Any mods that improve ride quality?

Seraphitia102 · Dec 27, 2008

I first had the H&R Super Sport springs. I loved the aggressive and low stance but the ride quality sucked like crap. I then changed to the Eibach Pro Kit and the ride quality is still craptacular.

I have Bilsteins for my dampers.

Do any of you know any mods that will improve ride quality? Will changing my shocks/struts to a different brand improve it? I thought Bilsteins would provide the best ride quality...

bdcardinal · Dec 27, 2008

which bilsteins do you have?

007 · Dec 27, 2008

Adjustable shocks. Then you can have it a soft or firm as you like.

What do you run for tire pressure?

mustang50v8 · Dec 27, 2008

its expensive but bag it.

no not the slam-it so the subframe sits on the ground bag, but an air ride system is pretty cool, you can get a soft ride or a firm one at the touch of a button and you can lower it and raise for normal cruising or making it over speed bumps.

MM & FF did an article on it a while ago.

Air Ride Technologies Air Suspension System - Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords Magazine

its probably expensive, but i cant think of any other spring/shock combo that would give a better ride

Seraphitia102 · Dec 27, 2008

bdcardinal said:
which bilsteins do you have?

I have the Bilstein HD's (part numbers F4-V36-4138-H3 and F4-BE5-6418-H0)

007 said:
Adjustable shocks. Then you can have it a soft or firm as you like.

What do you run for tire pressure?

I run 35psi for tire pressure. I took off my Nitto 555R drag radials (Nitto says on their website that their ride quality suffers) and used to run them on 32psi. I now have regular street tires (Firestone Wide Ovals) at 35psi and the ride still sucks

mustang50v8 said:
its expensive but bag it.

no not the slam-it so the subframe sits on the ground bag, but an air ride system is pretty cool, you can get a soft ride or a firm one at the touch of a button and you can lower it and raise for normal cruising or making it over speed bumps.

MM & FF did an article on it a while ago.

Air Ride Technologies Air Suspension System - Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords Magazine

its probably expensive, but i cant think of any other spring/shock combo that would give a better ride

that's an interesting idea, never would've thought of it. my budget certainly couldn't afford that!

Mustang5L5 · Dec 27, 2008

Adjustable shocks with a softer progressive rate spring are the closest you are going to get to stock ride quality.

98E9GT · Dec 27, 2008

Lower PSI to 30? I know when i Put new tires on my car, the shop put in 40PSI all the way around, and the ride quality sucks. So i run 30PSI, but i also run stock tire size of 245/45/17s.

02nightmaregt · Dec 27, 2008

Its a straight axle car, it's not gonna ride like a BMW. I'm sure you already knew that though. But +1 on the adj. dampers

bullitt_2620 · Dec 27, 2008

IRS swap

Seraphitia102 · Dec 28, 2008

You can't just "purchase" IRS parts could you? (i.e. you'd have to get them off a Cobra?)

bdcardinal · Dec 28, 2008

Seraphitia102 said:
You can't just "purchase" IRS parts could you? (i.e. you'd have to get them off a Cobra?)

you can buy everything to convert to IRS, but if you are doing it for just ride quality i would start to look elsewhere.

bullitt_2620 · Dec 29, 2008

Find someone with a cobra that wants a solid axle, they are out there, and usually they will do either a straight trade or a trade with a little cash.

GDawg · Dec 29, 2008

Seraphitia102 said:
I first had the H&R Super Sport springs. I loved the aggressive and low stance but the ride quality sucked like crap. I then changed to the Eibach Pro Kit and the ride quality is still craptacular.

I have Bilsteins for my dampers.

Do any of you know any mods that will improve ride quality? Will changing my shocks/struts to a different brand improve it? I thought Bilsteins would provide the best ride quality...

Seraphitia.... haven't seen you for awhile...

The drop will never make a Mustang into a BMW. I like my drop but think the Sports may be better then Super Sports... but what is the trade off? Not as low. Our cars are not built that way.

Maybe the fix is to buy a super expensive new GT for $35K +

I still have my SuperSports and I'll still run them. Last time I talked to you I didn't have a Kenne Bell Supercharger. But now I do. I live with the car I have and I'll make it work, eventhough it's not as smooth as a car three times the cost of mine.

A mustang is a cheap sporty car. It's for us to make better but it will never be a luxury car.

LaserSVT · Dec 29, 2008

Seraphitia102 said:
You can't just "purchase" IRS parts could you? (i.e. you'd have to get them off a Cobra?)

Go to SVT performance and look in "The Market" under Terminator parts and Cobra parts. There is always somebody there willing to do a straight up trade

jprovence · Dec 29, 2008

Too all the nay sayers, these cars can be whatever you want them to be. Luxury or otherwise. Image what the car becomes with lots of chassis stiffing and loads a dynamat and some quite mufflers. Throw a nice suspension underneath and you have a very good handling car. The Cobra R suspension would pull almost 1g on the skid pad and its nothing fancy. Thats par and better then most any euro. Going to a softer spring, you will loose some maxiumn grip, but for the street, much better to live with. The IRS is the best riding suspension that you can get for these cars and still be some what affordable. An IRS with soft coil overs all around could give you the ride you desire. You can drop it a bit in the process. Enough to take the edge off the stance. I have adjustable shocks and struts, I can get the front to ride well, but no good for the rear, always hurts to hit bumps.

I have looked in the air suspension before. You would just need a small tank, 1 gallon or so, and a small compressor like most any factory car with air has. And its about a grand for everything else. A

For the last few years, pro touring cars have been all the rage. Taking old american iron and refining it to fight cars all over the world in luxury and handling and all out performace. You can have you cake and eat it too. Nobody said you can't have a fast car that is easy to live with everyday. I love the power my car makes. But I drive my in-laws 750Li, and the linear power that 4.8 puts out, 360hp/360tq, its pretty amazing car to drive.

I have some plans for my that are going to blow any of those cars away. Weld every single body seam, sub frame connectors, torque box stiffing, 4 point roll bar, everything I can to stiffen up the chassis. Then dynamat the entire interior. Roof the floor pan, cover all interior plastic with suede or like fabric, nice comfortable seats, big brakes, lots of power, and tone down exhaust.

EPIK · Dec 29, 2008

IRS is gonna be the only suspension mod that will make your ride quality nice on the street. Even from the factory, the solid axle stangs dont ride well over bumps, but the 6" of wheel gap, & soft dampers make the ride more comfy. IRS rides like a dream, even when lowered. My buddies 03 Cobra lowered on sportlines rides so smooth, its hard to tell your riding in a mustang....

I have the full MM front suspension & most of the rear suspension on my Mach, & although the car handles great, it rides like complete crap on the street. Its so uncomfortable, I cant take it on long trips. Some of that has to do with the fact that my car is dumped, but the solid axle is the main reason combined with the super low stance & lack of suspension travel.

I have considered doing the IRS swap because I love the ride quality & handling benefits, but IMO the downside is the amount of weight it adds & the severe wheel hop with the stock IRS parts (IE: bushings etc).. The weight gain isnt much of a burden on a blown car with 400+ rwhp, but on a N/A car with only 230-330rwhp, it makes a huge difference IMO. BTW, the IRS weighs 75-100 lbs more than a solid axle. Launching an IRS car at the strip isnt that great either & the wheel hop gets pretty bad unless u do the complete bushing kit, & the braces ETC so that is something to consider also if you like to drag your car...

Seraphitia102 · Dec 30, 2008

GDawg said:
Seraphitia.... haven't seen you for awhile...

The drop will never make a Mustang into a BMW. I like my drop but think the Sports may be better then Super Sports... but what is the trade off? Not as low. Our cars are not built that way.

Maybe the fix is to buy a super expensive new GT for $35K +

I still have my SuperSports and I'll still run them. Last time I talked to you I didn't have a Kenne Bell Supercharger. But now I do. I live with the car I have and I'll make it work, eventhough it's not as smooth as a car three times the cost of mine.

A mustang is a cheap sporty car. It's for us to make better but it will never be a luxury car.

Yes agreed. I just wanted to improve the Mustang's ride quality as much as possible without expecting it would feel like a luxury car. After driving an Audi A4, it just leaves me wanting more bearable ride quality

Are you using the stock chip that came with your Kenne Bell supercharger? Any issues so far? Stock internals? I'm thinking of getting a Kenne Bell as well.

LaserSVT said:
Go to SVT performance and look in "The Market" under Terminator parts and Cobra parts. There is always somebody there willing to do a straight up trade

I wish there was an IRS parts store

EPIK said:
IRS is gonna be the only suspension mod that will make your ride quality nice on the street. Even from the factory, the solid axle stangs dont ride well over bumps, but the 6" of wheel gap, & soft dampers make the ride more comfy. IRS rides like a dream, even when lowered. My buddies 03 Cobra lowered on sportlines rides so smooth, its hard to tell your riding in a mustang....

I have the full MM front suspension & most of the rear suspension on my Mach, & although the car handles great, it rides like complete crap on the street. Its so uncomfortable, I cant take it on long trips. Some of that has to do with the fact that my car is dumped, but the solid axle is the main reason combined with the super low stance & lack of suspension travel.

I have considered doing the IRS swap because I love the ride quality & handling benefits, but IMO the downside is the amount of weight it adds & the severe wheel hop with the stock IRS parts (IE: bushings etc).. The weight gain isnt much of a burden on a blown car with 400+ rwhp, but on a N/A car with only 230-330rwhp, it makes a huge difference IMO. BTW, the IRS weighs 75-100 lbs more than a solid axle. Launching an IRS car at the strip isnt that great either & the wheel hop gets pretty bad unless u do the complete bushing kit, & the braces ETC so that is something to consider also if you like to drag your car...

How many pounds does an IRS add to the curb weight?

LaserSVT · Dec 30, 2008

The total weight difference is like 40 lbs.
The problem I have seen when people compare the two is by just weighing the solid axle and the IRS they weigh the whole thing.
Thae the SRA and attatch the lower and upper control arms and all and you will see a very small difference, not the 100+lbs people claim.

And I was serious about going to SVTP. Their is prolly 3 or 4 threads right now with people asking to trade their 03/04 IRS for a good SRA

joshheat25 · Dec 30, 2008

First off lower your tire pressure down to 30-32 especially in the fronts. I just recently tested this, unintentionally. It got cold out and I decided to check tire pressure. so I had 31 lbs in the front, pumped it up to 35 and my car rode like a brick Wagon!!! back down to 31 and it was great.. Same thing in the rear find the pressure that works best and doesn't effect tire wear.

Also having Smaller profile tires doesn't help. I have the Eibach pro kit with Tociko blues, and my car rides nice.

Seraphitia102 · Dec 30, 2008

I'll give that a shot

Any mods that improve ride quality?

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