grrrr...

[SonicRiot]

OK, set me straight. This search is endless and everytime I see something I want, I see something else I "should do!" headbang I am getting VERY frustrated. I want a performance suspension setup...this car handles like a greased pig on a tile floor! rant

I need:
1. upper AND lower ball joints.
-Is there such a thing as a performance upgrade, or is OEM sufficient?
-can I get these without the front control arms?

2. Inner AND outer tie rods and ends
-is there a difference between ENDS and ENDLINKS?
-use steel or AL endlinks?
-where can I get the Moog greasables at a decent price?

I want:
1. bigger, stronger, possibly lighter sway bars in front and rear
-is there anything to be gained by this upgrade over stock?
-And I can't find them!

2. GTP tubular rear control arms
-is the MidwestSHO kit the same thing?
-is $320 the going rate, or should I hit the junkyard?
-I know I need the H-box
-what about the front control arms? Any gains over stock with an upgrade? Is there an upgrade?

3. Brake plug thingy
-where do I get the plug?
-does it make the car stop all funky and dangerously and **** the brakes faster?

4. SFB
-AL or polyurethane are better? I don't care about harshness of ride...I like it rough wink
-what's with all this recall stuff? Don't know if mine has been done
-how many sets do I need to do them all, total?

5. SFC
-short or long?
-steel or AL?

6. strut tower braces
-I am getting the rear.
-is there a noticeable difference with the front as well?

7. Knuckle braces
-do I need them since I don't (yet) race?
-is there such a thing as a front knuckle brace?

SO!

What do I need to make this happen? What bushings/washers. etc. do I need? Anything else I should do? Are any of these mods a waste of time and energy?

Will these mods actually make my car handle like the supersedan I want it to handle like?

Thanks. All help is greatly appreciated, as Rockport's site is overwhelming and does not have a single pic!

EDIT: I just realized that some of my questions regarding front control arms have already been answered, so no slaps or flames please! Sorry!

<small>[ February 08, 2004, 10:51 PM: Message edited by: SonicRiot ]</small>

 

[fricker66]

I can try to assist where I have personal experience or understanding of the items. Here goes:

For the lower ball joints, Rockauto is likely your best source as I am not aware of any performance upgrades. Really don't know where it would be upgraded anyway?

Upper ball joint? The Taurus platform uses struts and does not utilize an upper ball joint.

The adjustable end of the steering component is the outer tie rod end. Should not be labelled as end link. End links are the pieces connecting the sway bar to the strut. If you are doing this much work, go ahead and replace both inner and outer tie rod ends. Make sure you get a greaseable outer tie rod end. I obtained mine through O'Reilly autoparts storebrand at a much lower cost.

Check for the for sale ads for upgraded sway bars. "edit" just noticed you have a 91. You should have a 24mm front and 26mm rear bar. The only "upgrade" that I am aware of would be the 29mm rear bar that was made my SHOShop. You might find one on ebay or the for sale ads.I am not aware of any "lighter" sway bars. By upgrading to the larger sway bars, you will notice less body roll in the turns. Gives a little more of a firm ride as well.

If you don't mind a firm ride, go with the Al SFBs available through many of the vendors and in the classifieds on the forum. The recall was issued by Ford to fix the corrosion problem associated with the cars located in the "rust belt" of the US. It was not a replacement of the bushings, only the bolts and nuts holding the rear of the subframe to the unibody. You should be able to find out whether it was performed on your SHO by checking at a local dealership.

I believe your questions on the knuckle braces were answered in a previous post by SHO NUT. Basically, they do not provide any additional upgrades for a normal SHO. In your case they are not required.

The rear STB will usually give more noticeable differences than the front STB. If you're going all out, get them both.

You can always check part numbers from rockauto on the forum as they have been posted numerous times. You should feel and notice a huge difference in driving characteristics after doing these upgrades. Of course, don't forget that the first contact with your car and the road is your tires. Don't skimp on the rubber or most of the upgrades you're planning on doing will be unnoticeable!

Here is a part number list I provided in a different topic on suspension bushings:

From SHONUT: # SNP-24FSBB front sway bar bushings, greaseable polyurethane

From Rockauto (w/ discount):
MOOG TPR # K8761 rear sway bar bushings
MOOG TPR # K8516 front tension to control arms
MOOG # K8613 front tension to body
MOOG TPR # K8675 rear tension to body
MOOG TPR # K8649 rear tension to knuckle

<small>[ February 08, 2004, 11:37 PM: Message edited by: fricker66 ]</small>

 

[Mike Kopstain]

I need:
1. upper AND lower ball joints.
-Is there such a thing as a performance upgrade, or is OEM sufficient?
-can I get these without the front control arms?

No there is no performance variation of this part. OEM is fine. You will need to replace the entire control arm however, which is probably a good idea.

2. Inner AND outer tie rods and ends
-is there a difference between ENDS and ENDLINKS?
-use steel or AL endlinks?
-where can I get the Moog greasables at a decent price?

Yes, endlinks attach the sway bar to the struts. Tie rods and tie rod ends attach the knuckle to the steering rack.

Steel or aluminum endlinks will both work just fine. They can be found here and here. The Moogs can typically be found locally for cheap.

I want:
1. bigger, stronger, possibly lighter sway bars in front and rear
-is there anything to be gained by this upgrade over stock?
-And I can't find them!

You won't find lighter, and since you have a 91' you won't find stronger, as you already have the biggest ever available on the car. Best thing to do here is get TPR bushings for the front and rear bars. Replacing the old rubber stock bushings with TPR will give the same affect as moving to a larger bar. Same links as above apply here.

2. GTP tubular rear control arms
-is the MidwestSHO kit the same thing?
-is $320 the going rate, or should I hit the junkyard?
-I know I need the H-box
-what about the front control arms? Any gains over stock with an upgrade? Is there an upgrade?

Be cautious J yard shopping for these. They changed the part numbers. Some need to be modified, some don't. You don't entirely have a way of knowing all the time. The kit we offer is complete and requires no extra parts or modification.

You don't need an H box, but it's a good addition.

Again, stock front control arms are your only choice and are more than adaquete.

3. Brake plug thingy
-where do I get the plug?
-does it make the car stop all funky and dangerously and **** the brakes faster?

You get them from me. Make sure you're ABS is working. Whenever you mess with bias it takes a little getting used to. It will shorten the life of the rear pads, but it's marginal, and they typically last 50,000+ miles anyhow. You also have the vented rear brakes, so you're an ideal candidate.

4. SFB
-AL or polyurethane are better? I don't care about harshness of ride...I like it rough
-what's with all this recall stuff? Don't know if mine has been done
-how many sets do I need to do them all, total?

*Walks on egg shells* Aluminum, hands down. You need the recall kits either way. It is cheap and makes the job so much easier, even if the recall has been performed.

1 set of bushings and two recall kits. These can be obtained from Bruce Malachuck (ring style bushing) or Josh at SHONut (Cup style bushing). Both bushings function the same and are overkill. These make a big difference in steering response.

5. SFC
-short or long?
-steel or AL?

Long and they have to be steel to weld to the floor pan. The only additional comment would be to cap the ends so they don't rust.

6. strut tower braces
-I am getting the rear.
-is there a noticeable difference with the front as well?

With your sway bar combo, I would just get the rear.

7. Knuckle braces
-do I need them since I don't (yet) race?
-is there such a thing as a front knuckle brace?

No you don't need them. Maybe, just maybe when you track the car and you're slamming down some low times and hard turns you'll need them, but until then, I'd say you are fine.

What do I need to make this happen? What bushings/washers. etc. do I need? Anything else I should do? Are any of these mods a waste of time and energy?

Will these mods actually make my car handle like the supersedan I want it to handle like?

Well, yes and no. You appear to have part of the equation figured out. What about struts? Springs? Those are big factors. Also, you need some nice rubber to connect the car to the road. The most elaborate suspension set up is junk when the car is riding on $50.00 Pep Boys tires.

 

[Lance Cheney]

SonicRiot:
OK, set me straight. This search is endless and everytime I see something I want, I see something else I "should do!" headbang I am getting VERY frustrated. I want a performance suspension setup...this car handles like a greased pig on a tile floor! rant

I need:
1. upper AND lower ball joints.
-Is there such a thing as a performance upgrade, or is OEM sufficient?
-can I get these without the front control arms?

Are you sure you need new lower ball joints, aka lower control arms? Is there slop in the ball joint? Is the boot torn, or are the bushings shot?

If you do, I just got a pair of McQuay-Norris from Kragen for $59 ea, and they're about 20% beefier than the stock SHO ones, which are already about 50% beefier than the stock non-SHO Taurus arms. Make sure you get a #1759 and #1758, since they sell a normal Taurus one as well.

SonicRiot:


I want:
1. bigger, stronger, possibly lighter sway bars in front and rear
-is there anything to be gained by this upgrade over stock?
-And I can't find them!

</strong>

Why exactly do you want this? The car will handle more neutrally (=better, to me) with a smaller front bar than comes stock on your car. Best thing to do is pull a 22mm bar off of a Taurus Wagon at a junkyard, but polyurethane bushings for it (7/8" standard Ford front-end bushings work), and put poly bushings on your 26mm rear bar. This will cause the car to not plow quite so badly.
If you're braver, you can run a 20.6mm front bar (off a normal Taurus). You can get the back end loose with that so... (this was my preferred track setup until I got the Quaife).

SonicRiot:


5. SFC
-short or long?
-steel or AL?
</strong>

They don't make Aluminum ones, and they're weld-in, so that's a really good thing. As for long vs. short, I'm not sure how much difference it makes. I know I've seen at least two different grades sold -- there's a picture linked on the SHOTIMES web site of an install done with really thin bars (one of my friends has something similar on his), probably 0.08" wall thickness. The ones I got from the Sho Shop are significantly thicker at 0.175". I dented one of his jacking on it when I didn't get the castellation lined up right. Mine definitely won't do that.
Obviously the thicker ones weigh more but they'll also stiffen more, so you make the call there.

The SHO is never going to handle like a small car with an optimized suspension. It's FWD, the engine is in front of the wheels (bad polar moment of inertia), it's heavy, etc... But it can be made pretty good with the right parts. It just depends on what you want. You might be better off with another car.

-Lance

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

Excellent response Mikey.

I just relearned in one minute of reading, what 3 days of forum searching taught me

We REALLY need to compile some suspension basics, different combos, and such into one page. Loads of info to be learned hail

 

[SonicRiot]

really...seriously you guys,
thanks. I am relieved.

I forgot to mention that I have already done the struts/springs. I went with Monroe struts and a new 8-coil progressive spring to replace my sagging, stock 7-coil springs(dunno the brand, he said they were better than stock, but not a more expensive upgrade like an Eibach or something, my buddy at Monroe in Monroe, CT did the work and he owns a self-rodded 700bhp 3000GT, so I trust him) All of these wobbles and squeaks were noticably worse after I acheived the proper ride height. Now I want more!

Also, I still have the stock slicers currently wrapped in Champiro Winters, but I have a nice set of Dunlop SP5000's waiting for the spring.

This will change when I can find a wider, lightweight wheel (Fikses, anyone?) for my car or afford a set of Cobras. naughty

Oh yeah, one last thing, you guys keep saying "you might be better off with a new car."

Like what? It won't be a fast, 5 speed sedan!

 

[RStalveyARFF]

don't get the brake bias plugs unless you have a minimum of 96 brakes in the front. I did the plugs with the 95 brakes in front and almost totalled poor Pearl when the rear brakes overpowered the front. If you want an upgrade, start with size first, then play with pressure.