Suspension improvements - Need help

[Shelby2809]

I have the drivetrain done, the Edelbrock with the new tune is putting down 450 HP to the wheels (or very close) and it is very hard to get that power to the ground... especcially in the 1st and 2nd gears. What suspension mods should I look at the improve this moving forward?

 

Living in Ohio, I'll have a long winter to plan/install the upgrades, but I don't know what to do. I don't run the car down the 1/4 mile and I'd like to start doing track days, but if it spins the tires all the time, all that power doesn't mean much. Thank you in advance for your help and I look forward to hearing your suggestions.

 

Jim

[blueone]

I have the drivetrain done, the Edelbrock with the new tune is putting down 450 HP to the wheels (or very close) and it is very hard to get that power to the ground... especcially in the 1st and 2nd gears. What suspension mods should I look at the improve this moving forward?

 

Living in Ohio, I'll have a long winter to plan/install the upgrades, but I don't know what to do. I don't run the car down the 1/4 mile and I'd like to start doing track days, but if it spins the tires all the time, all that power doesn't mean much. Thank you in advance for your help and I look forward to hearing your suggestions.

 

Jim

 

http://www.bmrfabrication.com/index.cfm?page=products&vehicleid=1&maincatid=21&catid=72

 

http://www.metcomotorsports.com/proddetail.asp?prod=MCA2005&cat=102

http://www.metcomotorsports.com/proddetail.asp?prod=MUC2005

[ARMORINE]

http://www.bmrfabrication.com/index.cfm?page=products&vehicleid=1&maincatid=21&catid=72

 

http://www.metcomotorsports.com/proddetail.asp?prod=MCA2005&cat=102

http://www.metcomotorsports.com/proddetail.asp?prod=MUC2005

 

 

blueone's on the ball with the relocation brackets. theyr a must, WELD THEM IN.

 

but those control arms are overbuild for his application. if h was pushing alot more horsepower then maybe. id suggest Steeda or bmr control arms, and a watts link. poly or delrin bushings, the delrins ride like but though.. i have pollys on everything on my sgt and i absolutely love it. i'd also suggest a heavy duty upper control arm mount. stiffens things up and removes alot of flex,

 

cheers

 

wheres kahnman you need him?

[richard m.switzer]

I have the drivetrain done, the Edelbrock with the new tune is putting down 450 HP to the wheels (or very close) and it is very hard to get that power to the ground... especcially in the 1st and 2nd gears. What suspension mods should I look at the improve this moving forward?

 

Living in Ohio, I'll have a long winter to plan/install the upgrades, but I don't know what to do. I don't run the car down the 1/4 mile and I'd like to start doing track days, but if it spins the tires all the time, all that power doesn't mean much. Thank you in advance for your help and I look forward to hearing your suggestions.

 

Jim

 

here's what I did,

[richard m.switzer]

here's what I did,

 

[richard m.switzer]

 

[Shelby2809]

Awesome info guys, thank you. Yes, I expected Ken to give me a run down of the Griggs set-up.

 

I'm not looking for a full race set up, mostly my driving is done on the weekends with the Wife, crusin around country roads. I would like to play around with track days, I think Armorine is on track with my driving habits. Can you explain what the relocation brackets would do for the car? I've also seen other guys with the watts link, what would that do for the car? Would the coil overs the Shelby store sells be benificial? Thanks again guys, I'm totally a novice on suspension items.

 

Jim

[ARMORINE]

Awesome info guys, thank you. Yes, I expected Ken to give me a run down of the Griggs set-up.

 

I'm not looking for a full race set up, mostly my driving is done on the weekends with the Wife, crusin around country roads. I would like to play around with track days, I think Armorine is on track with my driving habits. Can you explain what the relocation brackets would do for the car? I've also seen other guys with the watts link, what would that do for the car? Would the coil overs the Shelby store sells be benificial? Thanks again guys, I'm totally a novice on suspension items.

 

Jim

 

 

 

mines my only car and a daily driver and see's track days 3 or 4 times a year. the watts link turns your car into a whole nother monster. it makes it to where you dont have that uncertainty when your pushing it to the limits. for most of the people i have talked to they said it gives great confidence to the driver as it eliminated the querky attitudes that the mustang exhibits in really hard turns. pretty much the watts link makes it where the axle goes strait up in down when it traverses its travel length. panhard bars pull one way or the other hen they traverse.

 

heres an illustration

 

i dont have a watts link yet unfortunately. several of my friends run them and they love them. one of my friends runs a 1:34 at Hallet with a v6 equipped with a watts link.

 

on the relocation brackets they fix your axle geometry(instant center). makes the car hook alot harder. i have them and i cant really understand how i lived before them. lowered mustangs have there instant center out of wack due the way the axle is set up. it gets complicated at this point and im not sure i can come up with a simple way t explain it. basicaly you want your lower control arms level with the ground. kahnman could explain this alot better.

[blueone]

Awesome info guys, thank you. Yes, I expected Ken to give me a run down of the Griggs set-up.

 

I'm not looking for a full race set up, mostly my driving is done on the weekends with the Wife, crusin around country roads. I would like to play around with track days, I think Armorine is on track with my driving habits. Can you explain what the relocation brackets would do for the car? I've also seen other guys with the watts link, what would that do for the car? Would the coil overs the Shelby store sells be benificial? Thanks again guys, I'm totally a novice on suspension items.

 

Jim

 

 

The instant center of the vehicle is the point at which imaginary lines drawn to extend the vehicles upper link and lower control arms would meet. The relocation brackets cause this imaginary point to move toward the rear of the vehicle, reducing the tendency of the rear of the vehicle to squat during hard acceleration. Power normally absorbed in suspension compression is instead applied to the suspension mounting points, driving the rear tires downward and significantly improving traction.

[ARMORINE]

The ‘instant center’ of the vehicle is the point at which imaginary lines drawn to extend the vehicle’s upper link and lower control arms would meet. The relocation brackets cause this imaginary point to move toward the rear of the vehicle, reducing the tendency of the rear of the vehicle to ‘squat’ during hard acceleration. Power normally absorbed in suspension compression is instead applied to the suspension mounting points, driving the rear tires downward and significantly improving traction.

 

 

well put sir!

[Shelby2809]

Ok, to confirm, a good start would be the BMR relocation brackets and a watts link? On the BMR product, I assume I need to purchase two, one for each side? Also, would a good local auto shop be able to install these? Lastly, do I need to consider an upgrade to the shocks, or will the current ones work fine for my application? Thank you guys again, you've been extremely helpful!

 

Jim

[blueone]

Ok, to confirm, a good start would be the BMR relocation brackets and a watts link? On the BMR product, I assume I need to purchase two, one for each side? Also, would a good local auto shop be able to install these? Lastly, do I need to consider an upgrade to the shocks, or will the current ones work fine for my application? Thank you guys again, you've been extremely helpful!

 

Jim

 

 

If your just looking for some improved traction, I would just go with the lower control arms and the relocation brackets and call it a day.

[speedyburd33]

I have the same questions as Shelby2809... with the relocation brackets, is that simple enough for any local shop to weld them on correctly? I know very little about suspension so I am hesitant on these mods.

 

Also blueone, you think that the brackets and lower control arms are enough? How much more performace do you get from the upper control arms or the watts link?? or both?

 

Thanks

[ARMORINE]

I have the same questions as Shelby2809... with the relocation brackets, is that simple enough for any local shop to weld them on correctly? I know very little about suspension so I am hesitant on these mods.

 

Also blueone, you think that the brackets and lower control arms are enough? How much more performace do you get from the upper control arms or the watts link?? or both?

 

Thanks

 

 

the watts link offers MAJOR improvements in performance but its pricey itll run you about a grand for the steeda model, im not sure how much the stage two(company's name) model costs. the watts link will keep the vehicle more level in a hard turns.

 

the brackets make a huge improvement in performance as well. i have 285/40/zr18 f1 eagles on the back of my car and i use to be able to spin them all the way through 1st 2st and most of the way through 3rd. its now just grips and goes in second. i also noticed a marked improvement while turning under power. the tires are more apt to bite then let go now.

 

the control arms should be the base of any suspension upgrade as the crappy bushings that are there to begin with like to flex ALOT, the downside to upgrading them is you will get a little more nvh through the suspension. mines a daily driver and it doesnt bother me one bit.

 

 

if you have the brackets installed by a local shop choose one that has experience with mustangs and has done them before. i suggest talking to your local mustang club and doing your research. the install should take no longer then an hour and a half(its what me and some friends did mine in on a garage floor) for the brackets. also after they weld them in make sure they brush the welds clean of slag and PAINT the welds, will prevent future rust problems

 

i suggest the bmr brackets above all else i have yet to find any one who has a stronger bracket(im sure some one makes one just havent seen it yet) theyr reinforced in the back unlike most of their competitors.

[speedyburd33]

Well that def. helps. Thanks a lot. Now I have some more to think about. i guess what I would be looking to do is watts link, lower control arms and brackets. How important are the upper control arms, and where do you notice the difference with them?

[ARMORINE]

Well that def. helps. Thanks a lot. Now I have some more to think about. i guess what I would be looking to do is watts link, lower control arms and brackets. How important are the upper control arms, and where do you notice the difference with them?

 

 

you notice upper control arms during burnouts and extremely hard acceleration.

 

i installed my brackets at the same time as my upper control arm so it all got buddled together. so telling what the control arm did for my car specifically is hard.

 

if you do relocation brackets then an adjustable upper control arm is pretty much mandatory(sorta its not required but i highly recommend it). you need to reset your pinion angle since the brackets change it slightly.

[speedyburd33]

Thanks for the info. By the sounds of it, when i'm ready i'll do it all at once.

[Shelby2809]

Me too, I called the company that installed my supercharger, Powerhouse Performance, and they are ready to do this whenever I am. I plan to do the control arms and relocation brackets first and save the Watts Link for another time. With installation, they can do this for just under $550. To me that is a small price to pay for better driveability. Thanks again and I'll get pictures and thoughts up once this is done.

 

Jim

[ARMORINE]

good luck man keep us posted