Best suspension upgrade

Poly strut rod bushings make strut rods snap in a hurry 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 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


HTH
--Kyle

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

if he's got a little more $$ i would suggest checking in with open tracker to get some roller spring perches. I've also heard that the adjustable strut rods really help. and since it's free, make sure he does the shelby 1" drop.

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?

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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.

Click to expand...

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).

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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.