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What suspension setup do you have?

  • stock

    Votes: 156 25.3%
  • SVT

    Votes: 128 20.7%
  • lowering springs only

    Votes: 64 10.4%
  • lowering springs and dampers

    Votes: 104 16.9%
  • full suspension kit

    Votes: 102 16.5%
  • coil overs

    Votes: 37 6.0%
  • other

    Votes: 26 4.2%

POLL, what suspension setup do you have?

40K views 210 replies 175 participants last post by  felixthecat 
#1 ·
what suspension setup do you guys have on your foci?
 
#27 ·
Blazingcopper_ZX3, dont forget that FRPP has a complete rear subframe thats adjustable now, its not very pricey either, if youre interested, PM me.
 
#29 ·
Yup. $230.00 from your dealer with "easily adjustable camber and sway bar mounts".
I thought I would get that installed with the new wheels and tires and then get a 4-wheel alignment and camber adjustment again.
I should be ready for the mountains this summer.
 
#30 ·
Stock SVT suspension... will likely never mod.
 
#32 ·
Coilovers ftw.
 
#37 ·
actually..i just read a post in the Duratec forum on a way to get a rear sway bar to fit on an '05/'06 foci
 
#100 ·
Update '07



I kept the progress sway cause it's the best balance for my car that i've tried so far. and i've tried a few.[;)]

For the new: H&R race springs--KYB AGX struts & shocks--Ingalls camber plates & eibach rear camber bolts--custom alignment[thumb][race] [race] [race] All I can say is Damn this thing handles awsome!!
 
#41 ·
im getting HR coilovers and HR swaybars . will go nicely with my front and rear FS strut bars
 
#43 ·
I have Tien-S springs KYB AGX dampers and an SVT rear swaybar
 
#44 ·
thefrush said:
Coilovers ftw.
Quoted for Truth!!

I love riding on Rails!!
 
#45 ·
I was planning on having the Eibach pro-system plus installed by the end of the month, but I had to spend $850 to have my transmission repaired at a dealership (long story, but I was out of town for work and couldn't wait for a transmission shop, and having it towed home would've been cost prohibitive.) So that pretty much cleaned my modding budget out for the next two months.
 
#46 · (Edited)
i have a question... i wanna get sportline springs for my car but wanna know if the pro dampers from eibach are the only option/ones that can go with the springs? also... what do you guys think of the Kazera springs on tire rack? good or bad? i really wanna lower my car and am on a budget rigth now... but i can always safe up for the sportline combo whne the price on them come down...
 
#49 ·
My previous car was a Volkswagen Jetta VR6. I "upgraded" the suspension to European GLI levels; the shocks and struts were Bilstein and the springs were "Euro" ride height - about 1.5" lower than U.S.-specification. The car really looked better - like what the German VW stylists probably had in mind - and it cornered like it was on rails. On a smooth surface, the car was an unmitigated GAS to drive! With 200 horses and 195 lb/ft of torque pulling less than a ton and a half of car, what a rush!

That was the up side. The down side was that the ride on the typical pocked, cratered and frost-heaved Wisconsin roads nearly ruptured my spleen. What's more, a collision at 35 mph with a fresh - and at night unseen - sinkhole (about a foot in diameter, six inches or so deep) on a downtown Madison, WI street took out the oilpan, bent the right lower control arm and cracked my right front aluminum wheel. After that expensive little episode (for which the city accepted NO responsibility), I restored the car to U.S. spec and while handling crispness and steering turn-in response suffered, on these crappy streets and roads, the extra ride height suddenly made a lot of sense and my butt and internal organs gave me heartfelt thanks.

My point is that in Europe, with its smooth and meticulously maintained roads, supported by sky-high fuel taxes, low and hunkering cars with relatively stiffer springs and shocks are great - especially on the glassy-smooth German Autobahn, with its high, or nonexistent, speed limits. Lower to the ground and stiffer knees mean greater high-speed stability and better fuel economy due to less frontal area, less drag from underbody airflow and less aerodynamic lift. And because the surfaces are maintained to pool table smoothness (Hitting an American Midwest-style frost heave at 200 clicks would launch you into low Earth orbit!), the ride is not punishing.

But this is America. The sad truth about American roads and highways is that most of them really suck. So adaptations and compromises on the part of automakers become a practical necessity. That means softer and higher off the ground. In short, the Ford suspension engineers seem to know what they are doing. In my opinion, the stock suspension settings (stiffer than on S or SE models, not as stiff as on STs) on my new 2006 Focus ZX4 SES are just about spot-on for real-world American driving conditions.

By the way, I HAVE lived and driven in Europe. The motoring grass is greener on the other side of the pond NOT just because it's the "other side," or because I'm an unpatriotic "Euro-phile," but because the grass really is greener! They have no secret for great roads; all it takes is money. They're willing to spend it, and for lots of really bad reasons, we aren't.
 

Attachments

#51 ·
KW springs and shocks, H&R rear sway, FocusSport front and rear stress bars, and Energy Suspension bushings. My car will pull 1.0g with no problem when I've got the summer rubber on, the stock Pirellis just oversteer...
 
#79 ·
I have this nice offer in hand on ad adjustable KW set type 2 with springs and shocks. But a "standard" Eibach spring set is still somewhat cheaper, and the question is therefore: is KW good stuff?
I'd really like to hear your experience with KW.
 
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