Mustangansta

After looking into suspension as my next mod and with all kinds of questions in my brain now regarding springs, shocks and cambers ect...and it doesn't help the fact that suspension is my weakest car knowledge category, it seems to me that this is one of the most error ridden aspect of mustang modification because of all the variables involved.

I'm almost scared of making any changes what so ever now after reading the threads - I'm not a very big "do it yourself" guy and even though I know what my needs are and what steps I need to take them for my mustang are I do not have that room for error margin or the money to have a trial and error build.

My car is a daily driver but I do drive hard - take it to the track from time to time 1/4 mile and want to start driving close courses *for fun* very soon, so handling is important but again I do not want to be hopping all around town.

Since I do not have much experience to compare drivability in many other cars I do not understand the concept of "ride stiffness" and how much it differs over the factory feel. I read so many complaints about it, I don’t understand why everyone wants to lower their car just to get that look when sound of loss of control at higher speeds is at risk. Maybe I am wrong and don’t fully graps the concept and if so can someone help me what kind of set up would be best as a total kit and to understand some of the more basic terms and concepts of "oversteer - understeer" - "stiffness" "softness". Thanks.

CrazyAl

Let's see if this helps.

First off, some terms.

Understeer means that when you turn the steering wheel, the car actually doesn't turn as sharply as it ought to do.
Oversteer means that the car turns sharper than you actually intended.

Stiffness and softness are a bit more difficult to define. They could apply to springs. In the case of springs, a stiff spring is one that is very hard and doesn't compress much. Stiff springs are good for traction and control during corners, but they also make the ride uncomfortable and rough. Soft springs are very flexible (like in a luxury car). This makes for a comfortable ride but it also can make the car get less traction during cornering. These terms can also apply to the valving of a shock absorber. A "stiff" or "hard" setting means that the shock requires a lot of effort to move. A "soft" setting means that it can move without as much force. The net result is very similar to that which I described above.

You can read a lot about this on Wikipedia if you are interested in more detail.

The basics go like this: on a typical sports car, you want to be able to hit the corners hard. To do that, you need to reduce the tendency of the car to tilt in the corner (body roll) and also to keep the tires firmly on the ground. This entails a stiffer overall suspension. The "downside" is that you will hear more road noise and you will also feel more bumps in the road. The opposite is a luxury car--especially something like a big Cadillac or Lincoln: the ride is very smooth, but you don't want to corner it hard!

I don't think trial and error will be much of a problem for you. Most parts that are sold for these cars are very streetable. There are a few exceptions, but so long as you avoid those parts which are "race only" I don't think you'll have any issue with comfort on a daily driver.

Check out this thread. I have a very long post in there that describes the individual suspension parts and what they do, as well as my suggestions on which ones to replace with what priority:


https://mustangforums.com/m_1696246/tm.htm

If you want, describe your goals for the car and what your budget concerns are, and we can suggest some mods to suit your desires.

Beyond the basic stuff, a "road race" type of build is different than a drag-strip build.

06GT4RAD

Crazyal covered it pretty well. And based on some of the things you say you are looking for I would Highly suggest you look into the Total Saleen Suspension Setup it is of course a kit that was designed and built to meet a lot of the goals you have. Now it could get a little pricey i honestly do not know as i have never priced it out.

I can however suggest the Eibach Pro Kit and the Tokico D-Specs they allow you to tune the shock and struts for normal everyday driving soft if you so choose and then you can stiffen them up for days you want to hit the track and do some road racing. Maybe even the Steeda Ultra Lites combined with the Tokico's.

Richard

Mustangansta

MAN YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST - I HAD SOME GENERAL IDEAS BUT THEY WERE REALLY SHAKEY AND I COULDNT TALK INTELLEGENTLY ABOUT THEM AND THIS CLASSROOM DISCUSSION WAS NEEDED - THE WAY YA'LL EXPLAINED IT AND WITH SUGGESTIONS AS WHAT TO PURCHASED REALLY REALLY REALLY HELPED - NOW I HAVE A MUCH BETTER VISUAL . NOW I'LL PROBABLY HAVE MORE QUESTIONS

ITS FUNNY CAUSE I DID CHECK SOME INFO OUT ON Wikipedia BUT A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE CAN BE VERY HELPFULL AS WELL.

BE ON THE LOOK OUT AS I PLAN MY BUDGET AND GET A BETTER IDEA OF EXACTLY WHAT I WANT TO DO.

fl_799

Take the advice of many on this board and take the plunge on the Tokico Spec-d shocks and struts. With those in place, YOU decide if the ride should be near stock in quality or firm like riding in an oversized go cart with a running horse in the grill. Both extremes and all points in between are obtainable with these shocks.

Personally, I really enoyed building my suspension up piece by piece and seeing the changes and improvements as I went along. Next to the springs's and shocks, an aftermarket rear swaybay is probably right up there in the wow factor. You can really feel the rear end tracking square and reducing understeer by 30 percent or more yet the car still feels totally in control at the edge. You really get the impression that Ford engineers tuned the suspension for the 'least common denominator' customer and thus build a very wide safety margin into the cars handling from the factory. Good thing for us a few bucks and time can transform these cars into real track animals!