All out suspension replacement (Needs to fit with my wheels)

[Carskick]

I figure I'll start a new thread for this. I'm sifting through all the information and options on this in detail now, as I want to try to order everything during the 2018 Black Friday Deals!!!


Goals

• Get rid of clunks and creaks if at all possible
• No Suspension rubbing on my Wheels/Tires (See Signature)
• Firm & Stable Ride, Track Ready but still Daily Drivable (Not unbearably uncomfortable or nervous)
• Minimal Lowering
• Long Term Reliability & Minimal "Messing with it"

I'm going to try and meet with my mechanic and take a look with him underneath to get an exact list of all parts that need to be replaced. But I'm trying to do a 'one and done', replacing as much as possible to hopefully not have to mess with suspension anything for a while.

So far, here's what I'm leaning towards

Shocks, Struts, Springs
Full Kit (non-Adjustable): Bilstein B12 Coilover Kit
Full Kit (Adjustable): Bilstein B16 Coilover
Or Bilstein B8's with Swift, Eibach, or H&R Spring Set.
Alternatively, the Corksport Kit is cheaper, but is as good as a Bilstein setup? I don't want to just cheap out here. Any other alternatives or Coilover sets I should consider that will FIT with my wheels/tires?

Bushings, Endlinks, Bumpstops, etc
Upgraded Bumpstops
Upgraded Whiteline Bushings
Mazda OEM Shock Mounts & Endlinks, or something else?

Depending on the "kit" that I buy, some include some of these accessories, so I'm planning on deciding on the main "kit" first, then see what accessories are not included but are needed.

Am I on the right track?

I will revise the mess above into a more concise parts list as we continue.

Thanks in advanced for the advice!


EDIT: I added the Bilstein B16 kit option. I'm starting to lean towards this option. It gives me everything I want, it just costs a more. But, with adjsutable ride height and stiffness, I'd be able to perform minimal drop and find the correct stiffness for me. When I track the car, I can stiffen further if desired.

This being said, the kit also comes with built in bump stops and the like, so that saves cost on accessory parts. I assume I'll still need new upper mounts front & rear, Tie Rods, etc. Thoughts?

[Carskick]

Well, no thoughts from you guys yet. But I haven't asked a specific question. After many hours of more research, I have one conundrum I can't decide on:

Upgrade to Whiteline Anti-Lift Kit & Possibly other bushings, or just buy a new OEM Control arm?

So to clarify this, I'm definitely getting:

• Bilstein B16 Coilovers
• JBR Front & Rear 125 Swar Bars with Upgraded Bushing Mounts
• New OEM Front & Rear Endlinks
• NEW Ford Transit Fan Front Suspension Top hats & Bearings
• Whiteline Bumpsteer Correction Kit
• Rear Camber Bar Upgrade

I want the suspension to feel like a sturdier version of OEM. So I'm not sure I want to go crazy with Poly bushings everywhere. A mechanic and I looked over the suspension on a lift, and none of the bushings looked noticeably bad, but while it's apart, I want to replace any near end of life parts. I do get bad wheel hop, and I think the control arm is contributing to this.

So a new set of control arms is under $400 and there will be very little extra install charge. A Whiteline Anti-Lift kit will be $180, and the other set of bushings on the arm is about $36. But, I know installation of these bushings will likely offset much of the savings, and I'll still have a 10 year old control arm and ball joint in the car.

I feel that replacing the whole control arm will prevent issues, but will it leave that much performance on the table? I'm now leaning that direction as it should tighten things up down there without worsening NVH and prevent a ball joint issue going forward!

Feedback is appreciated!

[MSMS3]

Forgive the delay. I just found your thread. I went with B6s on stock springs. Ford Focus OEM strut bearings and top hats. Much better than our OEM. I did upgrade the sway bar end links in back (Moog), new OEM in front, and replaced the sway bar bushings on both ends with JBR bushings and mounts. I kept the stock sway bars. That's all. This is the way OEM should have been. Firm, but still compliant. These changes alone eliminated wheel hop at launch, even with my sticky summer tires.

Did this many, many years ago, and all was still like new when I finally said goodbye to my baby in passing it on to another member here last month after 10 years and 136,000 miles. Alignment has remained perfect. No clunks or other NVH.

I do recommend that you install adjustable rear camber arms while doing this. Camber is likely to be too negative with the stock arms. Mine were at -4 degrees before installing the adjustable camber arms, and wearing the inside of the rear tires abnormally. Set the new ones to be -2 degrees and leave them alone after that. It's perfect for aggressive street driving.

[Carskick]

I appreciate the delayed response, @MSMS3, and I'm just noticing your reply!

So, I went forward with everything. I was on backorder with the Bilstein B16s from end of November to mod February. They extended the backorder further and predicted end of April. I didn't want to wait that long, so I switched to KWv2s. I really wanted the Bilsteins due to easier access to strut adjustments & Monotube construction, but the KWv2s are just as highly rated.

At this time, the car went to the shop 3/13. It's almost completely done. Turns out the KWv2 mounting point for the Front Sway Bar Endlink is 1 inch lower than OEM. So I had to contact Whiteline for an adjustable end link that's 1" shorter than the normal one they offer for our cars.

Otherwise, just about everything is done, for which I've updated my signature. I'll definitely report back on how everything went, as I should be picking it up complete on Wednesday. I'm very excited, as we did a lot of upgrades! on top of the suspension upgrades, they did the Damond side motor mounts, OCC, spark plugs, and boost tubes. The old plugs were fine, but had about 30k miles on them, so I fgured they might as well change them while they had it apart.

Similar to what you recommend, I ordered the upgraded Top hats and bearings, but for the Ford Connect. I found people suggesting those as a beefy and inexpensive OEM alternative.

Anyways, I'll report back!