Best bang for the buck for handling on a hatchback?

You shouldn't need any help...it's only a few bolts. Make sure you have both the front and rear bars.

The next step is some performance wheels/tires (17" if possible) and then some lowering springs, then caster/camber plates.

A strut tower brace really helped tighten up the front on my Mustang, also.

search for the thread but I belive you can put sway bars all the way to a 98 model on your hatch. If I was going to do what you want, I would buy the biggest sway bars I could find, or an panhard (sp?) bar for the back, boxed rear control arms with urathane bushings, subframe conectors, have the Tq boxs completly welded to the car, all urathane bushings up front with offset rack bushings, prokit lowering springs (because they are progressive rated so it wont kill u on the street, and im not a big fan of cutting springs) urathane spring issolaters, adjustable struts and shocks, C&C plates and a strut tower brace.

If you are on a limited budget, do some research and find what year sway bars are the biggest that will fit on your car, buy a used set off ebay. Then get some subframe conectors welded in. After that, buy some new shocks and struts, Rear control arms, lowering springs and c&c plates, and all the urathane bushings for the front, and change all that out at once. The front end sounds like a big project but it could easily be done in a day. The rear is pretty straight forward too.

Definatly look on ebay for parts, you can get them alot cheaper for the most part.

Actually rear swaybars clear up to 2004 will fit your car...fronts aren't quite as universal.

I have done a bit with the suspension on my stang. I think that the mods I did have changed the handling and the fun factor in driving a lot. Here is a list of what I have done maybe you can get an idea on what ya could do. I spent more on some of the parts than I had to. You can find a rear swaybar for much cheaper than what I did.

1. Front swaybar from a 5.0 ~ $9.00
2. Rear Steeda Cobra swaybar ~ $113.00
3. Custom full length subframe connectors ~ $380.00
4. Ploy bushing for front swaybar and end links ~ $30.00
5. 3 point strut tower brace ~ $120.00


Hope this helps,

Dan

Custom full length subframe connectors have made a big differene on many of my friends mustangs. I had a 2,3 and never had them installed, but I hear they are good

What about springs. Can we use the GT/V8 springs to stiffen things up along with matching shocks?? I am just wondering about having them so stiff that the nose sits higher than it should.. plus I really want to drop the car a good inch to lower CG and get better handling... I would think the V8 sway bars would be a good choice though.. prety much any v8 fox sway bar should work?? and rears up to around 2004?? Sway bars it would be a good idea to get a "matched" set from the same vehicle (body type, not literally) so that they are at least designed to work together..

No...actually it's better to look at the newer models for rear swaybars because they had bigger ones (7/8" vs the older ones with 3/4" or so). The rear swaybar design on Fox mustangs doesn't allow it to work very well as it is, so the bigger the better.

v8 springs will cause the front end to stick way up in the air because they are stiffer and longer. The prokit springs for the 4cyl are what you want.

Go eibach

FRPP "B" spring kit ~$135 (basically '86 5.0 springs) lowers a 4cyl ~1/2"F&R, front does not sit higher than rear. install is a PITA.

5.0 or Eibach anti-sway bars (Eibach are huge, about 1 7/16" front & 15/16" rear ~$275) easy install

CC plates & good alignment (~$250)

Poly bushings everywhere except axle end of UCA's (~$250)(PITA)

ditch the stock 14" rims/tires. Minimum 16x8 w/225-50's

GOOD shocks/struts, I love my Koni's ($500+) but, on a budget Monroe sens-a-trac(??? search for monroe) are a good choice.

Also upgrade the brakes, the 4cyl stuff SUCKS. You can upgrade to 5.0 rotors - Lincoln/SVO 73mm calipers for a little more $$ than replacing the stock stuff and the difference is amazing.

1. do the sway bars
2. rims/tires
3. Brakes (You'll be going fast enough to need them)
4. shocks/struts
5. CC plates/alignment
6. springs/bushings (do these at the same time, no need to tear it apart twice).

flyin 5.8 said:

ditch the stock 14" rims/tires. Minimum 16x8 w/225-50's

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Ehh, I kinda disagree with that. If you're only gonna run 225/50's, why get 16x8's? You can fit that size on a stock 15x7 or 16x7. If I had 16x8's I would run at least 245's all around.

Also, you can't run 73mm front calipers with the factory 2.3L master cylinder.

Red_LX said:

Ehh, I kinda disagree with that. If you're only gonna run 225/50's, why get 16x8's? You can fit that size on a stock 15x7 or 16x7. If I had 16x8's I would run at least 245's all around.

Also, you can't run 73mm front calipers with the factory 2.3L master cylinder.

Click to expand...

Rim/tire size are just a suggested minimum. 16's will get you a little better handling, more tire is also good.

So I can't run the calipers & MC that have been on my '90LX for 2 years...amnit: wish someone woulda told me that sooner

Actually a lot of people say you can't run 73mm & a 4cyl MC because of excessive pedal travel. I noticed a small increase but its still nowhere near excessive IMHO. In reality the laws of hydraulics say it will give you more control over the pressure at the caliper which makes hard (threshold) braking more predictable.

When I put the TC rear disks on this winter I will be going to a different MC.

Hm, I dunno...when I tried to put 73mm calipers on my '90 LX, I bled the brakes 3 times and still could not get a firm pedal, it always just went to the floor.

My car must be a freak. I guess its possible that the MC was swaped before I got it (5.0?).

I changed to 5.0 spindles/rotors, added braided stainless hoses, stainless caliper bushings (all new parts) & all new hardware.