I went to the track again tonight, and I cannot get this think to hook. Traction comes and goes, Ive cut 1.7x 60ft times before. I want consistency though. Basically I have stock upper/lower control arms, 2000 Mustang vert rear springs, removed rear sway bar, and Nitto 275/50/15s drag radials. I need some advice from those who have installed aftermarket control arms/subframe connectors/etc in these cars.
Id like to reinforce my torque boxes, install upper/lower control arms, install subframe connectors, and possibly run different tires(thinking of M/T drag radials). Who has done any of this, and what parts did you use? Are you pleased with the results? The car will be going down in the winter, and I need to address the rear suspension among other things. THx guys.
it all depends on how much money you feel like spending, you could probably get away with replacing the rear bushings, boxing the control arms and putting in some subframe connectors
if you want to go aftermarket, you can use mustang lowers, and the uppers,GM A-body uppers are a direct swap, fit perfectly
i solved this problem a long time ago;)
these are pictures of the lowers
http://www.maximummotorsports.com (http://www.maximummotorsports.com/rlca.asp)
and some pictures of the uppers
now we all know it's hard to find uppers for our cars and for a good price but all is not lost..
the uppers i used where
"chevelle"1968-72 A-Body Bolt-On Rear Upper Control Arms (http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=88861&prmenbr=361)
part number 550-40086 price $124.99
and fit perfect there are only .040 off.. and will bolt right in with no problems at all..
in reguards to the uppers......
i knew the gm uppers work but...do you use your old bushings or do they come with there own bushings? how about the hardware... :dunno:
Thx for the replies guys. BlownCoug, the pics help out alot, I had heard about the Abody uppers, now I know. I went on the Jegs site and they said that the uppers do not include the spherical bushings on the rear of the control arm, which ones did you use? I will probably go with the same setup as you, does it hook? Also, do you have an oil leak, or ???
I just installed the Maximum motorsport lowers this week and I love them. I'm hooked on this suspension stuff now. Only thing I wish I did was buy the adjustable lowers. I think I'll be ordering the uppers this week..
from jegs listing
they come with the front bushings.. ;) you will need to buy new bushings for the rear end..i used stock ones. and i reused my old bolts..
the car does hook much better.. heres a fuuny story :giggle:Billy"mercoug302" took my car for a drive when i got the new motor in "N/A" the blower was being rebuilt.. and i had'nt installed the uppers or lowers yet.he was facing like south west so he smashed the gas and well lets just say :giggle:the car wanted to go east..
now as far as how good the car hooks with the blower on the motor
well i'm useing street tires 295/50/15's... lets just say not so good but the car does go fairly straight though and i sure it would hook well with slicks and should pull the wheels.. but have'nt tryed it.. i know that my little old T5 will :barf:
oh and the oil leak well yes that was the last T5 before it :barf:
T5's and drag racing is a :nono:
but i still have'nt learned my leason :giggle: i just love to see peoples faces whom want to race me around here in rhode island when i side step the clutch @ about 35MPH and leave over 100 feet of rubber :rollin: lets just say they don't come chase'in.. but i'm a nice guy and let them catch up and they useuly have a look on their face like this :wtf:
but so far this T5 is still holding up
any other questions let me know
Nick
Hey Blown306Cougar what diff are you using and how are you able to run 295 with what rims thanks lmk.
i'm useing a 8.8 mustang rear with a F150 31spline diff inside the housing..
the mustang rear is 3/4 of inch shorter on each side then a stock cougar or T/bird rear thats how i got the 295/50/15's to fit :evilgrin:
i'll post my rear end spec's again...
8.8mustang rear, F150 31spline diff,3.55 gears, 31spline moser axles
and 4" race studs like these :evilgrin:
and yes those are 10" drums.. you did'nt think i would use those y little 9" drums did you :evilgrin:
oh and the rims i'm useing are weld drag lites
and this is what the rims and tires look like with them on the car :evilgrin:
dont brag on the futuras :p
right i don't waste money on big dollar tires anymore.. one time i had BFG's when i had my 17"ROH rims i was useing 245/45/17's on the front and 275/40/17's on the rear and they did'nt last any longer then futuras nor do they hook any better and futuras are half the price..
when those picture where taken September 20, 2003 those tire where over 2 years old..
and had tons of burnouts two trips to ohio and other countless tirps too in the time that i had those tires on the car and replaced them about the first weekend of December 2003.. :p
honestly, my experience with BFGs has been shiznit
blown306cougar: Could you tell me the wheel size/backspacing you needed to get that size tire to fit? I have a mustang 8.8 and the wheels I ordered looked great but I need a drag wheels to fit some bigger tires! Also is there any room left to go bigger?
Whats the reason for using aftermarket upper control arms instead of boxed? I have a stock set we boxed I was going to put on the car cuz I cant really see any reason to spend the money on new ones.
well for the back spacing i don't remember. the rims i have came off of my friends mustang. so if you call jegs or summit and tell them to give you the right offset to fit a late model mustang they should know what to sell you..
you can use stock 10 holes or turbine rims to i had these tires mounted on my stock 10 holes before i bought the welds..
here is a few pictures.. man the last one brings back memorys when the car looked totaly stock well from the out side it looked stock :giggle: :evilgrin: infact you could'nt even hear the cam lope with lers i had on the car.. man that was so fun even more fun then these days.. back then people i raced had no idea at all what they where up against.. they would allways do this :giggle: :rollin: untill i raced them then it would turn to :eek: :wtf: :dunno: and i would be like :nono: :flip: ;)
oh i allmost forgot you answer on the control arms.. well boxing the stock arms make them stronger but just not as strong as the tubuler
ones.. and on the stock arms the bushings are a to replace.. and since you can buy new ones in tubuler for only $125.00 in my opinion it is'nt worth it to beef up the stock ones..
anything to show off some pics...
why did you choose the 31 spline off the f150? just curious,, you might have me learning sumthin here
i picked the f150 diff for a few reasons
most of the other name brand diffs are a lot of money and most of them are very good.now in the case of the alburn diff and alburn pro.. these are reasonably priced..but!! and i know what i'm about to say some people would parden the pun"beg to diff"anyway they are known to brake i have seen a number of them busted.. alburn and the alburn pro. and the funny thing is i've seen more busted alburn pro's i guess they can't get the temper in the steal right.. but i'm still not saying their junk but here are the reasons i did'nt go with the an alburn diff or any others..1 price price price 2 in the case of the alburn all of the ones i saw busted where in cars with motors that had the same or more horse power as mine..3 when a alburn is busted it can't be fixed you will need to buy a new one which again cost big money..
now with the case of the F150 diff and why i picked it is.. 1 i spent only about $800.00 to have it set up parts inclued.and that allso inclued the moser axles and that is at New York prices and 2 when the diff needs to be rebuilt"clutch pack" it only cost about $100.00 for the parts..3 i can do it my self..you can replace the clutchs with out taking out the whole diff and don't have to worry about reshiming it..
so far it's bin two years and it's still going strong..
Nick
I'm probably gonna get the Steeda lowers (http://www.steeda.com/store/-catalog/suspension/weightJackerLG.jpg) because I don't want the spherical joints (too harsh for me) and the Steeda pieces have 3-piece urethane bushings to prevent binding. I really like the height adjuster for my sagging rear too :grinno:
If, after installing all the aftermarket parts you still can't get a decent 60 ft time, take a look at the cars ride height. When at your normal ride height, the rear lower control arms are slanted down towards the front, typical in a lowered car, you have no "anti squat" On acceleration the rear end will unload because the weight is transfered off the rear axle. If you raise the rear of the car, or lower the axle attaching point for the rear control arm at the axle, where the front of the control arm is higher than the rear of the control arm, you have increased anti squat. This will transfer weight to the rear, and in some cases cause the rear of the car to actually rise during acceleration. This is for drag racing only. For auto cross there are many more things to consider. BTW, I'm a great fan of Maximum Motorsports lower control arms.
Um, before anyone goes shelling out cash for uppers and lowers, hang on until after the holidays. Trust me, it's well worth it.
(And yes, I know something you don't.) :flip:
You and your secrets lately... :brick:
There's MORE secrets?
You think your sooo cool with all your secrets dont you!?! :)
Yes. ;) It's just that things are pending and I don't want to let the proverbial cat out of the bag just yet. But let's just say a deal may be in the works. And you will just about poop your pants when things are all said and done.
so i have to wait till the holidays to poop my pants?
:giggle: so are we all getting free control arms for xmas or ?
OK, I'm installing my diaper on new years and waiting! :deal:
maybe he's just buying us all diapers for xmas and making us cookies baked with exlax... not cool Eric, not cool
You think too much, Crystal.
PS - I already pooped my pants. Too late to get some control arms?
Y'all are just a few fries short of a Happy Meal. ;)
ooh, free happy meals? do we get toys too??
The toys suck nowadays (trust me, I still really do get happy meals)
And whoever started this thread, I'm sorry it went to hell, but we may get an answer some day
bolt in Panhard bars (like KB's TracKit Pro)? IRS?
I agree happy meals are not maknig me happy anymore
:screwy: There better be some kind of a sale or something,,, You have me waiting to order suspention parts till after christmas!!!! :nutkick: