greasegirl87

I don't want anyone to answer this with a big Ford sucks, I want educated opinions. Ford can do suspension right. Has anyone in here attempted to swap out the squirrly GM suspensions for a ford one?I believe it can be done and am concidering it. I just wanted to know if anyone had tried it. I know someone has, I just want to know the results.

Dewey316

when you say ford suspension what are you aiming for?

mustang 2 front end swap? 9" rear swap? are you talking swaping the rear suspension? if so what kind are going for? there are alot of fords, and alot of diffrent peices of ford suspensions. i am very confused as to what you mean.

BTW, FORD SUCKS :lala:

greasegirl87

I just mean the rear, the complete rear, all of it. I have a 87 T/A. A friend of mine just totalled hios car due to the suspension and it started me thinking. Another friend drives a rustang and I like the way the way it handles.

BTW, I know ford sucks

Dewey316

your talking the whole rear suspension?

i think that is alot of work that won't get you anywhere, if you are really worried about the suspension you could spend half the money it would take to try to mickey mouse retro fit a ford rear suspension into our cars, and buy ALL new aftermarket parts for your suspension.

now if you are talking about using the GM suspension peices (tq arm, lca's panhard ect.) and putting a ford rear end in (read: 9" housing) there are a couple of aftermarket companies that make 9" housings that are "bolt in" with out suspension. and the 9" swap is fairly common.

BTW, what failed on your friends suspension to cause him to wreck? a suspension link break, or a shock go out? or an axle break?

Jon92TA

I think the stock suspension works well and can be upgraded very well. But could she be thinking of swapping in a ford IRS from a cobra or t-bird? It would be a lot of work and a lot of tuning and I don't think the payoff would be worth the effort with so much available for us already.

Dewey316

yeah, i am not exactly sure what she is asking, i think trying to switch from the stock suspension type could actualy be alot of money spent to go backwards, our cars are putting in numbers aproching the 1g mark with little more than new springs and good tires. we have a great platform from a handling standpoint. i would still be very interested to find out exactly what she is getting at, because if she is talking about trying to put in a whole new suspnesion it would be a HUGE undertaking to get all the brackets and links set up corretly. and since i am not sure any factory mustangs ever out handled thirdgens, i don't think there is any possible gain from changing over, their suspension in our cars would probably handle worse than it did in their cars

CrazyHawaiian

Successfull suspension setups are designed from the ground up to work. Taking the rear suspension from one car and putting it in another car wont have the effects you think. It wont be any better. If anything it will be unpredictable. Alot of things play into how suspension works, including the size, weight, wheelbase, etc of a car. The mustang handles differently because its a completely different car. I own both a fox body mustang and a 3rd gen camaro, so I know what you mean about it handling differently. If you want a good suspension setup for your 3rd gen, go with 3rd gen parts. 3rd gen suspensions are very strong. Keep in mind our cars are old, so maybe some stuff might have to be replaced to get back to the OEM feel.

greasegirl87

Our cars are notibly rearend squirrly, which is at lot of fun, but dangerous. They have better handling abilities than Mustangs. When too much power is added to that, parts of the suspension actually start to lift and slide when they are not supposed to. It is because of how the suspension itself it set up, its design. Never mind guess I'm alone on this one. I was trying to find a way to have the best of both I guess. Thanks anyway.

Dewey316

i am still not clear on exactly what you are looking to change over.

are you talking the suspension from a fox body? or the IRS out of the new cobras?

383backinblack

lol your trying to re-invent the wheel here thats the problem....

the torque arm suspension design itself is not the culprit, its actually a very good design..

the problem lies in the quality of the parts used to put it together, like the soft rubber bushins, and the sheetmetal torque arm. upgrading all these weak pieces to aftermarket, including the LCA's, torque arm, panhard rod, sway bar, and installing urethane or harder bushings will accomplish what you want.

the squirreliness that you are referring to will happen to any car when too much power is applied regardless of suspension setups. but like i said, upgrading your rear suspension components will raise the bar quite high.

ebmiller88

iTrader: (7)

Well put...

Ed



Oh yeah....Ford sucks...

TwinTurboROC

ok i didnt read the whole post...but first gm vs ford rears stock to stock...

mustangs use a quad (4) link suspension control geometry.... two lower control arms like our cars but they also employ 2 upper control arms set at a 45 degree angle to the rear end.... similar to the gm b bodies

camaro rear ends 3rd and 4th have a tri link suspension... tow lower control arms and a single " upper control arm" <- its not even a contol arm.... its called a torque arm

now... as far as its goes mustangs get more tail happy than camaros's do because their suspensions isnt alowed to flex like the camaro's do (this is due to the torque arm beniogn able to flex side to side and slide back and forth in the torque arm bushing by the tranny) these cars were designed for what they do best....

3rd gen camaros are handling cars while mustangs are ment to go in a straight line

now mustangs do have and AFTERMARKET torque arm conversion kit that makes their suspension a tri link like the camaro's and it involves ALOT of work.

now putting a stock ford mustang rear end in a 3rd gen camaro is dam near impossible due to several factors... lower control arm's are different lenght and the spring are located on the lca of a mustang's rear end, ours is on the rear itself.... u cannot use the upper control arm setup of a mustang due to the gas tank placement in the f body.... and if u do attempt it and try to use the torque arm method, u will have to custom make a torque arm for its use... most likely none of us have the techinical expertise or resources to make this work...

if u look at the aftermarket ford 9 inch rear ends, the whole setup based on a bolt in to the f body suspension.

as far as handling goes, a 3rd gen will out corner a mustang naturaly, our cars ususaly have a rought ride for several factors, our springs are usualy a higher rate than mustangs, most of our cars are t toped equiped and they flex alot... most stangs are hardtop w/ or w/o moonroof ...

if u want handling check out edelbrock or hotchkis w/ thier springs... they dotn drop the car alot like the eibach, dropzones, jamex or intrax... get a new set of struts and shocks, add sfc <- major help and a strut tower brace and ur car will feel as tight as a scca race car.

greasegirl87

My mechanic believes it would be a good idea, he saw someone do it. He said it was the best ride he ever had. Anyway, I guess I shouldn't go through all the trouble due to my lack of time. I leave in 2 months for the Air Force. Thanx for all the input.

btw...FORD has always sucked

Dewey316

i have seen a couple of cars online that have converted the rear suspension on f-bodys to 4link , you would probably have better luck trying to make your own 4link vs trying to retrofit parts from a mustang.

but for 99.9% of us, the stock tq arm design is plety for us, if you go to aftermarket parts i think you will get the solid feel you are looking for, and not spend nearly as much $$$ or have the headaches you will have trying to go to a 4link.

383backinblack

get a new mechanic lol.....

i work on four links constantly and thats a bad idea. you could build your own custom 4-link much easier and have a much better result.

TwinTurboROC

christ 4 links.... what are we in the sub 7 second range now.....JEZUS

383backinblack

lol

Dewey316

don't we wish! i just want to get out of the 17sec range

TwinTurboROC

been there done that 23.xx blazing 3 gears then coasting to thru the traps at 56.x mph.... what a ****y run that was... i think i got u all beat in 60 ft 3.60.....

LT1guy

iTrader: (1)

Having owned both F-bodies (3rd and 4th gen) and Mustangs (all Fox bodies), I am really confused why anyone would want their F-body to ride/handle like a Mustang. Mustang suspension is great for drag racing, but sucks for going around corners. Ride comfort was about the same, stock to stock, but like anything else can be changed to suit drivers taste (shocks, spring rates, bushing material, etc). Griggs and others sell kits to Mustang guys to put "Camaro" suspension under them (torque arm with no uppers and a panhard), but no one sells a convsersion to a Mustang-style 4 link. The F-body suspension is VERY upgradable, with both stock and aftermarket parts, and is flexible enough to do pretty much anything well. Figure out what it is you want the car to do, and I'm sure someone on this site can suggest exactly what you need to meet those goals.

SpeedCat86

Never driven a Mustang, but I've got a couple hundred thousand miles in A-bodies, which have a 4-link setup simillar to the mustang. My Safari Wagon had heavy duty springs, and was just as 'squirlelly' as my T/A. Come to think of it, so was my F-250.

Any solid-axle car with stiff springs tends to be a little jumpy under high cornering loads on rough pavement. Thirdgens, especially Z's and T/As were fitted with some of the highest rate springs ever fitted to a passenger car. way higher then anything fitted to a mustang.

New bushings and a different swaybar would help get the ride your're looking for. You may also want to look in to a wheel and tire upgrade. Skinny tires don't handle the high G's well.

Converting the suspension would cause more trouble than you want to take on.

SLP IROC-Z

iTrader: (1)

ive driven both and the camaro is a lot better driving car then the mustang. road feel, comfort, pedal placement etc etc. they also handle ride and stick better to the road. i can do the best controlled sideways burnouts around turns in my car, it sticks very well and wont whip around all of a sudden unlike my friends mustang that just wants to come around all the time, and has twice, once into a ditch the 2nd almost into a concrete wall at the mall. i dont know whyd u wanna go from a decent performing setup to a FORD design that sucks.

TwinTurboROC

stock to stock
the ford desighn does EXACTLY what it was intended to do... go well in a straight line.... **** the gm full sized cars (regals, gn, cutlasess) uses the same setup (not EXCATLY like the ford setup) the chevy desighn does EXCATLY what it was engineered for... cornering... now w upgrades to the gm suspension it can do what the ford desighn does...and excede it even on a modified to modifed basis... simple and efficient = tri link suspension

.... oh torque arms do have limits in respect to hp and torque

and how do you spell desighn

SLP IROC-Z

iTrader: (1)

mustangs = lots of wheel hop

TwinTurboROC

youd be suprised to know most mustangs dont actualy have a lot of wheel hop... well in stock to mildy modify form... the f cars (stock) seem to have more wheel hop than most mustangs due to their insane amounts of torque in the lower end (well for the better motors... tpi 305 and 350)... but then there are alot of factors that also will dictate how much wheel hop you will have on any given car...

if u have friends w mustang's in good shape shake their car at the rear then shake urs at the rear.... side to side... then ull see one of the major differences between the two

Spdfrk1990

I know our cars arent that heavy in the back you can add some weight lol. The f-body rear suspension is good tho just get some aftermarkets parts. I could see you maybe wanting a mustang steering box since its rack and pinion but thats it.

TwinTurboROC

never said it wasnt good... i think its the better of the two once it get a little upgrades here and there...

Spdfrk1990

it kewl i wanst refering to u twin

Duke of Earl

I thought you said you didn't want to hear "Ford Sucks." Now you write, "I know ford sucks." How encouraging to yourself. Do you know why you swap out the rearend? You have a 305, right? The 205 hp model? Or is it the 350 GTA; the 210 hp model? Either way, I doubt you need to swap in the 8.8," much less the 9.0"... That is an understatement. Your car came with what it needed, especially when it is still stock. I've worked on Fords and Chevys alike, I can care less what sucks, what doesn't. Just because your friend totalled his Camaro doesn't mean you have to swap out your rearend. It's not like YOU totalled your car. If my friend totalled his car, all I would think is, "he should be more careful." If you like the way the "rustang" handles, you should just buy one. :rockon:

TwinTurboROC

guys.... i still dont know how to spell desighn.... can somone help...please...

Spdfrk1990

no h lol

ME Leigh

design

BORLAZ06

yes...

i have yet to see one hook up well with street tires.

oh....btw..Ford sux

BORLAZ06

.

TwinTurboROC

no offense intened borla...but most mustang that you see on the street that are "racing" have work done to them... especialy gears and big one's too they love 3.73 and any street tire on a 225 to 245, maybe even 275 will break lose under throttle...

borla dude i check out your page... sweet car dude i love it

BORLAZ06

thanks for the compliment.

Scarebird

Chevrolet did most of the suspension work on the F-Body, doing the front and brakes, while Pontiac concentrated on the rear. Weight was a key issue, so leafs were out, and a 4-link would take up too much room, so it was decided that a modified H-Body suspension would be used. Modifying a F-Body for 4-link would give you headaches that a barrel of 222's would even touch

TwinTurboROC

ive seen a couple of guys do 4 links w tubs/narrowed rear... not a whole buttload of work... but it does take some skill to get the rear suspension geometry correct.... definately not impossible and definately not beyond the skills of a well knowledged mechanic or car guy... whatever u wanna call us gear heads

TwinTurboROC

thanks.... ME leigh and spdfrk

greasegirl87

"I thought you said you didn't want to hear "Ford Sucks." Now you write, "I know ford sucks." How encouraging to yourself. Do you know why you swap out the rearend? You have a 305, right? The 205 hp model? Or is it the 350 GTA; the 210 hp model? Either way, I doubt you need to swap in the 8.8," much less the 9.0"... That is an understatement. Your car came with what it needed, especially when it is still stock. I've worked on Fords and Chevys alike, I can care less what sucks, what doesn't. Just because your friend totalled his Camaro doesn't mean you have to swap out your rearend. It's not like YOU totalled your car. If my friend totalled his car, all I would think is, "he should be more careful." If you like the way the "rustang" handles, you should just buy one. "

Okay Duke, now if you don't pay attention you might not be able to hang. If you go back and re-read what I wrote, that whole "I don't want to hear a huge FORD SUCKS" was written simply to let people know that I wanted someone who knew what he was talking about to reply to my post. NOT someone who was just going to give a bias opinion because they don't like ford. You, my dear, obviously are not that guy. Is it all clear for you now? Next time make sure you know what you are replying to before you try to look all big and bad, okay?