IRS= fail
In all reality tho, it depends on what you want the car for. If you are wanting to drag race the car, you are stupid for wanting an IRS. But if you are wanting a car to take corners with, then an IRS is the way to go.
Sorry but i dont 100% agree with your statement. Just take a look at all the 03 cobra guys that still run the IRS. It can be made to hook and hook well. Most termi guys ditch it because of broken half shafts or busted center sections more so then weight.
Live axle is crap. Awful awful crap. The rear of the car is so unstable on any surface that isn't totally smooth. And yes.... I've upgraded the suspension already. Its still terrible.
I won't buy another Mustang until they do away with this cheap crap rear suspension. When I drive my Benz it really rubs salt into the wounds.
L. O. L.
Let me guess, you spent a ton of money on name brand parts so your car would handle like a "race car"? Exactly what kind of roads do you think "race cars" are designed to drive on? Sounds like you got what you paid for, but I wouldn't be blaming the solid rear axle for your mistakes.
When you decide to get serious about drag racing, every single pound counts. The IRS is very much heavier than an SRA. Find me an all out race car that runs an IRS in a class that has mostly SRA, and that the IRS wins. I can tell you now, you wont. 75lbs is a very big difference when it comes to race weight. That can mean the difference between 1st place or 9th place. So yes, weight does have a lot to do why they swap them out, not to mention the fact that it cost 10x as much to beef one up as it does a SRA.
and before it get's brought up, yes in NMRA classes, you have to weigh a certain amount. BUT, if your car has to weigh 3000lbs, and yours weighs 2,900lbs, that means you get to strategiclly place 100lbs of weigh exactly where you want it.
I have both and one issue with the IRS is that parts are not exactly being made for it anymore and the joints in the uprights are not the easiest to replace when they go bad. I have stockpiled enough parts for a complete second IRS save the subframe. Ford didn't make many of them and stuff is starting to dry up already if you ever need to do a repair on one.
You are taking what I said and blowing it out of proportion. I simply made a statement that it can be used for drag racing and is. VERY few people running 9s use it for good reason. Yes its heavier and yes a solid axel is a better setup for an all out drag car and we arent talking about all out drag cars in this thread.
This is VERY true. However the only part I would be concerned with breaking is the pumpkin because you can't get it from ford anymore.
No worries on that, the pumpkin is exactly the same as from the 93-98 Mark VIII, tens of thousands of those are out there
Rear shock design also came from the Mark/Tbird platform, most of those guys are grabbing the rear Cobra shocks for their cars.
I had to make some tweaks but my SRA handles great.To the OP: you can get either one to handle great. I wouldn't get too wrapped around which type you have as long as you know the limitations of either one and buy tasteful mods to fix it if you don't like it.
For an example of seeing what a properly tuned SRA can do just simply look at the youtube video comparing the M3 vs. the 2011 mustang w/ the handling package.
Thats good info. I had no idea the pumpkin was the same. I knew that the irs was barrowed from those platforms but I didnt know what parts. Are the upper and lower A arms the same too?
The IRS has wheel hop issues, a bump steer problem, poor alignment under hard cornering due to deflection of the stock bushings, and finally an overheating issue when pushed to the absolute limit during open track events. Thats why the 00R came stock with a diff cooler. All that oil is trapped in the pumpkin and doesnt have axle tubes to use as a heat sink. But unless you know how to push the car to that point you will never have a problem with it.
The wheel hop issue fixes go hand in hand with the poor alignment fixes. Quality bushings from either MM or FTBR will all but cure them. If you have tires with a stiff side wall it will still hop a little but no where near as bad with the stock rubber stuff.
The bump steer issue can be fixed with adjustable toe links but is time consuming. I wouldn't bother with this mod unless you were going to do some kind of racing.
If you buy a Mach and swap in an IRS change out the bushings BEFORE you drop it in the car so that you dont have to take it back out again. Plus by now any IRS you get will have blown out bushings.
I have both and one issue with the IRS is that parts are not exactly being made for it anymore and the joints in the uprights are not the easiest to replace when they go bad. I have stockpiled enough parts for a complete second IRS save the subframe. Ford didn't make many of them and stuff is starting to dry up already if you ever need to do a repair on one.
I had to make some tweaks but my SRA handles great.To the OP: you can get either one to handle great. I wouldn't get too wrapped around which type you have as long as you know the limitations of either one and buy tasteful mods to fix it if you don't like it.
For an example of seeing what a properly tuned SRA can do just simply look at the youtube video comparing the M3 vs. the 2011 mustang w/ the handling package.
Thanks Dark! And that is why I am at a cross roads with this topic. I've always heard that SRA's need to be ditched in favor of an IRS setup to make a car handle, blah blah... But then the review for the new GT came out, and it mentioned how it pulled a .9-something on the skid pad. So that bit of info kinda threw me off.
You have to keep in mind that the solid axel setup in the S197 is a little different then all the previouse years. The LCA's are different along with the sway bar setup and it comes stock with a P/H bar. You will need to add at least new control arms and a P/H bar to make a solid handle well.
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