Simple Superhero Suspension

The 5/16-inch nut on the A-arm is loosened to allow travel and reduce tension in the bushing after the shorter springs are installed.

The 12mm bolts on the front brake calipers and 15mm bolts on the mounting bracket are necessary subtractions as the brakes, and brake lines need to be tucked out of the way to access the A-arm. Removing the rotors is also helpful.

The GT is lowered until the A-arm is supported by a jackstand. The 15/16-inch lower strut and lower control arm bolts depart, and a mallet is used to liberate the strut. Last on the pecking order is the 21mm nut from the top bolt on the strut tower. Then the crusty stock strut can be removed and the Tokico model put in its place.

The car was slowly and carefully raised on the lift as your author ducked for cover, however the stock spring made a gentle exit. The spring isolators were salvaged and transferred to the Tokico springs. The front springs have a lower isolator as well, unlike the rear, which slides onto the coil like a rubber sock.

The flattened or beveled end of the spring goes on the bottom, and the tip should go into the hole in the A-arm slot--but not too close to the edge to allow room for movement.

James uses the weight of the car to compress the spring by placing it onto the A-arm then dropping the lift so that the jackstand forces it upward.

The A-arm bolts are torqued down to 180 ft-lb, and a prybar is used to pull the swaybar into its holes to be reconnected. Once the top strut bolt is torqued between 38 and 49 ft-lb, it's time to test and tune.

Tokico's adjustment tool screws into the top of the shock. It is turned clockwise until it stops, which is full firm. By screwing counterclockwise at any increment between 0 and 7.5 full turns, you can dial them in. For street and autocross use, we found between 4 and 5 full turns in the rear and 3 to 4 turns in the front to be optimal. The offset in front to rear adjustment is what helps reduce understeer, and at the softer settings we found a comfortable ride and perfect compliance with the tires.

James torques down the wheels to about 90 ft-lb, and it's time to the hit the track.

Typical of all nose-heavy Mustangs with the stock suspension, the GT liked to push in the turns, creating understeer. Since the power-to-grip ratio was so unbalanced, this made it difficult to correct with throttle-induced oversteer.

With the new wheels, tires, springs, and shocks, however, the opposite was true. The handling became surprisingly neutral--a good balance between power and grip that keeps you out of trouble. As you can see, there was some reduction in body roll, and the increase in grip enabled faster exit speed in the turns. The result is effortless laps that, although seemingly slower to the driver (since he didn't have to work as hard), actually produced a reduction of almost 3 full seconds.

The results at the dragstrip were not as pleasing--the stock replacement clutch didn't like high-rpm launches on drag slicks. However, weight transfer didn't seem to be an issue with the settings untouched.