Emperor008

I was at the car wash the other day and some other guy with a mustang and I were talking about mods to the car. He claimed that I should change the suspension on the car to the same one that the shelby uses. Says it hugs the road better and gives it a smoother ride. Anyone have experience with this? Thoughts/suggestions?

jedikd

If he means the Shelby GT, then I think it's pretty much universally agreed that it's a rougher ride.

travelers

It all depends on what you want to do with the car. If the car handles good now and you like the ride then leave it alone. If you want to do some roundy round stuff then you will need to do some mods as well as if you drag racing it. Your should have a ruff enough ride with the 20's.

JonW

It all depends what you want out of the car. Like any mod, whenever you change something, you'll get a negative reaction from something else. Wnat more power, expect poorer gas mileage. Want better handling, expect a stiffer ride. Everything comes at a price.

My car is setup as an open-track car. It handles very well and corners very flat. But the trade-off is a harsher ride and much increased NVH in the cabin.

If the car is a daily driver, be cautious in your mods. Do a lot of research on this forum first, then make an informed decision.

colbymh

Like Jon said, expect a stiffer ride, but also expect your car to handle like its on rails. I dropped mine with Eibach sportlines and love it, however I will be adding a bump steer kit and Tokico D-specs soon. That will make you very happy with the way your car sits on the road.

1550GT

Well these are just general suggestions. As others have said, if you like the car the way it is, then leave it alone. But if you wanted to do something, this is what I would do without going too crazy.
Since you have 20 inch wheels and tires on the car I would not lower it. You could change out the rear sway bar and the car will stick better cornering. It is an easy mod to do. I would also add a cold air intake and a tune. You will gain better performance as well as better gas mileage. Those are a couple of basic mods that I think you will like.

bob

Yes, the suspension for the Shelby GT is admittedly more for track day than regular road use, the springs are 60% stiffer compared to the regular manual trans GT springs.

The GT500 does use higher durometer bushings in a few places (most notably the rear control arms and upper strut mounts) along with some bracing from the verts.

On the plus side, I can confirm that the FR3 handling pack does come nicely into its own even on bumpy roads at very high speeds.

Although you could make a change from all season rubber to summer rubber and produce an excellent increase in handling with out compromising ride.

Emperor008

Thanks for all of your suggestions. Still can't make up my mind though.

Glenn

I think you have to decide how much you want to lower it and then look for springs that will give you that drop. If you lower the rear of your car one inch it will sit darn close to level. Just to give you an idea.
I think as close to one inch drop in front and around 1.5 in the rear looks awsome.

bob

Some things to remeber with lowering the suspesion - and I don't know how low is to far, I haven't found a definitive answer on that yet) - it borks the factory suspension geometry, roll center and brake drive are negatively effected as well as the operation of the panhard rod. On the plus side is a lower center of gravity.

RadBOSS

Any modification that lowers other car or upgrades the suspension does not equate to a smoother ride. Anyone who tells you otherwise is smoking dope.

RadBOSS

Any modification that lowers car or upgrades the suspension does not equate to a smoother ride. Anyone who tells you otherwise is smoking dope.

wjones14

If the reason you can't make up your mind to go with the FRPP FR3 handling kit (or some other lowering mod) is because you're concerned the car will become too stiff for a daily driver, perhaps you should try and see if you can get a ride in a lowered GT so you can judge for yourself. Plenty of people think the stock GT is too soft, so they find the FR3 kit perfect as far as ride quality.

I talked to a mechanic I've trusted for years, and he prepped 3 '05-07 Mustangs for road racing events at Lime Rock Park in CT. He installed the FR3 kit on two of them. In his opinion, the FR3 is not too harsh for a daily driver, and both of the owners agreed with him, and loved the mod.

All I know is that my wife's PT Cruiser with the sport suspension option is as stiff or stiffer than my stock GT, and that just ain't right!