11" brake conversion experiences

Reply #30 – July 30, 2010, 09:29:41 AM

Curiosity got the best of me so I checked part numbers for the KYB GR2 for several cars of which none had the same part number:

1995 Mustang GT - 235060
1989 Mustang GT - 235009
1988 Cougar XR7 - 235008 (turbo) or 235005 (except turbo)
1985 T-Bird 5.0 - 235002

What I did find interesting is that the 235005 will fit all of the Mustangs 86 and down but only the four cylinder Mustangs from 87-93. I am pretty sure this has to do with the spindle mounting geometry...yeah I know, Captain Obvious. With that I would say that the Fox Mustang and Fox Bird/Cougar strut rod & body lengths are the same. This would also tell me that the SN95 struts would most likely work if the car was full height but not lowered as the strut is a longer unit and would bottom out hence Jack Hidley's comments in post #21. I think I pretty much stated what others have said but I had never researched it myself.

Here is a really good read on recommended struts/differences/applications of Fox/SN95/S197 struts.

http://forums.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1199248

What I took from all this conversation was that the SN95 units are physically longer than the Fox units (I think most were aware of this). Using Maximum Motorsports CC plates will give you one more inch of bump travel which I verified by call MM. So my take on all of this is that if you have a lowered Cougar or T-Bird the use of Fox Mustang struts and MM CC plates will give you the better setup for bump travel. As always, match your dampers to the spring rates to get the maximum performance out of the money you spend.

Darren