I don't know much about suspension so my question is... what kind of set up would you guys put on a car that goes to the dragstrip but is also a daily driver with a reasonable budget... i've been thinking lately about starting with the suspension first and moving onto power adding mods later

 

if you care about performace in turning, then shock/struts are a must, with some subframe connectors


if you care more about straight line suspension, then drag springs and control arms would be more important,
as the springs will transfer weight better, and the c/a will help keep your wheels on the ground and straight

 

Adjustable coil overs is always good, because you can fine tune your suspencion to transfer weight to the rear much better. For drag racing Id get torq arms. Basically, affordable means using much of the stock setup and fine tuning it to transfer weight, in your case, to the rear. Drivable means you want weight transfer to the front for braking, so you cant go too radical on your suspencion. You gonna have to mod shocks, springs, rear control arms, bushings, put torq arms on, get sub frame connectors. On the front it is shocks. You can copy a setup from someone who is running a steady 1/4 mile, or you can calculate your own. I suggest you pick up Mustang Performance Handbook by William Mathis, about $5. Meanwhile here is for instant gratification, read on handling theory:

http://www.autozine.org/technical_sc....html#Handling

 

When I had my 2003 GT I knew anything was better than the stock GT stuff. If your on a rel tight budget try this setup. I could launch damn good and handle the twisties.

I added:
- Mach 1 suspension (shocks,struts & springs)
- 2003/2004 Cobra front sway bar
- 1998 Cobra rear sway bar
Total cost was around $430

Going this route still leave the super squishy 4 link in place but it still makes a night and day difference in all around suspension feel.

If you go a different route make sure you don't put the cart before the horse. Buy decent shocks and struts first then start adding different springs and suspension parts.