Ground Control Complete Kit Install and Initial Thoughts

[Huehuecoyotl]

So I had threadjacked , with good intent, and piggy backed some of my own review for the same kit as OP: 6.7/7.7 aka 375F/430R

As a car with more whp than some,(for now) making power is useless if you cant controll it and lay it down

I was having issues putting power down in corner exit, when I redline 2nd gear for example, I was kicking out the rear end

while this looks and feels cool, its slower than optimal on a racetrack

I have a bit to add, I got new rear coils(350) in the mail yesterday, put them on last night

Adam is a stellar sales guy, sent them before I knew he even shipped them

SO the kit they 'sell' matches the native, stock personality of the car, which is playful, with a hint of oversteer, but GC with their relationship with Eibach have all kinds of custom wound rates to play with, rates that work better than the off the shelf stuff.

He started me on the 430lbs rear coils that were playful, and a just a tiny bit twitchy(curious what OP thinks), alot like the stock feel. I wanted more grip and was willing to give up the rear end playfulness, I'm not setting this car up for drift, rather the opposite, I want fastest lap times and grip so I dont aim for 'stance' as such, I tune the suspension for what grips both in a straight line and at the limit laterally.

He swapped me out to a 350lbs rear coil(6.2kg/mm) and left the front 375(6.7kg) and the car feels great, very planted in the rear now at high and low speeds. Perhaps a bit soft overall for a full on track monster, but I drive it around town too, so this is as firm as I want for dual duty use and with the Sway setup, seems to corner darn nice at my 1st impressions. I got followed by a Crown Vic so it was time to wrap up my early morning caynon test route

The damping is where its at, that I dont feel the need to run a uber stiff 10kg/mm coil, and have an enjoyment factor I was loosing with the stiffer coil-430=(7.7kg)

While rates north of 8kg/mm may work on the track, its gotta be a rougher ride on anything but glass smooth highway, I now have some compliance in the small stuff, and yet it firms up nice on bigger/faster compressions like cornering

by choosing between Perrins front sway bar settings, I can go from neutral to understeer now as I please, which give me some tire options for street and track

So, note to Self, GC can do wonders in dialing this setup in for what you want, I was skeptical but now have even more faith in Adam's judgement and direction

I suspect most of you will be just stoked with a 375/400 setup those wanting more playful can try the 375/430, but fwiw, if you want to almost have your cheek up against the window on your next right hand turn, try the softer setup in the rear, it worked and thats all thanks to Adam for the 375/350ish combo with the koni race dampers. I'm done with suspension now. Thanks Ground Control, and thank you Adam

[meeks]

thanks for the review, gmhooker! that was very insightful. both reviews (by the op and gmhooker) were very informative in their own ways. i am still debating whether these or rce yellow + koni combo.

[AZFA20]

I am pretty happy with my 375 fronts and 400 rears. If I want the rear to get playful I simply set my rear sway to full stiff. Even at full stiff setting the play in the rear is super controllable. I have more grip in the rear (Staggered) so my settings will be different to achieve certain characteristics but this is EXACTLY the reason I chose GC over the competition. You can plainly see in this thread alone there are 3 totally different setups all achieving the unique characteristics each driver wants all because these setups are completely modular. This is all without even accounting for the shock adjustability. I may pick up a set of 375s for the rear eventually myself.

[Huehuecoyotl]

For me, as power application became an issue, it changed my alignment strategy, which changed how I dial in suspension, it happens.

[russv]

Notice any difference with the strut brace? Been thinking about one but not sure of cost vs benefit.

[Huehuecoyotl]

As you run stiffer springs, tackier tires, stuff like strut braces can be more easily 'felt' than say with a OE car-atleast that is my thinking

Had a chance to drive the car recently without it on as I was doing some work in that area(re-mounted my oil cooler), and I can feel the difference in turn-in pushing around a 100treadwear tire on hot asphalt

The top of the camber plate is not truly flat, its curved, but the machining is so top notch, the bar sits totally flat, its very nice work, and functional for me- so yes, I notice a difference. When I priced comparable caliber coilover setups, the strutbar option from GC was just icing on their raised camber plate technology, I liked the wait it all came together with this kit, vs adding a 3rd party strutbar, which is still and option for anyone, but then you need to make sure it works, and truly shares load with the hats, however they mount.

I have a strut bar on another car I own, and can tell the difference there too, tho subtle. The lightweight sheetmetal used on the 86 to keep things light has its compromises, so some flex is there, not a bad thing necessarily but I kinda like to add one if I am running sticky tires, or cornering hard with aftermarket sways and coilovers

It does change the front ends behavior a bit, so you kinda have to drive it to see how you like it. I fee better knowing I am trying to reduce the chassis's flex from my bafoonery.