cutting springs

[97cobrasvt]

I am going to do some work on my rear end and was wanting to see witch end I needed to cut on the springs. I figure it is the end that goes to the body but was wanting to make sure. I can't get enough negative pinion angle so I am going to put my lower control arms backm in the stock location. But when I do it is going to sit like a 4 wheel drive so I am going to cut some of the spring off to compensate for the added heigth. Thanks for the help. Going to add the air bag at this time as well. Owe ya and the sway bar. Opinions on a good sway bar will be appreciated. Thanks Steven

[03slobra]

My rear springs are cut on the body end.I have competition engineering sway bar but do not like it be cause it keeps coming loose on the end arms cause they bolt on the bar with a small bolt through it.I would check out the UPR one it looks to be welded on each end.Or it would be very easy to make one.Its all stuff you can probably get cheap just take a little time.

[qkjuicedpony]

How much pinion angle are you trying to get out of it?

also what is your rear suspension setup?what uppers and lowers do you have,shocks too?

[97cobrasvt]

I am trying to get about -3 degrees. I have eld upper control arms they are adjustable.I have the lake wood tracktion bars and control arms. They are the kind you can adjust the pinion angle with by the location you install the lower control arms in meaning witch slot you install the bolt in. The bad thing is it gives you positive pinion angle not negative. So I am going to put the control arm in the stock location and cut the spring to get my ride heigth right. I am running lakewood 50/50 rear shocks.

[qkjuicedpony]

yes.put the arms back in the stock location.use the rightupper control arm to get the pinion angle you need.then use the left upper arm to make sure the rearend is centered in the car.if you are putting airbags in i would do two of them...however i strongly suggest you get an anti roll bar too...then you can scrap the airbags and the factory sway bar

[97cobrasvt]

yes.put the arms back in the stock location.use the rightupper control arm to get the pinion angle you need.then use the left upper arm to make sure the rearend is centered in the car.if you are putting airbags in i would do two of them...however i strongly suggest you get an anti roll bar too...then you can scrap the airbags and the factory sway bar


I am not useng a sway bar at all right now. Looking to buy a good sway bar right now.

[qkjuicedpony]

I have an anti roll bar for sale.:D

[coupe]

use the rightupper control arm to get the pinion angle you need....then use the left upper arm to make sure the rearend is centered in the car.
What are you talking about Brian? Maybe I am misunderstanding what you're trying to communicate. The upper control arms should be the same length, not skewed. The lowers will set your axle location. The uppers will give your angle. But they all work hand-in-hand so adjustments also go hand-in-hand. Squaring them all up to the car is critical.

Steven...look at TeamZ. It's a nice anti-roll bar. Check out Baseline Suspension for any tech questions. Kevin (Baseline) explains alot of what you're trying to get set up.

I'd cut a half-coil out of the spring and see what it does. Remember it's easier to cut more than to have to start over because too much was cut.

[qkjuicedpony]

If you put all your arms to the same length...the rearend will not sit square in a mustang....it isnt a big adjustment it is very minor.

that is if you want your car to go straight....

[qkjuicedpony]

also make sure you have solid bushings in the rearend too.dont put any of that polyurethane crap in there

[coupe]

I see what you're getting at. But the body mounts should probably be adjusted or repaired if the control arms need to be different lengths to sit the rearend square. A little error is good, but they should be very close. If the arms are unequal, there will be all sorts of bias in the launch.

Solid suspension bushings are great, but wouldn't you agree that extra reinforcements need to be made to the body mounts (torque boxes)? Beyond what a urethane bushing needs anyway.

[qkjuicedpony]

In all of the mustangs i have set the suspension up on...none have ever sat exactly square in the car.it only takes a minimal amount to get the rearend to be centered in the car which is where you want it.

It may not sound right but come over to my house and get up under the car with me and i will show you in person


as for bushings...yes some torque box reinforcements are needed.especially on a car running the times that this car is running.I would recommend installing some battle boxes on the uppers and lowers before ripping them out.....because once you tear them up real bad its a bitch to fix.

so in order...

get battle boxes
get solid bushings for the axlehousing and the upper and lower control arms
get an anti roll bar

put it all in and get the suspension set up....and it should 60' in the 1.3-1.4 range on slicks

[QWKSNKE]

In all of the mustangs i have set the suspension up on...none have ever sat exactly square in the car.

Yep that is true. Due to production tolerances all mustang rearends sit more to one side vs being perfectly lined up.

[coupe]

How "close" you guys consider it to be perfectly square? And where are you measuring your squareness from?

[qkjuicedpony]

I've seen rearends in cars off up to 1/4 or 3/8 inch shifted to one side of the car or the other....it makes a big difference.


with all things being the same under the car i take my measurements from the frame rails and get a centered measurement from there