Factory suspension setups on Ford's S197 Mustangs aren't really up to snuff for the average performance enthusiast (or anyone else). The heavy weight of the fifth generation Mustangs combined with a live axle rear end do these ponies no favors and make cornering interesting, to say the least. That being said, replacing only a few basic suspension components will do wonders for the extremely rigid chassis of the S197 and make it fly around corners with relative ease. In general, there are two ways to get better performance out of the Mustang's suspension system: the easy way and the right way. The easiest way to give you suspension a performance bump is with a set of lowering springs. The ''right way'' (not that there's really a ''wrong way'') is by grabbing one of our premium suspension kits that generally include lowering springs on top of other uprated suspension gear.
Lowering springs are the baseline performance upgrade for the suspensions of almost any car that has ever been manufactured, though lowering your Lambo might prove difficult. Lowering springs work by slightly altering your Mustang's center of gravity to greatly reduce the amount of body roll S197s tend to experience during cornering and also give your pony a more aggressive appearance by closing some of the gaps in your Mustang's fender wells. Most lowering spring kits lower the Mustang by one to one and a half inches on the front and rear, though some, like Eibach's Sportline series installation, making a full kit a better option from a cost-benefit standpoint.
Suspension kits come in all shapes and sizes and include loads of hardware all dedicated to turning your Mustang into lean track all star. Our best selling kit is the ROUSH Complete suspension kit sway bars. This full suspension makeover is the exact same gear that ROUSH puts on their 427R, Stage 2, and Stage 3 Mustangs and have been extensively engineered and tested to guarantee track-ready performance. ROUSH's springs lower your Mustang by about an inch in the front and rear and work together with the uprated shocks and struts to provide reduced body roll without causing a harsh ride. The sway bars help stiffen up the chassis and reduce flex that allows you take corners more flatly to keep your tires in contact with the ground. The ROUSH Complete suspension kit gives you the best performance out any similar kit for S197s and has been shown to give new fifth generation Mustangs up to 1.0g in lateral skid tests. The ROUSH kit can be used on either the street or track, making it one of most useful suspension kits on the market.
The ROUSH suspension kit goes a long way to correct a lot of the problems with the S197's stock suspension, but it doesn't contain a few other upgrades that give your Mustang even better cornering ability. Strut tower braces are an extremely hot item and reinforce your Mustang's chassis by bridging the gap between the strut towers inside your engine compartment. A set of ROUSH rear control arms that have a full range of adjustments that can be made while they're mounted on your Mustang.
Hopefully at least some of our potential suspension upgrades have made your Mustang's suspension at least slightly more capable. Even going with simple lowering springs is a vast improvement over the factory and will at least let you take a hard turn without completely rolling your Mustang on its side. Still, it's better to do something as important as your pony's suspension right and we strongly recommend going for a suspension kit of some sort to maximize performance and your ride, even if you don't plan on visiting the track. If you're looking for something more specific, check out all of our S197 suspension parts or contact Stage 3 directly.
