I totally agree. I pieced together a front and rear suspension from Maxiumum Motorsports which included front coil overs with 250lb/in springs, struts, caster camber plates, bump steer kit, rear adjustable lower control arms ( for ride height ), H&R race springs, and shocks for under $2K. While that is still expensive, it allows the adjustment of ride height, and also will give me a good ride on the street and some weight transfer at the track. JMO
Who makes the best Coil over shocks for my 94
- Thread starter Stangstroke
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I totally agree. I pieced together a front and rear suspension from Maxiumum Motorsports which included front coil overs with 250lb/in springs, struts, caster camber plates, bump steer kit, rear adjustable lower control arms ( for ride height ), H&R race springs, and shocks for under $2K. While that is still expensive, it allows the adjustment of ride height, and also will give me a good ride on the street and some weight transfer at the track. JMO
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Yeah, the qa1 stuff is pretty much just for drag racing. I regret using the k member because it is very weak, amd proned to breaking. When I got it there weren't too manay options.
One more thing after reading this quote. The QA1 made me a bit nervous for the fact of it being so light. I was hoping it was a bit more heavy duty. I was worried about the welds holding up, etc. I eventually sold the car and the new owner hasn't had any issues. AJE makes one of the best looking K-Members I've seen.
Make sure it's the right choice, I'd probably stay clear of QA1. I bought mine 5 years ago so I'm not sure if its changed any. I was glad to keep the stock steel stamped A-Arms though. Felt a little better about that.
Stocker
QA1
QA1 with stock modified A-Arms.
I'm not sure how you are getting all that stuff from MM as the kit minus the coil over shocks already costs almost $1,800 add good pair of Bilsteins or Koni's and you'll pay another $700 to $800 more for 2 shocks. so that brings me to about $2,600 so it starts to creep up there in price to and I'm of the thinking if i go that deep into it i want the best stuff i can buy for my money, or do i spent more money and get exactly what i want. I don't want to buy a front suspension for $2,600 and hate it 6 months later then i would be throwing my money away and in the end i'll be spending a ton more cash as opposed to buy the right one the first time. Any thoughts?
One more thing after reading this quote. The QA1 made me a bit nervous for the fact of it being so light. I was hoping it was a bit more heavy duty. I was worried about the welds holding up, etc. I eventually sold the car and the new owner hasn't had any issues. AJE makes one of the best looking K-Members I've seen.
Make sure it's the right choice, I'd probably stay clear of QA1. I bought mine 5 years ago so I'm not sure if its changed any. I was glad to keep the stock steel stamped A-Arms though. Felt a little better about that.
Stocker
QA1
QA1 with stock modified A-Arms.
I'll look into the AJE stuff and see what they say. I see what your saying about the QA1 K- member it looks very light duty thanks for sending the pics.
The front coil over kit I was looking at is about $373, which also includes your choice of spring rates: Mustang Coil-Over Kit with Springs, Front, Koni/Tokico/Strange Struts [COP-2] : Maximum Motorsports, the Latemodel Mustang Performance Suspension Leader!
The Koni single adjustable strut up front which would be good for 275lb/in front coil over springs are about $400 for a pair:
Koni Single-Adjustable Strut, 1994-04 V8 Mustang [8741-1401S] : Maximum Motorsports, the Latemodel Mustang Performance Suspension Leader!
For the rear:
Koni single adjustable shocks at about $260 for a set:
Koni Single-Adjustable Shock, 1987-04 solid-axle Mustang [8041-1186S] : Maximum Motorsports, the Latemodel Mustang Performance Suspension Leader!
H&R race springs are $120 for the rear springs ( MM sells them separate )
That comes out to around $1150
Then throw in the HD adjustable rear lower control arms at around $500, along with hardware, and Caster Camber plates for the front and you're right around $2000 +/-. The struts/shocks may not be the top of the notch, but they will suffice for a mostly street driven car. Your best bet, may be to call Maximum Motorsports or another vendor ( UPR, Team Z, etc, etc. ) and tell them what you expect from your car, and how much money you're willing to lay down.
Just to answer this question real quick, I recently called QA1 and they confirmed that they have not changed the design in their K-member at all for over 10 years. It is also made in China.
Kurt
Ok that's what I figured Kurt. If I were to buy again it would be AJE or something much more H.D. than that flimsy piece. When I say flimsy I'm talking just from my sight, it seemed to hold up fine.
Also, for the OP. TeamZ sells Strange 10 way adjustable struts for $119 and rear shocks for $69. So you can get these for half the cost of Billsteins, Tokico Adjustables and Koni Reds. Just got to know where to get this stuff. What DanG was saying is to piece it together like this. Get your struts and shocks from TeamZ, K-Member from such and such.....etc. You get all the pieces you want but for entirely a lot less than say $4K.
Also, for the OP. TeamZ sells Strange 10 way adjustable struts for $119 and rear shocks for $69. So you can get these for half the cost of Billsteins, Tokico Adjustables and Koni Reds. Just got to know where to get this stuff. What DanG was saying is to piece it together like this. Get your struts and shocks from TeamZ, K-Member from such and such.....etc. You get all the pieces you want but for entirely a lot less than say $4K.
China what the hell why would we even consider buying anything from them they are killing this country spend a i bit more a buy american and save a job!!!
Sorry for going off but it's sad when we put so little value at what's being produced here. I'm a Tool and Die maker buy trade and can see and understand what's strong and so far the MM K-member looks really beefy and so does the Griggs and agent 47 set up and as far as i know it's all american made.
Thanks for the feed back some of the stuff you guys are suggesting, what i want to stay away from is coil over struts I've been looking at the SLA set up for the front and that's adding cost to the project this set up is unequal length A arms and new spindles where the new coil over mounts all the competitive autocross and track cars are running this set up and not the McPherson struts if you price that stuff out that way it adds cost the Griggs set up cost $5,800 for that set up with Koni adjustable coil overs and the Agent 47 stuff would cost about $5,300 including Penske adjustable coil overs plus new fenders and paint work.
I do use my QA1 for open track days and no problem after 4 events in the last year. Only reason I went with them is because you can use factory springs. No way I could afford a k-member and coil-overs together at the time.
For handling, you want a k-member that changes the stock geometry like MM, Griggs, QA1, A47. The AJE and other drag race k-members are all about saving weight to go fast in a straight line. QA1 is an oddball here because it's really too weak for road racing/auto-x but the drag racers complain about the change in geometry.
Unless you're going to HPDE track days or auto-x events all the time you'll probably be fine with the standard coil-over stuff... But the SLA setup is the way to go if you have the money. I hear it's good for 3-5 seconds on an average road course, which is good increase in times but is it really worth the money? You could also pick up a couple seconds by installing a set of sticky tires.
The Griggs stuff is more expensive, but you can also upgrade it later on. You could do Griggs k-member and your choice of coil-overs now, then in the future upgrade to the SLA setup if you need more grip.
For handling, you want a k-member that changes the stock geometry like MM, Griggs, QA1, A47. The AJE and other drag race k-members are all about saving weight to go fast in a straight line. QA1 is an oddball here because it's really too weak for road racing/auto-x but the drag racers complain about the change in geometry.
Unless you're going to HPDE track days or auto-x events all the time you'll probably be fine with the standard coil-over stuff... But the SLA setup is the way to go if you have the money. I hear it's good for 3-5 seconds on an average road course, which is good increase in times but is it really worth the money? You could also pick up a couple seconds by installing a set of sticky tires.
The Griggs stuff is more expensive, but you can also upgrade it later on. You could do Griggs k-member and your choice of coil-overs now, then in the future upgrade to the SLA setup if you need more grip.
I'm glad you agree that the SLA is the ultimate set up and yes it's a big lump to bite off all at once so your suggestion to work my way into it might be the right course of action but that may cost me more as to work my way up meens i have to buy the McPherson struts first and then change out spindles and add the upper control arms and then replace shocks again. Do you know of anyone that has an SLA set up on a SN95?
China what the hell why would we even consider buying anything from them they are killing this country spend a i bit more a buy american and save a job!!!
Couldn't agree with you more. I go out of my way to buy American made stuff. But the K-member was a gift from a girlfriend at the time, so I didn't really have a choice in where it was made. I think the politicians should be bowing down to us car guys, not beating us down with emissions laws, and bull**** traffic tickets. Automotive Enthusiasts buy more American made products percentage wise than anybody else. When I got my stimulus money for the house, I paid off my truck loan, and bought a new engine for the Mustang. I helped out the banks, and I spent a huge chunk of money on all American made parts, and American machine shop employees. Best $8K the government ever spent.
Kurt
Sharad
ALWAYS choose the V over the P!!! Wait... what?
You could use a UPR k-member kit & rear control arms, with Koni or Tokico dampeners, and save a significant amount of money.
Good stuff, but pricey.
Our UPR Products suspension systems are not limited to drag racing. While we have earned a name for ourselves by winning dozens of championships in drag racing, our k-members and control arms can be used for street/auto-x/roadracing as well. Our suspension is made of tubular chrome-moly, and carries a lifetime guarantee. Also it is Made in America. (right here in South Florida)
I agree. Like I mentioned, he could buy the UPR k-member kit, rear control arms, sub frame connectors, cc-plates, etc... and just buy whichever coilovers he chooses. It is a cost effective way to achieve the original goal.
China what the hell why would we even consider buying anything from them they are killing this country spend a i bit more a buy american and save a job!!!
Again, our suspension is Made, with pride, in America. We use quality materials, and our fabricator is one of the best in the business. That's why we place a lifetime guarantee on our products.
Sorry for dissing UPR K-Members thanks for clearing up that your stuff is made in America!!! Let me tell you what i have on the car already I have the MM frame connectors and Pan hard bar i also have Hotchkiss trailing arms and Tokico shocks and Eibach springs on all four corners the car already handles well but not great i'm looking at the next step the front end needs some help.
Let me tell you what i have on the car already I have the MM frame connectors and Pan hard bar i also have Hotchkiss trailing arms and Tokico shocks and Eibach springs on all four corners the car already handles well but not great i'm looking at the next step the front end needs some help.
Sharad
ALWAYS choose the V over the P!!! Wait... what?
Sorry for dissing UPR K-Members thanks for clearing up that your stuff is made in America!!!
It's all good man. I didn't think you were dissing us. (I thought someone was dissing QA1 for being made in China.. but anyway that's not us)
Based on your current mods, I think a k-member kit and sway bars should be your next upgrades.
Do you have a good differential in the car? What kind of cc plates do you have?
I have a 3:73 Auburn posi with stock axles and i don't have CC plates and stock sway bars.
95riosnake
Member
I'm running a Team Z coil over kit with Tokico D-Spec struts. I have no complaints, no noise and it rides pretty nice. I definitely recommend adjustable struts if you can swing it. For short rides and messing around I set them to a firm setting, then for longer trips to shows and such I soften them up for a more comfortable ride.
As far as the Team Z being drag race oriented, the only thing drag race oriented about their coil over kits is the spring rates they offer (I believe 170 or 190lb is the highest rate they have), I just swapped out the springs for 300lb/in of another brand.
As far as the Team Z being drag race oriented, the only thing drag race oriented about their coil over kits is the spring rates they offer (I believe 170 or 190lb is the highest rate they have), I just swapped out the springs for 300lb/in of another brand.
Sharad
ALWAYS choose the V over the P!!! Wait... what?
If you're going for handling, cornering ability, cc-plates are a must. It's not just that they give you more alignment adjustment. They also replace the horrible factory rubber bushings that connect the struts to the body with far more precise spherical bearings. This is a zero slop mounting method. And think about it, slop in the (factory) strut mounts causes unwanted changes in caster, camber, toe, bumpsteer, etc. We're talking a relatively minimal amount of movement/play AT the strut mount with the factory pieces, and you'd think it wouldn't make much of a difference from behind the steering wheel, but MAN does it ever! You can immediately tell how much more precise the steering is after you install a good set of cc-plates!
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