FordRacing M-5400-A SN95 Handling Kit???

WhiteCobra95

Mod Dude
May 2, 2006
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Has anyone installed the Ford Racing 1994-04 Mustang Handling Kit? The part number is M-5400-A. I have a stock ’95 Cobra and the handling is somewhat disappointing. I’m looking for a cost-effective approach to improve this problem. From what I’ve read, this kit is supposed to be the sane springs as what’s used on the produciton Bullit and Mach1 cars. I could use some advice/insight from anyone who has experience with this kit. Also, is it possible to install these front springs without a compressor like the other lowering springs?

Thanks in advance, Whitecobra95
 
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Hi, I installed this kit about 3 weeks ago. Bought from summit for like $400 shipped. It is the same difference as the Bullitt suspension. The install was very easy, NO compressor needed for the springs, just drop the A arm all the way, and they come right out.

I can get before/after pictures.. but there are plenty of people who have posted them on here. Just search....

As far as improvement... my stock setup was WORN OUT. This was a HUGE difference in nose dive, rear end tightness, side to side sway, etc. I can take the corners much much harder now. It dropped the rear around 1.3" and the front about 1". So, it EVENED out the car perfectly.

I like it, for the money you can't go wrong. The ride is still smooth if this car is a DD. If you are looking to auto-cross, then go elsewhere....
 
Jeffrostang said:
I'm looking at this kit also. Wondering if the Sways bars are better than Cobra Stock bars. Also are the spings in the kit a set of FMS springs and if so are they B or C springs or some other?

Hi, the sway bars that came with the kit were SMALLER than my stock GT's bars. I left my stock ones on, and plan to sell the sway bars from the kit. So I'm sure it's the same with your cobra.

As far as the springs go, I do not think they are C or B springs.. but whatever FMS used on the bullitt/mach.
 
The spring rates for these springs along with the drop they advertise would make me think these are C-springs and if not they are close enough. As for the sway bars I would think that the solid vs hollow would be the case (I would hope). I would hate to think sway bar technology is getting worse. Seems like a decent buy to me.
 
Bumping older thread...

WhiteCobra95 - Did you ever purchase and install this kit?


Or, any of you guys with the Ford M-5400-A handling kit have any before/after pics to share? :shrug:

I see this handling kit now sells for $500.

I can't be sure but I think these might be before and after pics. I'm judging by the different wheels. The height difference was/is about 3/4" - 1". The handling is another matter.

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gt9.jpg

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Hi Cobra90GT,

That was actually pretty funny. I started reading this thread and thought it looked familiar! Also, nice Wings pic!

Okay, here’s what I ended up doing after obsessing for a quite a wile:

03/04 Terminator A-arms (FR D arms)
FR C-springs
M-5400 kit Struts and Shocks
Stock Cobra Sway Bars
Maximum Motorsports LCA’s
Steeda HD UCA’s
Engergy Suspension Spring Isolators

After buying the kit, I spoke with one of the FR techs and he said that the springs wouldn’t lower the car much, contrary to their description. I read several posts here and elsewhere that confirmed this. These springs are more for the heavier New-Edge cars. The dampers however, are setup perfectly for the C-springs which are just a bit stiffer than the Bullit springs from the kit. The height difference was immediately apparent when I put the two next to each other. (Now I wish I had taken some pics.) This difference also makes the C-springs a lot easier to install – no compressor required.

I kept the stock Cobra sway bars because they are larger diameter than what’s in the kit. (My car is a weekend driver but will also see some vintage road race use, so the big sway bars are a good thing.) If anyone is interested in the Cobra bars, they are relatively cheap from the online Ford OEM parts dealers, and much cheaper than aftermarket. The 94-95 Cobras had the biggest bars of all the factory SN95’s and New-Edges to help compensate for the soft factory springs.

For the new A-arms, I pulled the alignment specs for the Terminator Cobras. I was really surprised to see that they are identical to the ’94 GT/Cobra/V6! I’m starting to think that the only difference with the D arms is that they have a different ball joint and a stiffer rear bushing. In any case, I had the alignment shop run -0.5 deg camber and push the caster to the limit at 3.9 degrees. I wanted 4.5, but this wasn’t possible on my car without CC plates or elongating the strut tower holes.

For the rear I chose the steeda HD UCA’s since they use a stock rubber bushing on the body side and I don’t want to damage the body mounts. Steeda also shortens the arm by welding in a washer about ¼” inward from the stock holes. (It's not the cleanest job, so I filled in the old holes and re-drilled the washers.) This is done to restore the proper pinion angle on lowered cars. I don’t think they mention this on the site. The MM LCA’s are pretty standard now for road race cars, and I might go with the panhard rod later.

The overall appearance has impreoved dramatically. The 4x4 look is gone. The C-springs do lower the car every bit that they claim. I didn't measrue the stockers for a comparison, but on steep driveways I can hear the front air dam scrap now. I haven’t bottomed out on the exhaust yet.

And the most important part… My Cobra finally handles and feels like a sports car on the road!!!! The high milage soggy Taurus feel is gone! It rides a bit rougher, but better; before it would hit a bump and wallow around. Now takes a bump a little harder than before but settles out immediately. The steering also feels a lot better (that 50mph steering wheel shake that 94-95’s are known for is gone), but the steeting still isn't perfect. My next mod will be a solid steering shaft and hope that it resolves the funky on center feel once and for all. Overall, it's a HUGE improvement and I wish I had done this years ago.

If I could do anything different, I would probably not buy the kit since I only used the dampers. Instead, I would just buy the Bilstein HD’s along with the FR C-springs, and keep the other mods mentioned above the same.

Don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions. I hope this helps,
WhiteCobra95