matt1990

so i was in my friends wrx-tr thats slamed on coilovers today and it handles incredibly well. so that got me thinking is it possible to get my mustang to handle that well (i can barely take the same on ramp as him at half the speed and thats pushing my car to the limit) or is rwd going to keep it from handling as well as an all wheel drive car.

side note: i'm not intending on trying to make my car handle that well as its an auto and wont be tracked or autocrossed, im more just curious about it

Repzard

For starters IRS would help but WRX's are AWD Mustangs are not so to handle as well you need lots of cash and still dont think it would out handle a WRX.

I say this thread calls out JCat , he has one of the best handling Mustangs on this site.
He can point you in the right direction for sure

GL

matt1990

thanks for the input, but i thought the irs wouldnt even be that helpful since our cars were originally setup for a SRA and not an IRS. Also how much does an IRS typically run?

nice cobra btw

Jazzer The Cat

There is an interesting thread on just this very subject (essentially, IRS vs. SRA) ***HERE*** for lots of good info. 'Tis true, that the Mustang was built with an SRA and in '99 the Cobra had an IRS conversion. This was considered a poor attempt at an IRS conversion, measured against a true IRS car (BMW's and such). A stock for stock comparison between an IRS and SRA, on otherwise identical rides, the IRS is gonna ride/handle better. If you build the SRA with some serious modifications, you will have no issues competing with it, or maybe beating it, in an open-track situation. Now, a less "controlled" environment, such as the street, might be another issue. This is because the IRS is better equipped to address variations in the road surface. BUT.... if you build the IRS and SRA rides to be full open-track cars.... the ride quality will be just about the same.

For more info, see ma sig

Jazzer

LilRoush

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks the stock IRS Ford offered lacked in so many ways compared to other well done IRS cars.

So many people (especially on here) don't seem to think it's possible for the SRA to be at the same level as the IRS. Thanks for posting that.

cliffyk

It is fairly well known that the Cobra IRS was a sort of kludge. Stock for stock it is better than the solid axle, but it was designed mostly to give the marketing department some talking points and be a bolt-on assembly so as to not bog down the assembly line.

TRUEBLUE3934

LOL
My first thought is TIRES!!!
A good set of sticky tires might do more for your off-ramp handling than any other single mod. Since it is generally a fairly constant radius corner, the car will do decently well with grippy tires (NOT as well as a tuned suspension, but decent). The biggest difference between suspensions will show up when you begin to demand the car to change directions quickly.

Bottom line, do not ignore the benefit of simply having grippy tires. It may be the easiest way to significantly improve your cornering speed on ramps.

cliffyk

+1 on the tires, also add negative camber--bring it up to -1.4° to -1.6° total...

Jazzer The Cat

I'm looking at going -3° here pretty soon

cliffyk

Yeah, but you are just plain dog nuts about this stuff.

I get crap every time I have tires mounted or have an alignment done about my -1.4°:

"Do you know that your alignment is bad and that it's causing your tires to wear prematurely?" I tell them that if tire wear were a major concern I would be driving a Corolla.

As you are well aware even at -1.4° it is a night and day difference in handling, to me well worth every penny of wearing the tires out a bit sooner.