Patient957

As a new member I would like to say hello to the community,

I have recently purchased an all stock 2000 GT automatic with approx 49,000 miles to use as a daily driver. I have a few aspirations for what I would like to do with this car, mostly bolt-ons such as exhaust, cai, gears, etc however I would first like to address the suspension and handling on the car first.

I have noticed that the ride will "get away from me" if I am not careful. This is mostly noticable when turning and giving it a fair amount of gas, such as when pulling out into traffic in a hurry, however uneven roads seem to be a challenge as well. For example, if I run over an uneven stretch of road the car will suddenly want to go left or right. I do not think this is an alignment issue as on a straight even stretch I can let go of the wheel and it does not pull in any direction. It mostly happens on a bump or patch of uneven pavement and when turning. What can I do that will fix this problem and keep the car going straight?

I am considering installing the following: eibach pro springs, mm cc plates, steeda bumpsteer, tokico hp struts/shocks, and perhaps mm subframe connectors. Will these additions fix this problem for me? Am I missing any integral upgrade here or are these parts sufficient? I would like to improve the handling as best as possible, while lowering the car and keeping expense at a minimum (being under tight funds lately). I have read the suspension guide but would be very thankful if someone could give me some pointers on how to improve the handling issues I mentioned.

TRUEBLUE3934

Welcome to the forum!
It sounds like you are describing the fundamental short coming of the solid rear axle. Although that behavior can be improved a little, it is kind of the nature of the beast. This is in regard to the car jumping sideways when you hit a bump mid-corner.

MM full length sub-frame connectors are a good idea. MM 4-bolt cc plates are also a good idea if you are dropping the ride height much. Alignment is critical for handling and tire wear.

Since on a tight budget, I would suggest Koni STR-T shocks/struts as long as you are not going with real high spring rates. They are very good units for the price.

Springs are a personal preference, but you have to be honest about what you ultimately want the car to do before you select springs. Lowering springs with increased spring rates will improve the handling, but it comes at the expense of some ride comfort. Short springs reduce the suspension travel, and stiff springs make the daily bumps more harsh.

MM techs swear that NO bump steer kit is needed if you are simply changing springs and shocks without altering any mounting points. I would suggest you save that money for other mods, or apply it towards the shocks/struts. Shocks/struts will have a huge impact on how satisfied you are with the suspension when you are done.

Sway bars are another way to improve the handling without a significant impact on ride comfort. Factory always sets up a car to understeer, so new sway bars can improve the balance of the handling.

GOOD LUCK on your project!

Jay-rod427

Best way to solve the uneven road alignment problem is as stated above the rear axle on a stock configuration just kinda goes wherever the road takes it. First things first good quality weld in sub-frame connectors, followed by all new bushings in the rear control arms, if not just replacing the rear control arms all together.

Save the money from lowering it and replace the rear control arms with low end poly/poly street control arms.

These two items will make a night and day difference in the handling and driveability of your car for not a lot of $$$.

Harryman2002

https://mustangforums.com/forum/4-6l...ml#post6385654
Read that and you'll know plenty.

Patient957

Thanks for the link. I have read over this and noted so in my post. Was looking more for a specific fix for the uneven roads here and the problems I am encountering due to them.

Thanks to the other posters for your advice. I will start with the subframe connectors and go from there.

teej281

Dont you dare go Poly/Poly lower control arms! They will tear apart your torque boxes and blow bushings out like nobody's business. If you're wanting better handling, I'd suggest going with MM FLSFC's, the STR.T shocks and struts from Koni like suggested above, MM HD or XD Lower control arms non-adjustable, and then do lowering springs if you still feel the need for better handling, just be willing to accept the ride comfort loss.

Or you can just swap to an IRS out of a 99-01 cobra or an 03/04 cobra. lol Thats what I did and its just awesome. Ride quality improved vastly, handling improved vastly, and the way I have my suspension setup is racing oriented with coilovers with some reasonably aggressive spring rates.

Best of luck! If you have any further questions, feel free to ask! Jazzer knows his stuff on suspension and he really taught me a lot when it came to suspension. You can always shoot him a PM and he'll give you an answer.

Also, Welcome to MF!

stangalator

also, when replacing the rear shocks with intent for lowering use fox-body shocks as they are ~1 inch shorter and will allow for more suspension travel.

chassis support is like the foundation on a house, it should be the first thing you do to build a good handling car. Its less important then on a foxbody but the sn95 chassis is still weak. A set of FLSFC should be done as a minimum, then a set of uppers if you want to have a stiff chassis with almost no twist

fidelcastrol

Sounds like all good advise, I would also pm jazzerthecat he's the suspension man er feline.

teej281

Fox body shocks are not coilover compatible from what MM has informed me, so there has to be something different with the valving of the shocks that do not allow them to be used for coilovers. I would not suggest using them. They give you more travel, but the valving is also for a much lighter car.

I suggest stock SN95 shocks and struts for any suspension setup on an SN95 vehicle.

Jay-rod427

Poly/Poly will only tear up the torque boxes after repeated abuse such as drag racing with high traction. OP just wants a better daily driver.

OP find some cheap but better than stock control arms upper and lower and you will be amazed at the difference. If you have plans of building a drag racing or Autocross car to be abused just throw the budget build out the window.