Design my suspension...

[1991notchbackLX]

Okay, for any of you following along... my car is pretty much done mechanically (for now ) I installed a room full of parts and had it dyno tuned and made the power I was looking for. Now my problem is that the car is still running on 100% factory stock suspension. I have full length MM subframes welded in and they made a world of difference. I would like you guys to give your honest opinions on a solid street suspension setup. I'll need the following:

• lowering springs
• shocks
• struts
• caster/camber plates
• rear lower control arms
• bushings(????)

i have my heart set on megabite jr. lower control arms and an eibach pro kit for lowering springs... but i'm open to any suggestions... post up, please!!!

here's how she sits now

 

[1991notchbackLX]

**crickets chirping**

anyone?

:SNSign:

 

[RycheGT]

Drag or street? If street add MM anything and be done. Avoid Granatelli at all cost. H&R springs or an Eibach pro kit at the least for springs.

 

[1991notchbackLX]

Drag or street? If street add MM anything and be done. Avoid Granatelli at all cost. H&R springs or an Eibach pro kit at the least for springs.

the car will be completely street driven, seeing as New York state decided no one here would like a drag strip to go to, hence all of the street racing

i just ordered an Eibach pro kit, MM strut tower brace, and Steeda rear shock tower brace for more chassis stiffening for now

i guess what i was looking for most was advice on a spring/strut combo that's good for the street, i'm not too concerned about weight transfer, but a little would be nice... i did a search and saw that most guys prefer the strange 10-way adjustables or tokico blues... anyone else care to offer an opinion or experience?? thanks in advance

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

Strange 10way struts or Tokicko 5 ways. Both are good choices.

Same for the rear shocks.

Mega-Bite Jr's for the LCA's.

Adj. UCA's if you want to get really technical with pinion angle.

Springs...that's your choice. I don't have any experience with them besides stock and Steeda Sport Springs, which were low, but made the car ROUGH over bumps and RXR crossings.

I highly recommend new ball joints as well. Hack Job rode so nice with new ball joints, bushings, and tie rods up front.

A new steering shaft will help out too. Fox steering shafts rubber gets weak, because the cars are older. A double U-joint style shaft will do you well. Don't forget rack bushings.

 

[LaserSVT]

*only reads thread title*

Do thid in the front :

And do this for the rear:

 

[1991notchbackLX]

thanks Matt, a little advice from someone who knows what they're talking about is a big help, i think i'll be ordering the strange 10 ways... i actually already have a MM steering shaft sitting in the box as well but forgot to mention it, and lower control arms should be ordered next pay period thanks for the advice!!

and thanks for nothin laser!

 

[LaserSVT]

 

[RycheGT]

the car will be completely street driven, seeing as New York state decided no one here would like a drag strip to go to, hence all of the street racing

i just ordered an Eibach pro kit, MM strut tower brace, and Steeda rear shock tower brace for more chassis stiffening for now

i guess what i was looking for most was advice on a spring/strut combo that's good for the street, i'm not too concerned about weight transfer, but a little would be nice... i did a search and saw that most guys prefer the strange 10-way adjustables or tokico blues... anyone else care to offer an opinion or experience?? thanks in advance

Ok spring strut.... easy. The Pro kit is nice, but I prefer H&R over them. Struts seem to be covered. Ive never used Strange struts, but you cant go wrong with the Tokico's. Replacing all the rubber with urethane would be a good move too. It will help bring the crispness back. You seem to have the shaft you need already. Good piece. Its really simple though. Buy MM in whatever you want, and you get quality. I wouldnt bother with the rear shock tower brace its still extremely debatable if it does anything or not. Looks cool tough. So that has to count for something right? There are good components out there made by ppl other than MM, but I dont like to mix and match much for obvious reasons.

 

[1991notchbackLX]

Ok spring strut.... easy. The Pro kit is nice, but I prefer H&R over them. Struts seem to be covered. Ive never used Strange struts, but you cant go wrong with the Tokico's. Replacing all the rubber with urethane would be a good move too. It will help bring the crispness back. You seem to have the shaft you need already. Good piece. Its really simple though. Buy MM in whatever you want, and you get quality. I wouldnt bother with the rear shock tower brace its still extremely debatable if it does anything or not. Looks cool tough. So that has to count for something right? There are good components out there made by ppl other than MM, but I dont like to mix and match much for obvious reasons.

good advice, thanks man

 

[EPIK]

This is what I would get...

=Maximum Motorsports XD adjustable lower control arms
=Maximum Motorsports Caster/Camber plates
=Bilstein HD struts/shocks
=Steeda heavy duty upper control arms (boxed stock style) or FRPP replacements from Maximum Motorsports.
=Stock replacement diff bushings because poly bushings bind on the street. Or spherical diff bushings from UPR, but they will be a tad harsh on the street


IMO, this is the ideal setup for the street that will have a nice ride quality, will hook well, will handle well, but wont cause bind like most stiff adjustable aftermarket upper control arms & all poly bushings in the rear...


Check out this quote from MM regarding the FRPP replacements they sell & about aftermarket upper control arms....

These Ford rear upper control arms are direct replacements for the 1979-2004 Mustang (non-IRS) control arms. They will restore performance lost to old and deteriorating rubber bushings. These control arms have the stiffest rubber bushings available, and are much stiffer than what came originally on the Fox chassis Mustangs. Although Ford Racing Performance Parts claims their bushings to be "twice as stiff" as stock, our testing has shown that while they are much stiffer than Fox chassis bushings, they are identical to the 1994-04 bushings.

We performed extensive testing of rear upper control arm bushing materials during the development of our Panhard Bar. When retaining the original four-link suspension, the best compromise between resistance to suspension bind, best control of axle position, best ride quality, and least potential damage to the chassis, is to retain rubber bushings in the rear upper control arms. This is especially important when adding a Panhard Bar. The compliance of a rubber-bushed upper control arm is required when a Panhard bar is added to the Mustang four-link suspension.

When installed on a 1979-93 Mustang, these control arms, with their stiffer rubber bushings, help limit axle wind-up and side-to-side motion, but will not damage your Mustang's upper torque boxes as a standard urethane-bushed upper control arm would. See our extended technical information about bushing material choices in our Rear Lower Control Arm section here.

While for 1994-04 cars these control arms offer no improvement in performance, as they do on Fox chassis cars, they are a great value when replacing arms with damaged or aged bushings. Because rubber deteriorates simply from age, after several years the control arms are ready for replacement. High horsepower cars and those used for track events tend to damage bushings before they can degrade from age. These replacement control arms, along with the axle end bushings, are a great way to bring back or upgrade the performance of your Mustang.

 

[LiquidGT]

Well FWIW I'm peicing together...

-Bullitt springs
-Tokico blues
-MM caster camber
-MM bumpsteer
-MM HD LCA
-FRPP UCA replacements (rubber bushings)
-Axle housing bushings (rubber)


I agree with EPIK about the upper control arms; MM and all of the hardcore suspension guys say use rubber bushings in the UCA and axle housing. MM doesnt even make their own UCAs.

Spherical diff bushings would wear out quickly on a street driven car.


You'll be happy with the MM strut tower brace, I have that and a 4-pt K-member brace. I'm waiting to have my subframes welded in.

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

BTW...the Mega Bite Jr's come with two spring spacers on each side to raise the car up.

No spacers= lowest

One on each side= 1/4" higher

Two on each side=1/2" higher

The also come with two mounting holes at the axle. The bottom hole lowers the car about 3/4" and offers 135% more traction over stock. The top hole (recommended) raises the car 3/4" and offers 85% more traction over stock. All in all...I love these arms. They don't have grease fittings though. I've had them in for 7 years and they don't squeak in warm weather, but when I brought it out a few weeks ago it was around 35* ish, and they squeaked. But I never take it out in cold weather, that was a one time thing.

MM LCA's have been on here and other sites where people have blown the bushings out of them, so I'd watch out for those.

 

[EPIK]

MM LCA's have been on here and other sites where people have blown the bushings out of them, so I'd watch out for those.

The MM LCA's that blow out are the HD (heavy duty) version which have the poly bushings on the chassis end. I have them & have blown them out a few times. Its an easy fix though because the bushing just slides in & out without a press.

Thats why the MM LCA's to buy if you are doing any type of hard launching are the XD (extreme duty) versions. They have spherical bushings at both the chassis & the axle ends....

Extreme Duty LCA's=

Heavy duty LCA's=

 

[leroy93lx]

View attachment 281446

Fully adustable performance valveing at all four corners. Great ride quality and you can lower it up to 5 inches!

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

The MM LCA's that blow out are the HD (heavy duty) version which have the poly bushings on the chassis end. I have them & have blown them out a few times. Its an easy fix though because the bushing just slides in & out without a press.

Thats why the MM LCA's to buy if you are doing any type of hard launching are the XD (extreme duty) versions. They have spherical bushings at both the chassis & the axle ends....

Extreme Duty LCA's=

Heavy duty LCA's=

Oh yeah, that's right. It is the HD ones. The XD's are better. Those are nice arms. Nascars have those same type of spring perch to lower and raise the car quickly. I wish those things weren't so expensive.

Fully adustable performance valveing at all four corners. Great ride quality and you can lower it up to 5 inches!

Damn, that's nice, just looks expensive...haha

 

[leroy93lx]

The AirRide set up is right at $4000. Its pretty badass though.

 

[1991notchbackLX]

yeah leroy93lx... $4,000 is a liiiiiiitle out of my price range for my suspension mods hahah, but your car/house look beautiful

too bad archaeologists like myself don't get paid that well , otherwise i'd be all over that air-ride system, or a full coilover setup

in any case thanks for the ideas guys... it's down to the mega bite jrs and the MM extreme duty, and i have a few days left to decide which route i want to take since my other parts haven't even come in the mail yet

Chris

 

[92GreenGT]

Has anyone ever talked to MM about the XD lower "weight jackers" like in the pic to know if there is any known failures with them? I want them but the idea of a weight jacker lower control arm makes me wonder how they even last(but then again I've been known to worry over nothing, haha)

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

Go with the Mega Bite Jr's. The Mega-Bite's don't adjust as much, but they are cheaper. MM stuff is expensive, I'd put the money you save toward something else. That's just me.

Hack Job had Mega-Bite Jr's on the top bolt positions, with both springs spacers in place on both sides with Steeda Sport Springs. Model#8200.