[ManleyWilliams]

Hey everyone I have a 1995 GT auto. that im going to put a 5sp in and I want to make this car a daily driver that I can take to Barber's motorsport track in Leeds AL. and race the local BMW's (its about 2 min. from house I love to stand outside and listen lol) But anyway what mods do I need to start with? also I love drifting ,these mustangs have so much tq. you can play with the throttle and make them snap back and fourth so with that in mind besides sfc's what mods do I need to acomplish my goal? witch is to be drifting around the track change tires and drive home.

[guitarist9008]

You should consider steeper gears. Even if you just upgraded to the new edges's 3.27's, I think you'll see a huge improvement in your acceleration.

[cmaurer1]

Lower it with some springs, new shocks/struts, Subframe connectors, caster/camber plates, bumpsteer kit, Steeda X2 balljoints, better LCA's. Those are just a few things to help with the handling.

Are you wanting tighter handling or looser suspension for drifting? I know some people like their suspension tight for drifting but I also know a lot of people who like loose suspension for drifting. A drift suspension is a lot different than a track/handling suspension is.

[ManleyWilliams]

Would a tight suppension make the car whip out eaiser? and what are LCA's?

[cmaurer1]

LCA-Lower Control Arms

Generally speaking no, a tight suspension will not allow the car to break loose as easy. A tight suspension will make the car stick to the road a lot better and handle a lot better. A looser suspension will generally let the car break loose a lot easier and is better for straight line racing.

The tires do have a lot to do with the equation too.

[kscoyote]

Originally Posted by ManleyWilliams

Hey everyone I have a 1995 GT auto. that im going to put a 5sp in and I want to make this car a daily driver that I can take to Barber's motorsport track in Leeds AL. and race the local BMW's (its about 2 min. from house I love to stand outside and listen lol) But anyway what mods do I need to start with? also I love drifting ,these mustangs have so much tq. you can play with the throttle and make them snap back and fourth so with that in mind besides sfc's what mods do I need to acomplish my goal? witch is to be drifting around the track change tires and drive home.

Your first order of business has to be stiffening up the chassis. You should concentrate of subframe connectors (Best, but MOST costly are Griggs, and Agent 47, but they're hideously expensive to install) strut tower reinforcement (Maximum Motorsports, Griggs, Steeda, etc) upgrading your front and rear sway bars, and replacing the rubber bushings with polyurethane or delrin (This includes your motor and transmission mounts) - this will make much more of a difference in handling than springs, lowering, or anything else). Always take care of the foundation first, because you can throw all the expensive parts you want on a flexible platform, and you won't improve the handling any, but you will stress and fracture the platform from all the flexing.

After you've eliminated the flex, and if you plan to lower the car (you may not want to, if you're doing targas, rallying, or anything else without a smooth surface) you should definitely use modified endlinks, balljoints, etc., to keep the geometry consistent. You should also pick up caster/camber plates and offset rack bushings. The best way to lower the car is with coil-overs, as you'll shed a ton of weight, and the geometry of the suspension becomes more controllable.

Any weight you can get off the front end will improve things - so you should plan on moving the battery to the trunk, and you may want to consider getting rid of the power steering and switching to a manual unit.


For ultimate handling, you should replace the K-member with a lighter robust type, with improved geometry from Griggs, Maximum Motorsports, Steeda, Agent-47, etc, and upper/lower control arms, watts linkages, etc., to keep the rear controllable.

you may want to consider switching to a Cobra IRS.

The biggest problem for drifting is in the maximum steering angle as well a the ackerman steering in the Pre-05 cars (Japanese cars have to negotiate tighter spaces) in the 05+ custom racks were made for the Ken Gushi car as well as other sponsored cars.

I don't know if one is available for pre-05 Fox body cars. Kenny Brown was working on one before his illness, but I don't know if anything ever came of it after his partners sold his business out from under him.


-Oh! You're definitely going to have to upgrade your LSD as well.

[ManleyWilliams]

Thanks man my budget is low but with what you said i'll start with the foundation and work from there thank's agin.

[cmaurer1]

The first things to do will be to put on SFC's and then lower it with good springs/shocks/struts.

[kscoyote]

Noooooo.

It takes more than subframe connectors and lowering springs (W/O caster camber plates your handling will worsen).

Drifting places extreme loads on the chassis, even more than drag racing. The front suspension strut towers cannot take side impact loads like that without a brace tying to the cowl, and the k-member will flex independently of the chassis as well.

Trying to control a drift with only SFCs is an accident waiting to happen. Unless you can change the rest of the elements geometries at the same time, lowering springs are last on the list. It's better to have the travel with correct geometry than a misaligned mess that deflects at speed.

[ManleyWilliams]

Thanks man the car has the stock strut tower brace on it now so the next would be subframe connectors and what else from there my budget is low i'm about to get a job and have about $300 or so a month from there. Or should i not get subframe connectors first will you tell me the first part i should get to start the cars suppension is completly stock with about 86,000 miles on it so that leads me to do i need new struts and shocks to? thanks agin

[kscoyote]

Originally Posted by ManleyWilliams

Thanks man the car has the stock strut tower brace on it now so the next would be subframe connectors and what else from there my budget is low i'm about to get a job and have about $300 or so a month from there. Or should i not get subframe connectors first will you tell me the first part i should get to start the cars suppension is completly stock with about 86,000 miles on it so that leads me to do i need new struts and shocks to? thanks agin

What kind of strut tower brace do you have?

your first purchase should be upgraded sway bars and subframe connectors. Whichever is in your budget.

You should check out the systems to know which one you're going with. Griggs, Maximum Motorsports, Steeda, and Agent-47 are the ones with the most complete catalogues. Do not mix and match. Pick one and follow through, because they're designed to work as a system from subframe connectors on.

[cmaurer1]

kscoyote- Do you purposely make no sense? I mean really?

I said that the first step would be to put on SFC's and then lower it. You say no, your advice is to put on SFC's first?

If you look at my first post in this thread it clearly gives enough suspension parts to spend 1.5k-2k. That is also enough to get the steering geometry back. Those parts would all be needed for a good start on a drift car as well as for better handling. Their is much more than the basic bolt-ons that can be done for the SN95 chassis.

Are you saying that it would be better to drift on the stock suspension with SFC only? Try drifting with the stock spring rates and shocks/struts and see what happens. lmao I have a feeling that when you blow out the stock shocks/struts after the second day of drifting you wish you would have upgraded them.

I have a feeling that I know much much more about drifting suspension than you do. The SN95 chassis is not an optimum chassis for drift anyway. It is much more suited for either straight line or pure handling(with work).

[kscoyote]

Originally Posted by cmaurer1

kscoyote- Do you purposely make no sense? I mean really?

I said that the first step would be to put on SFC's and then lower it. You say no, your advice is to put on SFC's first?

If you look at my first post in this thread it clearly gives enough suspension parts to spend 1.5k-2k. That is also enough to get the steering geometry back. Those parts would all be needed for a good start on a drift car as well as for better handling. Their is much more than the basic bolt-ons that can be done for the SN95 chassis.

Are you saying that it would be better to drift on the stock suspension with SFC only? Try drifting with the stock spring rates and shocks/struts and see what happens. lmao I have a feeling that when you blow out the stock shocks/struts after the second day of drifting you wish you would have upgraded them.

I have a feeling that I know much much more about drifting suspension than you do. The SN95 chassis is not an optimum chassis for drift anyway. It is much more suited for either straight line or pure handling(with work).

Higher spring rates on a flexible chassis mean nothing, all the impacts are just transmitted through the chassis, further upsetting the balance of the car. Furthermore, running stiffer springs on an already lowered car without correct geometry increases bumpsteer, not even counting the caster/camber problems. Lowering the car w/o correct geometry is a codpiece.

If you don't want to believe me, you can ask Griggs, MaxMS, or anyone else. KB proved it with the first Saleen concepts.

The shock will likely wear out quickly, but he is better off with high quality replacement shocks, the full chassis stiffening equipment, and urethane bushings (which increase the rate of the sway bars in and of themselves) running a workable suspension geometry, than with only SFCs and lowered shocks and higher rate springs.

[ManleyWilliams]

Plus ya'll im only 17 and i just recently got my lic. and started driving here's some pics. of my car

Oh and kscoyote the car came with a factory strut bar.

Sorry cmaurerl I read it wrong but I will start with sfc's then get a new supens. ie. bushings,swaybars,shocks and struts.Mine feel's like it already has a stiff supen. b/c of how worn out it is already lol ,

But really thanks to kscoyote,cmaurerl, and everbody else thats helped me.

It's not that i want to constantly drift this car i would like to grip drive as well. Its alot faster

I would lke to make this a all around great car Drag,Drift,and Grip so thanks.

Also I'm running a stilleto blue streak soft compound ZR rated tires I ca get a set of 4 for about 250. Will those tires be ok they hook real good and they will spin if i want?

[kscoyote]

Originally Posted by ManleyWilliams

Plus ya'll im only 17 and i just recently got my lic. and started driving here's some pics. of my car

Oh and kscoyote the car came with a factory strut bar.

there really isn't much difference between the setup of a track and a drift car. The main differences are in the setup of the rear and the slip angle of the front rack.

The tires (believe it or not) aren't much different either - the rear is broken loose by a combination of the slip angle and an aggressive LSD (for power-oversteer) or slip/handbrake for lower powered vehicles (AE86 & other 2.0L and under vehicles).

You're going to want good tires that can stand up to the abuse. I've never heard of the tires you mentioned, but, in general - Fuzions and General Tire are about as low as I'll go.

Drift tires generally cost $250+ per tire . ..

______________________________________

Track/Road/Drift are all similar in setup, but are totally different than drag cars.

Shocks, sway bars, brakes, wheels, and engine characteristics are TOTALLY different. Even the control arms have different requirements.

A well sorted road/track car will never compete with a well-sorted drag car on a $ investent basis on the strip
& a drag car on a track is just dangerous -if funny to watch.