Productively speaking about Mustang suspensions

[CNDbowtie]

Originally Posted by sacarguy

to me the best solution will always be the mustang 2 ifs the only reason I wouldnt do it would be if you just wanted the shock tower look in the engine compartment

you get a true ifs with uneqqual length controll arms and you gain rack and pinion steering in as part of the deal.


So I went with the hedits coil over m2 setup i also used the martz chassis four bar with panhard rear setup

have any pics of the front end? ive heard talk that the Mustang II is not as structuraly sound since the framerails were never intended to carry the weight of the suspension like the original shock towers carried the wieght back into the structure of the unibody and into the firewall. Ive seen some people run a reinforcement back from the lower frame into the firewall though when the run the mustangII...and i believe the Martz chassis has the same idea.

[sacarguy]

that is funny to hear

if you think those sheet metal shock towers are stronger then the boxed steel frame especialy when its been reinforced with 8th inch plate steel and a cross member to tie the two sides of the frame together its far far far stronger and stiffer then the shock tower arangment with the engine hanging off them as well.

i can say for sure after having driven several mustangs with the ifs setup its alot stiffer it feels much more solid when driving

[CNDbowtie]

Originally Posted by sacarguy

that is funny to hear

if you think those sheet metal shock towers are stronger then the boxed steel frame especialy when its been reinforced with 8th inch plate steel and a cross member to tie the two sides of the frame together its far far far stronger and stiffer then the shock tower arangment with the engine hanging off them as well.

i can say for sure after having driven several mustangs with the ifs setup its alot stiffer it feels much more solid when driving

I was just saying what ive read...seriously i have no personal experience with either setup yet...your more of a expert on it then me. BUT i do agree with some of the critics that at the very least the Mustang II should be tubularly braced from the frame rails and back into the firewall to unify it to the Unibody again. Ford never designed the thin wall frame rails to carry the entire weight of the front end. I dont know how you had your installed and how much fab work you did to beef it up...but I know ive seen people just cut the few inches of thin frame rail then weld in the strong mustang II front end...personally i would want subframe connectors..beefed up frame rails and tubular bracing to the firewall...all that would add up to be way to much of investment for what i need. But i do believe your right that the basic setup and geometry is better...but unless your installing a wide late model modular motor or something similar (and you need to room) i dont know if its worth the money unless you can do all the work yourself.

[67turbostang]

I hear nothing but good things about the Griggs GR-350 suspension. Definitly more money, but well worth it. Im running the Griggs stuff on my 67.

[sacarguy]

Originally Posted by CNDbowtie

I was just saying what ive read...seriously i have no personal experience with either setup yet...your more of a expert on it then me. BUT i do agree with some of the critics that at the very least the Mustang II should be tubularly braced from the frame rails and back into the firewall to unify it to the Unibody again. Ford never designed the thin wall frame rails to carry the entire weight of the front end. I dont know how you had your installed and how much fab work you did to beef it up...but I know ive seen people just cut the few inches of thin frame rail then weld in the strong mustang II front end...personally i would want subframe connectors..beefed up frame rails and tubular bracing to the firewall...all that would add up to be way to much of investment for what i need. But i do believe your right that the basic setup and geometry is better...but unless your installing a wide late model modular motor or something similar (and you need to room) i dont know if its worth the money unless you can do all the work yourself.

Well have you priced the other stuff ? I did when I did my car and its just cheaper to do the m2 setup if you want good brakes coil overs and the nice steering of a rack.

You will actualy spend about 1500 less on a m2 front ifs with coilovers and tubular arms then you will on a full bolt in system and rack and pinion conversion and big brakes to fit the stock setup.


as for what your saying about the frame rails well they arent carrying any more weight then they did with the shock towers the towers are part of the inner fender and frame rail and when you cut them out and weld in a piece to replace them the frame rail is just as suported by that piece as it used to be by the shock tower.

i used the heidts system not the martz that removes the inner fender completly

it also includes 8th inch thick steel reinforcment plating to stiffing up the front frame rails.

the marts system requires you tie back into the firewall because they put in a whole new front subframe and there is no more inner fender welded to the frame to tie it into the front of the car and fire wall.

but the heidts doesnt do that it leaves the inner fenders in place and only removes the shock towers.

if you look here you can see how beefy the cross member is and how you just cut the towers out not the whole suport of the inner fender.. once you weld in the replacment panel that is just as suporting as the shock tower was but you now have a real cross member in there to tie the two halfs together



here you can see the 8th inch plate that comes with the kit to reinforce and spread the load ont he stock frame rail