[ggire]

I'm looking into upgrading my v6 to give it a smoother ride and better handling on turns.

I've heard that the GT takeoffs make a huge difference in ride quality, but I was wondering if I invest a bit more in after market parts will it make a greater difference.

Right now I am not planning on lowering the car, so I don't think I need to buy adjustable bars, but what brands and specific parts would you recommend to give the v6 a smoother ride without breaking the bank.

[rmays06]

Originally Posted by ggire

I'm looking into upgrading my v6 to give it a smoother ride and better handling on turns.

I've heard that the GT takeoffs make a huge difference in ride quality, but I was wondering if I invest a bit more in after market parts will it make a greater difference.

Right now I am not planning on lowering the car, so I don't think I need to buy adjustable bars, but what brands and specific parts would you recommend to give the v6 a smoother ride without breaking the bank.

Brands....BMR, CHE, HOTPART (my fav), Steeda and Roush.
Lowering your stang will give you a bumpier more firm ride, it won't be more comfortable ride the best to hope for is the same ride.
What GT take offs are you looking for? It seems as you have the Pony pkg which essentally the same set up.
If you lower depending on how much you will need adjustable bars to be safe.
You have a good set up , but if your going to do some lowering get some info about companies first.
I went with the Vogtalands, LCAs by J&M, Che anti squat brackets and it hadles great on corners and in a straight line too.

[FYouGitive]

Plenty threads with plenty good advice on this subject. Worth searching them out. Some may fit your situation closer than others.

Seems to me that if you have the Pony package, the sway bars are part of that. If not, the GT take-offs work wonders for the handling, especially in the sensations of control during cornering. You don't give up much to get quite a few enhancements with the GT bars on a v6.

Smoother ride? Hm. I'm afraid the "handling" and "ride" sets overlap in an area that will mean you sacrifice part of one to gain part of another. I can't think of any way to make a Mustang ride "smoother", short of changing springs and shocks, and while the actual setup may give a smoother, less jiggly ride, the sensations during cornering will not be of the "improved handling" variety.

I believe smooth ride setup includes different damping characteristics from the shocks, and longer wheel travel and lower spring rates. I had a car that incorporated all that and handled better than anything else on the road at the time: Lotus Élan S2, 1966. Of course it weighed only 1400 pounds all up, so the moments weren't anywhere near what has to be accounted for in the Mustang case. And, it was designed by a true genius engineer.

You might also think about the tires as contributors to "smooth ride": shorter sidewalls mean harsher ride, wider profiles mean less compliance per pound of car.

All things considered, It may be that you'll have to choose between "better handling in the corners" and "smoother ride".

[kscoyote]

Originally Posted by rmays06

Brands....BMR, CHE, HOTPART (my fav), Steeda and Roush.
Lowering your stang will give you a bumpier more firm ride, it won't be more comfortable ride the best to hope for is the same ride.
What GT take offs are you looking for? It seems as you have the Pony pkg which essentally the same set up.
If you lower depending on how much you will need adjustable bars to be safe.
You have a good set up , but if your going to do some lowering get some info about companies first.
I went with the Vogtalands, LCAs by J&M, Che anti squat brackets and it hadles great on corners and in a straight line too.

You can adjust for ride quality by using the new 17" 05+ wheels Ford's recently released, with more sidewall.

[kscoyote]

Originally Posted by rmays06

Brands....BMR, CHE, HOTPART (my fav), Steeda and Roush.
Lowering your stang will give you a bumpier more firm ride, it won't be more comfortable ride the best to hope for is the same ride.
What GT take offs are you looking for? It seems as you have the Pony pkg which essentally the same set up.
If you lower depending on how much you will need adjustable bars to be safe.
You have a good set up , but if your going to do some lowering get some info about companies first.
I went with the Vogtalands, LCAs by J&M, Che anti squat brackets and it hadles great on corners and in a straight line too.

Most of the GT stuff is crap, except for the sway bars.

Use Cobra Spec sways if you can get 'em for budget performance.


Almost anything would be an upgrade on GT shocks. Monroes from Sears are better shocks.

[CrzyHorse]

Check out hotchkis too...http://www.hotchkis.net/

Decided to go with the Eibach springs. You want a better handling car take the pro kit but it does make for a bumpier ride. You get used to it though.

[oldtimerocker]

i agree with the people above about ride and handling. my 06 has the pony pack and i think it handles well enough stock. so far it's been a matter of turning the wheel and it goes where i point it. some people say the non pony pack cars have a softer ride but they also say that the handling sucks especially at high speed. if you want a softer ride you could try going to the non pony pack wheels and getting tires with sideway height to equal the 17s that come with the pony pack.
you should get a smoother ride that way but the taller sideway is gonna hurt your corner carving some. as far as lowering goes shorter springs are gonna ride rougher. i read that going with softer springs and shocks and going to a larger swaybar will softer the highway ride some. that's something for an engineer to figuire out though.
i also read somewhere that the springs in the ponypack were eibachs i checked the rear ones on my pony and they have a ford part number.