I just picked up a 94 GT with 60k miles in near perfect condition. The only issue with it is that I feel every bump and crack in the road. I don’t care to improve the car’s handling. I just want the best ride quality possible to drive it to and from car shows. My plan is to replace the shocks/struts with Koni and Gabriel’s for the rear quad shock pair. And replace the spring isolators and pinion snubber with urethane. Is this the way to go for the best ride quality?
What setup for most comfortable ride?
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shovel
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Ride discussions are always a disaster because everyone's butt is calibrated differently - and wildly so. These are sporty cars built on what was already an aging platform 30 years ago and if they made them plush enough for a cadillac driver they'd be too mushy for a competitive racer. The live rear axle is always going to upset the chassis more than independent suspension will.
If your car is actually stock and just aged, yeah replacing rubber is a really good start - that means the spring isolators but it also means the bushings in your control arms (for the front arms you'd probably just want to replace the whole arm since that takes care of the ball joint too). People have all sorts of shock absorber preferences, the standard KYB's (the inexpensive ones) are not at all stiff & they're what I have in both of my Mustangs. I don't have a clue about Koni.
If there are aftermarket parts on it now it's anybody's guess what those are, but most of the time "performance" means worse ride quality and half the time it means worse actual performance too.
If your car is actually stock and just aged, yeah replacing rubber is a really good start - that means the spring isolators but it also means the bushings in your control arms (for the front arms you'd probably just want to replace the whole arm since that takes care of the ball joint too). People have all sorts of shock absorber preferences, the standard KYB's (the inexpensive ones) are not at all stiff & they're what I have in both of my Mustangs. I don't have a clue about Koni.
If there are aftermarket parts on it now it's anybody's guess what those are, but most of the time "performance" means worse ride quality and half the time it means worse actual performance too.
Shoval
Thanks for your input. I was told that is all stock but I need to put it on a lift and check it out. I climbed under it before I bought it, saw how clean it was and climbed back out. I didn’t pay much attention to the suspension.
cobrajeff96
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If you can find rubber for everything, do that. Urethane is harder than rubber.
All SN95s should have full length subframe connectors welded in. It reduces chassis flex which in turn lets the suspension do its job better.
All SN95s should have full length subframe connectors welded in. It reduces chassis flex which in turn lets the suspension do its job better.
shovel
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I'm gonna have to go to my grave never knowing the wonders of subframe connectors
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Warhorse Racing
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If your car still has the OEM rubber bushings, they most likely need to be replaced. Time takes a toll on rubber bushings. Keep in mind that rubber bushings can look good but still be bad. MOOG offers a lot of replacement rubber bushings for these cars.
There are a few things to be aware of when making mods to improve ride quality:
1. In some cases, good rubber bushings will cost as much, or more, than poly bushings.
2. Some bushings require a press to install, which adds cost (if you don't own a press). For example: New OEM-style A-arms with bushings & ball joints might be a better option than buying new rubber bushings and having them pressed into your old A-arms.
3. Don't overlook the steering rack bushings, upper strut mount bushings & upper differential housing bushings.
4. Many aftermarket non-adjustable "performance" shocks & struts are stiffer than OEM shocks & struts. An "OEM replacement" set is probably better for your specific application.
5. If you're going to change the rubber bushings in the front suspension, you will need to get the car aligned. Make sure you change all the old bushings at once to avoid having to pay for multiple alignments.
There are a few things to be aware of when making mods to improve ride quality:
1. In some cases, good rubber bushings will cost as much, or more, than poly bushings.
2. Some bushings require a press to install, which adds cost (if you don't own a press). For example: New OEM-style A-arms with bushings & ball joints might be a better option than buying new rubber bushings and having them pressed into your old A-arms.
3. Don't overlook the steering rack bushings, upper strut mount bushings & upper differential housing bushings.
4. Many aftermarket non-adjustable "performance" shocks & struts are stiffer than OEM shocks & struts. An "OEM replacement" set is probably better for your specific application.
5. If you're going to change the rubber bushings in the front suspension, you will need to get the car aligned. Make sure you change all the old bushings at once to avoid having to pay for multiple alignments.
ttocs
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what is the budget?
Looking to stay under $1000
shovel
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I find it hard to believe you'd be able to improve on OE for ride comfort, and OE equivalent parts are pretty affordable. Young rubber and standard shocks are a no brainer. The OE front sway bar end links use fairly hard bushings you could swap out for rubber (and not overtighten) for a slight edge in comfort over OE. Example this is most of what I put in my 96:
(the 96 has a 2003 rear axle, hence control arms for 99-04)
That's about $750 in parts, not shown there is upper axle bushings (about $25 for the pair) and upper strut mounts ($80) and rear coil spring isolators ($25) - it creeps up close to $1k but it refreshes everything flexible like new between the wheels and the body.
If you're on stock brakes you can run 15" or 16" wheels with a ton of sidewall to soak up the road.
(the 96 has a 2003 rear axle, hence control arms for 99-04)
That's about $750 in parts, not shown there is upper axle bushings (about $25 for the pair) and upper strut mounts ($80) and rear coil spring isolators ($25) - it creeps up close to $1k but it refreshes everything flexible like new between the wheels and the body.
If you're on stock brakes you can run 15" or 16" wheels with a ton of sidewall to soak up the road.
cobrajeff96
Well-Known Member
Well, actually...
You can get a more comfortable ride than OEM (and slightly better handling too) by getting rid of Ford's modified McPherson struts and the live axle spring/shock combo.
With the springs up front so far inboard, the spring rate has to be pretty stiff already. By going with true coilover, you can either decrease the spring rate but still have the same effective wheel rate which in turn makes the ride even softer without sacrificing factory level handling response/traction. Or you can do the same but with a slightly higher spring rate which will make the ride only slightly more harsh but with markedly improved handling/traction.
The same is true for the rear suspension. With the springs literally sitting in the middle of the lower control arm, the ride quality and the handling is inherently crap. But if you were to get coilovers everything will improve (see above). Couple those with deleting the quad shocks, upgrading to solid LCAs, a Watts Link, and either a torque arm or an upper third link, the ride quality and the handling drastically improves over OEM.
Bushing selection still has an effect, but I'd argue less of an effect than the above points. Again, if rubber can be utilized then that's the most streetable option. But polyurethane would come in second and it's really not all that harsh. The harshest element in an SN95 suspension system by far is Ford's spring placements on the vehicle.
You can get a more comfortable ride than OEM (and slightly better handling too) by getting rid of Ford's modified McPherson struts and the live axle spring/shock combo.
With the springs up front so far inboard, the spring rate has to be pretty stiff already. By going with true coilover, you can either decrease the spring rate but still have the same effective wheel rate which in turn makes the ride even softer without sacrificing factory level handling response/traction. Or you can do the same but with a slightly higher spring rate which will make the ride only slightly more harsh but with markedly improved handling/traction.
The same is true for the rear suspension. With the springs literally sitting in the middle of the lower control arm, the ride quality and the handling is inherently crap. But if you were to get coilovers everything will improve (see above). Couple those with deleting the quad shocks, upgrading to solid LCAs, a Watts Link, and either a torque arm or an upper third link, the ride quality and the handling drastically improves over OEM.
Bushing selection still has an effect, but I'd argue less of an effect than the above points. Again, if rubber can be utilized then that's the most streetable option. But polyurethane would come in second and it's really not all that harsh. The harshest element in an SN95 suspension system by far is Ford's spring placements on the vehicle.
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