First mod for Street/Strip Suspension Advice

90mustangGT

I felt sorry for girls because

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Jan 15, 2002

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Dallas, GA

May 6, 2004

#1

• May 6, 2004

• #1

I want to start build my suspension for street and strip. My suspension is stock with KYB struts/shocks, swaybar deleted, and I have MM full length subframes. What suspension mod should I do to better the launch. I have a $600 to spend right now.

 

90mustangGT

I felt sorry for girls because

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Jan 15, 2002

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Dallas, GA

May 6, 2004

#2

• May 6, 2004

• #2

I am thinking of:

Front coil over conversion with 150# springs, MM Camber/Caster Plates, and Lakewood 90/10's. About $600 total.

or

Rear HPM Megabite uppers and lowers with tq box reinforcments and Lakewood 50/50's. Almost $700 total if I get adjustable, closer to $500 non-adjustable. I would get rear coil over's and anti-roll bar eventually.

or

maby a mixture of the two.

 

8

85GTlover

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Mar 20, 2004

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#3

• May 6, 2004

• #3

I vote choice 2 from above the caster/camber is most best
when your car is lowered.

 

BlueDevil95

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Apr 20, 2004

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Elkton, MD.

May 6, 2004

#4

• May 6, 2004

• #4

c/c plates won't do a thing for hooking up on the street or strip. do a good set of upper and lower control arms HANDS DOWN. if you have enough money left over, get some drag radials. the torque box reinforcements are a waste of money unless you're making big power and the lakewoods are the same way, unnecessary until you're putting bigger numbers down.

 

25thmustang

Mustang Master

Sep 5, 2003

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Montgomery, NY

May 6, 2004

#5

• May 6, 2004

• #5

Caster/Camber plates can help top end mph, setting up the front end geometry can help with top end but I agree, go for number 2 and adjutsable!

 

90mustangGT

I felt sorry for girls because

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May 6, 2004

#6

• May 6, 2004

• #6

I guess I am leaning towards the upper and lower controll arms. The reason I was asking about the front suspension is because due the the weight reduction and relocation the front end sits way too high. If I go, I am going coil overs for sure, and of course lowering you need C/C plates for proper alignment, along with the extra strenght due to more wieght up there. Might as well do struts while I am at it.

 

stangbear427

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Nov 11, 2002

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New England

May 6, 2004

#7

• May 6, 2004

• #7

90mustangGT said:

What suspension mod should I do to better the launch. I have a $600 to spend right now.

Click to expand...

Upper and lower control arms. From your Cardomain page, you already have everything else I'd suggest in that budget. Maybe a linkage kit to speed up your shifts.
If you take it to the track and all your worried about improving is the timeslip, there are lots of things you can do for free to speed it up there:
Bump the timing
run a short belt
Ice the intake
pull the pass. headlight
pull the pass. seat
put spares on the front for skinnies
drop your rear tire press. to about 15psi

 

powershift351

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Apr 2, 2004

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May 6, 2004

#8

• May 6, 2004

• #8

definitely control arms

 

90mustangGT

I felt sorry for girls because

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May 6, 2004

#9

• May 6, 2004

• #9

Thanks for all the info everyone, keep it comming.

Ok, BlueDevil95 says reinforcments would be a waste, but I have heard of people ripping them with stock engines, so maby I should go ahead. I cut a 1.8 60ft last time at the track, if felt like someone hit me in the rear, I ended up missing a shift thinking about it, so my time was worse, but anyways that has to be hard on the chassis, I couldn't imagine 1.6 - 1.7 60's so maby I should go ahead with the deletes.

My car isn't lowered, it sits higher than stock, in fact a lot higher in the front. I have Nitto's in back.

Stangbear: I haven't tried any of the tricks yet, at least this year. What do you mean by a linkage kit?

I know I need a new clutch cable, I have a MM quadrant and firewall adjuster, lakewood driveshaft loop, and a bunch of parts I haven't installed yet gaining dust in a box.

 

stangbear427

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Nov 11, 2002

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May 7, 2004

#10

• May 7, 2004

• #10

Linkage kit is the cable and quadrant, in the last several years it's come to mean firewall adjuster too- most of which you have. Wasn't in your parts list anywhere so I mentioned it. I hate upgrading things I've already upgraded, but since you came right out and said you missed a shift- I'd also suggest sticking that MAC Racers Choice on Ebay and put a PowerTower in there. Just my $.02...

As for the torque box reinforcements, I meant to comment earlier but forgot. They are on the list of parts that Ford forgot. I know of several stock Mustangs that have ripped torque boxes, and if yours aren't yet then now is the best time to do it- before they start. A stock GT may only put about 200HP to the wheels, but what most people fail to remember is they have more like 300lb of torque. More than enough power to break stuff, and your car can hardly be considered stock. This is all irrelevent, because it isn't the power you have that breaks them, it's how you drive. A 400HP stroker that gets bogged around town by grandma will never crack the torque boxes, and a bone stocker with sticky tires who leaves every stop sign at 4000rpm will crack them in no time. Do them now as a preventative measure, or you'll be doing them later as a bandaid.

 

shawn13

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Feb 28, 2004

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Dwight IL

May 7, 2004

#11

• May 7, 2004

• #11

by far the best mod I did was replased every bushing in the drive line(prothane bushings) and did the torque boxs and ball joint checked all the break lines replased the rubber ones if your all tore apart do it then I dont want to worry about stopping my car Im to old to die from something I over looked thats just me

 

cleanLX

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Jan 17, 2001

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May 7, 2004

#12

• May 7, 2004

• #12

Mental Addiction Motorsports tq box reinforcments.
Baseline Suspension (aka Kevin S.) uppers.
Pro3i spherical/poly lowers.

That's how I'd spend 600 bux on the suspension.

 

90mustangGT

I felt sorry for girls because

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Dallas, GA

May 8, 2004

#13

• May 8, 2004

• #13

I think my mind is made up, rear suspension is the way to go.

I've done a little research and am leaning towards the HPM MegaBite Jr's lowers, and thier Magabite double adjustable uppers, along with UPR or Wildrides tq box supports. Then I'll go from there.

Thanks for all the help!

 

Legendary

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City of Angels

May 8, 2004

#14

• May 8, 2004

• #14

torque box reinforcements a waste? That's the first I heard of that. I ripped mines in my old stang and all it had was gear!

 

stangbear427

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Nov 11, 2002

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New England

May 8, 2004

#15

• May 8, 2004

• #15

You aren't the only one! My buddies '86 was bone stock right down to the filter, with less than 100K on it; his boxes clunked so hard everytime he took off we thought the rear was going to fall out- just from launching hard a few times a week.
Not sure how anybody could make a statement like that, but they may be surprised what they see starting next time they're under there...