Suspension mods on a Daily Driver
 

I have a 2003 GT , 105k miles on it, stock engine in great condition. The stock suspension is pretty bad currently , the front squeaks when turning and the right side sits 1 inch higher than the left for some reason.

Heres a recent pic of the car after detailing with zaino and installing hid projectors :

Attachment 82315

Im currently considering the following suspension overhaul :

1. Bilstein bt-12 springs shocks and struts http://www.americanmuscle.com/bilsti...oupe-9404.html

2. c/c plates http://www.americanmuscle.com/maximu...tes-94-04.html

3. Full length subframes http://www.americanmuscle.com/subfra...tors-7904.html

4. Bumpsteer kit (seems to include tie rods which i need to replace anyway) http://www.americanmuscle.com/stbukit94b.html

5. New balljoints http://www.americanmuscle.com/stx2bajokit.html guarentee mine are done

6. Some type of LCA.. possibly MM http://www.americanmuscle.com/maximu...rms-99-04.html or double spherical joint version

Will all these mods combine to make the car harsh and annoying as a daily driver or will it be fine and just overall alot better? Anyone have these specific mods done?

I also heard a panhard bar would add a lot of harshness, is this true?

Also, after all these mods, and mabe good tires, will the mustang be considered a decent handling car? or does the solid rear basically keep it from ever being as good as a stock 350z or other similar sports cars?

A properly setup solid axle will out perform a cobra IRS when done right. A good torque arm/ PHB/ Watts link setup will carve corners like a champ.

Ride harshness tolerance is different for each of us. I don't mind a firm ride in my DD, but others might find my car too harsh. You will notice some additional firmness with those mods, but I think you will be happy with the trade off.

I cannot think of why a PHB would make it ride more harshly. The PHB only keeps the axle housing from shifting left and right. I did not feel additional harshness after I installed mine.

The condition of the road surface would be important when comparing handling prowess between the sold axle vs IRS. On a relatively smooth surface, the solid axle can do very well. However, if the surface is rough I would expect the IRS to be superior.

A nice coil-over set-up with PHB/TA will handle very well in most situations.

Andy.... pretty much 100% of all suspension mods done, WILL create additional NVH. This is just the price payed to make the SN95 better in the corners. Some items will introduce more NVH than others and generally the better designs will bring even more :(

TRUE is correct and can only really judge NVH for yourself. Look around and maybe go for some rides in very high-performance corner-carving Mustangs (few and far between, to be sure!) and see what you think.

Take a look at the suspension guide (sig) and read the top couple paragraphs closely and see what you think.

Jazzer :)

OT: op where did you get those lights? are they retrofits?

Yes fx-rs retrofitted with HID d2s bulbs and morimoto ballasts, i got them on ebay for 400 which is a steal considering the parts are over 400 including the headlight housings and it probably took the guy 10+ hours of labor to build them. The guy who made them took too long and the original buyer backed out, eventually a few months later i got them from the guy who made them. I killed a ballast though trying to get the wiring right, and theretrofit source is sending me a new one. The retrofit source has the best customer service of any site i would say, they are awesome.

And yea ive never rode in a highly modified mustang and live in florida with few twistys so i dont really know if it will be worth it for me. Still think it would be awesome at times to have a quality set up though.. Defiantly hard to decide what to do to the car.

Andy what part of FL?

thoughts on just Monroe shocks?

I'm currently H&R SS's, with Tokico D-specs, and MM CC plates, and I think my car handles like a slot car, and rides nice and firm without harshness. I Would like to upgrade my Sway bars, and call it done.