laterider

My 09 V6 (premium - no pony package) was keeping me pretty satisfied in the handling department, but the other day I was 'briskly accelerating' on an on-ramp and felt more body lean (more in the front I think), than I had noticed before.

Okay - so as far as I know, the regular V6's have some kind of front sway bar, but no rear bar.

My question is: Can I change the sway bar in the front to a better one and add a rear bar, or do I really need to change springs/shocks along with new bars to see any significant difference?

2010V6Stang

I think the dampers will make a bigger difference then the bars.

jahudso2

I have a GT, so I already had a rear bar, but changing the bars made a bigger "feel" change than doing adjustable shocks/struts. I would definately do sway bars first and get an adjustable set front and rear so that you can tune in the amount of under/oversteer that you want. Roll bars limit the amount of roll your car experiences. Dampers also limit roll slightly, but for the most part, they just slow it down. On an on-ramp where you are in steady state cornering, the dampers wont help as much. The dampers help more for slaloms and to help reduce acceleration squat and brake dive. Hope that helps!

Sam Strano

The stock shocks are far from ideal. But if you have a V6 that came with no rear bar, then adding a set of bars that are well matched will blow your mind. I know because I did it to my girlfriend's V6 that came with no stock rear bar. In fact we started with GT take offs (mine as I was testing my hollow/adjustable bars on my car). Later added those same bars to hers.

loots06

What about doing just the front sway bar on a gt...?

jahudso2

The GTs already understeer like crazy. If you add a stiffer front sway bar to a GT, it will understeer even worse. If you are only going to do one, then do the rear, but you really should do both and get adjustable ones so that you can make your car drive the way you like it. Its amazing how much under and oversteer you can dial in with just the bars. I'm using stillens, which are the cheapest, but sams bars are a little better for a little more money.

chronos

The premium pkg you have I believe is all comfort add ons inside the cabin and nothing on the suspension. There actually isn't much difference between the two suspensions (GT vs Pony pkg), but I would think the GT take offs are easier to find than the Pony parts. Having a Pony pkg I can tell you it is great. I have both the front and rear sway bars and have minimal body roll. Since there aren't many winding roads in the city, I get a little crazy on freeway on/off ramps and let the suspension do it's thing. On an off/on ramp that has a posted speed of 30mph and I can hit it at 50mph or more and not feel hardly any roll. By what I have heard the difference between the Pony & GT rear sway bars is only one millimeters. One is 18 and the other is 19. The front I think is the same. I don't really think you need to go crazy and do shocks and springs and all that. If you have been happy till now with the stock suspension, the upgraded sways will blow you away. I do believe the Pony and GT front sway bars are better than the stock Mustang suspension, but I could be wrong. I would suggest swapping both sway bars first and see what that does for you. If you need more you can keep upgrading later but give each mod a try on it's own first and see what you like. The rear sway is an easy install by what I can see. The GT and Pony also have bigger rims (17") and better rated tires. I don't know how much of a difference that makes.

laterider

Thanks for all the replies... I have a set of gt takeoff bars on order, I'll do that first and then see how it handles.

Sam Strano

GT bars are 34/20.... It'll be a lot better than stock--having non rear bar at all. But not as well balanced as a matched set of aftermarket bars.

What you did will help and is cheaper than aftermarket bars like mine. But then I don't think the value is that great because they are still understeer prone and that's money that could have gone to something that's better balanced and that gives you tuning options since my bars are adjustable at both ends).

You will see an immense difference, not because the stock GT bars are so great--but because your lack of a rear bar was so bad.....

laterider

Thanks for the info Sam, I've missed some of the deals out there for take-off parts and when I saw the bar combo for $69, I grabbed it without much thought. I am mixed about using take off parts, I've said YES for the wheels, but NO for mufflers for some reason. I'm going to check them out when I get them in (I thought the GT fronts were adjustable??) and go from there - I can always re-bay them....