Mustang Solutions

Our initial drive of the S197 left us less than impressed. The front of the car felt 'soft' Not the coil and damping rate, the entire front of the car seemed to flex. Power shifting through the gears indicated substantial front end lift. Hard braking induced heavy dive. Driving at anything beyond 7/10s produced prodigious under steer. The steering was light, almost numb. On track the car was fast. The brakes were underwhelming and our 2010 the rears were cooked in just three test laps at Gingerman.

 

The Challenger, Charger, GTO, G8 and Camaro are all IRS vehicles. Of this group, the Camaro has been the fastest and most driver friendly. There are big differences between the Camaro and Mustang that go well beyond the Mustang's solid rear axle. The Mustang has a floating rear caliper mounted in rubber that is more at home in a 1968 Mustang than a 2010 Mustang. The front sub-frame on the Mustang does not extend as far forward and mounts with two less bolts. From the factory the Mustang has two chassis braces that are important to the function of the vehicle - the front single bar behind the engine and the rear above the panhard bar.

The the Mustang, it is the FIRST car we ever specified a triangulated chassis brace as the single most important foundational upgrade.

The Mustang front sub-frame ends at the leading edge of the front wheel axles in the hubs. The front sway bar ends connect to the front struts. The main length of the bar connects to formed sheet metal well forward of the sub-frame under the radiator with D bushes and metal straps. They flex independently reducing the effectiveness of the sway bar. We designed a light weight chassis brace to directly tie the sub-frame to the formed sheet metal where the D bushes bolt in.

 

The lightweight brace (6.5 pounds)  is incredibly effective. You can feel it as soon as you pull out of the garage or driveway. The front of the Mustang is more solid. The steering is more stable. In your first turn you won't believe it is the same car. In 2011, Ford realised how important this brace is to the S197 and added a steel brace along with electric power steering. The Speed Lab Front Triangulated Chassis brace fits 2005 through 2010 S197s. It does not fit the 2011 and the 2011 factory brace does not fit earlier models.

 

Our goal is Race Car like handling with OE like Ride Comfort. The Triangulated front Chassis Brace brought us closer to our goal.