 for handling? I've heard max POSITIVE matching caster and -1.5 camber. The -1.5 camber sounds about right, but that caster setting is contrary to most of what I've been taught. I've been told that max NEGATIVE matching caster is best for turn-in speed and steering feel. This may be more applicable to cars other than Mustangs, but that's just what I've always seen in my limited dealings with performance autox/road race alignments. Thoughts?

For the S197 in an autocross or roadracing application we usually find we need more camber than more caster. We would like to see between seven and nine degrees of caster and enough camber to make the tire happy, which ends up being between 2.5-4 degrees depending on other things.

I think Vorshlag runs like -3° or so camber on their shop car

I think we ran as much as four degrees for autocross and are now running around 3.5-3.8 degrees for roadcourse use, but we are pushing it a bit. We have many customers running 2.8-3 degrees and the tires are happy.
 

StangingAround

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In your case, I would loosen the driver side lower strut/spindle pieces....pull the TOP of the spindle OUT as much as possible....and have a second hand tighten the hardware down. It should get you to -1.1 range; possibly even within the same range as the pass side.


Thanks, I will give this a shot.

Also, since you are a BMR rep and I have BMR panhard bar, could you help me out with a problem.

I noticed a horrible clunking coming from my rear a few weeks ago so I got under the car and noticed my jam nuts had backed off almost half way down the rod! :bash:When I went to go tighten the jam nuts back on they no longer spun freely. I have to get a wrench to turn the nuts now when before I installed them (the first time) they spun without any resistance. Does that mean something is wrong? It looks to me like their is a bit of grease in between the threads as well. Also, since the jam nuts loosened once already I'm a little worried about it happening again. I tightened them as far as they could go this time but now I'm thinking I need to add some loctite. I'm also wondering if any damage was done driving around on a loose panhard bar for a few days?:shrug:

Thanks.
 
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BMR Tech

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Everything should be fine, assuming you can get it aligned again.

I recommend pulling the PHR off, cleaning the threads and re-installing.

We always recommend using Blue Loctite on our jam nuts after proper adjustment is achieved. It is not mandatory, but, it will help prevent the nuts from backing off.

Call me if you have any other questions, or concerns, etc. I'd be happy to help.
 

DSG2003SVT

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Just to be sure, maybe I have this backwards, do you want the strut leaning to the back or the front for the caster setting? Maybe I've just mixed up positive and negative caster over the years and I'm actually trying to say the same thing as you guys. Thank you both for your recommendations!
 

bgoose99

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Got a quick question.

Having read many, many good reviews, as well as your advice in many threads, I recently ordered and installed:
CAB005
TCA019
PHR006
UCM002
UTCA03

This is all on my '13 GT, which sits on Koni Yellows and Steeda Ultralites.

I've seen you mention in this thread that the stock bushing in the diff will play havoc with the poly bushing in the UCA. Is this something I need to address ASAP? Or is it only for those cars that see lots of track time?

You've recommended this combo many times, so I didn't order the diff bushing thinking it wouldn't be totally necessary (and, admittedly, because it looks like a total PITA to get out).
 

BMR Tech

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Just to be sure, maybe I have this backwards, do you want the strut leaning to the back or the front for the caster setting? Maybe I've just mixed up positive and negative caster over the years and I'm actually trying to say the same thing as you guys. Thank you both for your recommendations!

Positive Caster is when the top of the strut is closer to the rear of the car / bottom of strut is closer to front of car. (leaning back)

Negative is when the bottom of the strut is closer to the rear of the car.. (leaning forward)

Got a quick question.

Having read many, many good reviews, as well as your advice in many threads, I recently ordered and installed:
CAB005
TCA019
PHR006
UCM002
UTCA03

This is all on my '13 GT, which sits on Koni Yellows and Steeda Ultralites.

I've seen you mention in this thread that the stock bushing in the diff will play havoc with the poly bushing in the UCA. Is this something I need to address ASAP? Or is it only for those cars that see lots of track time?

You've recommended this combo many times, so I didn't order the diff bushing thinking it wouldn't be totally necessary (and, admittedly, because it looks like a total PITA to get out).

The OEM bushing is okay on most people's combos, for a while. The more rigid UCA system will play havoc - but, we still have the OEM on ours. We don't change parts like those until they fail - as it helps me provide the best knowledge to my customers. This is why we are still rocking the stock DS.....because we have not broken it yet.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing, pertaining to the OEM Diff Bushing that people should know/remember is; you NEED to ensure you Torque the differential side of the UCA down when the car is at it's ride height, sitting on the tires. I'd bet that 75% of the people who destroy their OEM diff bushing, are lowered and never took the preload out of the bushing.
 

bgoose99

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Thanks for the quick response!

Glad to hear I did things right. I torqued all bolts with the car sitting level on the tires.

BTW, absolutely LOVE all my BMR stuff...worked exactly as advertised. And the constant customer support/advice is much appreciated!
 

jmurray87

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Amazing info! Will be ordering my suspension products here pretty soon! Had BMR products on my old 4th gen Camaro and loved the, so will use them yet again on the Mustang. :)
 

BMR Tech

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Good to hear jmurray!

You wouldn't believe how many times I hear that. We have a large following in the GM world!

Let me know.
 

DSG2003SVT

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Thanks for clearing that up. I was actually thinking the same thing. I had indeed confused positive and negative caster. The suspension setup recommendations make much more sense to me now. Thanks.
 

13blackstang

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Kelly, I have a 2013 Gt that is lowered 1.5 inches front and back. I am still on stock dampers and struts. I have the BMR adjustable panhard bar intstalled. I have 3.73 gears and I am on stock 19" tires and wheels. My question is I tried to measure pinion angle and I believe it came to zero. So I ordered BMR lowering brackets and BMR LCA with poly bushings. I am going to set the brackets in the middle hole to try to get LCA back to level. I am wondering...once I lower the LCA shouldn't it in theory lengthen the geometry of the rear suspention giving back my stock pinion angle.I'm thinking by about 1/8 to 1/4 in forward...am I correct...Thanks Lyle...I don't plan on taking car to track,just spirited driving !!
 
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hoodley

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maybe Mr. bmr can help me
uca in top hole. -2 pinion angle. lowers in middle hole. launch rpm 5000. 26x8.5 slicks. wicked hard initial hit and bogs! all the way down to about 2000rpm. then it has to pull itself back up. only a 1.80 60ft???
 

Waxxon

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Odd behavior question. When flooring it in first / second, the rear end of the car has always gently swung out. Generally it would swing out to the left in first, then a little to the right when I caught second (Note this is with Advance Track enabled). I could always just "drive through it".

After adding BMR LCA relocation brackets (using top hole) and J&M tubular LCA's, the rear seems to break loose much more violently. There's a ton more lateral movement to the point of almost losing control. The rear really starts coming around. Any idea why the behavior has changed?

Other car details: 13' GT Track pack 6sp, 3.73's, Hotchkis springs, staggered wheels / tires. 255 P-Zeros front, 275 rear.
 
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IamRacerX

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Hey Kelly.. I talked to you a few weeks back on the phone. I ended up going with Eibach sportlines springs, BMR relo, BMR adj lca, BMR adj panhard bar with new wheels and tires ( nitto nt05)
I now have a noticeable noise from the back of the car that can best be descibed as friction. It is there clutch in or out and is directly related to speed. The car has been checked for any interference with wheels and it's aligned perfect too. The tech that did my car said the new lca mounts transfer more noise and that is probably it. What do you think?
 

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