Suspension questions

[JPD5801]

I am looking to start modding the suspension on my car, and I had a couple questions. I have a 1993 GT Hatchback.

First, my goals for the car - It will be mostly street driving, but I would like to do some open tracking. I'll never be an every weekend racer, but I could see myself doing 3 or 4 events every year. I will probably never drag race. I plan on rebuilding the engine and having approximately 300-350rwhp and tq.

I was thinking about starting with control arms and shocks and struts. I currently have eibach springs - not sure which ones, they came on the car. I am debating whether or not I will change them. I want to do coil-overs up front eventually, so they will probably stay for now.

Second - are the UPR Products crap? Should I just spend the extra and buy MM, or for my goals, will the UPR stuff work just fine?

Thanks,
JPD

 

[wheelhopper]

If you did a search, or even looked in the first 2-4 pages of threads here, you probably would find the answers you are looking for. There have been a few of these type of questions in the past couple months.

Your question is worded in a way that would lead me to believe you have never done an OT event. If this is the case I would simply make sure your car is in good working order and sign up for an event to see how you like it and how your car behaves. Then go from there.

I think any Mustang can benefit from some suspension mods. I would change your rear lower control arms. Leave the uppers alone. As your skills increase add a panhard bar. Pick up some Bilstien or Koni Shocks and struts. Both of these will work with the MM coil over kit that you say you eventually want. Also, get a MM aluminum steering rack bushing ki, they are cheap, easy to install, and you can feel the difference. Some camber plates are a good addition as well.

As far as UPR stuff. I have found few guys here that use or like their stuff. I do have their K-member and a-arms. They have worked great for me with no problems.

See you at the track.

 

[gcassidy]

I think that, at least looking at it from an open track point of view, I'd look at upgrading the brakes before the suspension. They will get more of a workout at the track.
If you have the mod bug, and you just want to do something, maybe sub frame connectors, and shock/struts might benefit you most, especially if your's are stock.
But as long as your pads are good, your brake fluid is fresh, and your tires are not junk, you can try out the track as it is.

 

[JPD5801]

I appreciate the help. My question wasn't necessarily about what mods to do first, but I really wanted to know if the UPR stuff is crap. Would I be better off buying MM parts?

I couldn't find a definitive answer to that when I searched.

Hopefully I'll see you guys at Summit in the near future.

 

[TroyV]

I would say absolutely. MM has so much more REAL race and development time in their parts than UPR does... UPR is for folks that want billet crap for their interiors..

Just an opinion...but I'm sure it is shared here.

 

[MFE]

I appreciate the help. My question wasn't necessarily about what mods to do first, but I really wanted to know if the UPR stuff is crap.

Pardon the misunderstanding then, because you titled the thread "suspension questions" and 87% of your post was about what you plan to do with the car and thoughts about changing suspension components, making your question about UPR clearly secondary.

That said...I don't care what anyone who hasn't yet killed themselves using the parts says...UPR has NO ****ing business being on a car bound for the road course. It's serious business, and when I see critical suspension components made by those copycat clowns on a car I share track with, I have to wonder: What other critical components or maintenance has the owner cut corners on just to save some weight and money or say they have XYZ part?

That's a legitimate question, because the parts have been purchased from a manufacturer who does not themselves appear to have any clue what suspension geometry is or what might need to be improved, and they don't appear to understand cornering and braking load paths in the least. What they do know how to do is say they've won a lot of fast drag races, source metal, bend it, weld it, powdercoat it, sell it cheap, and say it's all good because nobody's died yet. And they sell it cheap to people who either have an innate desire to support the underdog at all costs, or don't yet know any better, because either their technical knowledge is limited to "I mean think about it" or because they've gotten lost in the signal-to-noise ratio of websites dominated by drag racers and parking lot cruisers.

What I mean is, yes, ultimately you'll be better off with MM. You're going to end up using their graciously published instructions to install UPR junk anyway, might as well give them a reach-around at least.

 

[TroyV]

Well Geez...tell us how you really feel. LOL I thought I was cutting on UPR...

 

[JPD5801]

Pardon the misunderstanding then, because you titled the thread "suspension questions" and 87% of your post was about what you plan to do with the car and thoughts about changing suspension components, making your question about UPR clearly secondary.

You are absolutely right. It was a poorly worded question. There are a lot of people on this sight who swear by UPR - I wanted to know what you road racing guys thought, and I thought giving you my goals for the car would help.

I appreciate the candor. :beer:

 

[TroyV]

As the kids say....It's all good. Track junkies, like MFE and the rest of us....well..most of the rest of us, have adopted a no BS, fact based approach to what we do. Even in the tame-est of DE situations.....what we do is inherently dangerous....so there truly is no room for the UPR's of the world in our lives.

Some are just more....passionate about expressing it than others.

I vote that you make sure the car is well maintained and run it as it sits....then decide if you want to make changes later. That is to say.....Spend your cash on track registration fees, fuel, and maintenance........mods later..

 

[wheelhopper]

I remeber posting about using a UPR k-member about 1.5 years ago. A lot of guys did not have any good things to say about it. But after talking to UPR I decided to give it a try. So far it has performed great. I agree that most of their stuff is not geared toward OT and other than a few basic items most of their stuff is drag race oriented but so far I am happy with my K member. I also know of others that use it for OT. I figured if it could take slam after slam of drag racing wheelstands, it would hold up for me. I inspect it after every weekend of OT driving, and so far it is good. If I have to replace it in the future I will be installing a MM k-member for the 3/4" in forward wheel offset. Other than the K-member, a-arms, and rear control arms, there is not much else I could use from UPR......maybe the shifter.