Suspension Install DIY - Koni/Hotchkis/Steeda/WhiteLine

[Wicked5.O]

Haven't really introduced myself on here but I drive a Sterling Gray 2013 GT MT-82 Premium Track Pack w/ Recaro's. Rides great, but definitely had some room for improvement in the handling department. The car is mainly a DD street car & weekend canyon cruiser. Hopefully this helps those who are looking to do the same as I. I didn't want to take apart and reuse any of the OEM parts, so I ordered everything new and made my own suspension kit.

Installed everything this weekend. A lot more work than I expected but I got it done (about 6-7hrs between Saturday & Sunday w/ learning curve). Pretty happy with how everything turned out, just gotta trim my bump stops tonight and should be all good. Pretty happy with the height, but it should settle just a bit more.

**Found that I needed to drill out the hole in the Koni strut to fit the front sway bar end link, not sure why it didn't fit, maybe the track pack end links are thicker. Also had to enlarge the mounting holes on the Hotchkis front strut brace to fit over the beefier Steeda front strut mounts. Pretty easy to do, and everything worked out.


Ordered most of my stuff from hypermotiveperformance.com & Jason def. helped me out with everything I needed, very knowledgable guy.

Suspension Parts:
- Hotchkis Lower Springs
- Hotchkis Front Strut Brace
- Steeda HD Strut Mounts
- WhiteLine Panhard Brace
- WhiteLine Dual Adj. Panhard Bar
- WhiteLine Dual Adj. Rear LCA's
- Koni Yellow Adj. Shocks/Struts
- Gabriel Dust Boots - part # 143059 @ AutoZone
- Ford Racing Bump Stop Kit - part, # M-5570-A @ CJPonyParts
- Ford OEM Strut Mount - part #6 @ TousleyFord (see link below)
- Ford OEM Spring Sleeve - part # 6R3Z-5L302-A @ Ford parts dept.

ST-5558135 – 11-14 MUSTANG STEEDA HEAVY DUTY STRUT MOUNTS

They are extremely beefy!!! They allow +1° or -1° camber adjustment.

---------- Post added at 11:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 AM ----------

Thanks to another member I found everything I needed, hope this helps others that are also looking to do this.

The dust covers are not available from Ford separately, they only sell them with new struts ... I got "Gabriel"-brand dust boots at Autozone for $11.99 each, part # 143059

The bump stops can be bought as the FRPP part, # M-5570-A, I got them from cjponyparts.com for $26.99 shipped, best price I could find on them.

The silicone "sleeves" that go at the bottom of the springs can be bought from Ford, they list at about $9 each, part # 6R3Z-5L302-A ... about $6.04 each from Tousley Ford, but plus shipping. I got them for $8.24 each from the local dealer, ordered next-day delivery from their local warehouse, and no sales tax since I bought them in NH

Well, if the Steeda mounts are supposed to use the stock 11-14 rubber perches from the original mounts, you can buy regular GT mounts for $30 each from Tousley and transfer them over, you probably don't NEED gt500 mounts just to steal their rubbers ... lol

See here: 2012 FORD MUSTANG Parts - Tousley Ford Parts Depot

.

---------- Post added at 11:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:10 AM ----------

Here's a shot of the WhiteLine Adj. Panhard Bar, Panhard Brace, & Adj. LCAs. All parts look high quality.

Koni 'Yellow' sports, Hotchkis springs, Steeda HD strut mounts, Gabriel dust covers, Ford Racing bump stops:

Koni 'Yellow' Sport, Hotchkis spring, Whiteline dual adj LCAs, Whiteline dual adj Panhard bar, Whiteline Panhard brace, Ford Racing bumpstops:

Hotchkis front strut brace:

Stock measurement from ground to fender was 28 3/4" front & 29 1/2" rear ... Now I'm sitting at around 27 1/2" front & 27 3/4" rear. I will take better pics once everything is settled and alignment is dialed in.

 

[Nuar]

Great job man!
I am planning on doing my suspension this saturday and i have been looking EVERYWHERE for the part number for the spring sleeve. Thank you! I'll take a trip to my dealer and order them and the strut top mounts. If they get here before the weekend, ill do my suspension on Sat.

 

[TexasStang4585]

Nice set-up....I'm looking to lower my car was well, what are your first impressions compared to stock? If you don't mind me asking how much was it for all the parts....$1500 range?

 

[Wicked5.O]

Great job man!
I am planning on doing my suspension this saturday and i have been looking EVERYWHERE for the part number for the spring sleeve. Thank you! I'll take a trip to my dealer and order them and the strut top mounts. If they get here before the weekend, ill do my suspension on Sat.

Yea no problem. I searched for a long time as well so I'm glad this helps. Just allow yourself plenty of time. I worked on it Saturday & Sunday.

What suspension parts are you going with?

Nice set-up....I'm looking to lower my car was well, what are your first impressions compared to stock? If you don't mind me asking how much was it for all the parts....$1500 range?

My impression so far us GREAT.. Needs an alignment to correct some front camber but the Steeda mounts should help with that, camber doesn't look too bad and the car is not pulling to any one side. Ill be able to push it a little harder once i trim the bump stops tonight.

Currently I have the Koni Yellows set to 1.5 turns (540°) firm up front and 1 turn (360°) firm in the rear. Ride quality feels better than stock right now, not too hard or soft, can't wait to test it out in the curves. Adjusting them is a breeze, takes about 1 min to adjust the damn long at all 4 corners.

The first test drive I did with the Koni damping set all the way soft, and it was very comfy for DD driving. I can already tell this is going to be a great all around set up and can't wait to do some more driving on it.

Price for everything was just shy of $2K, but it can be done for around $1500 depending what components you go with. Hit up Jay @ HyperMotive... He will take care of you.

 

[TexasStang4585]

Yea no problem. I searched for a long time as well so I'm glad this helps. Just allow yourself plenty of time. I worked on it Saturday & Sunday.

What suspension parts are you going with?



My impression so far us GREAT.. Needs an alignment to correct some front camber but the Steeda mounts should help with that, camber doesn't look too bad and the car is not pulling to any one side. Ill be able to push it a little harder once i trim the bump stops tonight.

Currently I have the Koni Yellows set to 1.5 turns (540°) firm up front and 1 turn (360°) firm in the rear. Ride quality feels better than stock right now, not too hard or soft, can't wait to test it out in the curves. Adjusting them is a breeze, takes about 1 min to adjust the damn long at all 4 corners.

The first test drive I did with the Koni damping set all the way soft, and it was very comfy for DD driving. I can already tell this is going to be a great all around set up and can't wait to do some more driving on it.

Price for everything was just shy of $2K, but it can be done for around $1500 depending what components you go with. Hit up Jay @ HyperMotive... He will take care of you.

Thanks for the feedback and I'm definetly be sub'd as you let the drop set and get more seat time. I'm building a list of mods right now and probably about 2-3 weeks behind you as far as suspension goes.

 

[pohnjarker]

looks good and nice write up
i'll be changing out the rears in a month, it'll be a good start.

 

[Nuar]

What suspension parts are you going with?

I've got sportlines with the eibach dampners, full rear bmr suspension and maximum motorsports c/c plates.

 

[Dave_6]

Great write up and pics! This is right up my alley too as I've been looking at the same Whiteline stuff as well as the Koni Sports.

 

[Wicked5.O]

I've got sportlines with the eibach dampners, full rear bmr suspension and maximum motorsports c/c plates.

Sounds pretty good.

Great write up and pics! This is right up my alley too as I've been looking at the same Whiteline stuff as well as the Koni Sports.

I doubt you'll be disappointed. I'm pretty pleased with the quality over everything and can't wait to really test it out. Also just ordered a Hotchkis front strut brace to add to the mix.

 

[blackbeast12]

Hey wicked5.0 great choices, I currently have Steeda sport springs, the hd strut mounts takico d- specs fully adjustable, ford racing strut tower brace. I have received my whiteline watts link, adjustable lca's, uca with bracket, and awaiting my whiteline adjustable front and rear sway bars, and relocation brackets. Can't wait, how's your car ride and handle?

 

[Wicked5.O]

Hey wicked5.0 great choices, I currently have Steeda sport springs, the hd strut mounts takico d- specs fully adjustable, ford racing strut tower brace. I have received my whiteline watts link, adjustable lca's, uca with bracket, and awaiting my whiteline adjustable front and rear sway bars, and relocation brackets. Can't wait, how's your car ride and handle?

Sounds like a nice list of suspension mods.

Haven't done too much driving on it yet but I can tell that the Koni's have a lot less 'float' when going over bumps on the road over the OEM. Not too hard or soft and so far I'm happy with my choices. I can also tell that the body roll has decreased, and I'm no where near full firm on the damping. Can't wait to do some spirited driving on them. Just chopped the rear bump stops tonight so I'm no longer hitting and have plenty clearance.

You'll be pleased with the Whiteline stuff, just ordered a Hotchkis strut tower brace today, and will probably be ordering Hotchkis or Whiteline sways in the future as well. Not too sure about relocation brackets.

 

[SID297]

Nice stance.

 

[Wicked5.O]

Nice stance.

Thanks.. it's a little lower now that it's settling. Will get better pictures soon.

 

[corruptor]

Looks great. I've got a set of stock front strut covers if anyone's looking.

 

[Wicked5.O]

This just shipped out today.. Thanks again Hyper Motive.

 

[Electrokid]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the original suspension package listed in the first post run you? I'm looking at a putting together something similar but have a $1400-1500 budget.

 

[Wicked5.O]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the original suspension package listed in the first post run you? I'm looking at a putting together something similar but have a $1400-1500 budget.

It cost me just around $2K for everything..

Check out HyperMotivePerformance.com.. Jay will hook you up.

Without the LCA's & Panhard Brace you should be within reach of your budget.

 

[Fun4me]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the original suspension package listed in the first post run you? I'm looking at a putting together something similar but have a $1400-1500 budget.

You could skip the Hd mounts, you should be fine w/ the amount of negative camber you'll have w/ the stock mounts. And re-use the oem dustboot, bumpstops and sleeve. Dont forget to chop the rear bumpstop.

Konis 650
springs 225
panhard 120
lca 250
relos 110

total 1450 ish
plus alignment 50-100 is important to set the toe


I think the yellows w/ Hotchkis springs is the best daily driver setup out there.
My car looked slammed w/ 28" winter tires, just barely touched the inner front lining on huge bumps.

 

[Wicked5.O]

I think the yellows w/ Hotchkis springs is the best daily driver setup out there.

Agreed they do ride excellent. How do you like the Strano sways? Looking into those as well.

 

[Fun4me]

Agreed they do ride excellent. How do you like the Strano sways? Looking into those as well.

It seems the strano sways will interfere w/ most if not all relo brackets.....