Suspension mods - what order?

[Swami]

OK, I get that every upgrade modification has a different purpose, but place the following in order that would give the most responsiveness for say, canyon carving, for the money. This is ONLY for spirited driving on the street. My SVT has 50K original miles and everything is still very tight (well, the body does squeak), but as things start to wear, I would like to replace with higher quality components.


​Tubular rear toe arms

Upgraded springs & struts (BAT most likely)

Thicker rear sway bar (not sold on this)

Upgraded F&R sway bar end links & urethane bushings

Rear strut brace

Aluminum sub-frame bushings (overkill for street?)

Wider wheels/tires

sub-frame connectors



I have read most every thread here on the individual topics, but not a comparison as to which are most noticeable improvements. Do any of these actually reduce understeer?

Thanks for any input.

 

[Swami]

Additional note: as I have no place to work on my car except for minor things, factor in the cost of paying a mechanic to install/weld, if you can; or approximate man-hours.

 

[gorman]

last time I looked there was an upgraded rear subframe for sale in the classifieds. (boxed subframe mounts absolute must for sway bar upgrade) This would ideal to build a great setup on. You could buy all other parts as you afford .... then install the whole rear end in one go. I have done these rear end mods and they make your car corner .... sooooooo much better...... even for just a street car like mine .......G.

 

[satya_svt98]

Upgraded springs & struts (BAT most likely)
Upgraded F&R sway bar end links & urethane bushings
Wider wheels/tires
Aluminum sub-frame bushings (overkill for street?)

Tubular rear toe arms

sub-frame connectors
Thicker rear sway bar (not sold on this)



Rear strut brace


Thats the order I would do the mods in. Don forget strut bearings.

 

[Swami]

Thanks! The strut bearings should be replaced at the same time as the struts?

 

[B3NN3TT]

I think the endlinks are kind of a waste of money unless you are so low that you need something adjustable.

Roush rear sway bar was far and away the best bang for the buck suspension mod I ever made.

Rear strut brace was huge for me too, but I'm in a hatchback, so that might not be as big for the Contour.

I could really feel an improvement with the urethane trailing arm bushings in the back as well.

My recommendation would be springs & struts first, then rear sway bar. Everything else is just gravy, so do it whenever you want.