I do plan to drag the car but not on a weekend to weekend basis. It will be a street car for the most part so handling and ride quality are most important. I know there are inherent benifits and downfalls of the irs. My question, is how will it perform for what I plan on using it for in a much lighter fox coupe?Well? What are you looking to do with the car?
I do plan to drag the car but not on a weekend to weekend basis. It will be a street car for the most part so handling and ride quality are most important. I know there are inherent benifits and downfalls of the irs. My question, is how will it perform for what I plan on using it for in a much lighter fox coupe?
I have read an article someone posted and it does seem pretty straight forward. I am a fabricator so any modifications would be no problem. I am having a hard time finding one. Someone I know just sold his before I made the decision to do the swap. My coupe is just sitting there waiting for me to tear it down. I'm in the process of building a carbureted 393w. I will be stripping it completely. I basically have everything new for the interior besides the dash and major back panels. Also have all moldings and weatherstripping. So basically I have some time to find one just impatient. Thanks for your reply and just luck with the new handling and ride quality.I've heard nothing but good things about it, that's why I'm doing the swap this week
. It IS heavier than a similarly loaded Solid though. Anywhere from 80-125lbs will be added to the car, BUT the rear will help with unsprung weight, by about 125Lbs. Anything deeper than 12.5s (being generous) with a stock IRS (03/04 ONLY) would not be to reliable. Look into a BF brace & Poly/Delrin/Aluminum bushings. Try to ONLY look into an 03/04 unit, as they are much stronger than the earlier models.
I'm doing the swap for the same reasons you are, but I probably won't ever hit the strip with this car. Ride quality is my biggest concern, and I know I could have accomplished it with the solid, but I decided to be different. Performance in a fox? Like I said, I've heard good things, but it depends on what you're looking for. Going from a stock solid, or even a drag setup rear, to a stock 03/04 unit (With brakes shocks etc) will be a NIGHT AND DAY difference in handling, and even in ride comfort. Have you researched the swap? It's very straightforward, but there are a few little nuances that can cause headaches.
I would love to do this on my car....then beef it up real nice. I think the added weight is a good thing, it'll push the weight distribution closer to 50/50.
They are so expensive to mess with, level 5 axles are like 2 grand if you need them.
High coolness factor, but i'd rather put the money into the rest of the handling setup.
And even beefed up with bushings and braces, they can still wheel hop, watch them run on drag radials at the track, looks like the wing is going to break off the trunk lid when wheel hopping.
Sounds great. Thanks for all the helpfull info. You'll probably do the swap before me(still looking for irs), so if you can let us know how well it handles and how sweet the ride is on crapy pavement. also let us know on the backspacing you'll have to use. thanksYeah... the Level 5 axles are pretty steep. Typically the stock axles are prone to fail because of all the slop from the factory bushings causing binding. Please understand aftermarket bushings aren't the answer for everything in the Cobra IRS... it does aleviate a lot of the issues with it though. If you check out svtp's marketplace, Bruce with the screen name of AC427cobra has built a full custom kit for the IRS using Delrin and AL. This kit also makes the diff solidly mounted in the cradle. I highly suggest reading up on the feedback and results to show the full potential of the IRS. Again.. for strait line you can't beat the old stick but the IRS has a lot more potential than its given credit for. Either way I'll find out soon.
Kevin