I guess that's my question in a nutshell. I like good handling, but seems to me that I already have that in the '09 Bullitt. Ride is taut, but not so firm it'll loosen my fillings.

Perhaps bigger dia.sway bars?

Thoughts please...

 

The Bullitts handle pretty well, but your car would do even better with a few upgrades. An added bonus would be that you will also lower it a bit, which will get rid of the monster truck look.

 

Lol, your Bullitt is nothing like a trak-pak. It has the same suspension all the other GTs do. You're just paying for the name.

Grab yourself some Ford Racing lowering springs and some new shocks and struts and you'll be heading in the right direction.

From there you can go on to add bigger rear/front sway bars, or whatever it is your heart desires.

Glad to see another S197 on here. =]

 

I thought it does come lowered a bit though

 

6 millimeters

 

Thanks for the input.

Sticker says the "track Pack" suspension is part of the Bullitt package...but damned if I know what it means. Car has only 700 miles so far, just beginning to learn more.

You see, our President sold the car to me. Cindy listened to Obama's speech on how the automobile is soon going to be "improved" by the new green standards. She told me that if we wanted a V-8 car, we'd better buy one now. I didn't want a car built by a company that was a willing ward of the state. I liked the clean look of the Bullitt....so, here I am.

Anyway, I agree...never did like the air in the fenderwells look. But also don't want the ride to get overly harsh. The Ford racing coils...do they have the same spring rate with less travel? Should shocks be modified to account for this less travel?

No drag strip or autocross stints planned. In the past I've done both, but now just looking for a nice road machine. One with good handling, but also a "500 mile car". Meaning, a car I can drive 500 miles, then emerge without the feeling I've been beaten to death.

 

To my knowledge the Bullitt does not have the same suspension as a standard GT. I was told it has different shocks and springs. It certainly handled better than the standard GT when we were comparing the two at the dealership.
Edit: Just watched a video concerning the features of the new Bullitt.. They simply said tuned suspension, which in my mind would point only to stiffer anti-sway bars. Who knows.

 

Everywhere I've read it's used the words "tuned" as well.

 

It's the same damn thing. The ride height is equal and there are no added parts. Now they may have moved the sway-bar or something for more aggresiveness, but in no way is it a Trak-Pak. The Roush Trak-Pak is the only true definition of that phrase.

The Ford Racing springs don't keep the same luxury car ride of the stock spring rates but are much better than Eibach or H&R. I would never buy Steeda springs. I love mine, not too much of a drop (1.25"-1.5") and they make the car look mean as can be.

Shock choice will be the main area that I would recommend to look for something soft, because I believe the shocks are what make mine feel so rough.

 

It doesn't really say what they did to the shocks/springs/sway bars but everything says they changed them with something else. Who knows what that means.

 

I need to do more research...get a base line, know where I'm at originally. To just blindly make changes can actually make things worse than better. I've seen that happen when I was "into" other car brands. Some of the most ill handling cars I've driven were ones where their owners bragged of "improving" them. Cars lowered so much that steering was out of line, the shocks and suspension overall had little travel, and other bad traits. They looked "way cool" when parked, though. Really, I have read that Ford equipped the bullitts with what Ford calls "track pack"..but I really don't know what that means. Could they have added Roush bits? I do know that they come standard with a 3:73 limited slip rear end, so slightly lower gearing than the GT.

Spike probably nailed it...Ford changed things. The Bullitt is not just a GT stripped of fogs & emblems, but it's too early to know just what they did.

Anybody have an "in" with the folks of Ford racing...know somebody who might know?

(later edit) Did a bit more net seaching, but all I could find is this...but evidently there are differences between the Bullitt and the GT, suspension wise:

*new unique strut tower brace
*new unique shock and strut tuning
*rear spring change that lowers vehicle ride height by 6mm
*carbon metallic front brake pads

 

I can't provide specifics, but the Bullitt does not have the same suspension as the GT. The new '10 GTs are actually based off the Bullitts. Stiffer springs, revalved dampers, thicker anti-sway bars. You can improve it. You need to learn about suspension first in order to improve the suspenion you have. If you start throwing parts at it with out knowlege of basic suspensions and then your specifically you'll get what you described, a car that you thought you were improving but didn't. Once you learn about how the suspension works, I would suggest some autocross, driving school, open track events to help you experience the car fully. Then you can change the suspension because you will know what you want to change. If you think the springs need to be a higher rate, you will know, and through reasearch, be able to make a good decision on a good ride quality vs. handling. If you think the dampers need to be upgraded, you can decide that. Last should be anti-sway bars and such as those are tuning parts. Just do some research.

 

Based on the sticky above, I'm thinking "stage one" Just mild improvements for a street ride.

Guess I need to 'splain myself more. I'm an old goat, 65. One who always had "quicker than most" cars. My first car was a '50 Ford that soon had a chevrolet small block under it's hood. My first NEW car was a '65 Goat...yep, 3 deuces and a four speed. Then I got into Porsches...long time stint there. Kept the same 1972 911S for over 30 years, but it became an icon. The more valuable it became, the more desired by others, the less I enjoyed DRIVING it. I kept it original other than wider wheels and suspension mods. I miss the car, but I don't miss the absolute paranoia of driving an original body & paint icon. It was quite possibly the best example of a '72S coupe remaining on the planet, since they made only 1750 of them, and many were wrecked or rusted as the years passed.

Also, as years passed, and Porsches became more expensive, the personalities of those involved changed. All too often I'd run across people who made the Porsches and porcupine joke true. People who know the price of everything & the value of nothing. A lot of good people remain in Porsche circles, but the few bad apples were ruining the whole barrel. So, two years ago, the car left here. It is now in the care of a friend in Istanbul. I gave him a "half price sale" in exchange for the promise that the car will never leave Turkish soil. This keeps that car out of the hands of people I don't like, since my Turkish friend is a man of his word.

I have done autocross & track days, but got weary of spending all my summer weekends hanging around hot parking lots and/or Portland International Raceway. Perhaps I overdid that...got burnt out after 4-5 years of it. No regrets though...it was a LOT of fun.

So far, I'm loving the Bullitt. It's a really fun driver, without the paranoia of wondering which fool is going to prang the irreplaceable. It's a car I can park and walk away from without being unreasonably worried about it. This because it is insured, and enough were made that I could find a replacement should the worst happen.

Now...suspension. Yes, I want better than stock, although stock is really nice. I'd like to lower it a bit, but do not want a bone jarring track ride. My planned use for the car is highway driving, a lot of it over the twisties of Oregon's mountain ranges and back roads. So, "stage one" sounds about right for my planned use of the car.

Thanks to all for the input. O1FR500....great post! Perhaps my car is too new to get the baseline specs on springs & shocks that I'm looking for. You're right, I need to know where I'm at before I can begin to make an informed decision on where I want to go. So, I'll hang in for a spell, wait for sources to come up with a chart like the one in the sticky here that covers my car.

Oh, I'll post a pic of my old ride...passing it on was a difficult decision, but I'm at peace with it now. It was hell not having a fun driver for a couple of years, and the Bullitt is filling in what I missed quite nicely!

Then and NOW:

 

Ah, so you have plenty of driving experience can know how to feel a car out. I would just put the bullitt through it's paces and learn and take note of what you think about it. If you have the money, I would contact Sam Strano about improving your suspension. He may even possibly know the specifics of the Bullitt suspension as he is THE ESP/SM/CP autocross suspension guru. He could set you up with a nationaly competative suspension, or just improve on what you have. You can google him and find his website, he can be found on Corral.net also.

 

Thanks very much for the new leads, o1FR500. Very good advice...first, I need to learn the Bullitt...what I like, what I don't. It'll take more than my current seat time to do that. Had to chuckle at your "plenty of driving experience"...yep, keep breathing for 65 years, you gain experiences.

At this stage of life, think I'll be happy with a "slightly improved" street suspension.

Keep on enjoying SOLO... I have many fond memories of the years I did autocross. It's my opinion that cone driving also makes one a better street driver. Not driving crazy...but better able to handle emergency maneuvers, gaining know how on the better apexes, and generally how to pay attention when behind the wheel.

 

Sounds to me like a simple street oriented spring setup would be the ticket for you. Nothing to hardcore but something to lower the car more and make it slightly stiffer. Your car has bigger and better sway bars, and better shocks so no need to worry about those now.

 

Thanks Spike, that may be exactly what I want...I have to admit, aesthetics are a big part of it. I just never liked "air in the fenderwells" above the top of the tires. I'd like to lower the car, but I wouldn't want the ride to be much stiffer than it is.

 

Then your best bet might be the Steeda sport springs. They will lower the car a bit more and stiffen it up, but they are not a harsh spring.

http://www.steeda.com/products/steed...springs_05.php

Im sure you can find these for a much better deal outside of Steeda.

 

Thanks very much Dustin...your opinion...are Stedas better than the other springs out there? I was sort of eyeballing the Bilstien kits, since their shocks have worked well for me in other cars.

Paul is my name, BTW

 

Springs are springs I don't care who makes them. I would be more interested in does it give you the drop your looking for and the ride or performance your looking for.

I mention the Steeda Sport springs because they are a good daily driver spring. They are not super stiff and they don't lower the car so much that speed bumps and driveways are a problem.

Are they the best performance spring? no not at all, there are much stiffer and better handling springs out there. But for what your looking for I think they would be perfect.

Ford Racing makes a spring for us 94-04 cars that is a lot like the Steeda spring, but much cheaper. You might wanna see if they offer that for the 05-09 cars as I am not sure.

 

spike rolling in with good advice. My advice is to leave it alone. Once you start modding it you'll never stop. Trust me... I started with just a K&N filter and no intention of going any further. Looks what's happened to me.

 

Oh man...maybe it's already too late for me to avoid the slippery slope? I've already installed an 8" antenna, got a spare tire, jack & lug wrench from a wrecked 17" wheels GT. (I've never driven without a spare...not about to start now. Even tho the spare is on a 17" rim, figure I could then limp in to somewhere. With a cut tire, and if I'm in a cell phone dead zone, that little bottle of goo would be pretty worthless.)

Yep, maybe it's already too late for me...a hopeless case, sliding down the slope. At least the Bullitt came with a cold air intake.