clintster77

After seeing a thread on IRS for the 05 mustang it got me thinking about a cheaper alternative .

That IRS was almost $6000 .
Cut that in half and you get $3000 .

what could I do for under $3000 ?

Griggs Torque Arm Kit. $789.95 Griggs Torque arm kit
Lakewood Watts Link Bar $444.99 Lakewood Watts Link
Baer Rear 14 inch Brake Upgrade Kit $695.00 Baer upgrade kit
QA1 05-08 Mustang Rear Double Adjustable Shock $359.99 each ($719.98) QA1 shocks

what would you change about my list and why ?
New List On Post #9

Cobrakev

Have you upgraded the front brakes? You dont want bigger brakes the in back than the front. 70% of stopping power is in the front.

Sleeper_08

For people to be able to properly comment they would need to know what you are going to use the car for and what your tolerance level was for increased NVH.

It would also help to know about any wheel/tires upgrades and or engine mods,i.e. an SC.

clintster77

That is the plan to upgrade the front brakes to. A lot of people upgrade the front only and put 85% of the load on their nice new front BBK and don't even think about the back brakes . plus there will be wider tires out back to help take advantage of the rear brake upgrade .

clintster77

Sorry I don't know what NVH means .

It would be street legal . But I am not worried about DD friendliness .
It would be used for enthusiastic street driving , auto X ( not really any rules where I would be doing auto X ) also trips to the drag strip.
So all around goodness is wanted .
this will be on a V6 so the power will be less than a Gt .
performance performance performance.
performance with adjustable features so I can have different setups for different types of motor sports.

I have to make up for being a v6 but I want to use items that will transfer to a GT if someday I decide to make a switch . (but I like to be the underdog)

2007GT/CS

I would (and did) spend that money quite a bit differently.

The Griggs torque arm wasn't available when I embarked on this odyssey. Not sure how much advantage that has over a high performance UCA. Would not be my first (or next) choice for an upgrade. I went with an adjustbale UCA (to set the rough pinion angle) and also adjustable LCAs (for fine tuning).

A lot of people think the Lakewood Watts is cheaply made (although I've yet to see a report with someone who actually broke one irreparably). I seem to recall some hoohah regarding the axle clamping system coming loose(?). Buying the Fays2 is probably a better idea.

To borrow a page from Rodeo: Lots of AIX guys still running the stock brakes front and back. Again, if its performance per $.... That's another one of those religious arguments though.

I've only ever seen QA1s really used for drag racing and it seems like their stuff is set up for that. I don't KNOW that for a fact. If you are thinking of a coilover system, many of the other majors make something specifically for street/road racing. Regardless, coil over systems ain't cheap and I opted to go the traditional performance spring and damper route (Vogtlands and Konis in my case) and I'm really happy with the result.

Sam Strano

I look at that list of parts and can see the stars in your eyes. What's bad is of the parts on that list as far as I'm concerned only one is reasonsable, but I still wouldn't run it (that's the TA).

QA1 shocks are crappy dampers for offering control.

The Lakewood Watts is fine in theory, but in reality is not as strong as the Fays2 and some have broken.

The 14" rear rotors are a complete waste of you money.

A TA is just another type of rear suspension design that replaces the 3 link, but isn't necessarily better. In fact a TA is a lot heavier than the 3-link, and most road-race cars like GT1/Trans Am types use a 3-link not a TA.

clintster77

After a bit of research I have edited my list and found where that $350 can go.but opened up another $500 elsewhere.
I did not realize the fays2 Watts Link was under $1000 . It must of gone down in price since the last time I checked .I still want a better Rear brake setup , but I also changed my mind about the 14 inch rotors due to having to have 18 inch wheels (not that I may not have 18 inch wheels but I also would want the option of at least a 17 inch at the drag strip )Steeda Rear Brake Upgrade (13 inch) seems like a nice compromise .Cheaper to. I don't like the fact that Tokico D shocks are not Double Adjustable Shock like the QA1 but the price is to good so I guess Ill cave in .(to peer pressure)and the pocket book Oh I Added the sway bars I want .They look beefy

clintster77

Ok I am adding a Ford T-loc to the list

Griggs Torque Arm Kit. $789.95 Griggs Torque Arm Kit
Fays2 Watts Link $650 Fays2 Watts Link
Steeda Rear Brake Upgrade (13 inch) $499.95 Steeda Slotted rear brake upgrade
Tokico D-Spec Adjustable Strut & Shock Kit $539.99/2 =$267.00 Tokico D
Hotchkis Sport Sway Bars. $586.56/2=$293.28 Hotchkins Sways
Ford Traction-Lok Differential - For 7.5 inch rear end $188.35 Ford Traction-Lok Differential - For 7.5 inch

The new tot is $2688.53
Still have $311.47

Norm Peterson

Just what do you expect from a torque arm that you can't get from the 3-link? Why do you think it might do [whatever] better?

It's not just Sam regarding QA1 shocks - a guy I know from the montecarloss forum who runs his own shop and sells some stuff of his own design abruptly moved away from QA1 a while ago. When a couple of pretty sharp folks say essentially the same thing independently of each other . . .

Why not first start with a take-off 8.8" axle? A 7.5" T-lok is still a 7.5" axle with 7.5" axle shafts.

I'm having computer issues and can't get to some of your links without rebooting - what is it about Hotchkis bars at $600 that might be "better" than GT take-offs? If you only get the rear one, how much is the handling expected to change? I would think you'd want to have better than just a vague idea of where you were going to end up, given any budgetary constraint at all. Otherwise, you're just throwing parts at it and hoping for the best.


Norm