Need 4 link pics/opinions

1969mach1351 said:

I've been thinking about a 4 link for a while but still haven't made up my mind. What do you all think about them? If I did it I would do bags instead of coilovers. The car is driven on the weekends and raced in 1/4. Right now I run a low 13 with stock tranny, rear end, street tires and a 5 leaf setup. I have a locker and converter going in as soon as I find time to install them. How much will a 4 link help in the 1/4? Mostly I'm looking for pics and/or mustang instructions or a good brand that makes suspension setups like this. Is a generic setup ok or do I need Mustang specific stuff?

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Is the car backhalved or stock subframe? If you're planning to go 4-link, i would say backhalve the car and get a good frame under it because the 4-link brackets need good/strong places to be welded in and most stock subframes won't work for that. I'm not sure what kind of bags you're talking about, but i'd go with coilovers, well worth the expense. The 4-link can be a rear bear to setup properly. You can get lost and in trouble very quick with it. For it to work properly it needs to be plotted out, weights (front/rear), center of gravity, ride height etc. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, but these are some of the things to consider. The 4-link really won't help your performance that much. A ladder bar setup can be added much easier. I've seen some very fast cars that use nothing but slapper bars. I've got pictures on my web page when i was building my car.

Go with the four link but be sure you buy a good kit. For the most part they take care all the chassie dynamics for you and you just have to spend some time dialing it for your needs and likes. Comp. Engineering makes a great kit for about 900 bucks. As far as aitbags go I would stay away from them if you plan on using the car for any racing, They do yield a nice smooth ride for street cars and nice stance.

1969mach1351 said:

I'm looking at a kit that has a front crossmember that welds between the stock frame rails. The upper-front links mount almost inside the car which means a rear seat delete, I'm not sure if I'm ready for that. Maybe I'll just go with ladder bars for now

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I think a set of Caltracs or slapper bars would be more than sufficient. If you're not going to modify the rear subframes for larger tires, why go to the expense of a ladder bar setup. If you do go ladder bar, be careful when welding the brackets on the rearend. The added heat can pull the axle tubes forward and your rearend would not be square then. You will also have to add a crossbar above the rearend to mount the coil overs. Just some things to ponder. I've tried them all, slapper bars, ladder bars, 4-link, backhalve, fronthalve and complete chassis and i learned from each one (sometimes the hard way, do it over).

4 link on a 13 second car is a waste of time and money. It would be kinda neat to look at, and would be fun to do(if you like that kinda stuff), but it wouldn't help your performance much, if any.

depending on the 4 link set up, you can improve the cornering or straight line performance, but to try to do both compromises the system. i would keep the leaf springs and use a good traction device, like underride bars or caltracs, instead. remember if you decide on a 4 link you will need a locating device like a panhard bar or watts link, and that adds compexity and takes up space.