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  1. #1

    Default Rear Control Arms / Shocks.

    Hello All,

    I'll soon be swapping an 8.8 rear into my 85 GT. As some have suggested, now is the time to upgrade the control arms.

    I'd like some input on arms and shocks. The car will eventually have about 400HP but it will be a street car with an occasional pass down the strip for fun. I hope to improve handling over the stock arms, but I don't want a bone-jarring ride as this will be my son's daily driver.

    On the shock side of things - I've heard folks say to toss the extra two shocks on the rear (and/or the sway bar as well).

    What are you folks running for rear arms / shocks, and what's the ride quality like?

    Thanks in advance!

    BG

  2. #2

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    You cant go wrong with the MM pro lower arms and good stock uppers OB
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  3. #3
    FEP Power Member richpet's Avatar
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    Very true what he said. I am using the J&M arms with 3 piece bushings. They seem good so far. Your budget will dictate a lot of this.
    Tossing the quad shocks is very common and gives a little more tire room.
    Personally I would leave the rear bar on. But I like corners.
    The stock bar with a set of not too stiff springs should work good.
    You'll probably spend a fair amount getting a good set of shocks though. I like KYB, but they are a bit firmer. You might like Bilstein, especially if you can get an adjustable set.

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  4. #4
    Moderator wraithracing's Avatar
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    Personally I only use the Maximum Motorsports rear lower control arms. Your budget can dictate which ones to purchase. All new rubber bushings in the 4 upper arm locations and stock upper arms will do the trick for the average street car.

    Shocks all depend on intended use, ride quality desires, and spring rates. Maximum Motorsports has tech on matching your shocks to your spring rates. If you keep relatively stock spring rates, then Tokico Blue shocks are slightly firmer than OEM/Motorcraft, otherwise for a stock type right you are going to want to look at Monroe, Gabriel, etc. If you want to improve the handling while sacrificing some ride quality then Bilstein, Koni, etc. will be the next option. Koni has adjustable options, but they are a bit more pricey. I use Bilstein a lot, but I am not away of an adjustable shock, at least not a standard replacement option.

    Personally I always run a rear sway bar. If you add the MM rear lower control arms you help eliminate most of the binding in the rear suspension and the rear bar will improve the overall handling. The rear quad shocks will help with wheel hop, although once you add the MM rear arms there is usually less of an issue with wheel hop, so that does allow you to remove them for larger wheel and tire clearance.

    If you are serious about 400 HP, you will want to consider at a minimum a Maximum Motorsport Rear Panhard Rod to locate the rear axle assembly with that much power. I would also highly recommend their Torque Arm setup too. That will allow you to delete the upper control arms and greatly improve the overall ride quality while providing a much better way to put that much power to the ground both on the street and on the track. Good Luck!
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  5. #5

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    I am running team z double adjustable lowers and uppers, with spherical bushings in the housing.
    Team z drag springs and Strange 10-ways.
    79 Zephyr, 4.6L 4v/4r70w swap, with team z front and rear suspension, 8.8 and upgraded brakes and coil overs. Running Holley Terminator X Max.

  6. #6
    FEP Senior Member Sask84gt's Avatar
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    I'm running MM lower sport series adjustable arms with the oem upper replacements.
    https://lmr.com/item/MM-MMRLCA102/ma...rms-7998-sport

    https://lmr.com/item/LRS-5500CA-K/mu...rol-arms-79-04
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  7. #7
    FEP Senior Member 854vragtop's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wraithracing View Post
    Shocks all depend on intended use, ride quality desires, and spring rates. Maximum Motorsports has tech on matching your shocks to your spring rates. If you keep relatively stock spring rates, then Tokico Blue shocks are slightly firmer than OEM/Motorcraft, otherwise for a stock type right you are going to want to look at Monroe, Gabriel, etc. If you want to improve the handling while sacrificing some ride quality then Bilstein, Koni, etc. will be the next option. Koni has adjustable options, but they are a bit more pricey. I use Bilstein a lot, but I am not away of an adjustable shock, at least not a standard replacement option.
    The best money that I've ever spent on my '85 GT convertible was the Bilstein shock, strut, and lowering spring package from Summit Racing. I had installed a set of Gabriel VST shocks prior to that an it took me a day to decide that I wanted my money back. EVERY bump, expansion joint in the road was harsh! Once I replaced them with Bilsteins, I finally realized why everyone who's owned them absolutely love them. They are firm, but never harsh. Firm is not a bad thing. Harsh is annoying and gets old really quick. The Bilsteins just soak up the bumps and make the car feel much more enjoyable to drive. I'm sure buying everything as a kit where the springs are matched with the struts/shocks makes a big difference too. I was always afraid that when people described good shocks (Bilstein/Koni) as having a firmer ride that it wouldn't like it. I was totally wrong.

    As a side note, I helped my son install a set of Eibach lowering springs and Koni struts/shocks on his 2007 Subaru Legacy wagon (5 speed). Wow! Talk about confidence and control. It also has a firm ride, but those shocks also simply soak up the bumps and never feel harsh. You really feel like you can throw it around, drive very aggressively, and feel totally in control.
    Last edited by 854vragtop; 03-01-2021 at 06:40 PM.
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  8. #8
    FEP Power Member qtrracer's Avatar
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    First, you have to understand why the ride is so bad in stock trim. Primarily it's due to the design of the stock arm bushings - front and rear. They are rubber vulcanized to the sleeves and collars. Then the ends are serrated to bite into the arm mounts so the bushings don't rotate. What they do instead is twist inside the collars. They therefore act like torsion springs and get tighter as they twist further during articulation. At some point, they cannot twist any further and instead they bind. As they approach bind, they add wheel rate (combination of spring rate, sta-bar rate and arm rate) which causes the harsh ride. Better shocks won't correct this. Lower arms with say poly at one end and spherical at the other (e.g., MM arms) won't correct the upper arms doing most of the binding.

    So long as you run a converging 4-link rear, this bind thing will occur creating a harsh ride. If you add lowering springs that have a higher rate than stock, even with Bilsteins or Konis, the ride will degrade. This harshness can only be corrected with a substantial re-engineering of the rear suspension (read T/A, IRS, 5-link, PM3L) and the conversion to coil-overs up front. Most guys aren't up for this and try to convince themselves that the $500 - $1000 they spent on MM arms and Bilsteins made the ride better. Not possible with the Ford design. For proof, take a ride in an old stock Cobra IRS car. There is no or very little bind in the IRS in stock trim. Otherwise, it's a Fox suspension.

  9. #9

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    Do NOT remove the quad shocks unless you absolutely have to. Ford does not install parts on the car because they like throwing money away.

    The quad shocks are there to help dampen axle housing rotation and stop wheel hop. The irony of this is that the people who usually remove them first are drag races, who need them the most!

    Remember that if you install dual exhaust on the car, you are going to have to modify the rear brake line routing to be compatible with it.
    Jack Hidley
    Maximum Motorsports Tech Support

  10. #10

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