[TonyG]

Hi guys,

My 99GT has been always been set up for drag racing. But I think after 20 years I am done with all that and I'm going to transform it to a fun street car -preferably something that can turn. I just removed my 90/10 struts and will soon change out my soft drag springs to frpp C springs.

I was reading a lot of raves on AM.com about the aftermarket Front & Rear Sway Bars (Eibach, SR), about how they completely transformed the handling of the car. Was wondering if this is reliable info or BS. Thanks

 

[Snorky]

Hi guys,

My 99GT has been always been set up for drag racing. But I think after 20 years I am done with all that and I'm going to transform it to a fun street car -preferably something that can turn. I just removed my 90/10 struts and will soon change out my soft drag springs to frpp C springs.

I was reading a lot of raves on AM.com about the aftermarket Front & Rear Sway Bars (Eibach, SR), about how they completely transformed the handling of the car. Was wondering if this is reliable info or BS. Thanks

For the average street driver sway bars feel great the eibachs i put on with my first set of lowering springs, shocks and lcas.

Now my car has a panhard bar and torque arm setup. It no longer feels like a mustang.

So i suppose the real questions are, what will you be using the car for? How much of a change are you looking for and how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?

If you want it to handle like an m3 or a porsche. Do the panhard bar/lCA/tq arm setio feom maximum motorsports.

If you want a fun, cheap little boost in handling confidence, get the bars. But keep in mind, sway bars are really just a handling tuning tool.

 

[dexdiman]

Sway bars aren't bs. My general rule of thumb is that if Maximum Motorsports sells it on their site then it's legit. I'm pretty sure they know more about the Mustang suspension than Ford. LOL.

Anything you add to the suspension will change the car for the better. I've done just about everything except sway bars and a panhard bar but they are certainly both on my to-do list. Just FYI, these cars are notorious for the rear axle and chassis to separate under hard turning giving the affect that the rear wheels have broken loose when in actuality they are fine. So, I would focus on stiffening that up with MM HD lower control arms, at least, and a panhard bar as you'll probably see/feel a more positive effect, but honesty whatever upgrade you go with you'll be happy with the improvements.

Took the car out this weekend and surprised two people who have never ridden in my car before. They both said they never thought a Mustang could handle that well, and one said it easily cornered just as well his setup Golf GTI. They both grinned from ear to ear and giggled like little girls going around turns.

 

[Snorky]

Sway bars aren't bs. My general rule of thumb is that if Maximum Motorsports sells it on their site then it's legit. I'm pretty sure they know more about the Mustang suspension than Ford. LOL.

Anything you add to the suspension will change the car for the better. I've done just about everything except sway bars and a panhard bar but they are certainly both on my to-do list. Just FYI, these cars are notorious for the rear axle and chassis to separate under hard turning giving the affect that the rear wheels have broken loose when in actuality they are fine. So, I would focus on stiffening that up with MM HD lower control arms, at least, and a panhard bar as you'll probably see/feel a more positive effect, but honesty whatever upgrade you go with you'll be happy with the improvements.

Took the car out this weekend and surprised two people who have never ridden in my car before. They both said they never thought a Mustang could handle that well, and one said it easily cornered just as well his setup Golf GTI. They both grinned from ear to ear and giggled like little girls going around turns.

Do not fear the PHB/TQ arm combo, you simply will not believe the difference in handling until you do it. You will need sticky tires for the front of the car too when you are done. ?

 

[TonyG]

I used to take my front sway bar off for the dragstrip, and put it back on for the street. I've done this a million times in the past 20 years, and of course I notice a big difference with the sway bar on. My main question is whether an aftermarket bar like Eibach will be a significant improvement over stock. A few years ago, I tried aftermarket end links and poly bushings on the stock bar, and it felt exactly the same.

It would be nice to make the car "feel" like an M3 or porsche like Snorky said...and knowing me, that will lead me to begin trying my luck in road racing. But for now, the scope is transforming it from a drag strip car to a fun street car that handles well.

Suspension mods already on the car (mostly oriented for drag racing):

-tubular k
-stock A-arms (changing to BMR soon)
-SFC's
-8 pt roll bar
-bumpsteer
-C/C plates
-poly steering rack bushings
-steeda drag springs (changing to frpp C-springs)
-Lakewood 90/10 struts (changing to Tokico adjustable drag struts)
-Strange 10-way shocks
-Steeda LCAs (poly)
-Steeda UCAs (rubber)

I might consider the TQ arm/PHB set-up in the future if I get serious, I've read a lot of positive reviews. Not sure it'll clear my exhaust or my diff cover, though

 

[dexdiman]

Do not fear the PHB/TQ arm combo, you simply will not believe the difference in handling until you do it. You will need sticky tires for the front of the car too when you are done. ?

Haha, I only fear what it will do to my wallet. It's something I would love to do at some point and it's on my wish list vs my to-do list now, but I still need a phb before that anyway.

My main question is whether an aftermarket bar like Eibach will be a significant improvement over stock. A few years ago, I tried aftermarket end links and poly bushings on the stock bar, and it felt exactly the same.

Personally, an after market sway bar is a great "towards the end" item to do once you've done other things like struts, springs, lca, and sub-frame connectors. You can do it early and see improvements, but you'll see much better improvements if you've spent your money elsewhere first. So to clarify what we are saying - yes it's a good thing to get and your car will corner better but there are better things to get first. If you have the money get everything all at once - if you're on a budget and are buying in stages, wait and get it towards the end.

 

[Crimson]

Springs, appropriate dampeners and sway bars are not a bad combo for spirited street driving. You already have upgrade LCAs so thats good. When Snorky had the eibach pro-kit, koni adjustables and sway bars his car rode and handled very well. Something to think about is how your springs match your dampeners (MM has good information and charts regarding this on their website) and to plan ahead in situations when you can. For example you may want coilovers in the future. I’m not sure if the Tokicos you mentioned can be converted into a coilover setup, but the Koni oranges I had could not be. When I wanted to switch to front coilovers I had to change struts to do so. If you can do something once all the better.

And as a side note, another vote for a panhard bar / torque arm setup. I don’t have my torque arm in yet but the panhard bar seriously tightens up the rear. Feels very planted now. MM doesn’t recommend the panhard bar without the torque arm because they say the addition of the phb to the existing four link suspension (making a five link essentially) can cause addition binding and cause snap oversteer in very aggressive corning scenarios. I can’t say that’s something I’ve ever experienced, but their reasoning makes sense.

 

[Snorky]

I used to take my front sway bar off for the dragstrip, and put it back on for the street. I've done this a million times in the past 20 years, and of course I notice a big difference with the sway bar on. My main question is whether an aftermarket bar like Eibach will be a significant improvement over stock. A few years ago, I tried aftermarket end links and poly bushings on the stock bar, and it felt exactly the same.

It would be nice to make the car "feel" like an M3 or porsche like Snorky said...and knowing me, that will lead me to begin trying my luck in road racing. But for now, the scope is transforming it from a drag strip car to a fun street car that handles well.

Suspension mods already on the car (mostly oriented for drag racing):

-tubular k
-stock A-arms (changing to BMR soon)
-SFC's
-8 pt roll bar
-bumpsteer
-C/C plates
-poly steering rack bushings
-steeda drag springs (changing to frpp C-springs)
-Lakewood 90/10 struts (changing to Tokico adjustable drag struts)
-Strange 10-way shocks
-Steeda LCAs (poly)
-Steeda UCAs (rubber)

I might consider the TQ arm/PHB set-up in the future if I get serious, I've read a lot of positive reviews. Not sure it'll clear my exhaust or my diff cover, though

I have a ford racing diff cover, the maximum motorsports panhard bar and torque arm clears it.

What exhaust are you running?

 

[Tillerman77]

This guy has a very informative series on budget friendly suspension set up for SN95 and New Edge. Even if you are not going to autoX, there are a lot of applicable ideas about Mustang set up.

 

[ZEN357]

Hi guys,

My 99GT has been always been set up for drag racing. But I think after 20 years I am done with all that and I'm going to transform it to a fun street car -preferably something that can turn. I just removed my 90/10 struts and will soon change out my soft drag springs to frpp C springs.

I was reading a lot of raves on AM.com about the aftermarket Front & Rear Sway Bars (Eibach, SR), about how they completely transformed the handling of the car. Was wondering if this is reliable info or BS. Thanks

I had Eibach's on my 01. Made a world of difference.

 

[TonyG]

This guy has a very informative series on budget friendly suspension set up for SN95 and New Edge. Even if you are not going to autoX, there are a lot of applicable ideas about Mustang set up.

Thanks! Great info in those videos

 

[Tillerman77]

Thanks! Great info in those videos

Sure thing. He is really good about answering questions in the comments section of the videos.