I am looking for advice on what would be the most cost effictive way to stiffin the suspension of my 02 GT Coupe. So far I only have FRPP C Springs which lowered it a little and made it a little stiffer but this is nowhere close.
this is my combo...springs will not make you stiffer
Suspension mods
full length subframe connectors with cross brace
eibach sprotline springs
steeda strut tower brace
tokico hp shocks and struts
steeda upper and lower aluminium control arms
mac offset bushings
this combo will make your ride handle almost good enough for the track and it will be good for everyday driving...your car will stick into every hill /bump raise and expect your butt to come off the seat....which reminds me...i need a good racing seat with a 4 point seat belt
if you want a crazy ass stiff car meant only for road track..basically you need to go get your visa out...its pricy
There are several combos that require different spring rates.
The "C" springs require better struts, will advice on some adjustable tokicos.
The rear can also use better shocks, but stockers work more less ok with the "C" low spring rate.
The Cs were created thinking on using a specific combo of parts, most important the FRPP Lower control arm which is actually a Global West LCA with delrin and spherical bushings. You can substitute that with a Max Motorsport LCA which is similar in design.
The rear lower control arms are the #1 thing you need to change.
The FRPP or Max motorsports LCAs will help locate the axle lateraly.
They work great with soft rear springs, no quad shocks and even without the rear swaybar (my combo, and i actually autox and RR my GT)
Also keep your stock rear UPPER arms, changing to urethane uppers will bind the mount points and create undesirable oversteer. Those arms are made for straight line not cornering.
Give us more!! Im wanting to set up my sn cobra this way, what is a good resource (besides AFM ) to dial in your sn95 mustang for extreme handling? I know im going with the eibach sprotline kit and kyb shocks and struts... what else is next in line? Is a polyurethane kit a good buy? Should I go with subframes next? At what point do I begin changing out the control arms?
So many questions, so little resources! Can you point us in the right direction?
Please read our tech articles, theres lots of info there.
Handling is a complex subject, and will take me a while to explain.
First of all you need to know the basics of the mustang suspension and what options there are.
Theres also the money issue, if you have a load of cash, drop a strong IRS and coilover setup and you are almost done.
On the middle of the scale you can use a panhard/torque arm setup, or a watts link or steeda 5 link. Each has its pros and cons.
On the bottom of the list, for those on a budget there are SIMPLE setups that handle decently.
Throw away any thoughts of getting urethane upper and lower control arms, those are for 1/4 mile. You need LCAs with spherical bushings on ONE SIDE.
Learn the basics about understeer and oversteer, what causes both? how to correct them?
In simple terms a soft front and stiff rear will cause OVERSTEER and thats when your rear tires gets loose. If you reverse that you get UNDERSTEER, the car just wants to go straight through the corners.
The Mustang usually has more oversteer not only because of the suspension, also because you have the power at the rear wheels.
The SIMPLE way to correct this is to SOFTEN the rear suspension using softer springs or removing the swaybar. But you have another problem, the axle moves also sideways, and for that you need some good racing control arms such as FRPP, Global West or Max Motorsports.
Shocks and struts play a very important role, they control the bouncing action of the springs. Bilsteins, Konis, Tokicos are about the best you can get, but should be properly matched and tuned (in case of adjustables) to your driving habits and the type of road.
Try to use parts from the same vendor, dont mix stuff if possible (with some exceptions).
The most respectable vendors in the racing arena are: Maximum Motorsports, Steeda and Global West (Also makes some of the FRPP stuff).
The front suspension is not that tricky to tune, get some CC plates, urethane rack bushings, the Steeda XBalljoint, Steeda offset A arm bushings (exception to the above rule). This setup works like a charm.
Now about springs...
Use LINEAR RATE springs if possible, i like the FRPP "C" springs a lot, but theres also Eibach and H&R.
Fronts of around 600lbs are ok for ocassional RR or autoX.
On the rear, its another ballgame entirely. Panhards and IRS setups require STIFF springs, IRS springs use almost the same rate as the fronts. Panhards use springs from 300 to 500 lbs depending on the setup.
If you use a simple LCA use SOFT springs, anything from 160 to 250 with or without a rear swaybar.
Originally posted by GTRaptor Handling is a complex subject, and will take me a while to explain.
Like reworking front and rear suspension geometry
Am I the only one that uses a torque arm and reworked front suspension?
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Black,79 Mustang mostly carbon fiber/kevlar body, M-2300-k brake kit, full roll cage, maximum motorsport suspension, custom geared 6 speed, 2 inch rear fender flares, 1 inch front, motor being built (no eta). Looks like the Mad Max interseptor and weighs about 1800lbs w/o motor (450hp 351w installed to move the car around)
Black, 82 Capri RS 5.0L, B303, 1.7 rockers, World 180 heads, +150hp N.O.S, Turbo coupe rear end, T-56(tremec tko would be beter), 80 cobra nose
Try to use parts from the same vendor, dont mix stuff if possible (with some exceptions).
The most respectable vendors in the racing arena are: Maximum Motorsports, Steeda and Global West (Also makes some of the FRPP stuff).
Excellent point! Sticking with one good quality aftermarket suspension manufacturer is definately the best way to go.. Rob you forgot to mention Griggs, who along with Maximum Motorsports, offer probably the best aftermarket suspension packages and components for Mustangs that are available on the market today.
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Am I the only one that uses a torque arm and reworked front suspension?
Mad Max, I have mine purchased but not yet installed. I know Tony (JUSTNLX) has the full maximum motorsports setup, including their torque arm for a 9" rearend, instaled in his mustang. Max what are you running along with your torque arm?
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Scott Halliday
Site Administrator
1992 Red 347 Automatic Limited Edition Convertible
1991 Red 5.0L 5-Speed Hatchback
1989 Black 5.0L 5-Speed Coupe
To start I have the MM HD torque arm package(torque arm, panhard bar control arms, bla bal bla). Turbo coupe rear end, 87-88T-bird front control arms(w/koni reds) they're about 3/4" longer each side with a 79-86 K-member so it works out to be about 3/4 of an inch wider than a stock 87-93 gt . . Moved the k-member back 1 inch. Solid/drop engine mounts to get the center of gravity lower. 850lbs/inch springs front, 480 rear. Stock GT swaybars (needs to be upgraded to a larger diameter).
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Black,79 Mustang mostly carbon fiber/kevlar body, M-2300-k brake kit, full roll cage, maximum motorsport suspension, custom geared 6 speed, 2 inch rear fender flares, 1 inch front, motor being built (no eta). Looks like the Mad Max interseptor and weighs about 1800lbs w/o motor (450hp 351w installed to move the car around)
Black, 82 Capri RS 5.0L, B303, 1.7 rockers, World 180 heads, +150hp N.O.S, Turbo coupe rear end, T-56(tremec tko would be beter), 80 cobra nose
Wow, Nice Combination! I am looking forward to installing MM coil over kit in my 89 coupe in the next couple of weeks. I really like MM HD torque arm but a little worried about ground clearance. Do you have any clearance problems with yours?
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Scott Halliday
Site Administrator
1992 Red 347 Automatic Limited Edition Convertible
1991 Red 5.0L 5-Speed Hatchback
1989 Black 5.0L 5-Speed Coupe
About 4" on a good day. That's cause of my front air damm. But still, it hanges real low. About 6-7" depending on the tire/wheel combo. I've scaped it on a few speed bumps. It's not the lowest part of my car so I'm not too worried about it
If you going with the standard arm, there should be a little more clearance and upgrade the lower control arms to the ajustables. It's worth the the extra $$$
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Black,79 Mustang mostly carbon fiber/kevlar body, M-2300-k brake kit, full roll cage, maximum motorsport suspension, custom geared 6 speed, 2 inch rear fender flares, 1 inch front, motor being built (no eta). Looks like the Mad Max interseptor and weighs about 1800lbs w/o motor (450hp 351w installed to move the car around)
Black, 82 Capri RS 5.0L, B303, 1.7 rockers, World 180 heads, +150hp N.O.S, Turbo coupe rear end, T-56(tremec tko would be beter), 80 cobra nose
Most cost effictive way to stiffin the suspension 
) to dial in your sn95 mustang for extreme handling? I know im going with the eibach sprotline kit and kyb shocks and struts... what else is next in line? Is a polyurethane kit a good buy? Should I go with subframes next? At what point do I begin changing out the control arms? 
