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Originally Posted by donnyonee im thinking of placing a order for the frpp suspension products, the sway bars m-5400-a, the shock/struts m-18000-a and the springs m-5300-k. does anyone have and are using thes products yet? whats you general opinion of them? how much do the springs lower the car?
thanks for your input!
don |
Hi Donnyonee,
Nobody is saying much here so I'll jump in and say my bit. I think that most people are using third party springs, struts and anti-roll bars because they were first into the market. I know that my choices were limited by this but I bought products from companies that I had good experience with in the past or knew that had been developed carefully. It has been my experience with Ford performance parts that Ford is usually late to market with products that are not particularly effective when compared to third party offerings. But this is not always the cae.
In some cases Ford simply buys and sells third party products to have something to sell in the catagory for those who will only put a Ford part on their car. This can be good if they pick a good part and of course bad if they don't. I have to say that the Ford offerings are reasonably priced but consider that you rarely get more than you pay for especially from a big car maker.
Look at the FRPP strut and damper kit, it lacks adjustable dampening and at that price point is not likely to be gas charged. For a performace strut and damper kit thess are essential features to have. The Ford '05 spring kit looks a lot like Eibach's progressive kit for the '05 as does their anti-roll bar kit. The Ford strut/damper kit and spring combination will cost about $200 less than buying a set of fully adjustable gas charged Tokico D Spec struts & dampers with a set of Eibach springs. I'd say that the Tokico/Eibach kit will be much more effective and is clearly more tuneable than the Ford offerings.
Both of the Eibach kits are good parts that are very effective but you will never know and Ford will not say where they get them from or what the spring or bar rates are. If you buy a set of springs and shocks send them to me before you install them and I'll measure them on a spring tester and shock dyno if you want me to.
BTW, before you go jump on a set of anti-roll bars you should consider initally only buying a set of sport dampers and springs and the parts necessary to correct your suspension geometry after lowering the car. Anti-roll bars are a band-aid for the poor geometry of a street car. Once you increase your spring rates with a sport spring kit and have them under control with a good set of dampers you'll need to correct the problems created by the lowering springs. To do this you'll need an adjustable panhard bar to re-center the rear axle under the car and a set of brackets (BMR makes a good set), on the rear axle to lower the axle side lower control arm mounting points. To restore the correct A-arm angles in front you'll need a taller ball joint or reposition the chassis side pickup points (using FRPP A-arms or Steeda's kit), add a couple of braces (HD panhard bar brace, front lower arm brace etc.), to the chassis to support the stiffer spring and damper rates. You will also need a set of adjustable control arms in the rear to correct the pinion angle changes from the lowering springs to minimize power loss and vibration through the drive shaft U-joints. Once you do this work you will likely find that roll bars are not needed any more unless you are using R spec or racing tires. And your NVH rates will be much lower as will you suspension's suppleness over bumps particularly when cornering hard because you didn't couple the left and right sides uner turning loads with an anti-roll bar.
HTH
frpp suspension questions 
