Close



Results 1 to 11 of 11
  1. #1
    Stanger86
    Guest

    Default Traction and Handling

    This is one area that I have not been able to find a whole lot about for the four-eyes. What companys sell alot of suspension for our cars. What would you reccomend doing for suspesion on my cars. I want the best of both worlds handling for the street and traction for the strip. I was thinking about just going to HP Motorsport here in town and getting thier whole rear setup that they make and then just go with a set of quality lowering springs and some new shocks and struts.

    - Chad

  2. #2
    FEP Super Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Northern Colorado
    Posts
    5,082

    Default

    Since you have easy access to HP i would just go their..

    Their parts are excellent quality and they race what they sell..

    When i lived in that area they where really helpfull and pretty easy to deal with..

    kyle
    Also, do not be so quick to judge someone's comments as being derogatory. It is often difficult to interpret someone's intentions having only text and no body language or tone of voice to guide you.
    "If road racing where easy it would be called drag racing"
    1986 Thunderbird 5.0/AOD

  3. #3
    FEP Senior Member underdogGT's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Jacksonville, FL
    Posts
    633

    Default

    There are a lot of companies out there. Pick up a copy of Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords or a 5.0 Magazine. I personally have used a lot of companies and really like the service and quality parts that i have gotten from Steeda

  4. #4
    FEP Member
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    St. Peters, MO
    Posts
    168

    Default

    Also pick up a copy of Mustang Perfomance Handbook Vol 2, which specificly covers suspension and handling of the Fox chassis.

    Volume 1 covers the drivetrain and engine, mainly 5.0

    Jake
    1987 Merkur XR4Ti
    1979 Mustang Cobra, 2.3l, 4 spd; currently in as many pieces as possible.

  5. #5

    Default

    The absolute best suspension upgrade you can make to your car is to convert it to a torque-arm rear suspension. Even the new mustang has converted to this style of rear suspension. I'd use Maxamum Motorsports or Griggs.
    Black 1985 GT: 408w, in the 6's in the 1/8 mile
    Bimini Blue 1988 LX 5.0 Coupe 5-speed, Hellion turbo, zero options
    Grabber Yellow 1973 Mustang Mach 1: 351c, toploader
    Black 2012 5.0 GT, 6-speed, Brembo brakes, 3.73's
    Wimbledon White 1966 F-100 Shortbed Styleside, 390, Tremec 3550, FiTech EFI

  6. #6
    FEP Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    848

    Default

    Steeda 5 link...
    Old Heavyweight Large Body Platform, two Muscle powered feet, that get traction from a set of size 12 generic shoes. Needs alot of bodywork, and hard to start in the morning... Used to be alot faster, but now does the 1/4 in 330sec at 2.7 mph.

  7. #7
    phat86gt
    Guest

    Default

    I installed the megabite upper and lower control arms on my car real easy to do and they do the job.At the same time i installed mac springs and tokico shocks,while your under there why not. I would go with the mega bites there adjustable and customer service was great.

  8. #8

    Default

    There are a # of things you can do to your 86, and be sure you do your homework before embarking on anything.

    For a real world budget, the best thing you can do to your rear end is attach a set of upper and lower rear control arms on it. If this IS a street driven vehicle, you DO NOT want polyeurothane bushings on both ends of the control arms, as this will cause binding, hurt your cornering, and eventually rip your torque boxes out (very bad)

    perhaps THE most popular setup seems to be the maximum motorsport lowers with the frpp or cobra uppers (they are identical and the cobras are CHEAP!!)

    The max motorsport arms use a poly bushing at the frame end, but a solid spherical bushing at the axle end. This is the ideal setup for a car that sees strip and street duty. The cobra/frpp uppers are stronger than oem and use rubber bushings.

    I went with that setup, except used pro3i lower control arms, as they are a near identical copy of the maximum motorsport lowers at a cheaper price.

    A lot of people ditch the quad shocks with a control arm installation. Don't believe the hype, there is a good chance you will still have wheel hop even with aftermarket control arms. I ditched my quads, and put on the upper/lower control arms AND 3.73 geared rear end in all at once. No wheel hop, except on full throttle launches, when my rear then bounces all over the road like I have no suspension. The quads are going back on before the drag races.

    If you want to do a little better, intall also a panhard bar.

    Not sure if you have a ttop or vert, but even if you have a coupe/hatch (ha ha, I didn't say "hardtop ) you cornering will be helped greately by a good set of full length subframe connectors and a good strut tower brace.

    The LAST thing I would do is then lower the car. Be sure to match your spring rates with the shock rates. Don't buy crap like gabriel, monroe, or KYB. I hear tokiko makes some damn good shocks/struts.

    Keep in mind that a control arm swap and a lowering job MAY put your car at a slight rake, meaning the rear higher than the front, as many springs lower the front more than the rear, and control arms can have the tendency to make a rear sit higher (that is what happened when I did my car) so if you are anal with ride height, you may want to consider purchasing the lower adjustable arms so you can adjust ride height.

    Good luck!!

    Oh yea, the lower/upper control arms will GREATLY help traction. I think that is part of my problem with wheel hop, that the tires and arms grip too well now, and the axle can't do anything but bounce around.
    Jeremy
    -86 mustang SSP X CHP Unit # 3788-bone stock & staying that way
    -66 Mustang, bench seat car,8.8,t5 fuel injected 92 engine
    -72 Maverick 5.0 resto in process
    -12SS Camaro 6 speed. 600 FWHP, Kraftwerks Supercharger
    -03 z71 Avalanche 9" lift on 35s Daily Driven 20k a year. 290k miles at 11.8 mpg
    Entire 1986 electrical and vacuum troubleshooting manual download
    http://slantnosefox.com/picturehosti...g%20manual.zip

  9. #9

    Default

    also for conering purpose check out max/mtrsprt k-member and tower brace for the front end. i have the kind set up with that company and they rock!

  10. #10

    Default

    Almost all of the lowering springs cause the earlier foxes to have the rake because they are much lighter in the rear compared to the later 87-93 cars.

  11. #11
    jazzcat2001
    Guest

    Default

    front:
    aje tubular k member and a arms
    stock 4 cylinder front springs
    90/10 struts
    no sway bar

    rear:
    8.8 rear end with 4.30 gears
    drag rear spring kit with air bags in both sides
    steeda track upper and lower control arms
    steeda rear sway bar


    thats what set up i will have in soon as it gets warmer out...pretty much track only with minimum street use

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •