it depends really...

look at weeasp... hes got a stock SVT, and beats alot of modified and more powerful cars regularly...

and then i cant really think of anyone that has an enormous amount of suspension work to compare to...

but if you want the added stiffness and less body roll do it...

but the car can only go so far until the driver will have to take over, and then push it further.

 

ok im going to be the first to say heck yea. i know i dont have a svt but i have a 07 zx3. i think the reason i think its worth it because i was playing with a mustang on the highway a few weeks back for about 75 miles. i knew the guy lived in my area because i have seen the cobra a few times. he took the same exit that i did and it was a right decreasing radius corner up to a bridge. i took it at the highway speedlimit which was 55 (suggested 25mph not a speedlimit to get into trouble) when we pulled up to the next light he said he though i was going to put it in the ditch because i dog legged the whole exit ramp. yes that was the back right tire off the ground by atleast an inch from what he said. the suspension i have is the saleen kit from massive with just the rear bar installed right now with the steeda brackets. man i will have to say it was a huge improvement over stock.

 

you might want to talk to 03cdsvt i know he has all brand new suspension and man that thing handles like its on rails

 

i gots the roush stage 2 kit on my sedan. it drops it i think 1.5 all the way around(i could be wrong it might be 1.3 all teh way around)but anywhooo. my sedan handel like crap before then i got the kit and now it handels very very well. and i added a front strut bar to stiffin it up even more and got some wider tires to handel the corners better. soo i would yes it's better to get an aftermarket setup.


p.s i don't scrap either....well my car dosen't on the ground but my tires do when i got ppl in the back seat lol.

 

I would recommend the Saleen setup. I know mine came with it but compared to the ones I drove while car shopping, 08 sedan, 06 ZX3, and an 04 SVT, they all seemed to have a lot of excess slack and body roll. however bumps weren't as bad. Car corners like it's on rails.

 

i have the roush stage two. its very good. very streat friendly, just dont go fast over speed bumps. it dose still have some body roll. i might get the focsusport lower front stress bar but i dont know if its any good

 

Well, to the question at hand... since this isn't "My suspension is this good..." but "Is aftermarket better than SVT..."

I've driven on a modified suspension (H&R Race Springs, KYB AGX struts, progress RSB) and now I'm driven a stock SVT. The answer to your question is-- sort of. The SVT feels much more apt to turn in once you've got the mass set in its stance (i.e. long sweepers, long esses) but is less keen on changing direction than the aftermarket kit (i.e. hairpins, sharp esses, etc). The aftermarket kit emphasized (at least to me) the understeer in the chassis (the KYB's were adjustable, I tuned the suspension as best I could...) while enhancing the reactions of the car, while this SVT kit, while prone to body roll, feels like it turns in easier.

 

The thing is look at what Ford and the other vendors are selling SVT kits for, now is their anything comparable for the same price?

I autocross my SVTF and while adjustable shocks (Koni Yellows) are on my list of mods to do it won't be for a long while (college and wife come before car, plus I convinced the wife that the Miata we bought needed new shocks (Koni's), springs, front and rear sway bars, rear upper shock mounts, new bushings and an exhaust).

 

i also have the roush stage 2 i love it, it was a huge improvement over the stock setup, and ive done several long road trips one from ny to az and the ride was great, the rear springs are a little soft once you throw some people in the back you would be rubbin a little

 

the back end does seem to roll more with people in the back. keep the svt set up.

 

Many of the aftermarket kits are better at getting the car around a corner than the stock equipment. The nose heavy FWD focus seems to like a lot of roll stiffness in the rear to help mitigate rear grip in transitions and encourage a little rotation on turn in - provided that the aftermarket suspension of choice maintains a rearward stiffness bias, it should handle similarly but sharper.

HOWEVER: You did mention autocross, so I will reiterate some of what was said before. Changes to your car, like a suspension upgrade, is a micro-level change. For example, a good harness set will help you focus and improve your times and notice your mistakes; a good competition suspension might make the same car quicker by 1 second per minute; going from street tires to DOT R-compound rubber makes up 3 seconds per minute at least. But, knowing how to use the car is the difference that will take your car from being backmarker or midpack, to actually being competetive. Locally, I was about 3 to 5 seconds/minute behind the GS leadings Coopers. Part of that was a little better tires and a nicer chassis for driving, but most of it was the experience deficeit.

There's no substitute for tightening the loose nut behind the wheel. I've had my doors blown off by racers my dad's age on all season tires - I asked one guy what he had his pressures set at and he said he never even checks them unless they look real soft in the driveway; he just adjusts to what the car's doing on course. There's a gap between him and me that I'll never fill with just tires and stiff springs.

I'd recommend keeping the stock suspension, maybe with a refresh, if you daily drive the car for the most part, and work on your consistency driving first.

 

Many of the aftermarket kits are better at getting the car around a corner than the stock equipment. The nose heavy FWD focus seems to like a lot of roll stiffness in the rear to help mitigate rear grip in transitions and encourage a little rotation on turn in - provided that the aftermarket suspension of choice maintains a rearward stiffness bias, it should handle similarly but sharper.

HOWEVER: You did mention autocross, so I will reiterate some of what was said before. Changes to your car, like a suspension upgrade, is a micro-level change. For example, a good harness set will help you focus and improve your times and notice your mistakes; a good competition suspension might make the same car quicker by 1 second per minute; going from street tires to DOT R-compound rubber makes up 3 seconds per minute at least. But, knowing how to use the car is the difference that will take your car from being backmarker or midpack, to actually being competetive. Locally, I was about 3 to 5 seconds/minute behind the GS leadings Coopers. Part of that was a little better tires and a nicer chassis for driving, but most of it was the experience deficeit.

There's no substitute for tightening the loose nut behind the wheel. I've had my doors blown off by racers my dad's age on all season tires - I asked one guy what he had his pressures set at and he said he never even checks them unless they look real soft in the driveway; he just adjusts to what the car's doing on course. There's a gap between him and me that I'll never fill with just tires and stiff springs.

I'd recommend keeping the stock suspension, maybe with a refresh, if you daily drive the car for the most part, and work on your consistency driving first.

+2 Glad to hear someone else say it. [clap]

There are really two issues here.

1. Aftermarket suspension will improve the handling characteristics of a vehicle IF IT IS SET UP PROPERLY. A stiff set of shocks/struts, springs, dampers and sway bars can really upset a car if a lot of careful thought is put into the application. AX and road racing are very different set ups. Same is true of the drag strip and even "touring". You should also consider aligning the car regularly as the suspension tends to take bumps and bangs much harder. Even though stiffer, the settings are more fragile and because the response is increased, so will the needed adjustments to keep the settings "true".

2. Buying suspension or upgrades does NOT gaurantee an improvement to driver skill. The best investment anyone can make is in seat time. With a few short events, you will begin to learn the absolute limits of yourself and the vehicle. It is at that point you should consider upgrades. Until then, you really don't know what you or the car are capable of if you keep throwing parts at it to foster improvement. You have no baseline to determine if it really is making a difference with you.

P.S. I appreciate the kind words, and I have some degree of talent, but there are plenty of people faster than me. [driving]

 

you wanna change anything...change your dampers...and sway bars...

the svt springs are great but i found the dampers fairly weak

 

^^^ that is very true... a lot of it is feel. If you feel comfortable then you will do better.that's why diff setups work better for diff people.

 

Thanks SVT guys, or guys that have driven SVTs. I appreciate it when people actually read the thread titles and the first post [thumb].

That information helps me...I can't afford suspension at the moment anyway and won't buy it for a while if I ever do, but I wanted to hear it from those that have driven both. I had Eibach stuff on my ZTS but it was a different car. Yes, it handled very nicely (hardly any roll at all), but I never really considered the difference between general handling and autocross handling.

The only problem I have with the stock SVT suspension is that it's so freaking high off the back wheels and low on the front wheels. Why did they do that!? Is that actually functional??? Or is it just cheapness, or what was the thought process!?!?!? Somebody please explain that to me...

 

i voted yes, but it really depends on your useage.

If you want balls to the walls performance, then SVT susp. wont cut it. if all you ever manage is weaving around the shopping carts in the supermarket parking lot, then aftermarket susp. wont add much to your driving experience.

 

If you want balls to the walls performance, then SVT susp. wont cut it. if all you ever manage is weaving around the shopping carts in the supermarket parking lot, then aftermarket susp. wont add much to your driving experience.

This is something I struggle with. My car is my daily driver, and Boston roads are horrible. I can't bear to think of how awful the ride would be, and how much more taxing it would be on the suspension bits, if I got parts that were even firmer than the SVT stuff.

 

I would definitely say yes. My car feels like a new beast after i chnaged to Massives Saleen/Racecraft suspension. But maybe thats because my old SVT suspension had 125k km on it. What really made the difference though was the sway bars especially the one in the back, takes most of the body roll away and it does feel like its on rails. Also I have virtually no under or over steer, on a long right or left turn if i push it to hard my car feels like its sliding outwards equally in the front and back. But i do have a torsen diff as well. Anyway for me it was worth it for sure, love my setup.

 

I've got the "multi-matics" and love 'em. The rearend sits level now too. It turns in a little differently than stock but once you're acustomed to it, it's fine. Not a huge change in handling for the street, I haven't x-crossed yet. It definately dropped it to where I wanted. Goodyear F1's made a difference too.

 

I voted yes but I love my H&R coilovers. The car is lower, but it also handles soooo well. Now I need some R or similiar compound tires.

 

Custom H&R coilovers. Huge difference. I would do it again.

 

Custom H&R coilovers.

what's custom about them?

 

I went from bone stock SVT suspension to modded and I must say....the small part of aftermarket helped ALOT!!!! I guess poly bushings work haha

 

+1 to Wee knowing his poop...

I thought the stock springs were a little too soft though so I ended up buying the H&R sport springs which have a nice progressive rate to them. Then I splurged and bought koni yellow struts and KYB AGX dampeners, along with the H&R 24mm front sway bar and the steeda 28.6 rear... Some say it's a bit excessive but I Love it... I've grown so use to it, that I feel like I'm riding in a minivan when I ride in an SVTF with the stock suspension.

 

I drive HARD on the backroads. like....HARD. My front end power-sliding, my rear end slightly coming around. Basically I drive like you SHOULDN'T on the street (but I can control the car the way I have it setup now) The stock setup was WAY better than my old ZTS, but it STILL had oo much body roll for me.

I first got good tires for better cornering. BFG G-Force sports. After all, that;s the ONLY thing that touches the ground so they better be good ones. They were chosen for price, Dry/wet weather traction, and a need for a good DD tire. I am on my second set now and I LOVE THEM.

I went with KYB AGX's with H&R sport springs. I researched this on here and the H&R springs were the lowest recommended for those shocks. I chose this for the nice drop, but mostly for the ability to adjust the dampening to my liking for DD (0-4 Front, 0-8 Rear). I can drive around with the setting at 2F, 4R and get into it OK for most things with some roll, but soft enough for DD. that is my normal setting for driving. 0F,0R and it's a SMOOTH ride...almost like the SVT suspension Stock. great for long cruises and rough roads. 4F,8R and its tight....real tight. I feel lots of bumps, but when I carve into the apex, I get hardly any body roll and its VERY steerable. This is the all out setting.

NOW...for the best ride.....Stap on the 4-pt Harness, 4F,8R, and I can feel when the car is rotating, when the tires are giving, EXACTLY what the car is doing at every second. Total "one with the car" feeling.

I got that setup because the roads around Army bases are CRAP and I didn't want a HUGE drop to be bottoming out all the time.

For around $500 for the shock and springs I think its GREAT. I don't even feel the need for coilovers and I have had this setup for a year. I love it!

hope that helps.


BTW...my rear seats are removed for weight savings and the rear end comes around better as a result. I also have the COSEDSVT (SP?) Hanress BAR for the harness. my sway-bars are stock.