rough ride.
- Thread starter Bree
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Hey! My Grand Marquis identifies as a Mustang (or a tow vehicle.) ;-) Nothing that size and price should handle that well.
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No boat float, and no kidney stone jarring. I hate to hand it down until my youngest can afford insurance and purchase his own truck. He’ll be fine driving it, but the High School lot is dangerous.
- Mar 2, 2015
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You can make a mustang suspension do whatever you want. The best riding mod I did was coil overs with softer springs. The tubular control arms I put up front are harsher on wash board surfaces. The bushings in them are very stiff. Normal driving is like night and day though. The rear in my car is out of a 2004 cobra and nothing like a fox. No comparison there.
I can say the Ol'Ladies 86 drives really well with parts store Monro struts up front and Monro rear shocks and quad shocks. It rides really smooth. My car has 175lb. springs in the front coilovers that are 12 inches long on Monro sensatrac struts. I went with a soft spring because the factory cobra springs are soft in my car. The front is set at factory ride height. When I lower my car back down we'll find out if it causes a bottoming out issue.
Air bags can make a car ride smoother. It's really easy to install them on a fox. I have a friend that is on air ride and it rides like butter but rolls a little on turns. Body feels loose at the setting he drives at. All his suspension is stock. The airbag ride has a bunch to do with the set up and valving. The shocks make a huge difference. Air bags don't have the same rate as a coil spring so adjustable shocks are a must ( in my opinion ). If you have airbags on a harsh suspension it'll still be harsh.
Cadillacs weren't the best handling but rode like a cruise ship.
I can say the Ol'Ladies 86 drives really well with parts store Monro struts up front and Monro rear shocks and quad shocks. It rides really smooth. My car has 175lb. springs in the front coilovers that are 12 inches long on Monro sensatrac struts. I went with a soft spring because the factory cobra springs are soft in my car. The front is set at factory ride height. When I lower my car back down we'll find out if it causes a bottoming out issue.
Air bags can make a car ride smoother. It's really easy to install them on a fox. I have a friend that is on air ride and it rides like butter but rolls a little on turns. Body feels loose at the setting he drives at. All his suspension is stock. The airbag ride has a bunch to do with the set up and valving. The shocks make a huge difference. Air bags don't have the same rate as a coil spring so adjustable shocks are a must ( in my opinion ). If you have airbags on a harsh suspension it'll still be harsh.
Cadillacs weren't the best handling but rode like a cruise ship.
manicmechanic007
5 Year Member
My experience is they make for fewer rattles and reduces flex in the unibody.
The swingy and springy things mainly determine the smoothness of the ride. Tire sidewall height is included in the springy category.
Boostedpimp
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
My opinion comes from riding in a convertible for along time... then riding in it with subframe connectors.
manicmechanic007
5 Year Member
Mine comes from driving and aligning hundreds of mustangs
They IMHO ride like a steel wheeled
spreader after the subframe connect
They IMHO ride like a steel wheeled
spreader after the subframe connect
I'd love to trade my daily driver ('07 Malibu, AKA Stealth Fighter) for a retired P-71 Crown Vic. Bonus points if it still has a push bar and the spotlight. Super extra bonus points if it still has the cage in the back. I have 4 dogs, and having that to keep them in the back would be great! I have a separator thing that straps around the headrests for the Stealth Fighter, but Elvis has figured out how to circumvent that. He's to smart for my own good... I don't even try to keep Elvis in the back seat in the Indian Outlaw, but then again, I don't take the whole crew in the Outlaw either.
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I get 13-17 mpg city and 27 mpg interstate in the Merc.
I wonder how hard the easy clean rear seat and the cage would be to find for a low mileage, privately owned C. Vic?
If you do get one that’s not still painted up and outfitted as a patrol car, put Shrine and Masonic emblems on the back. The officers will assume it is a nice old man or his wife driving and probably not speeding.
If I find one that's still all painted like a patrol car, I want to park it at the end of the driveway. I think it would be intersring on fire pit nights, to see people speeding on my street, and watch them slam the breaks when they see that Panther car sitting there....
As @90sickfox suggested, I'd go with coilovers - and I probably will when I get to actually doing something on my convertible. Here's a guide to help make your decision. 
Now, if you can find compatible springs with a softer rate, you could go that route. But coil overs are probably your best bet.
Now, if you can find compatible springs with a softer rate, you could go that route. But coil overs are probably your best bet.
I used to have three dogs, and that was crazy work. Four is unthinkable to me. Nothing like running out of food, or my favorite. Thirty pounds of dog crap every week.
My convertible bends very much on a small incline. I can feel it. And of coarse when you jack it up the door won't close because the car is bent. Luckily for me the previous owner was an old guy that babied it the whole time he owned it so it's tight. This guy changed the oil every three thousand, and the motor is super clean inside.
Willybill32
But at least it's tight!
I put new Bilsteins all the way around on my '86, along with new FRPP M-5300-F springs and all new bushings in the suspension. It rides as rough as it did when new. Are coilovers the way to go?
They do make an improvement in ride quality. I have maximum motorsports, which cost me maybe $1500ish just to do the fronts. Is it worth the price?
But my first ride on coil-overs i was impressed at how well the ride was. I mean REALLY impressed, but don't get me wrong though, it still rode like a 30-year old foxbody.
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- Mar 2, 2015
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My car rides on El cheapo UPR coilovers and SR performance ( cheap ) front control arms. The ride difference is Nighy and day with the cheap stuff. I can only imagine how good Maximum would be.
My 89 convertible stiffened up good with subframe connectors but the cowl would still move going over speed bumps. I put a 10 point cage in the car and the cowl still moved. Eventually, it got to the point where it concentrated all the flex in the right side cowl and door frame area and cracked up like highways on an Atlas road map. Part of it was my fault. I was not nice to the car before the cage. Ripped out and repaired torque boxes and cracked the floor behind the drivers seat and right under the middle where the trans tunnel and rear seat meet. Cocked axle tubes ( at the center section ). Twisted wheel studs. The fastest the car went was a 10.43 before the cage. After the cage and repairs I babied it until strut towers and the discovery of the cracks up front caused me to send it to the crusher. I should've ran rubes to the strut towers and down to the frame by the radiator.
The fay I crushed that car was the day I realized racing wasn't for me. Ahhhh ! The trip down memory lane. I thinks I needs a drank.
My 89 convertible stiffened up good with subframe connectors but the cowl would still move going over speed bumps. I put a 10 point cage in the car and the cowl still moved. Eventually, it got to the point where it concentrated all the flex in the right side cowl and door frame area and cracked up like highways on an Atlas road map. Part of it was my fault. I was not nice to the car before the cage. Ripped out and repaired torque boxes and cracked the floor behind the drivers seat and right under the middle where the trans tunnel and rear seat meet. Cocked axle tubes ( at the center section ). Twisted wheel studs. The fastest the car went was a 10.43 before the cage. After the cage and repairs I babied it until strut towers and the discovery of the cracks up front caused me to send it to the crusher. I should've ran rubes to the strut towers and down to the frame by the radiator.
The fay I crushed that car was the day I realized racing wasn't for me. Ahhhh ! The trip down memory lane. I thinks I needs a drank.
Potomus Pete, Well, my dogs are small dogs. 2 Chiweenies, an extremely elderly Chiaunauha and a Pomaraninan. I could live without the Pommie - hyper active always panting pain in the @$$
You must be lucky and rich getting to work on so many Mustangs.Mine comes from driving and aligning hundreds of mustangs
They IMHO ride like a steel wheeled
Millions and Millions served!
