suspension mods on my 95 cobra, whats next

svt1179 · 10-30-2005

the front consists of a qa1 tubular k member, steeda sport springs, steeda x2 ball joints, steeda bumpsteer kit, tokico 5 way adjustable struts, stock control arms with urethane bushings, offset rack bushings, hotchkis caster camber plates, urethane sway bar and end link bushings and coil spring isolators. i read that the 94-95 cobra sway bars are only 25mm in diameter, i was thinking of going to a steeda 30mm design. anybody using this bar?

the rear suspension consists of a saleen rear shock tower brace, steeda sport springs, tokico 5 way adjustable shocks, ford racing heavy duty upper control arms, bbk lower control arms, upr spherical rear end bushings, kyb quad shocks (which i will be dumping), stock cobra sway bar, and urethane coil spring isolators, and eibach 1 inch wheel spacers.

the wheels are 17x9 2003 cobra wheels with bf goodrich g force t/a kd tires. the struts are set on 3 and the shocks are set on 2. i was thinking of getting an adjustable upper control arm so i can set the pinion angle, dumping the quad shocks, keeping the factory rear cobra sway bar, and possibly getting those steeda aluminum lower control arms and getting rid of the bbk ones. is bbk any good? what do u guys think of all this madness i'm typing? anybody have any experience with anything i typed?--eric

GTRaptor · 10-31-2005

I think you have a decent setup, but the question is HOW DOES IT HANDLE NOW?
Do you have oversteer? understeer? neutral balance?

Answering those questions will enable us to tell whats needed to improve the handling.

One area that you can improve significantly is the rear by installing a panhard-bar/torque arm setup, with it you can get rid of the upper CAs and reduce differential side-to-side movement to a minimum. (maximummotorsports.com)

The BBK arms are "decent" but more oriented to straight line than cornering, the Steeda alum arms are better due to their 3 piece bushing design which will reduce binding on corners.

svt1179 · 10-31-2005

it handles pretty well now, i was thinking of getting those steeda aluminum lower control arms and maybe a bigger front sway bar. i took the quad shocks off this morning so i will see how it rides without them. i am trying to stay away from torque arm/ panhard bar setup due to the fact that i dont want to alter the exhaust in any way, i have mac longtubes, mac prochamber, flowmasters, and 2.5 inch chrome tips from mac so the exhaust is perfect. i was also thinking about getting the steeda adjustable upper control arms so i can set the pinion angle. the car is lowered with steeda sport springs and it has prothane motor mounts and tranny mount so the suspension is sitting lower and the drivetrain is sitting higher due to the mounts so i know the pinion angle must be off.

GR40Snake · 10-31-2005

Get rid of the stock front control arms and move the battery to the trunk and if you haven't already, ya didn't say, sub frame connectors(maximum) at least and front strut brace and 4 or 6pt roll bar for seats and a 5pt harness, bracing your arm against the door to hold you in the seat aint fast. The stiffer the chassis the better, if you have flex all that stuff can't do its job. Upping the spring rates will make a big difference; coil overs will also reduce unsprung weight. Also get an aggressive alignment 2.5-cam & as much as possible caster also cornerweight the car. After all that the only thing that touches the asphalt is the tires, try R compound DOT legal like TOYO RA1 or Pirelli PZero Corsa.

svt1179 · 11-01-2005

i forgot to state that the battery is in the trunk and the car has bbk subframe connectors welded in and a bbk strut tower brace, ac and smog equipment removed.

95blueoval · 11-01-2005

Over all it sounds like a very solid setup. I will say this though. FRPP HD upper control arms aren't anything great in my opinion, just a tad better than stock. I would get steeda upper adjustable with their special 3-way bushings, this cuts down on rearend bind , but yet gives the solid feel of a urethane bushings being in the back, and because they are adjustable you can set the pinion angle. I've seen these on ebay for a little over $100 shipped. I see you also mentioned the aluminum steeda lowers. Get them! I also was going to pick those up but ,I found another deal from a buddy I could not refuse. Together I think the steeda control arms that we have mentioned, will do the job perfectly! Secondly definitely drop those quad shocks, just extra weight now, you have no need for them with control arms and good struts. Which might I mentiong those struts are the sh*t, good choice! Our cobra rear sway bar is pretty d*mn good, no company really offers one thats worth paying the price for, that offers a significant increase in stiffness compared to the price that is asked (IMO). By the way the cobra rear is 27MM, while the GT rear is 24MM! Our front sway bars are another story though. THEY SUCK! Softer than the stock GT sway bar. It is 25MM though, compared to the GT's 30mm. I would again recommend a steeda front sway bar. I'm not trying to sell their product, but I've done a little research and for the money and its quality, stiffness, I feel its the best. I will be buying one for my car next spring.

Again, I think overall you have made some awesome choices and assuming everything is set and installed right your car should outhandle most of the cars you will ever encounter.

Do you road race the car or what???

svt1179 · 11-01-2005

blue oval, thanks for the thumbs up. i really dont road race at all, in fact i drive it like 2,000 miles a year, never sees rain, snow, etc. its just a hot street car whose owner has extreme addiction to spending money on it. an interesting note about the front sway bars, according to steeda's web site they state that their front swy bar is 220% stiffer than the factory cobra bar. i will definetly keep the rear cobra bar as it seems to be the best bar for the rear out there. blue oval, what suspension mods r u running? do u have those tokico 5 way adjustables, and if so where r your settings? i have my fronts on 3 and the rears on 2. i got these settings from a guy who was using them on his 97 cobra. i took the quad shocks off yesterday and i really didn't notice any wheel hop, so i will probably just leave them off. i have read that once u start modifying the rear suspension those things just slow the reaction time anyhow so off they went.

95blueoval · 11-01-2005

You sound like me.... I drove my car 1,000 miles this year, which was to much, but I still like modding it. And I have read that comparision chart on steeda's website about the front sway bar, it offers some good info. I am just running GMS lowers and uppers, but I will be buying the steeda uppers here real soon, as soon as I put my gear this next week.One thing at a time. As far as struts I will be getting the tokico 5 ways, for now the stock ones will have to do, but I did install a set on a friends car, he wanted the settings a little more for the track. 1 on the front struts, and 5 on the right rear, and I think he did 4 on the left rear. He did this for better transfer of weight towards the back. I will say it did move down the track. I got to run it a few times. It ran 11.9 on a turbo 306, super mild motor, and tune, plus he ws still breakin it in so the boost was right around 5.5 maybe 6psi, super low. Now that it is broke in I think hes running like 18 maybe 17psi, but it will f*cking move now!!!