Ford Focus ST Forum banner

LMStone510's Mountune ClubSport Installation Thread

47K views 118 replies 38 participants last post by  screzzy 
#1 · (Edited)
My daily driven 2013 ST1 has more than 42K miles, and the OEM shocks were getting tired. It was clearly time for new dampers.

This thread will document the installation and before/after results of installing the Mountune ClubSport suspension, which comprises pre-assembled Mountune Sport springs on Bilstein B8 front struts (new Ford strut bearing, top hat, bottom spring isolator and pinch bolt); and rear springs/struts.

We have an increasing number of suspension choices. My car is daily driven and I still work rallies, so I needed to retain as much ride height as practicable and didn't want to go too stiff. My choices settled down to FRPP springs with Bilstein B8s; Bilstein B14 coilovers, and this setup. I thought the B14s would be the best choice, but I didn't see myself realistically fussing with suspension height changes several times a year. Thanks to a Mountune Easter sale via an email invite (I've bought other stuff from them before), the ClubSport kit became less expensive than the FRPP springs and B8s, so I pulled the trigger.

Immediate Results:

Height
"Before"... Front fender lip height (on snow tires) = 25 3/4". Rear fender lip height = 26 3/4".
"After" some 15 miles of driving on a mix of smooth and bumpy roads: Front = 25 3/4" and rear 26 1/4".
"After" ~800 miles of mostly highway driving during the past week, no change in ride height.

IOW, no change at the front and 1/2" drop at the rear. To be fair, based on photos I have of the car from when it was new, it does appear that the front had settled down some over the past three years. Others with stock suspensions for example report here that they can drive right up on Rhino ramps, and I always needed to put a 1/2" board in front of the ramp to avoid scraping the underside of the bumper cover slightly.

The visual decrease in rake angle is noticeable.

I also expect this new suspension will settle down some over the coming weeks. I plan on taking off the snow tires next weekend so I'll take fresh measurements then and update the thread.

Driving Impressions - Updated!
I used to race rally cars so I knew that the stock dampers were tired. Road imperfections like pot hole repairs were causing some minor wheel hop and the nose was lifting quite a bit under acceleration for example. After the install, these imperfections were damped much better (shock absorbers BTW overseas are called "dampers" as the spring takes the shock of forced suspension movements and the damper damps the action of the spring...); the car didn't hop a little sideways in a curve over these and the nose no longer lifts on acceleration. Having said that, the car for a daily driver is quite comfortable on this kit.

Those of you looking to track your car will be happier with linear springs like those from Swift, but for a daily driver this combination is a nice incremental improvement over how I remembered the car driving when brand new -- and a big improvement over what it was before I changed things out.

Now having driven the car for more than month over smooth and broken pavement roads I can say that this setup is very much to my personal liking. Yes, the car is noticeably stiffer (the B8s have higher rates than the stock dampers and the Mountune springs are ~15% stiffer than stock according to Mountune) but even over broken pavement, the remains of frost heaves, and road construction, the car just feels much more planted than stock. Does it ride like a truck? No. Does it absorb road bumps like my wife's Fusion? No. If you live on really bad roads and bumps with the stock suspension bother you, probably the ST is not for you, regardless of the suspension you might fit to it.

UPDATE: Alignment
It's been a week since the install and I got the car aligned. Everything was in spec, except toe, which was -0.15 degrees. To be fair, I had suspected the car was toed out slightly even before this install, based on how the car was turning in. We set toe to +0.10 degrees and the car is much less darty now when getting on the brakes and doing initial turn ins.

Executive Summary
The install took about seven hours on my own. It would have taken closer to four if I wasn't taking pictures, if I didn't have a fitment issue with the Bilstein front dampers and if I had been able to find documentation for the rear spring orientation (see below for details). A second person is not required to do this job, but there is one point when installing the new front struts that a second person would have been handy. If your arms are not strong enough that you can't hold the new front strut assembly with one arm extended out in front of you for about two minutes, you'll want a second person.

Process Summary
Having lost an acquaintance to a car-fell-off-the-jacks incident many years ago, I am skittish about getting underneath cars and elected to do this install by doing the fronts first with the rear wheels still on the ground and the parking brake set, and then lowering the front and jacking up the rear to do that end. The rear lower control arm bolt and the front strut pinch bolt to loosen require you to push the breaker bar across the car laterally and have large break-free torque requirements; if you have bargain jack stands or the jack stands are not properly placed it's easier than you think to knock a car off the jack stands. Please be careful and if you have any hesitation get a good shop to do this work for you.

Preparation Work
Two weeks before you plan to do the work, remove the wheels and spray WD-40 on both ends of the front strut pinch bolts and the rear lower control arm outer bolts. Also spray the top of the front uprights where the bottom of the front strut is inserted and the two rear shock upper mounting nuts. Be careful in all cases not to get WD-40 on your brake discs.

Be sure you have all the tools you will need:

Metalworking hand tool Tool Hand tool


  • Genric oil and anti-sieze compound.
  • Ball peen hammer; chisel optional but may be needed.
  • Three flat blade screw drivers of increasing size and length.
  • 1/2", 3/8" and 1/4" ratchet drives and the extensions shown.
  • 1/4" Torx T-30 and 10mm sockets; 3/8" 13mm socket; 1/2" 15mm socket.
  • Breaker bar.
  • 8mm, 13mm and 15mm combination wrenches (15mm not shown).
  • Brass drift and magnetic cups.
  • "Pass through" 15mm socket, 5mm allen wrench and medium cresent wrench.
  • At least two sacrificial quarters (the results can be seen just below the ball peen hammer to the left of the old pinch bolt).
  • 1/2" drive torque wrench (not shown).
  • BraKleen (not shown) in case you get schmutz on the rotors.

Torque Specs

The front strut pinch bolts get torqued to 80Nm and then turned 180 degrees more. Scary. The front strut top hat bolts get torqued to 35Nm and the stabilizer nut on the strut tang gets torqued to 2Nm.

The rear lower shock bolt and the outer lower trailing arm bolt both get torqued to 115Nm. The rear upper shock nuts get torqued to 25Nm. The rear lower trailing arm inner bolt gets torqued to 48Nm. I did not loosen this bolt but if you choose to do the same you must be careful not to over-rotate the lower arm when removing/replacing the rear spring, else you risk tearing the bushing. The manual says to loosen it BTW.

***Big Cautionary Note***
The printed directions from Mountune were... incomplete at best. Less than obvious was a note that the bolt at the top of the front strut holding the whole assembly together needs to be torqued to the Mountune-provided spec. Huh? I thought these were preassembled? As it turned out, the nuts were not loose, but they weren't torqued to spec either. From the comments below, others have found Mountune did not torque these nuts properly either. I have some cutout sockets specifically for cases like this where I need to use a standard torque wrench and need to retain the shaft. The nuts wound up getting turned ~3/4 of a turn to get to spec. If you don't have these sockets you'll need to get a shop to do this for you, else you risk the assembly coming loose over time. To tighten that nut you can remove the strut assembly from the car or you can remove/relocate the top strut-to-strut lateral brace to get access to the strut top bolt while the strut is still in the car (thanks @Focus McJokus for the tip!). It's a pain either way so best to torque the strut top nut before you install the strut assembly in the car. I do not include directions for this here because it requires special sockets; you might need to take the Mountune strut to the store to ensure whatever socket you are going to use clears the top hat and allows you access to keep the shaft from turning. The other issue with Mountune's directions involved the rear spring orientation, but I'll get to that later.


Removing The Front Struts:
Open the hood and pop off the interior vent covers by pulling up on the rear lip and pushing the cover to the front of the car.

Use the 1/4" 10mm socket and the 1/4" T-30 Torx to remove the bottom windshield facia retaining bolts and set aside in a magnetic cup or elsewhere safe:

Automotive exterior Bumper Vehicle Hood Auto part

Automotive exterior Vehicle Bumper Auto part Car


Now you can peel up the facia enough to get the 13mm combination wrench on the front two top hat mounting bolts; use the 3/8" 13mm socket to access the rear top hat mounting bolt through the vent hole. Don't remove the bolts, just break them free and loosen them ~ 2 full turns so that we have a little more free play to move the strut later:

Hood Automotive exterior Trunk Vehicle Car

Automotive exterior Tire Auto part Bumper Automotive tire


Now you can put the front of the car up on jack stands and remove the front wheels. Here's where I like to place the front jack stands under the front subframe:

Auto part Suspension Suspension part


Unplug the wheel speed sensor on the hub (no pic): Use your fingernail to press in the release tang and then you can pull the connector free. Use the 8mm combination wrench to remove the brake line retaining bolt and then use the 15mm pass-through socket wrench and the 5mm allen wrench (anchored by the combination wrench) to remove the sway bar upper end link mount:

Auto part Suspension part Suspension Automotive fuel system Fuel pump

Auto part Tire Automotive tire Vehicle brake Brake


Put some fresh WD-40 on the upright where the strut is inserted, and get the bad-boy 1/2" breaker bar with the 15mm socket out and loosen the pinch bolt; once loose you can use a 1/2" ratchet wrench to remove the bolt entirely:

Tire Automotive tire Auto part Vehicle brake Wheel

Auto part Vehicle Vehicle brake Disc brake Machine


Use a wire brush to clean up the threads on the old pinch bolts, blow out the pinch bolt hole and feel free to take a bio break to let the WD-40 have some extra time to do its magic. I'll see you when you get back on the next post...
 
See less See more
10
#62 ·
Thanks for the guidance Mark. The only thing your guide missed was tightening the top nuts of the rear struts after torquing the 15mm bottom rear strut bolt. With or without that one point, you have definitely put together the definitive instructions for the clubsports install.
 
#63 ·
Thanks, and glad your install went well!

"...tightening the top nuts of the rear struts after torquing the 15mm bottom rear strut bolt."

If I understand what you are saying correctly, you are talking about the top of the rear shock that goes into the cast upper mount piece, which in turn slides on to two threaded studs?

If so, then I can tell you that I tightened that top nut with each of the rear shocks out of the car. I then fit the carrier (with the shock dangling therefrom) up into the top of the wheel well, and loosely fitted the carrier nuts on to support the weight of the shock. Then I threaded the 15mm rear bottom shock bolt in, finger tight; torqued up the carrier nuts at the top of the wheel well and then torqued the bottom shock bolt.

Is that how you did it?

All the best,
Mark
 
#68 ·
Did you have to purchase anything "extra" from Ford, or did the kit come with everything you needed?
Not asking about tools, just about parts required.

Hoping to order a kit today, but want tomato sure I get it all coming at the same time.

Thanks.
 
#69 ·
Some of the rear suspension bolts are one-time use; the front top hat-to-strut tower bolts also are supposed to be one-time use. Those are not included in the kit, and there are posts here indicating that others have reused those bolts.

The front strut bottom-to-upright pinch bolts are most definitely one-time use, and the kit comes with those. The kit also comes with shock top-to-mount nuts for all four corners.

Hope that helps,
Mark

P.S. The tomato is not included; I got one from Whole Foods... ;-)
 
#70 ·
Awesome write-up. Thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: LMStone510
#71 ·
Ordered the Mountune Clubsport kit 3/24/17 and tomorrow will mark 3 weeks since [ordered & paid] and nothing. I'm really disappointed that when ordered I received zero notifications [aside from order confirm] that it was backordered with no ETA. Called after 2 weeks and told they're waiting for 1 shock. Asked when and told the delay was at the supplier end. I wondered [aloud] why it's still listed on their website if they don't have the complete kit. Not the way I'd do it...
 
#72 ·
Just tackled this install yesterday and I just wanted to say thanks for the great writeup.

I found the fronts to be easier than expected with the rears a bit harder than I thought only because its tricky to get that bottom bolt to align properly. Once I figured out the technique on the rear driver side the rear passenger side went back together in half the time.

I got my clubsport kit used so I didn't have any issues with the front strut top nuts not being torqued properly.
 
#73 ·
Glad my writeup helped!

Yes, the rear shock bolt can be tricky to line up for sure.

I'm curious: the instructions that came with my Clubsport kit said explicitly to tighten the top front shock bolts. Did yours not say that? Or did it say specifically that that the top front shock bolts had already been torqued? If so, please let me know and I'll update the original post accordingly.

All the best,
Mark
 
#76 ·
Just installed the Mountune kit last Friday. I ordered the kit, from Mountune, on Monday and recieved it Thursday. I used this write-up as the instructions for the install. Thanks so much LMStone510. Everything went together as you explained. Factory ride height measurements were Front=26.375 Back=26.875. I bought the car used and it has 68k miles on it. So, I don't know if the suspension was ever replaced. Immediately after install the car sat Front=26.75 Back=27.25. Then dropped to Front=25.75 and Back=26.25. The car handles great. You do feel small bumps a tad more and big bumps are harder. But, turns I use to take in second gear are now taken at the low end of third with ease without the understeer. So, thanks so much for you great write-up LMStgone510.
 
#79 ·
The Bilstein B8 front struts come with their own internal bump stop, and the hydraulic shaft is a larger diameter than stock anyway, so no way to reuse the stock external bump stops up front.

The installation instructions make mention of the internal bump stop:
http://cart.bilsteinus.com/pdfs/E4-WM5-Y180A03.pdf

Enjoy!

All the best,
Mark
 
#80 ·
@LMStone510 - another tech question for you:

So for my refresh, since I have the Eibach Pro-Kit set #35140.140 - I am going to use these progressive springs with the B8's. Hence, I was comparing the spring rates between the Mountune kit v/s what I have:

OE Spring rate:
  • Front OE springs 171lb/in
  • Rear OE 183lb/in

Mountune: I am guessing Mountune is listing the MAX rate of the progressive springs

  • Rate increase : 15%
  • Front - 196.5lb/in
  • Rear - 210lbs/in
  • Ride height reduction Front = 1"
  • Ride height reduction Rear = 1.4"

Eibach Pro-kit: Whereas for the Pro-kit - this info is giving me the range of the progressive springs


  • Front - 154-194 lbs/in
  • Rear - 171-217 lbs/in
  • Ride height reduction Front = 1"
  • Ride height reduction Rear = 1.2"

Both are very close rate wise (assuming Mountune is listing the MAX rate) - and that would have very negligible difference in terms of how the Pro-Kit springs will pair with the B8's ...?
 
#81 ·
From the math you've done it does look like they are nearly identical, and I believe it's Eibach that makes the Mountune springs. Are they the same spring? Dunno. But spring sets are like $230 plus your time to change them out, so if you don't like your Eibachs you've got lots of other choices.

I will say, from a rally driver's perspective, that I feel the spring rates and shock valving on the Mountune springs and Bilstein shocks are very well matched. My car is neither undersprung nor undershocked and is very stable even on broken/rough pavement at spirited speeds.

You'll find that the car's ride height and rake angle will have an impact on handling, with a higher rake angle (tail up more) tending to increase oversteer all other things being equal. Plus, our car's stock rear sway bar has that chamfered bushing surface that can make the tail snap out a bit at the limit (which is why serious autocrossers prefer the Strano bar).

Bottom Line is I don't think you will have an issue keeping your Eibachs with the Bilstein B8s!

Enjoy!

Mark
 
#82 ·
@LMStone510

PSA: the FRPP/Eibach Pro-Kit springs DO NOT fit the front B8 Struts, the rubber pad (on which the spring sits) also has to be B8 specific, the base is of a lesser diameter than the Mountune Kit - I learned this lesson this past weekend, when i tried to install the B8's with the FRPP/Eibach springs - its a NO GO!

I will have to order the mountune sport springs now!
 
#84 ·
As @freakin_elrod points out, the B8 front bottom perches are designed for '13-early14 springs. So if your FRPP/Eibachs are for the later STs, yes, I would expect they would not fit. Note Mountune themselves show different SKUs for just their springs for the early and later STs.

https://www.mountuneusa.com/mountune-Sport-Spring-Set-Ford-Focus-ST-2013-p/2363-msk-aa.htm
https://www.mountuneusa.com/mountune-Sport-Spring-Set-Ford-Focus-ST-p/2363-msk-ab.htm

And same for the FRPP springs too:
https://www.mountuneusa.com/Ford-Performance-Sport-Spring-Set-Focus-ST-2013-p/m-5300-u.htm
https://www.mountuneusa.com/Ford-Performance-Sport-Spring-Set-Ford-Focus-ST-p/m-5300-v.htm

Hope that helps,
Mark
 
#83 ·
Are you running the 13 springs or the 14+ springs? I just swapped out the mountune springs that came off of the clubsport kit with some swift spec-r's (13 FoST spec) and had no issues with fitment.
 
#85 · (Edited)
I have the 2014 = 35144.140 Eibach pro-kit set (2013 = 35140.140) which did not fit the B8's as the bottom diameter of these springs is shorter and doesnt fit the B8 base correctly.

I digged up a post where @deesiel678 educated me about the 14+ newer strut perch design:
Since your car is a MY14, your OEM struts have the newer strut perch design. Bilstein/Koni only have offerings for the old spring perch design (MY13), so you'll need new lowering springs; they wont work with the 2014 style springs.
Which means I will have to order the following: https://www.mountuneusa.com/mountune-Sport-Spring-Set-Ford-Focus-ST-2013-p/2363-msk-aa.htm

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With that being resolved - where do I find the rubber pad that sits under the springs and on top of the perch- I did not buy the Mountune Kit (bought the struts and shocks via AJ-USA, thinking my 2014 FRPP Eibach springs will fit and i would re-use the same pads, which also do not fit due to the increase in the diameter)

Do the OEM pads for 2013 Focus ST front struts fit the B8's perch fine?
Part# 23: CV6Z-5793-A
http://parts.autonationfordwhitebea...ont-suspension-cat/suspension-components-scat
 
#86 ·
I have the 2014 = 35144.140 Eibach pro-kit set (2013 = 35140.140) which did not fit the B8's as the bottom diameter of these springs is shorter and doesnt fit the B8 base correctly.

I digged up a post where @deesiel678 educated me about the 14+ newer strut perch design:


Which means I will have to order the following: https://www.mountuneusa.com/mountune-Sport-Spring-Set-Ford-Focus-ST-2013-p/2363-msk-aa.htm

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With that being resolved - where do I find the rubber pad that sits under the springs and on top of the perch- I did not buy the Mountune Kit (bought the struts and shocks via AJ-USA, thinking my 2014 FRPP Eibach springs will fit and i would re-use the same pads, which also do not fit due to the increase in the diameter)

Do the OEM pads for 2013 Focus ST front struts fit the B8's perch fine?
Part# 23: CV6Z-5793-A
SUSPENSION COMPONENTS for 2013 Ford Focus
Those insulators are $4 each and it's not clear to me from the diagram which is the correct one; I don't know if our cars have a "touring suspension" or not. If it were me, for the price I'd order both part numbers and then you'll have no worries.

All the best,
Mark
 
#88 ·
Good clarifying info; thanks for posting!

All the best,
Mark
 
#90 · (Edited)
I ordered the Mountune Club Sport Suspension Upgrade over Christmas Weekend during a sale. After placing the order and paying for it, I went back to the site and noticed that the availability is showing "unavailable" in small text. I definitely didn't pay close enough attention when I placed the order. Interestingly, the Mountune website lets you place the order and pay for it even with an unavailable product status. I wonder what this means and wonder if I will ever see this kit come in. I'll give it a few weeks and see what happens. If it isn't available I don't know what I will end up doing on my 2015. I have zero experience with suspension upgrades and this seems like the perfect kit for my needs.
 
#93 ·
@LMStone510 just picked up mine from a local guy! I cannot wait to put it on! Too cold in MI right now to do anything!

View attachment 301226
Nice!

Have fun!

FWIW I installed the rear coils with the tightly wound ends up top (opposite of what's in your photo). I couldn't find any documentation that this mattered one way or the other, but since I sometimes travel on dirt/gravel roads I didn't want to worry about small stones getting sandwiched between the binding coils. The stock springs were dirty on the bottom, but surprisingly clean up top, so that's what I did. YMMV.

All the best,
Mark
 
  • Like
Reactions: 20focusSTdriver17
#95 ·
As an update, I contacted Mountune regarding my order. When I placed the order it said the product was unavailable. They contacted me back to let me know that they will be getting the parts in stock and will send me my kit. They do not have an ETA for delivery.

I am not concerned in the slightest. If I can get this suspension kit installed by the end of June I will be happy.
 
#99 ·
@Juggernautjoe Keep me in the loop. I emailed them a couple of weeks past and they said they are planning on getting them but they didn't give me an ETA.
 
#100 ·
Just in case anyone else is waiting on the clubsport suspension. I finally got a response from Mountune that says they're hoping to get them in next month. So hopefully in March sometime.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BCE22
#101 ·
#102 ·
Mountune probably went with koni now because its almost like trying to get border wall funding when sourcing B8s now a days.
 
#107 · (Edited)
Big price jump from springs to kit... I believe the springs are going to be the same so you could always just upgrade to a set of Konis anytime albeit having to do the labor again.
 
#108 ·
I thought there was a another all year long coupon code mentioned in one of the suspension threads besides "winning" cant seem to locate it though.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top