Hey all, Car has about 73k on it and is due for some new shocks/struts/springs.. Also need to see about getting the ball joints replaced as I am getting a annoying sqeak.. Would also like to get some roll bars cost prohibitive. Any suggestion on what to go with for a daily driver, but still with much better than stock handling? I dont want a sub 2" drop either, right on the tires be nice, but i dont want to rattle my teeth out lol. Where would you buy the stuff at and any suggestions on cheap installers or volunteers that work for food and beer lol. I was thinking some tokicos or maybe the eibach damper kit?? Thanks, Ryan
I installed the Steeda sport springs and they only drop the car about 1". I also have the Tokico shocks and struts and they work well. For centering the rear end I used BMR adjustable panhard rod and control arms.
if you have a live axle then you can install a panhard bar. but if you have irs then you cant. and i dont know if you have a gt or and svt. not sure if you can get a cobra in 01 i think you can and that would be an IRS.
hehe, the pic is just of my dream 03 cobra, mineral grey like my gt, sitting on 19" hre 547's =) Is the panhard bar necessary since i have a non irs? I don't plan to track it or anything, just want better handling on way to work, off ramps etc.. tired of leaning and weight transfers =/ Thinking something like: http://www.stangmods.com/Mustang-Tokico-DSpec-Shocks-and-Struts-Package-p/00207.htm http://www.stangmods.com/Eibach-Mustang-Pro-Damper-Kit-p/00802.htm For springs probably the eibach pro kits??
If you want a nice ride, good handling & modest cost the Bullitt/Mach 1 package from Ford Racing works great. It only lowers the car an 1" and you can drive it every day. If you want more than that check out Maximum Motorsports or other companies. The Maximum Motorsports Sport Box includes the following parts: MM Strut Tower Brace MM 4-Point K-Member Brace MM Standard Subrame Connectors (bare steel) MM Panhard Bar with Aluminum Rod H&R Sport Springs Tokico Premium Performance Front Struts Tokico Premium Performance Rear Shocks MM Caster/Camber Plates (select Black or Chrome finish) MM Urethane Pinion Snubber Urethane Front Spring Isolators Urethane Rear Spring Isolators Urethane Steering-Rack Bushings Urethane Front Swaybar Bushings Front Swaybar End-link Bushing Kit
a panhard bar will not lessen body roll it just keeps the rear axle where its supose to be under corner force. sway bars springs and dampen force (stiffer shocks) will lessen body roll along with lowering the center of gravity.
Suspension Upgrade: Test the limits of your suspension as you 4x4 that Mustang off a cliff. Locate nearest Chevy dealer. Purchase Corvette. Give me a call an we'll do the annual Seafair GTG.
LOL yeah you know it.. I will hit ya up for seafair shortly. Forgive my mechanical ineptitude, but with coilover's i don't still use springs in their mounts right? LOL
I would love to get that MM kit, but thats a bit a dough! =P Bullit kit may work, or maybe just the shocks with different springs? Wanna sit it as close to the tire as I can without being slammed or having rub/scrape issues haha
Coilovers remove the stock springs completely, and the spring mounts become useless. My cobra is running coilovers and it can corner more than I ever dare to attempt. I've had the car stay planted on the ground and have myself an inch or two off the seat while navigating a corner with a decent size bump/mound/whatever-you-call-it. Freeway onramps with corners are fun!
If you are looking for a planted ride: Polyeurothane Bushings all the way around Full Length Subframe connectors Front Strut Tower Brace ----- Between these three above, it will effectively eliminate body roll. Eibach Sportlines, these are progressive rate springs. They will react to your driving very well. Big fan of Bilsteins. Tokico's work awesome too. Panhard bar will make kicking out the rear end much more predictable and controllable. #1 suspension mod to date: Good Z rated tires! Something with a hard side wall and a decent compound. I like a 280 to 300 for the street. Just my .02.
these will take care of chassis flex not body roll. chassis flex is the twisting and deformation of the unibody. body roll is the amount the unibody moves on an axis compared to the wheels
Right, I agree with you. But, when you have body flex, this will cause added deflection causing the body to roll in a less uniform motion. One will not work great without the other. Bushings, subframes and springs will greatly minimize both body roll and chassis flex, but due to the nature of the GT being 60/40 front to rear, body roll is going to be hard to battle without either: a) going too stiff in the front and rear with over sized sway bars causing you to push the tires and eventually causing faster wear. b) going too soft all the way around causing uneven weight transfer through turns creating an uncomfortable and not very responsive suspension But since this is just a street car, it's all about fun. I think I'll be picking up a little miata one of these days and tracking the hell out of it just to get back into the fun of tracking.
sorry for the hack but if you plan on tracking a car a miata is not good. yes it handles well and has good brakes for the size but its to slow in a straight line to have a lot of fun on an open track day to many fast cars in a straight line that lap a little faster then you will keep getting in your way. even a stock powered 5.0 car have this happen to it. my green car has 200hp and it with me driving will lap as fast as a C5 vett and stock sti's and a little copper S is much faster in a straight line. my race car is even worse about the same lap times as my green car but it only has 120 hp same amt as a miata oh and we run in the same class to. laps times for 2 of my cars are in the 1:35 range there is a vid of a GT3 in an advanced group passing everyone and he was running 1:32s which is what i run in my fox.
That's very true. They are pretty slow. My thoughts are building a either a high revving 2.3 or dropping in a 2.3 turbo from a turbo coupe and shooting for 200 to 250 wheel hp. This would at least level the playing field. But, again these are all up in the air at this point. Other builds that come to mind would be a merkur with its' 2.3 turbo and independant rear suspension. You make a very good point about the lap times. It will also come down to driver. And unless you have the tires and brakes for it, there is such thing as "too much power". With good tires on a slower, lighter, and more agile car, you end up using your brakes a lot less and are able to keep your turn entrance speeds higher than most, but of course your exit speeds would be affected. A track with lots of wide open straights and long sweeps, a low hp car would really struggle. Spokane raceway is a good example for that. But in a track that is riddled with lots of short turns and a minimal straight away, that is where a small underpowered car with super sticky tires would shine.
