[racin366]

Suspension does make a huge difference, but if they're leaving you on a straight at speed it isn't going to make you any faster, but it will make it a more confident, predictable ride, you'll be able to stay in it longer and sooner. Kennebell is right, you don't need a built motor to run a blower, just be conservative on the boost, 10psi at most. I'd still do gears and a tuner first, then full exhaust before a blower.

[04KenneBellGT]

Yeah suspension is very important. If i could go back in time i would have done suspension upgrades first before i did any major bolt ons so i could actually keep the car on the road after the blower was isntalled.

[birdmandan]

Suspension upgrades... entailing what exactly?

Subframe connectors, stronger springs/shocks, etc?

How about just slapping in a Roush suspension to make things easier?

[svtfever]

a have a full steeda suspension. subframes are the number one thing you should be doing first. get full length subframe connectores from steeda or maximum motor sports. doing this alone will drastically change your car for the better!!! and they are cheap! do not get the smaller connectors or the ones that bolt on. you need to get full lengths and weld them on.

then if you want to keep it basic- do some lower control arms. but after those are done, you need to be thinking about what you wanna do with the car. drag or street and auto x racing.
tires- tires are very very important. especially if you wanna run gears. you need to stick, period. if your spinning tires, your doing no good. nitto invo or 555 serise are great.

ummm..... thats about it, u just gotta decide what you wanna do with the car. hint, a well handling suspension (like mine) can still do well at a drag strip, but a complete drag suspension will suck nut on the street........

[svtfever]

IMO suspension first b/c what good is all that power if it wont stay on the road. i have a 2003 cobra conversion in my gt and i have 550 rwhp to the ground. without my FULL suspension (which can be doen for a sweet street/strip car for 1500+ bucks to get you started) i would be all oer the place and/ or spinning the whole time. my power would be useless.

in the cobra world, for example, power can come from simple bolt ons. but svt guys LOVE LOVE LOVE their suspension upgrades.

[PonyBoy2000]

Wow, this is all outstanding information. You guys are great and really helpfull. As far as the suspension is concerned. what would you all recomend, brand and kits? When I do get the subframe connectors, where would I take them to have them welded?

Thanks.

[racin366]

Any decent welder can do it, it isn't hard, the most important thing is to install them with the car loaded the same way it drives, ie on the tires so that it doesn't get welded ****-eyed. There are a lot of good suspension makers out there, its a very subjective matter, depends what you like, but most of the major players make good products. I like steeda, eibach, tokico, and mm among others.

[SCalla1384]

I agree with fobra559... all these imports and euros are better at top end, the fastest ive gone on the highway is 120mph and thats fuckin fast. From a dig is a real race. Imagine losing it at 120mph+? Start doing some bolt ons like gears, exhaust, intake. pulleys, tune, timing adjuster, aluminum driveshaft, then maybe a wet shot of n2o like they have a ZEX wet kit a 75hp jet and a 125hp jet for like $500 on american muscle. OR you could always buy a differant motor....like my dad has an 03 Mach 1 and is looking to buy the "Aluminator" Forged Mach 1 motor with a supercharger on it.

[04KenneBellGT]

I have UPR subframes and control arms and have been happy so far with them. And you dont have to get full length subframes, i have the "mid length" i guess you could say which work great. Ive compared the two and personally couldnt tell a difference and felt like 80 bucks, but i do agree with having them welded on. But the subframes do make the biggest difference in driveability and really do help you hook up better, and no more feeling like the front end is going one way and the rear is going the other if ya know what i mean. And not to mention it will handle curves better too. Shocks and stuts i think may help some with power, but msotly thats for driveablility and handling.

[yomadmike]

Well as far as suspension, I run Kenny Brown sub frames, jacking rails, extreme matirx brace, aluminum diff bushings, torque brace, front and rear strut bars, caster plates and Springs. I love Kenny brown too bad you can't find it anymore. But with my can tied up like it is(oh, I have a six point cage too) The car seems fast with 301rwhp. If I can get these imports in a corner they can't hang. I love it because that's where they usually think they will get a Mustang. I punked an IS300 badly one night that way.

[svtfever]

all those subframe are great brands. honestly all it is is a steel bar welded to your car. you could make one (but dont). i personally have and favor steed full length ZINC plated ones. b/c when you get them installed, you need to paint or coat them so they dont rust. zinc plated is exactly that (already coated). steeda is awesome, absolutly top of there game, and so is maximum motorsports. and mm's can come already powdercoated. i would sugest not just going to a website and start ordering stuff. i would call the place and talk to them about what is best.
stang suspesion.com is wonderful. i called them and talk for like an hour discusing what would be best for my driving needs. my mustang is built for agressive road/track racing. tons of straightline speed and cornering. full drag setup is NOT very ideal for daily driving, period. you can do it but it sucks. also, stangsuspension.com offers all the major brands. so they can build you a completly custom kit if you want. thats what i did. the only think i did not do is an adjustbale suspension. i dont plan on messing with it that much. so my shocks/ struts i went with tokico hd's , they are on a level 1-5 of stiffness- like inbetween a 3 to a 4. so it will stick nicely.

simple moltons do the trick, intake and exhaust with other suporting mods and costom tune will add about 35-40 rwhp. you'll see about 260-270 rear wheel hp. that dont seem like alot, but on a built stiff suspension, it will be like a rocket that still gets over 20mpg, lol. my cobra conversion gets like 7 mpg haha. its fun.

oh, panhard bars and torque arms can really improve your handling/cornering, but that is sumething i would do last. on a street car, its not usually nessesary if you run some good tires.
for the love of god, tires. on a well balanced street/track car. do NOT use bigger wheels and tires on the back than the front. it will upset everything. and forgive me if im wrong, but you'll be battling alot more understeer. i have 9.5 steeda wheels all around. and am useing nitto invo's 275-40-18 i think. whatever steeda calls for.

[alex00GT]

if u have the money supercharger if not u can run a 75 shot safely thats the only way u ll be able to keep up or bet them.

[flyers]

Originally Posted by PonyBoy2000

Wow, this is all outstanding information. You guys are great and really helpfull. As far as the suspension is concerned. what would you all recomend, brand and kits? When I do get the subframe connectors, where would I take them to have them welded?

Thanks.

Go on stangsuspension.com and look at their saver packages, I ordered Stages 2-4 for under $1500(with the AFM discount code) which is a killer deal. If you get stage 1-4 you'll be set as far as your suspension goes and save some big $$ compared to buying everything seperately. Plus, the packs come with all top of the line parts(steeda, MM, tokico, ect) and you don't have to order them all at once

[PonyBoy2000]

yomadmike, that's what i'm talking about. Spankin some snotnose in his ritzy, my car is better than yours, euro-nese (european/japanese) trash.

As far as what I want to do with the car is to mainly to have fun on the street with it. I would like to have my GT perform just as good or better than some of these high end cars. I want to make them think twice before messing with me .

I like the idea of building from the ground up, sounds logical. So I'll be doing some research and pricing on the suspension kits available. I'm not sure how I feel about nitrous but I like the idea of a supercharger, or what do you guys think about turbos?

I appriciate the guidance and input you all are giving, thanks

[04KenneBellGT]

Originally Posted by PonyBoy2000

yomadmike, that's what i'm talking about. Spankin some snotnose in his ritzy, my car is better than yours, euro-nese (european/japanese) trash.

As far as what I want to do with the car is to mainly to have fun on the street with it. I would like to have my GT perform just as good or better than some of these high end cars. I want to make them think twice before messing with me .

I like the idea of building from the ground up, sounds logical. So I'll be doing some research and pricing on the suspension kits available. I'm not sure how I feel about nitrous but I like the idea of a supercharger, or what do you guys think about turbos?

I appriciate the guidance and input you all are giving, thanks

I personally am a supercharger guy. I love the instant boost and torque of a twin screw blower. Not to mention the deafening scream of her when you get on it. But everyone likes something different, it all depends on what kind of power you want. But if you go with a twin screw, look at a KB.