Suspension upgrades for 2005-2014 Mustang, and Shelby GT500 and Boss Mustang
In the field of modification and tuning of the chassis of your car there are many possibilities. And each owner has his or her personal wishes. For some a good road is holding on the track is a must, for others the driving comfort is more important. Below an explanation and some suggestions about to explain the choice for the different sutups. The driving characteristics and requirements we had in mind when selecting these parts are based on European roads, so from speed ramps to freeway speed and considering the fact that in Europe we set higher standards when it comes to driving quality than in the US.
First determine to which target group you belong:
The explanation below about the suspension is for the 2005-2014 Mustangs, the 2012 BOSS Mustang and the 2007-2014 Shelby GT500.
- Target group 1: The driver who wants a good handling car and the improved looks of a lowered car, but not TOO low or TOO stiff shock absorbers.
- Target group 2: The sporty driver who wants a better than above handling car but still who still wants to keep it comfortable.
- Target group 3: The demanding driver who wants a great handling car without compromises.
- Target group 4: The most demanding driver who wants the best handling Mustang. With this set you will set faster lap times on the track than with an Audi R8.
In case you don’t exactly fit in one of these target group descriptions, we can offer you a tailor made advice for your Mustang chassis or Mustang suspension. We do not contract for the work, but under normal circumstances the estimated hours usually correspond pretty good. Note: all components are modular, so they can be ordered separately and installed separately as well. This way you can spread the costs or improve your car a bit every year. We can advice you about what will be the best order to do it.
Target group 1
For the driver who wants a better handling and the improved looks of a lowered car, but not TOO low or TOO stiff shock absorbers.
Pros: Normal lowering kit with acceptable driving heights and a much better handling, so suitable for daily use.
Cons: a little loss of comfort due to the stiffer shock absorbers.
- A set of lowering springs and shock absorbers selected by us, so the same system as stock but with shorter springs and dampers, which are matched to each other. The springs make the car sit about 2,5 cm lower at front and 3 cm in the rear, so you can take a traffic ramps normally instead of crawling over it diagonally.
- A set of lower control arms; these are the supporting arms which are installed at the bottom of the axle and reach forward, where they are secured to the chassis. The stock ones are made from sheet metal, but the performance arms are made of aluminium and have poly-urethane bushings instead of rubber bushings. These can handle much more power and don’t deform.
- Set of stabilizer bars, which are adjustable, so we can adjust the settings for under- and oversteer better. They are approximately. 30% stiffer than stock, which results in less body roll in the corners.
- An adjustable panhard bar. Your car does have a panhardbar, but the stock unit is not adjustable, so if you lower your car you will have a slanting rear axle under the car. With an adjustable bar we can shorten it to align correctly again. 99% of the people who lower their Mustang don’t to this, because they’re simply not aware of it and even Shelby delivers an “oblique” and mis aligned car, so with a slanting rear axle under the car.
What do you need:
Normal price € 2028,- excl. VAT
Kit price € 1925,- excl. VAT
Estimated hours of work ± 8 hours
Target group 2
For the sporty driver who wants a good handling but who still wants to keep it comfortable.
Pros: much more driving comfort than with normal lowering kits and a better handling, fully adjustable damping and height, very suitable for daily use.
Cons: none
This setup consists of the same components as group 1, but in this case with coilovers (shock absorbers with coil springs on it).
We prefer the shock absorbers that we developed in collaboration with Intrax, for 5 reasons:
- Shock absorption adjustable in 40 ways
- Lifetime warranty
- Superior driving characteristics
- Dutch made
- Position of the rear shock absorbers
We have chosen to keep the rear shocks – contrary to Eibach and other brands – at the same place as where they are installed now, while most other brands leave the springs in the stock, above the axle position and adjust the height with an adjusting nut. By placing it further outwards we get a more stable vehicle, because there is much less weight transfer and the car will have much less bodyroll, because on both sides the weight is received 15 cm more outwards.
What do you need:
Normal price € 3873,- excl. VAT
Kit price € 3600,- excl. VAT
Estimated hours of work ±12-15 hours
Target group 3
For the demanding driver who wants great handling without compromises.
Pros: very stable rear, predictable steering, fully adjustable shock absorption and height, very suitable for daily use.
Cons: the front cannot be aligned completely optimal, no other cons.
- Coilovers
- Lower torque struts
- Set of stabilizer bars
- Wattslink instead of panhard bar
- Caster camber plates
- Torque arm*** (optional)
The wattslink is a system on the rear axle that keeps the axle centred in case of spring action at corners or over bumps where the panhard bar is always pressed to the left or the right and the wheel geometry is actually disturbed. This system was also used on the Saleen Parnelli Jones and the Saleen Heritage versions.
A torque arm is a long arm which is placed longitudinally, secured to the rear axle and then to the front, where it is secured to the subframe near the front seats.
The benefit of this is that the rear axle can only move up and down but sideward and axial movements due to torque during a launch or hard braking are not possible. So with full acceleration the axle cannot turn over by the power like it does now. And for the brakes it is the same story, normally the car is diving when stepping firmly on the brakes and the angle in relation to the power train changes. With this modification that’s not possible anymore.
Because of this phenomenon the first driving- and braking power gets lost in the momentum in the chassis. With the torque arm this is avoided.
What do you need:
Normal price € 5268,- ex VAT
Kit price (with torque arm) € 5800,- excl. VAT
Estimated hours of work ±20 hours
in the drawing above we will make clear why the below offered SLA system is far superior over the Mc pherson.
About the MacPherson system:
When the shock absorber deflects or springs back, the lower control arm is pressed down or pulled up. Because the spring-loaded-die-cushion is secured to the wheel hub, the wheel geometry will change with each movement, whether it deflects or spring back, because the wheel gets a different tilt and thus a different angle of contact with the road.
About the SLA system:
SLA construction is most clearly visible on Formula 1 cars, where the wheel is mounted to the lower and upper control arm, to which the wheel hub and the wheel are secured. These have a bearing connection on the side of the chassis, where they are secured, but they also have a bearing connection to the wheel hub, which ensures makes the wheel will always keep the same angle to the road. This results in a much more predictable handling.
With this system the front shock absorbers are mounted on the lower control arms and on a position on the subframes that is much lower, so a smaller shock absorber and spring absorb the shocks, while the upper control arms can always move freely and thus always keep an optimal contact to the road. Because a complete new sub frame is installed, the wheel geometry is adjusted optimally as well, the centre of gravity is set at the ideal position and an additional plus of the different control arms and shock absorbers is a weight saving of approximately. 10 kg of unsprung weight and another 15 kg in the subframe.
This kit also contains new stabilizer bars, which can move 100% freely due to their unique mounting points, a complete new steering gear and optionally special aluminium wheel hubs, which bring the centre of the car to the ideal height for an even more stable handling.
We are proud to be Griggs dealer in Europe and we can sell and install all suspension systems Griggs offers. We have installed this system on several cars and all customers are really pleased with it.
What do you need:
Kit price € 9500,- excl. VAT, (complete front and rear system with panhard bar)
Kit price € 10980,- excl. VAT, (complete front and rear system with wattslink)
Kit price € 11.780,- excl. VAT (complete front and rear system with wattslink and aluminium hubs)
The standard supplied Koni shock absorbers can be replaced by adjustable Intrax shock absorbers for an additional € 1230,-- excl. VAT, which is highly recommendable for street use.
Estimated hours of work ± 40 hours
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