Best ways of getting power to the ground

[fox1x]

All right, I'm already on my way to making the car a wee bit faster. I've added x-pipes, cat-backs, hi-flow cats. I'm staying away from cold air or any other type of intake enhancement because I plan on going forced induction, and I think that would be a waste of money.

Now, for the meantime, I want to focus on getting every possible pony to the ground as EFFIENCTLY as possible. Teach me in the suspension ways, I came from FWD platforms and need to know what RWD loves in order to make my car utilize every ounce of power. I firmly believe that having tons of power means nothing if you can't get traction to use it.

Should I be looking as lowering kits, springs, new shocks/struts? Help me out as much as possible because I am a newbie with this platform. And if you can, please reccommend certain brands over others. I can't help but notice that in some peoples signatures they complain about certain parts. (ex. sagging Eibach springs)

Thanks in advance,
Kris

 

[KronicRacer]

getting power to the ground..... stiffen the chassis: full length subframe connectors(mm/or steeda) are a must, rollcage, to some over kill but in the long run very very vital especially in high horsepower applications
front and rear strut tower braces,
upgrade the rear upper and lower control arms again mm/orsteeda.
then shocks/struts (quads are optional)(tokico dspecs/or bilstien and for the quadstoo)
springs steeda ultra lights 1 1/2-1/1/4 inch drop no sag near factory ride quality.
also one more thing since you have a high flow exhaust system i would also recommend getting gears. the 3.73 would be great gear to look at since you will be getting supercharged later on. dont rule out 4.10's though many people will not recommed this with super chargers

 

[fox1x]

Im' leaving gears as my last option. The stockers are on right now, and my hope is that I'll get to drive or at least ride in a Mustang that has 3.55's, 3.73's, or 4.10's so I can make up my own mind about which ones work best with what applications I'll choose. That desecion will come after the supercharger however. My main focus is the best way of getting the power effiecntly to the ground. I appreciate your reply, tons of stuff for me to start researching!!

 

[KronicRacer]

very true on the gears. leave that for last. you might even want to consider the 4.30 gears when you get to that cross roads.

 

[04YELLOWGT]

Im blowin and for the Centris 4.10s are a must. It gets you into the boost quicker although if Im not careful I can melt the tires off 1 and 2 gear in my auto. Might be gettin some MT ET Streets soon!!

As far as suspension Im as lost as you are so Ill be learning from this as well.

 

[squares98]

Go to Maximum Motorsports, your best Street/Strip/Track one stop suspension shop. Give them a call they will set you up correctly www.maximummotorsports.com

 

[Dragstr05]

Another vote for maximum motorsports. Steeda is good too, but I have never heard a single complaint about maximum motorsports. Quality seems to be top notch and their stuff must work wonders cause (most) everyone recommends them.

 

[Duke309]

dont forget to get a good set of tires, if you want to maximize traction your gonna want drag radials or even slicks.

 

[Will Smith]

AS far as traction which most ppl haven't covered here it all depends on what u want out of ur stang. I recommend Maximum motorsports as well. Steeda is alittle pricy and there products don't seem to be as nice to me.

Drag Car

Full Length Tube Sub Frames
Springs
Shocks (QA1 or Adjustables)
Lower Control Arms
Remove your Upper Control arms and Quad Shocks and Replace with Panhard Bar (stock 4 link desing binds quite a bit)
Torque Arm
Tires/Rims
Thats mainly things for the rear. Maximum Motorsports has a packages so u can get alittle break there.
Caster/Camber Plates

Road Course/Auto-X

Front K-Member with A-arm's
Full 4 corner coil overs
Springs/Struts/Shocks
Lower Control Arms
Sway bar's
Caster/Camber Plates
Torque Arm
Panhard Bar
Tire/rims

Thats a basic Guide for ya. All those parts should be available from MM cept for tires and rims i think so good luck to u.

 

[nwapache]

Good points above! Its a little different in deciding if you are going to build a car for the 1/4 mile, or autocross. Your suspension needs aren't the same.
Maximum Motorsports truly kicks ass! And I don't think i'd wait on the gears. If you want to feel a nice difference, you'd be amazed at what they will do for you. Most people i've talked to recommend 3.73 for SC cars, i've got em in mine and they rock!
Good luck

 

[Pennywise2]

Suspension mods are fine and dandy.
First get some stickier tires and learn how to launch the darn car without spinning.

 

[san~man]

You need to decide whether you want straight line grip, or grip in the twisties. There is a difference in design and setup depending on your goal.

Some of the above is correct, and some isn't. Beware.

 

[2001sleeper]

be more specific as to what you are looking for, but just don't start throwing money at the gobs of suspension products everyone listed.
Are you haveing trouble getting traction right now with a stock car on stock gear?

 

[KronicRacer]

i gave a generic list keeping in mind that the car might be a daily driver, all purpose general dooty. whats been mentioned is important: what do you want to do with the car. straight line beast? corner carver? something in the middle? daily driver? trailer queen?

lets not forget with sticky tires(are more for a drag setup) the diff/splines will (in most cases) be on borrowed time. so going that route you will need to be prepared to upgrade the rear internals at some point.

 

[fox1x]

I've got decent meats on the car now and can launch quite well. Not perfect, but well enough. I'd like to be abale to smash the pedal down in first gear a little better.

As far as specifics in the suspension, I want straight line performance, twisties are of no interest to be, I have a Probe that will do 60 on most exit ramps quite well... but that isn't my thing anymore. I want straight line performance.

Kris

 

[Mike97gt]

if you want a car to hook and don't care about corner carving I would get in no particular order

1. Fox body 4 banger springs in the frt and fox body v8 springs in the back, with air bag in right rear spring, or you can do a set of drag springs.. a few differnt companies offer them.

2. remove the frt sway bar ( much better weight transfer without it)

3. adjustable drag struts and shocks

4. lower control arms ( UPR's is fine for a drag car)

5. subframe connectors

6. 15 inch wheels, skinnies for the front 7/16 spacer needed for a 15x3.5 for the fronts and the rears is 5.5 backspacing for 15x8 or 6.5 for the 15x10's

The reason I suggest 15's is because you can run a taller sidewall, a taller sidewall drag radial or slick will hook better and have less rolling resistance than a 17 inch wheel/tire

7. 31 spline carrier and axles.. with this setup you will break the 28 spline crap on slicks and maybe on DR's if you get the right transfer.

And no I do not have any of this stuff in my current car because I have no money.. if I had this setup my times would be a lot better. I have the control arms and a 31 spine carrier so far.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

dont forget to get a good set of tires, if you want to maximize traction your gonna want drag radials or even slicks.

Suspension mods are fine and dandy.
First get some stickier tires and learn how to launch the darn car without spinning.

Glad to see a couple of others posted this. Upper and Lower control arms are great for getting the power to the ground. They do it a little too well, IMO. You need a more performance oriented tire and/or suspension set up to take advantage of them, otherwise all that newly transferred power goes up in smoke. I'm speaking from a drag-race standpoint of course.

But even if the twisties are your primary concern, a set of good quality tires will show more improvement than any chassis mod.