Engine strut and performance package questions

[NMAv]

Obviosuly I'm still very wet behind the ears in terms of high HP vehicles so please excuse the silly questions. i'm wondering what the point of the engine compartment strut is (and is there somthing out there for the 2011 GT 500)?

 

For performance upgrades I'm looking at consists of a Stage 0 from Evolution Performance (tuner, 2.58 pulley, belt tensioner, gapped plugs) perhaps a new TB 66 mm (is that a waste or is it worth it?), updated heat exchange and radiator from Shelby, And then a set of tires which will grip the road.

 

It seems like the tune combo is the way to go if you don't live near a shop that can do all tis stuff manually. Any better Stage 0 tune combos out there?

[2010KonaBlueGT]

 

Question:

 

1: I'm wondering what the point of the engine compartment strut is (and is there somthing out there for the 2011 GT 500)?

 

2: For performance upgrades I'm looking at consists of a Stage 0 from Evolution Performance (tuner, 2.58 pulley, belt tensioner, gapped plugs) perhaps a new TB 66 mm (is that a waste or is it worth it?), updated heat exchange and radiator from Shelby, And then a set of tires which will grip the road.

 

3: It seems like the tune combo is the way to go if you don't live near a shop that can do all tis stuff manually. Any better Stage 0 tune combos out there?

 

 

 

Answer;

 

1: The Ford Mustang body is notorious for body flex. The issue is, they are a unit-body construction vs. a full frame construction. That is, the body is the main frame that connects the subframe/s so the stamped steel body tends to flex under high torque conditions. That can be either on a hard launch or a hard corner. For a hard launch fix, you add sub-frame connectors. For cornering, you add a Strut Tower Brace (STB).

 

EDIT: As for as a Strut Tower Brace/STB for the 2011 GT500, the 2010 FRPP STB is a direct bolt-on if you use the FRPP intake resonator eliminator. No spacers are required with the 2010 version. Another TS forum member just posted pics of the ealier FRPP/KR STB on his '11 but he needed to use stacks with two sets of spacers per bolt to get it to clear. If you look closely at his photo's, you'll note that there is no extra "bolt" sticking out of the nut so ME PERSONALLY, I'd not use that method for my car (to each his own).

 

The Mustang front struts use the BODY as the upper spring perch points. The struts are long and have a lot of leverage so on a road type course where you are cornering the body flex is detrimental to handling. For good handling, you want THE SUSPENSION to do the work, not the body. In order to strengthen the body points that flex, you add a Strut Tower Brace which braces one tower against the other thereby minimizing body flex and allowing your SUSPENSION to do the work it is intended to do....not the body (which is not a item you can "adjust" and therefor is not constant).

 

Body flex is more prevelent on a convertable because of the loss of rigidity from the loss of the roof, which strengthens the body vs. the coupe. But the coupe still has tower flex so the addition of a STB helps the handling aspect of the Mustang unibody construction.

 

2: Your upgrades look good for a start but adding the larger Heat Exchanger (Intercooler radiator) and Engine Cooling System Radiator are a waste of money for your level of mods. Neither will give you MORE HORSEPOWER under normal conditions. If you were drag racing the car, you might note a difference in CONSISTENCY from run to run if you didn't have enough cool-down time between runs (due to heat-soak). If you are road-racing the car, you could likely see a difference, depending on the level of tune (i.e. boost) you are running. My suggestion would be to save the money from the HE/Radiator upgrades and apply it elsewhere, for now.

 

3: I do not have enough experience with the many different tuners in the USA to comment on who is better than who, or if there is a better tune out there for you. I can tell you that the reputations of two particular tuners around here are very good but that is not to say that they are any better than any others (John Lund & Justin Starkey<sp?> @ VMP have very good reps). I will suggest you ask some others that have actuall first hand experience with tuners to answer you question on that aspect of your post.

 

 

Hope That Helps/HTH,

Phill Pollard

[NMAv]

Answer;

 

1: The Ford Mustang body is notorious for body flex. The issue is, they are a unit-body construction vs. a full frame construction. That is, the body is the main frame that connects the subframe/s so the stamped steel body tends to flex under high torque conditions. That can be either on a hard launch or a hard corner. For a hard launch fix, you add sub-frame connectors. For cornering, you add a Strut Tower Brace (STB).

 

EDIT: As for as a Strut Tower Brace/STB for the 2011 GT500, the 2010 FRPP STB is a direct bolt-on if you use the FRPP intake resonator eliminator. No spacers are required with the 2010 version. Another TS forum member just posted pics of the ealier FRPP/KR STB on his '11 but he needed to use stacks with two sets of spacers per bolt to get it to clear. If you look closely at his photo's, you'll note that there is no extra "bolt" sticking out of the nut so ME PERSONALLY, I'd not use that method for my car (to each his own).

 

The Mustang front struts use the BODY as the upper spring perch points. The struts are long and have a lot of leverage so on a road type course where you are cornering the body flex is detrimental to handling. For good handling, you want THE SUSPENSION to do the work, not the body. In order to strengthen the body points that flex, you add a Strut Tower Brace which braces one tower against the other thereby minimizing body flex and allowing your SUSPENSION to do the work it is intended to do....not the body (which is not a item you can "adjust" and therefor is not constant).

 

Body flex is more prevelent on a convertable because of the loss of rigidity from the loss of the roof, which strengthens the body vs. the coupe. But the coupe still has tower flex so the addition of a STB helps the handling aspect of the Mustang unibody construction.

 

2: Your upgrades look good for a start but adding the larger Heat Exchanger (Intercooler radiator) and Engine Cooling System Radiator are a waste of money for your level of mods. Neither will give you MORE HORSEPOWER under normal conditions. If you were drag racing the car, you might note a difference in CONSISTENCY from run to run if you didn't have enough cool-down time between runs (due to heat-soak). If you are road-racing the car, you could likely see a difference, depending on the level of tune (i.e. boost) you are running. My suggestion would be to save the money from the HE/Radiator upgrades and apply it elsewhere, for now.

 

3: I do not have enough experience with the many different tuners in the USA to comment on who is better than who, or if there is a better tune out there for you. I can tell you that the reputations of two particular tuners around here are very good but that is not to say that they are any better than any others (John Lund & Justin Starkey<sp?> @ VMP have very good reps). I will suggest you ask some others that have actuall first hand experience with tuners to answer you question on that aspect of your post.

 

 

Hope That Helps/HTH,

Phill Pollard

 

 

Thanks for the detailed response. Very useful.

 

NMAv