Best suspension upgrade

mustangau

New Member
Jan 25, 2006
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I'm helping a friend out with his 68 coupe and he asked me what suspension kit he should order. Personally i told him to go for a coilover conversion, but his budget will not allow such upgrades. So, he wants the best stock style upgrade kit that he can get. I noticed that www.mustangdepot had a complete kit for around 800.00. http://www.mustangdepot.com/OnLineCatalog/Suspension/usrk.htm

To what extent will this kit help his car handle better??
He is also going to order this
http://www.mustangdepot.com/OnLineCatalog/images/Suspension/PKG-SFC-01_AT.jpg

and this
http://www.mustangdepot.com/OnLineCatalog/images/Suspension/TWRB-01_AT.jpg


Comments, criticisms??
Thanks
 
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Poly strut rod bushings make strut rods snap in a hurry :eek: Poly busings in general doesn't appeal to me either.

I'm not crazy about the idea of a rear sway...I like the idea of just a 1" front.

The combo of stiff shocks and springs will probably beat your kidneys out. I'd either go stiff springs/soft shocks or soft springs/stiff shocks. Check out the KYB GR2s for softer shocks, and 480lb springs for softer springs.

That undercar brace system looks STIFF :D Look into a monte carlo bar for added stiffness up front

If you're interested in handeling, I don't think those shocktower braces are the ticket. An export brace would be better IMHO, or if you need to clear EFI, check out Laurel Mountain Mustang's brace like the one pictured below ~$100

largepnms2200.jpg

HTH
--Kyle
 

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I don’t know who makes mustangdepot stuff but if I were going to replace mine with stock stuff it would be with MOOG only. It is too important to trust it to the overseas reproductions. Just my .02 cents
 
I agree, best mods to improve your suspension:
Roller Spring Perches
Adjustable strut rods
Larger front sway bar
1" Shelby drop
and of course, wide sticky tires on wide rims

Of course, cheap mods like a Monte Carlo bar and export should be included as well.
 
The kits from mustang places make a great list of things that can be done and parts needed. I would take the list to an autoparts store or shop on line with a general parts store. I'll bet you can piece together a system that's better quality and more economical than the kits.

- Agree that poly bushings for the strut bars are a NO-NO. Or you can replace the bars with adjustible units ala http://home.bresnan.net/~dazed/adjustable

- Check out Tinman for the subframe connectors.

- Monte Carlo bar is high on the up grade list. I lile the combination one but not enough to change out the export brace/MC bar I currently have.

- In the research I've done recently, performance suspension builders seem to be favoring lower stiffness springs and stiff shocks. Do some reading on this, a lot of information is available on the net. The PO of my car installed Gabriel shocks and Pro Motor sport progressive rate coils. Rides good and I've pushed the car through corners pretty good and haven't found the limit. (I'm saving that experience for sometime when I'm not on a public road.) https://www.pro-motorsports.com/store/front-coil-springs.asp

- I've heard a lot of good things about the Opentracker roller spring perches, and would definitely give those a look. http://www.opentrackerracingproducts.com/

- Along those lines also consider the "improved" idler arm. http://www.stanginfo.com/Reviews/Moog/Moog.htm He says pitman arm in the article but clearly he is refering to the idler arm. The write up is for a 67, the NPD catalog shows the same stock replacement part for the 67 and 68 idler arm, so it should work.

- A larger front sway bar is generally considered a good thing. However, a rear sway bar increases traction of the rear tires, which is a good thing unless it promotes oversteer, which can bring the rear end around faster than the driver can react. Use the rear sway bar as a tuning device. Set up the rest of the components first and if you have issues with too much under steer, then consider a rear bar. Note the stiffness of sway bars increases to the 4th power of the diameter of the bar. Going from a 1" bar to a 1 1/8" bar doesn't sound like much but the latter bar is 60% stiffer! (Assuming the rest of the geometry is the same.)

- Shelby mod already mentioned - good and free. Be sure to use the right diagram for a 68, it's different than for the 65-66.

Of course not much matters unless you have good tires and a proper alignment. If you do some of the mods suggested here you may not want to use "stock" alignment specifications. Post the mods and let the experts give you alignment recommendations. Good luck on finding a shop that cares enough to do the alignment right!

PC I'm not a professional mechanic or mechanical engineer. Do your own research. All of the above are suggested items to examine - not recommendations.
 
This is some GREAT info guys! After the efi is in, I will be doing this to my 65.

John, you mention "piece togeather" a system rather then buy a complete kit. What is the "better quality" stuff? Are the kits low grade stuff? What is the best stuff to go with, moog?
 
roan65 said:
This is some GREAT info guys! After the efi is in, I will be doing this to my 65.

John, you mention "piece togeather" a system rather then buy a complete kit. What is the "better quality" stuff? Are the kits low grade stuff? What is the best stuff to go with, moog?

I didn't mean to imply that the kits have "bad stuff", but if you piece together your suspension you can do better. I have no issues with Moog parts! An example of what I meant is the poly strut rod bushings in the MP kit should not be used, as others have mentioned. Rubber bushings are better for stock strut bars. Another example is MP's automatic inclusion of the Addco style rear sway bars. As I stated in the post, rear sway bars should be used for tuning the suspension, why include a ~$110 part in the kit that may not be needed (or worse is actually detrimental to performance)? Furthermore, there are some serious Mustangers out there that believe the geometry of the Addco bar is "inadequate" for a classic Mustang.

What I'm saying is putting together a suspension is a lot like building an engine. You have to look at your objectives, then build the suspension to meet the goals. It's like slapping a 750 cfm carb onto an otherwise stock engine, then wondering why you cannot roast the tires. The carb flow needs to be matched to the rest of the components in the engine for best performance.
 
John Z said:
- Along those lines also consider the "improved" idler arm. http://www.stanginfo.com/Reviews/Moog/Moog.htm He says pitman arm in the article but clearly he is refering to the idler arm. The write up is for a 67, the NPD catalog shows the same stock replacement part for the 67 and 68 idler arm, so it should work.
That's a new one on me. Thanks for the tip. I'll be getting one of these Moogs next time I have to replace one (which seems to happen way too often with these old heaps).
 
180 Out said:
That's a new one on me. Thanks for the tip. I'll be getting one of these Moogs next time I have to replace one (which seems to happen way too often with these old heaps).
Yah there is a thread where I was showing it to opentraker it is a good design but a roller one would be better.
 
Jester67: Since yor planning/doing the GW UCA, etc., check out their 5-leaf spring/del-alum bushings and Cure-Ride shock combo for the rear. That's what have and there is no need for either a rear sway bar or traction bar. My car launches straight without wheel hop. Just match the springs with a soft-valved shock like the Cure-Ride or maybe the softer valved KYB (G2?). FYI, I also use a 1" lowering block to get the ride height just right - the GW springs are de-arched 1", but a little lower is better. Anyway, my $.02.
 
I have broken a lot of ball joints in the shop doing upper arm R&D. The Moog upper ball joint is by far the best. Moog has lower arms, tie rods and idler arms for early Mustangs too. I agree that the suspension kit should have as many Moog parts as you can get. As far as I know, no one makes a complete upper arm in the US. Either way, the rivided in cast ball joint should be replaced with a forged Moog ball joint for any kind of performance driving.

The roller parts help. I've replaced almost all of the rubber bushings in my daily driver with bearings or greaseable parts. It rides nice and handles great. Much better than before.


John
 
There is some good info here, but once again it seems folks are jumping from one thing to another. The suspension is a system, and it should be designed as a system based on the way the car is intended to be used. Figure out what you want it to do and then do the mods that make sense.

In my opinion, the best thing to start with is a good solid rebuild of the suspension. I like poly bushings, even at the strut rods. I know a lot of folks have heard the horror stories about broken strut rods, but I've had good luck. Just make sure your strut rods are not fatigued or stressed or have cracks in them to begin with. If you want to upgrade strut rods, it's an excellent thing to do, but I think it can wait until you do lots of other stuff (unless they need replacement ASAP anyway).

Anyway, for my take on stuff, check out this from my personal site: http://groups.msn.com/DBsMustang/suspensionmodificationsteps.msnw

Hope this helps... and good luck.
 
5.0ina66 said:
...If you're interested in handeling, I don't think those shocktower braces are the ticket. An export brace would be better IMHO, or if you need to clear EFI, check out Laurel Mountain Mustang's brace like the one pictured below ~$100
--Kyle

I've seen those from Laurel a couple times on ebay but nothing on their store site that I could find. Are they still selling that setup? I have to trade in my new chrome export since deciding to EFI and would prefer that solution.

-Stephen
 
DarkBuddha said:
There is some good info here, but once again it seems folks are jumping from one thing to another. The suspension is a system, and it should be designed as a system based on the way the car is intended to be used. Figure out what you want it to do and then do the mods that make sense.

In my opinion, the best thing to start with is a good solid rebuild of the suspension. I like poly bushings, even at the strut rods. I know a lot of folks have heard the horror stories about broken strut rods, but I've had good luck. Just make sure your strut rods are not fatigued or stressed or have cracks in them to begin with. If you want to upgrade strut rods, it's an excellent thing to do, but I think it can wait until you do lots of other stuff (unless they need replacement ASAP anyway).

Anyway, for my take on stuff, check out this from my personal site: http://groups.msn.com/DBsMustang/suspensionmodificationsteps.msnw

Hope this helps... and good luck.


DB, you should talk to SG69 about the poly bushings at the strut rod. he broke one on his car exiting the freeway. i would seriously re-consider the poly at that point. personally i like the new design TCP strut rods, but man are they pricey. probably won't be getting those any time soon.
 
bnickel said:
DB, you should talk to SG69 about the poly bushings at the strut rod. he broke one on his car exiting the freeway. i would seriously re-consider the poly at that point. personally i like the new design TCP strut rods, but man are they pricey. probably won't be getting those any time soon.
I have thought about it, but I've got 7 years of daily driver (and hard driving at that) history with PST polygraphite bushings on the strut rods with no problem or failure. Even when I did drive it daily, I usually put it up once a month to examine the strut rods (and the rest of the suspension), looking for stress cracks or any other issues. Never any problems...

Now, that said, replacing the strut rods is my next suspension mod. I agree the TCP stuff is pricey, but I think the Street&Track are more reasonably priced, so they'll probably get my coin.
 
Protowrxs said:
I've seen those from Laurel a couple times on ebay but nothing on their store site that I could find. Are they still selling that setup? I have to trade in my new chrome export since deciding to EFI and would prefer that solution.

-Stephen

Proto,

You ever find out whether or not these units from Laurel are still being sold. I need to get a new export to fit my EFI but don't want to get the Maier unit.
 
monk302 said:
Proto,

You ever find out whether or not these units from Laurel are still being sold. I need to get a new export to fit my EFI but don't want to get the Maier unit.

the one he got was basically crap. if i remember correctly he pretty much had to cut it apart and reweld it to make it work or would have had to and ended up returning it, not real sure which, but i do remember him saying he could have built a better one to begin with. of course he might have just gotten a bad one too, that stuff happens occasionally with new parts.
 
ok

QUOTE

That undercar brace system looks STIFF :D Look into a monte carlo bar for added stiffness up front

If you're interested in handeling, I don't think those shocktower braces are the ticket. An export brace would be better IMHO, or if you need to clear EFI, check out Laurel Mountain Mustang's brace like the one pictured below ~$100

UNQUOTE

ok why are the shocktower braces not good for handling, to me they seem the same as export braces, i am interested in all of your opinions as i just installed one on my 66 fairlane..i always wanted the other type but they only make em for stangs, now i have a welder and may fab up a one-piece...
anyone else have some input? thanks