Drift Suspension

Jetsetter · Nov 12, 2008

Well, I had a nice little thread going with all my questions, but thats now lost in the annals of internet history. So I guess I'll try this again.

I'm building a drift car out of my 97 GT. So far I have accomplished a 6 point roll cage, racing seats, racing harnesses, and cutting off my mufflers. I generally drive it for at least a little bit every day, and I use it on the road to get to events. However, it is not my primary car. Subsequently, I can deal with it driving like piss if it's going to make me more competitive.

While my first concern was my safety, as dying in my car was not a part of the build I really wanted to encompass, it's very obvious my next concern as far as upgrading the vehicle is going to be in the suspension. I've purchased an Eibach Pro-Street coilover suspension kit. This is going to be the core of my suspension setup, and will form the platform for whatever I so choose to build on it afterwards.

Now that I have that rather costly piece of work completed, my next few months are going to be spent repairing the wear and tear of 210,000 miles of driving. I plan to replace the spark plugs, coil pack, fuel pump, and also switch my brakes to the Cobra 13 inch setup.

There are quite a few similarities between setting up a track car suspension and a drift car suspension. I've read the suspension sticky at the top of the forum, and while it is very helpful I still have a few questions.

I plan to disconnect the front swaybar. Am I going to feel the adverse effects of this? Will my cars driveability on the street be severely crippled? Or am I merely going to have a little less stability?

How can I increase steering angle? Aftermarket A-arms will help. Taurus outer tie rod ends will assist too. What about 03 Cobra A-arms? 03 Cobra steering rack? Control arms? What is the difference between upper control arms and lower control arms, and what are best for me?

How necessary is a panhard bar? Will I feel the effects? It seems reading about it that it is a prime investment in the functionality of my car.

My kit comes with no caster camber plates. Should I buy these immediately? Will it be in my interests to purchase them now, outweighing the cost of not tackling more pressing issues with reliability? Maximum Motorsports seem to have the most trusted product. If caster camber plates are essential, what would be the ideal adjustments, or do I just have to kind of guess?

Should I remove the front strut tower brace? My rollcage goes bast the rear shock towers, so I can't put a normal brace there. Is there something else I can do that will connect the rear shock towers? Need I even care?

Rear control arms. Are replacements essential to the track driveability of my car?

Torque box reinforcement? It seems like the stock torque box is some folded pieces of tin foil. By nature drifting warps the geometry of the car.

Do I need to worry about bumpsteer? Suspension bind?

Any help is appreciated. I'm on Drift50.com but I was hoping for some SN95 specific information here.

My original build thread: http://racingsouthwest.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=59859
My car blog: http://driftmustang.blogspot.com/

vermilion · Dec 2, 2008

i wish i could help. but i would see drifting as a open track car.

96sohc · Dec 2, 2008

Whew, thats a wall of text. I'll make a few recommendations based on what I read and gathered.
First off I'll just state the disclaimer: I am not a drifter, nor have I tried so take anything with a grain of salt. My comments aren't going to be "drift" related, but you might find that they apply to you. All of the recommendations are based on my experiences with the parts and are pretty general in reference to the topic at hand.

If you're going to lower the car camber/caster plates are a must. There is not enough adjustment room in the stock setup to allow for proper configurations of lowered vehicles. I would recommend the Maximum Motorsports plates as they are probably the best bang for the buck. Sure, there are cheaper alternatives, but the plates aren't that expensive...don't skimp there. The 03/04 Cobra front lower control arms are a smidgen longer than the 96-98 units and *supposedly* offer a tighter turning radius. I recently installed a pair (used) on my car because they were free and the bushings/ball-joints were in better condition. As far as camber/caster/toe settings, I don't know what to tell you. I run -1.5 to -2* of camber, max. caster, and 0 toe on my car. My car is not a daily driver so tire wear/life aren't a factor.

I doubt you will notice a difference if you remove the front strut tower bar and I wouldn't even bother trying to reinforce the rear. My 4pt. roll bar I have in my car connects the rear strut towers with the diagonal down bars, but had that not have been the case I would not have added anything. As far as stiffening, since I didn't see it mentioned, I would add at the minimum subframe connectors. If you want to go above and beyond Griggs Racing offers a frame kit that will DRASTICALLY improve the rigidity of your car.

You can't go wrong with a 13" Cobra brake kit. The factory brakes are a joke and should you find yourself in a tight spot and needing to stop on a dime you'll be glad you upgraded. I had a close call on the highway with the factory setup and that was all it took for me. I currently run Hawk HPS pads with Brembo blank rotors but will be moving to a more aggressive compound in the coming months (probably HT-10 or even a DTC). At the minimum I would suggest HP+ pads and blank rotors. Any of the slotted/drilled rotors are purely for aesthetics, so I wouldn't waste your money.

Are you still running factory diff. gears? Might I suggest doing some reading on 3.73s or 4.10s.

Aside from the cobra brakes and subframe connectors I wouldn't throw all of these parts on at once. I would do them one at a time or to a point where you can monitor your progress before and after. If you throw them all on at once you won't be able to tell what items worked well and if any of them worsened your situation.

GDTrumbo · Dec 3, 2008

Just a tidbit here but you might research this. From what I've heard, the rear sway bar on "drifters" are quite oversized in diameter. They attempt to remove as much body roll as possible back there. This is one of the very few situations where you would want a thicker sway bar in the rear than in the front. :book1:

GT

Jetsetter · Dec 17, 2008

I only just realized I had replies to this, so thank you. In the time since I posted this I bought a fuel pump and Cobra front brakes. I intend to have all of my housekeeping done by the end of this month and then I'll move on to more suspension parts.

I'm glad to be supported in my assumation that I will need the caster camber plates. I'm expecting my coilovers to arrive mid-January and I will make certain I have the plates before I install. I talked to Maximum Motorsports and their CC plates work with my Eibach coilovers.

I'm not sure if the Maximum Motorsport control arms offer more angle than the 03/04 Cobra, but I'll make my purchase based on which provides more turning.

Thanks for the tip on the Griggs frame kit. 4.10's are somewhere in the future for sure.

I'll look up on the rear swaybar, but I don't know if theres anything I will be able to do about it because I don't really want to fabricate something.