Ford Guys: Experience with Street or Track vs Maier Racing Coilover Kits

[Cal Poly Stang]

I'm not too saavy with the whole engineering aspect/geometry of suspension but it appears that these both seem like pretty good kits. Great info on the Street or Track units on their site. Maier Racing site doesn't have much info on their site but I've seen them on his 66 which I know is proven on the track.

Anyone here have any experience or feedback on either?

[GrabberGT]

Im using Total Control myself which is very similar to Street or Track as well as Global West in configuration. Seems to work very well for me. I'd be curious to know why Maier decided to keep the coilover on the top side of the upper arm. Same with the Ridetech Mustang stuff.

From a customer support aspect, I've talked to all of them except Global West. They are all very helpful and readily answer questions despite my having a Maverick which they do not directly sell products for.

[Cal Poly Stang]

Thanks Grabber. I was considering TCP too as I have their subframe connectors/X-brace as well as monte carlo bar and export brace. My thoughts exactly on the Maier kit. Like you said, all the others seem pretty similar BUT with how the Maier 66 drives it seems he made the change for a reason.

[68EFIvert]

I don't think you can go wrong with Shaun at Street or Track. He spends a lot of time doing R&D on his products. I am using a couple of his products on my car and they work great. I am using the Ron Morris kit on my car but would go with S or T is I were to do it again. In fact Shaun was able to help me fix a design flaw in my RM kit.

[SLO_Z28]

Look at whos winning? Look in the back of the SCCA rule book at the class champions and see whos name you see the most? Id go with the Maier kit easily. The reasoning for the push rods is to get a longer stroke shock where packaging doesn't allow. The Maier kit front and rear, especially because of where you're located, is a no brainier. Take a spin up there and go check out his shop.

[6fastback7]

I am pretty close to going with the S@T coil-over...mostly because of the Bilstein coil-over he is using...the feedback I have heard has been nothing but good...I am also hoping to mate that setup with a Borgeson power steering box.

[MonzaRacer]

also dont over look Ridetech.com. their coil overs and suspension parts are awesome,,,ever see Bret's Mustang three wheel?

[chetly]

also dont over look Ridetech.com. their coil overs and suspension parts are awesome,,,ever see Bret's Mustang three wheel?

Uhhh, last time i looked having 3 tires touching the ground is not as fast as having all 4, I would stay far away from anything that allows you to 3 wheel... All you have to do is look at whos winning the events.=, and thats Mike Maier. Maier Racing has been around for 40+ years doing nothing but suspension and fiberglass body parts for Mustangs. I would trust what they put out. On top of the fact they use JRI shock which are some of the best in the world.

[chetly]

Im using Total Control myself which is very similar to Street or Track as well as Global West in configuration. Seems to work very well for me. I'd be curious to know why Maier decided to keep the coilover on the top side of the upper arm. Same with the Ridetech Mustang stuff.

When you say the top side of the control arm what are you talking about? Looks like it mounts to the upper control arm but not on top of it. He does that for packaging reasons. There is the strut rod and sway bar to contend with for mounting on the lower control arm not to mention the leverage ratio and amount of spring rate you'd have to run because of it. I'd imagine there would be a lot more stress on the shock with the amount of spring you'd have to run not to mention all the other stuff thats already mounted on the lower control arm. I'll stick with the product thats winning.

http://www.maierracing.com/

you can see right on the main page of the website that the shock doesnt mount on top of the control arm.

[Bryce]

I think mounting the coilover to the LCA will allow you to run a lower spring rate while maintaining the same wheel rate. I run a 400lb spring mounted to the LCA and it equals a 625 lb spring mounted to the UCA at the stock location.

[dontlifttoshift]

Uhhh, last time i looked having 3 tires touching the ground is not as fast as having all 4, I would stay far away from anything that allows you to 3 wheel...

Unless you are autocrossing an M3 on hoosiers, if you're not 3 wheeling you're too slow.....but yes that is a piss poor example of the quality of products that come from ridetech. That 3 wheel shot was more publicity stunt than anything and involved a ridiculous shock setting and a certain driving manuveur.

[Cougar98]

I am running a combo of SorT and TCP on my 68' Bud Moore tribute Cougar. I've had the TCP stuff for about 8 years now and am very happy with it. However TCP's customer service is the worst I've had in the automotive world. That being said, I am giving my TCP products to my brother when he starts his 69.5' Maverick build. I will be replacing it with SorT's front end. Shaun has got to be the most helpful and friendly when it comes to customer service. The only time he doesn't answer a question is when he's on the track. Here's the best pic I have of my set up right now.he's on the track

[GrabberGT]

When you say the top side of the control arm what are you talking about? Looks like it mounts to the upper control arm but not on top of it. He does that for packaging reasons. There is the strut rod and sway bar to contend with for mounting on the lower control arm not to mention the leverage ratio and amount of spring rate you'd have to run because of it. I'd imagine there would be a lot more stress on the shock with the amount of spring you'd have to run not to mention all the other stuff thats already mounted on the lower control arm. I'll stick with the product thats winning.

http://www.maierracing.com/

you can see right on the main page of the website that the shock doesnt mount on top of the control arm.

I stand corrected. Im not even sure what I meant by "top of the control arm" either. Perhaps just another way of saying mounted to the upper control arm.

And as far as running stiffer springs are concerned. With mounting to the lower arm, you can run a longer spring with less spring rate. If spring rate equals stress on the shock, then the longer spring/shock combo would be the way to go. Packaging is definitely a concern as the TCP has a strange shock body to alleviate some of those problems.

Chetly, you come across somewhat abrasively. Like I attacked your favorite suspension system or something. In reality, I'd love to know what the advantage is, if there is one.

[chetly]

I stand corrected. Im not even sure what I meant by "top of the control arm" either. Perhaps just another way of saying mounted to the upper control arm.

And as far as running stiffer springs are concerned. With mounting to the lower arm, you can run a longer spring with less spring rate. If spring rate equals stress on the shock, then the longer spring/shock combo would be the way to go. Packaging is definitely a concern as the TCP has a strange shock body to alleviate some of those problems.

Chetly, you come across somewhat abrasively. Like I attacked your favorite suspension system or something. In reality, I'd love to know what the advantage is, if there is one.

Ahh, that did come off a little brash, sorry bout that. One of the advantages with the Maier kit is its upgradability. With the JRI shocks that come with the kits, they can be upraded in stages. You can take the nonadjustable damper and turn it into a single, double, triple and quadruple adujustable shock in stages. The ball joints can be upgraded from box stock Moog to something adjustable like the Howe ball joints. ''

And i dont know about the Street or Track stuff but I know that with Maier Racing, everything is American made, and thats a big deal to some including me...

[Antti66ht]

IF sot had their stuf out just a bit earlier, would have gone all they way SOT, but now I will have to settle with their Watts, which looks awesome. So far the service has been excellent, although I have no real "after sale" experience yet.

Front, SOT Bilsteins installed to lower control arm. Who does it better?
Update, very fast delivery 1 week to Finland!!! :)

[jnet4jt]

I spoke with Mike Maire reguarding the reason behind mounting to the upper control arm and this is what he said, "The reason we do not mount the shock off the bottom is strictly for financial reasons. I figured if we could get the motion ratio correct and good geometry My customers would not be forced to buy a whole front suspension for a quality coil over system."

I also asked about prices and this is what he gave me. "The base and most important is 1899.00. This kit comes with the upper arm, JRI coil overs and billet upper shock assembly." "The second is the complete system and it is around 2600.00. It comes with our hand fabbed lower control arms, sway bar kit and strut rod bushings."

Here is the link to Maier's new website: http://maierracing.businesscatalyst.com/