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Ford Mustang V6 and GT 2005-2014: Suspension Modifications

What if I were to tell you that one of the best ways to go faster is not always down to increasing your Mustang's horsepower? That's right. Sometimes you must focus on other areas of your car in order to get the speed out of it that you desire. Here are few modifications that you can do to get that stock Mustang chassis up to speed.

By Jeff White - November 5, 2015

This article applies to the Ford Mustang V6 and GT (2005-2014).

There are a lot of people out there who think of horsepower as the only contributor to speed. I am here to tell you that speed is actually a combination of many things. True speed comes from many different parts working together to maximize a car's potential and give the driver the platform needed to the edge of its physical limitations.

One area of a car that must be focused on in order to extract the maximum speed out of a car is the suspension. The suspension has many functions, but to make things simple, it can be broken down into supporting the weight of the vehicle and transmitting the power that is created by the vehicle to the ground. With these two functions in mind, you can begin to see why the suspension is very important in extracting the maximum amount of speed from your Mustang. It's why you could have 800hp, but if you don't have a suspension to match that 800hp, you're not going to be able to transmit that power to the ground. And if you can't put that power to the ground, then it does you no good to have that much power until you have a suspension that can.

Figure 1. Ford Mustang.

When it comes to Mustangs, the suspension is a much needed area that usually requires a lot of attention. This is due to a few factors. One of them being that the platform of the Mustang is designed for a very broad audience. This broad audience ranges from a person who just wants a cool car to drive around, go to as well as from work, take to the grocery store and other normal driving activities. This person is usually perfectly happy with what the suspension of the Mustang has to offer them and they don't require it do anything more. It also includes the person that is looking for a somewhat of a performance car, but might not necessarily have the money for a performance car that is built to be one right out of the box. So cost is another limiting factor when it comes to why the Mustangs' suspension isn't everything it could possibly be right out of the box. Luckily for this person, there is a vast aftermarket industry that caters to the Mustang and provides very affordable, in relative terms, parts that you can add to your car to give it that added performance and bring it up to a level that is much higher than it was ever designed to be at.

So, here in this article we will go over three very good modifications that can be done to your Mustang's suspension that will turn it up a few notches, and also make it so that you can get even more speed out of it without even touching the engine.

#1 Bushings

DIY Cost – $25-$450

Professional Cost – $200-$1,500

Skill Level – Easy to Moderate; this modification can differ depending on which or how many bushings you will be replacing, as some are easy to replace while others are not.

Bushings are very important in the performance of your suspension. More important than you would actually think. All the metal components of your suspension are connected throughout the chassis by some form of bushing. If they were metal-on-metal, it would create a very harsh ride among creating other issues. From the factory, Mustangs come with rubber bushings because that is the best ride quality and also the least expensive option. The problem with rubber is that it has more flex than polyurethane. So for performance and the transmitting of suspension forces to and from the ground, polyurethane is the way to go. You will lose a bit of ride quality, but not much. The biggest plus is that it makes your suspension feel much more alive and gives the driver better feel of what is going on with it. Recommended for its performance in transmitting forces to and from the ground.

Polyurethane bushings are offered individually or in kits from various different manufacturers, such as Ford Racing and Prothane.

#2 Subframe Connectors

DIY Cost – $250-$280

Professional Cost – $500-$1,500

Skill Level – Expert; some subrame connectors require welding.

Mustangs are unibody construction. This essentially means that the frame and body are one piece. There are two subframes: one for the front and one for the rear. These subframes from the factory are not connected by anything more than the body of the car. Due to this, there is a good amount of flex that happens when the car is cornering or during other driving conditions. This is not that much of an issue until the car is pushed hard. As the car is pushed hard, each subframe is in a sense moving independently that can cause unpredictable chassis dynamics. To prevent this from occurring you can install subframe connectors that will simply connect the front and rear subframes forcing them to then act as a whole. Recommended for its ability to make the front and rear act as one.

The best subframe connectors on offer, and the ones that will give you the biggest gain in suspension performance, are going to be full length and weld in. There are some bolt in subframe connectors, but due to the fact that the connection between the connector and the subframe is not as tight as if it were welded, there can tend to still be some flex.

#3 Springs and Struts/Shocks

DIY Cost – $145-$1,000

Professional Cost – $300-$2,000

Skill Level – Moderate; this requires a good and firm understanding of your car's suspension to complete this mod successfully.

In my opinion, when it comes to the suspension of your car, a good spring and shock/strut kit will be where you see the biggest gains in the performance of your suspension.

These components are the most responsible for the behavior of your suspension and how it handles its own weight on the road it is being driven on. It is one aspect of your suspension that can be fine tuned and made tailored to whatever your application might be.

There are many options out there to choose from and these options span from just gaining some performance on the street to gaining performance on the track. There are even options for shocks that allow adjustability, so you can go even more in depth into the setup of your suspension's fine tune. Recommended for its ability to handle its weight on the road.

Many companies offer kits such as Ford Racing, KONI, RTR, Bilstein, and Eibach.

Pro Tip

The only thing that makes a connection between your car and the road is your car's tires. So the best way to compliment any suspension modification you do on your car is to equip it with a good set of tires. That is truly the only way to get 100% of the performance out of your suspension modifications.

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