Improve Ford Drag Racing Suspension - Gotta Get Hook

Cascio offers some suggestions for spring rates for front coil-over struts. He said, "We make a conversion kit to convert our struts to utilize a coil-over spring. Normally we suggest starting with a 175-pound spring. It all really depends on some factors, like if there is an intercooler, turbo, or blower up front, or anything else that alters the weight of the front end." There is a stigma in the Mustang market that sometimes the car doesn't transfer as well with the coilover-style struts. Cascio says the problem is probably sourced to having the wrong struts or strut adjustment, wrong springs, or even having the front end too low.

Getting weight off the front end helps your Mustang transfer weight better and accelerate down the track quicker.

Aftermarket Drag Race-Only Suspensions
The Mustang certainly benefits from a stout factory suspension system that works great on the dragstrip. There comes a time, however, when more traction and adjustability are required. It might be because the owner wants to stuff a large-size tire underneath the car for consistency or the power under the hood is over the top (is there such a thing as over the top?). If that's the case, then the aftermarket offers two types of replacement rear suspension systems-a ladder bar or a four-link.

The ladder-bar suspension is the simpler of the two as there are two bars that connect the rearend to the chassis. It is a single mounting point for each side of the rearend, and the bars are shaped like an A-arm. The ladder-bar mounts have a variety of holes to which the ladder bar can be bolted. These fixed mounting locations offer more or less shock to the tire on the launch. The ladder bars come in various lengths, with 32-inch and 36-inch bars being the most popular sizes.

Four-link rear suspensions are a lot like the '79-'04 Mustang rear suspensions in that the rearend attaches to the chassis through four links. The aftermarket four-link setup mounts straight (front to back), rather than angled inward like the stock upper control arms. "You have infinite adjustability of the instant center with a four-link," MacPherson says. "The instant center is the intersect point of the upper and lower four-link bars. It allows the car to lift the most weight and transfer it the best to the back of the car. It is all about transfer. Ladder bars have a predetermined instant center due to the length of the bars."

Ladder bars and four-links can be installed in stock-chassis Mustangs as well as what is called a back-half car. A back-half car is one where the rear subframe has been cut away and a new one has been installed. Usually the new subframes are narrower, allowing larger and taller tires to be installed. Perfect examples of a back-half car are the popular Outlaw 10.5 race cars. They feature stock-style front suspension systems with fabricated back-half framerails.

"Four-links are a thing of the past with real 10.5-inch tires and are mostly used now in big-tire cars [33x10.5W and larger slicks.-Ed.]," MacPherson says. Either way, no matter the horsepower, the aftermarket has something to help your Mustang stay hooked up on the track.