Suspension Suspension upgrades, which ones?

Mike Aggy · Jul 5, 2020

I'm trying to turn my poor old '94 V6 convertible into more of a driver's car. As of right now, I have lowering springs, shocks/struts, sway bars, subframe connectors, and caster camber plates. I am a college kid so I can't claim to have much experience so my question is there anything I'm missing? Is there anything I should get rid of? I know opinions are like as*holes and everyone has one, so I'm asking for yours.... your opinion that is. What do you think are good upgrades to help these straight axle mustangs get around corners better?

Warhorse Racing · Jul 5, 2020

I’ve been autocrossing these cars for years and I’ve put together some videos to help people get their Mustangs to handle.

Here’s a playlist of budget autocross mods that should help inform your decisions about what parts will help make your SRA Mustang handle. Unfortunately, the Steeda Adjustable Rear Sway Bar was discontinued earlier this year.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtI9sXSTAIA&list=PLM3c5KzD_2Nj7uxVZmSo7I80fOTDFl3R7

Here’s a video that breaks down how to adjust your suspension. If you don’t have a Steeda Adjustable Rear Sway Bar, you will have to determine what size rear sway bar you need based on how the car feels at the limit (and your front sway bar). What size sway bars do you have?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HiS-t4_O_w&t

If you want to take things further, you can go with Del-A-Lum bushings, Delrin Sway Bar Bushings and Delrin Steering Rack Bushings. This video is for my Fox, but there are versions of these parts that will work on your car.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXn_0QXo4vk&t

You might also want to check out my "79-04 Mustang Autocross Mod Myths" video. If you have any questions, please ask. I’m happy to help.

Mike Aggy · Jul 8, 2020

Warhorse Racing said:
I’ve been autocrossing these cars for years and I’ve put together some videos to help people get their Mustangs to handle.

Here’s a playlist of budget autocross mods that should help inform your decisions about what parts will help make your SRA Mustang handle. Unfortunately, the Steeda Adjustable Rear Sway Bar was discontinued earlier this year.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtI9sXSTAIA&list=PLM3c5KzD_2Nj7uxVZmSo7I80fOTDFl3R7

Here’s a video that breaks down how to adjust your suspension. If you don’t have a Steeda Adjustable Rear Sway Bar, you will have to determine what size rear sway bar you need based on how the car feels at the limit (and your front sway bar). What size sway bars do you have?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HiS-t4_O_w&t

If you want to take things further, you can go with Del-A-Lum bushings, Delrin Sway Bar Bushings and Delrin Steering Rack Bushings. This video is for my Fox, but there are versions of these parts that will work on your car.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXn_0QXo4vk&t

You might also want to check out my "79-04 Mustang Autocross Mod Myths" video. If you have any questions, please ask. I’m happy to help.

Oh my god it’s Mr. Warhorse himself!!! I have been a big fan of yours for months now! I love your videos you have an appreciation for the late foxes and SN95’s that few people do. I’ve seen your videos, do you think that those suspension mods will translate well to a street car??

Warhorse Racing · Jul 8, 2020

Thank you for checking out my videos! It's always nice to hear that people are finding them helpful.

Some of the mods will help improve a street car and some will be overkill. Your car already has some mods. I'd like a bit more info... What size sway bars? Which lowering springs? Are the shocks/struts adjustable? Have you replaced/upgraded the OEM rubber bushings?

The more I know about the car, the more I can help recommend parts.

Mike Aggy · Jul 9, 2020

Warhorse Racing said:
Thank you for checking out my videos! It's always nice to hear that people are finding them helpful.

Some of the mods will help improve a street car and some will be overkill. Your car already has some mods. I'd like a bit more info... What size sway bars? Which lowering springs? Are the shocks/struts adjustable? Have you replaced/upgraded the OEM rubber bushings?

The more I know about the car, the more I can help recommend parts.

Right now the car is completely stock. I plan to instal BMR 1” drop progressive lowering springs, QA1 Caster camber plates, and QA1 sway bars, 1.25” front, 1” rear, bushings of course, and I’m looking at SR performance shocks and struts. They’re non-adjustable. Any recommendations you have would be greatly appreciated. This is my first rodeo so to speak!

Warhorse Racing · Jul 9, 2020

I'm personally not a fan of progressive springs for performance driving. But, there are many other people who prefer progressive springs. I like the consistent feel of a linear rate spring, especially up front. 1" would be as low as I would go. Any lower tends to make these cars handle worse in performance driving situations. The BMR SP027 springs are listed as linear rate, I don't see a progressive rate BMR spring listed. What is the part number of the springs you're considering?

Those sway bars should be a good balance. You don't want to add a 35mm front bar, because it will add understeer to a car that already has understeer. Especially with the shocks and struts you're considering.

Aftermarket shocks and struts tend to be stiffer than OEM. You are adding stiffer, lower springs and larger sway bars. Stiffer shocks and struts will make the car worse at the limit of traction. For normal street driving, the car will feel tighter and more responsive, but pushing the car hard will expose the weakness in the setup. If you want to be able to dial-in the car for current and future mods, I would recommend using adjustable shocks and struts. I know a lot of people who use Koni Yellow adjustable shocks and struts and they are very happy with them.

If you go with adjustable shocks and struts, you can use a 35mm front sway bar. But, that might be overkill for how you plan to use the car.

Mike Aggy · Jul 10, 2020

Warhorse Racing said:
I'm personally not a fan of progressive springs for performance driving. But, there are many other people who prefer progressive springs. I like the consistent feel of a linear rate spring, especially up front. 1" would be as low as I would go. Any lower tends to make these cars handle worse in performance driving situations. The BMR SP027 springs are listed as linear rate, I don't see a progressive rate BMR spring listed. What is the part number of the springs you're considering?

Those sway bars should be a good balance. You don't want to add a 35mm front bar, because it will add understeer to a car that already has understeer. Especially with the shocks and struts you're considering.

Aftermarket shocks and struts tend to be stiffer than OEM. You are adding stiffer, lower springs and larger sway bars. Stiffer shocks and struts will make the car worse at the limit of traction. For normal street driving, the car will feel tighter and more responsive, but pushing the car hard will expose the weakness in the setup. If you want to be able to dial-in the car for current and future mods, I would recommend using adjustable shocks and struts. I know a lot of people who use Koni Yellow adjustable shocks and struts and they are very happy with them.

If you go with adjustable shocks and struts, you can use a 35mm front sway bar. But, that might be overkill for how you plan to use the car.

That makes a lot of sense. I will definitely look into adjustable shocks and struts. I always thought of them for use in applications where quick changes were necessary, but I now appreciate the having the ability to dial in the suspension.

I believe you are correct about the BMR springs, they look like a liner spring so the description on Summit Racing may just be a typo.

One last question for you, I know you run Delrin bushings on your autocross cars. I’m afraid that might be too harsh for the street. Do you recommend poly bushings or something else?

I appreciate all your time and knowledge. The ability to talk to the best is invaluable!

Warhorse Racing · Jul 10, 2020

It's hard to modify these cars and get them perfectly neutral without having adjustable suspension components. Not having the Steeda Adjustable Rear Sway Bar on the market anymore has made things even more difficult. Most of the time, our cars need some dialing-in.

I used poly bushings in my cars for many autocross seasons. For the street, they will be fine. But, there are some things to consider when using poly...

In the front suspension, Prothane poly A-arm, sway bar end link, steering rack, spring isolator, and strut mount bushings have worked well for me. I've eaten up some poly sway bar bushings, but I'm putting the sway bar through a lot.

In the rear suspension, poly bushings can be an issue. Most poly replacement bushings for OEM UCAs/LCAs are 1 or 2-piece bushings. They aren't ideal for performance driving, and they don't do a great job of minimizing quadra-bind. You want to use 3-piece poly bushings in the UCAs/LCAs. That often means replacing the UCAs/LCAs. Steeda makes a steel UCA/LCA kit for $300. It comes with 3-piece poly bushings, and poly bushings for the upper differential housing. I used those arms on my 2000 GT for several seasons and they held up really well.

If you don't want to replace the UCAs/LCAs, you're probably better off using new rubber bushings in the OEM arms instead of 1 or 2-piece poly bushings.

I'm always happy to help.

Suspension Suspension upgrades, which ones?

Mike Aggy

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