There's a new horse in the...
There's a new horse in the MM&FF stable, and its name is Project MILF. The Legend-Lime GT is currently bone stock, carries an automatic behind the 4.6L Three-Valve, and is a dual-purpose butt-whooper and grocery getter. For our introductory installment, we set out to improve the stance and handling of the S197 by bolting on Ford Racing Performance Parts' Handling Pack.
Your right foot is planted to the wood, but the end of the straightaway is coming fast. With your hands poised at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions on the steering wheel, you roll out of the throttle and drive your foot into the brakes. The action causes weight to transfer forward, thus dropping the nose and slowing your Mustang in preparation for the approaching corner. While under heavy braking, you confidently turn left, roll off the brake pedal, and the Mustang cuts in with authority. At apex, your right foot rolls onto the loud pedal, and your Pony straightens up and accelerates to the next corner. There is no drama, just control.
Everyone with a late-model Mustang wishes the scenario would play out that way, but the truth is, while the new Mustangs handle quite well, there's more left in them in terms of handling. They are fairly pushy from the factory, meaning the front tires tend to push or plow under hard cornering. When run at its limit, an S197 Stang will push quite hard, skidding the front tires instead of them gripping and guiding the car in the desired direction. So, for those looking to improve handling characteristics, improved suspension components are a must.
Enter our new project car, aptly named Project MILF. Now, before you get your shorts in a knot, we actually have an acceptable explanation for the acronym. Instead of thinking of it in American Pie terms, we'll think of it as the "Mustang I'd Like to Flog." Catchy, isn't it? Of course, it could also be "Mommy Is Lightning Fast."
The chosen steed is an '06 Legend-Lime Mustang GT owned by Old Bridge Township Raceway Park's Michael Napp. Well, Michael and his wife, Dee, that is. The Stang is creature-friendly with all the amenities and a 5R55S automatic transmission. Even better, it has a mere 1,800 miles on the odometer, and Napp said we can do whatever we want-as long as Dee can get in and drive it worry-free. Can you imagine someone saying that to the MM&FF staff?
Consider it the perfect canvas on which to create a masterpiece. With that, we've devised a plan. Using simple bolt-on parts, we'll improve all aspects of the Mustang's performance while keeping it streetable enough for anyone to take to the mall.
The first part we mocked up...
The first part we mocked up and installed was the strut tower brace. This stylish item adds strength and rigidity to the strut towers and can be installed with basic handtools.
The first edition of this project lies in the installation of the FRPP Handling Pack. Tag along as we show you how easy it is to improve the handling on an S197.
The Handling Pack comes with everything an S197 owner needs to spruce up the cornering ability of his or her ride (see sidebar for the kit's components) while maintaining everyday street-ability. While the kit is extremely easy to install, we wanted to not only show you how to get the job done, but also explain why you would want to in the first place. The Pack comes with lowering springs that drop the front and rearend up to 1-1/2 inches; the new stance lowers the car's center of gravity, which reduces body roll when cornering. In addition, the sway bars are stiffer than the factory items, and the shocks are tuned to the springs.
"The whole kit is stiffer than the factory parts," says FRPP's Jesse Kershaw. "The sway bars are marginally larger in diameter, but the real increase is the springs, which are 60 percent stiffer than stock, manual-transmission-equipped Mustang GT springs. In addition, we tune the dampers [shocks] to work best with those [stiffer] springs." Lowering your Mustang will also increase the negative camber (the angle the front wheels are tilted inward when looking at the car from the front), and this helps the vehicle turn in quicker and reduces the push.
Chris Winter at Crazy Horse...
Chris Winter at Crazy Horse Racing signed on to help us and decided that installing the strut tower brace would be the first order of the day. He was expecting to have to modify things in the engine bay to get it to fit, but that wasn't the case.
The consensus was to start...
The consensus was to start at the front of the car and make our way to the rear. With that in mind, the stock front struts were the first suspension components to go by the wayside. Of interest is the construction of the new struts. The front struts on the Mustang are of the MacPherson type, which means the shock and spring are on the same assembly, unlike the rear in which the shocks and springs are mounted separately. To remove the struts, the wheels had to come off first. Next, the sway bar mounts, brake line mounts, and top spindle nuts were removed. Once all of those items were off, the four bolts on top of the strut (under the hood and on top of the strut tower) were removed and the strut was pulled out from the bottom.
Other than the factory struts...
Other than the factory struts being black and the new ones blue, there is no outward difference. The factory struts are set up for adequate performance and a comfortable ride.
The struts that come in the...
The struts that come in the Handling Pack are tuned specifically for FRPP by Dynamic Suspension, the same company that makes the struts for the Mustang FR500C race car. Additionally, these struts are designed to work with the kits' lowering springs.
The only factory items we...
The only factory items we kept were the stock strut tops and front sway bar mounts. To remove the tops from the stock struts, you will need to remove the front springs. Winter took the struts to a spring remover, and within a matter of moments, had the springs and strut tops off.
With the stock springs removed,...
With the stock springs removed, you can see the difference between the stock ones (right) and the new, blue, lowering springs (left). The new springs are shorter in stature, resulting in the car's 1-1/2-inch lower stance. The lowering springs are progressive pieces.