For the past fifty years, the Mustang has been hitting road courses all over America, going against
some of the most lethal competition, including Chevrolet, Mopar, Porsche, and BMW. Unlike many
manufacturers, Ford had different plans for the Mustang initially, debuting as a secretary's car to use
for daily commuting. Ford executives like Lee Iacocca had other methods to get this pony to racehorse
status. To accomplish this, Lee
would consult automotive builder and racer Carroll Shelby. Iacocca knew that to make the Mustang a
performance-oriented
vehicle, it would need a complete overhaul to be able to attack road courses all around the
United States. After the launch of the 1965 Shelby GT350, aftermarket companies throughout the
automotive industry helped the Mustang compete at the highest level of road racing. Such as Firestone,
Hurst
Shifters, Holley, MSD Ignition, and others developed performance parts to aid the Shelby GT350, and
Mustang fastback to become the racehorse everyone knows it today. Moving towards the late 1960s, the Mustang turned into a full-fledge road racing beast, earning multiple
championships in the Boss 302 competing in SCCA (Sports Car Club of America). Thanks to drivers like
Dan Gurney and Parnelli Jones, the Mustang made a massive impact on the race circuit around America.
These
significant milestones ultimately led to the Mustang launch into the halo performance muscle car in
which everyone aspired to own. To this very day, this mindset is what has helped companies like Steeda
aid customers, racers, and enthusiasts for over thirty years compete on the road course and
autocross. To aid our fellow enthusiasts, below you will find Steeda's top five Mustang mods for road racing. We
consider these mods
most impactful to help you stop quicker, turn in harder, gain more confidence, and turn out better lap
times on track to conquer the competition!
Mustang Suspension
Mustang Wheels & Tires
Mustang Braking
Mustang Chassis Bracing
Mustang Shifters
Your Mustang suspension is vital to ensuring you get the best balance, stability, and traction to the
pavement while road racing. Each Mustang generation has improved upon the previous to increase handling
capability, turn-in, and body roll. These factors are incredibly important to maximize the
ability to put down your Mustang's power when coming out of each corner without causing too much
understeer
or oversteer. Every track you encounter will determine how you're going to set up your Mustang
suspension to get
maximum capability and output. Enthusiasts who track their Mustang demand the ultimate adjustability in their suspension from the
following components: shocks, sway bars, toe links, and caster camber plates. Each one of these will
allow for the highest ability to dial in optimal suspension adjustability for what you are trying to
accomplish at
the specific road course you are at. Steeda's thirty-years of experience road racing at the most
grueling
tracks in the United States has helped us develop suspension components directly from our racehorse to
your Mustang. While the stock Mustang suspension components are great for daily driving and the occasional track day,
using them for hardcore track use monthly won't help you take it to the competition. Luckily, Steeda has
the proper solutions to get your Mustang dialed in: Coilovers: Among the
entire
industry within road racing, coilovers
are the most popular suspension component for all 1979-2020 Mustang models. The reason is
simple; each
piece within a coilover is engineered to maximize optimal adjustability for ride height, shock
dampening, rebound, and wheel alignment. The result is killing two birds with one stone,
allowing you to have the ability to customize your suspension to your liking not just for the
road course but also if you decide to drive your stallion on the street as well.
Shocks: Among all
suspension components, shocks give you the
ability to ensure that your Mustang stays planted to the ground when track conditions are
not as suitable as you'd like them to be. Road courses, like Sebring International Raceway, are
very harsh as there are many bumps, cracks, and different surfaces your pony has to come in
contact with Having the correct shock rebound and compression will allow you to maximize lap
times and handling.
Sway Bars: To ensure you
and
your Mustang perform at the head of the pack, we recommend adding an adjustable sway to your
pony. Giving your Mustang the benefit of improving its understeer and oversteer during harsh
cornering. A Steeda sway bar, in conjunction with the correct shocks, will allow minimum body
roll when entering a hairpin corner, resulting in more confidence to overtake positioning
against the competition while pulling down those laps times to an all-time low.
Caster Camber
Plates: Unlike a street Mustang, a road
racing oriented Mustang needs proper wheel alignment to ensure better turn-in, traction, and
stability during high-speed cornering. The way to increase these variables is by adding a
set
of fully adjustable caster-camber plates to your Mustang. Fortunately, Steeda has been
engineering and manufacturing these for thirty-plus years, so you'll be set to get your pony
dialed. We highly recommend you get these professionals installed and aligned by someone with a
road racing or autocross background.
We all know that when the rubber meets the road, it is the most critical component within a Mustang along
with any vehicle on the American streets today. In road racing and autocross, tires are the difference
between winning and losing without question. Different types of rubber compounds give drivers the
ability to brake later, turn-in harder, and put down the power better than standard street tires. For
more than twenty years, Steeda has worked with Nitto tire to develop road racing tire solutions to meet
the demand of racers of all backgrounds. Unlike road tires, road racing tires are designed to give maximum traction, stability, and confidence
when
going full tilt when it counts most. Some of the characteristics you have to understand in terms of
tires are tread patterns, compound, and treadwear. These are very crucial to understanding what tire you
need for the track you are intending on attacking. While on the other hand, without a proper wheel, you
cannot perform well on race day; you can't have one without the other. In road racing, having the
lightest
yet most robust wheel is essential to reducing rotational mass and increasing strength for harsh track
conditions. Matching the correct set of tires & wheels is paramount to being lightweight, agile, and
confident, to take out the competition. Wheels: Among all the world's
technology, the wheel has been around for thousands of years to make life easier for all
aspects. Especially when Henry Ford set out to put the world on wheels and forever changed the
globe. Equipping your Mustang with the proper set of wheels is so important in road racing for a
few reasons; including reducing rotational mass, increasing rigidity, and gaining a better grip
on the race track.
Tires: As the saying goes,
"when the rubber meets the road, the road gets going." This philosophy couldn't be more accurate
while racing at your local autocross or road course. Gaining the most traction will ensure you
have
better lap times, confidence, steering input, and will be able to put your Mustang power down
as effectively as possible. That is why Steeda trusts our friends over at Nitto Tire for all our
road racing needs in their NT01 road racing series of tires. They provide the best traction,
lateral grip, and direct feel among any of the competition tires in the market.
Meanwhile, suspension, wheels, and tires are critical to many forms of racing, including road racing and
carving up your local autocross. Your Mustang brake components are going to be some of your last-ditch
efforts for safety, corner braking, managing through grid traffic, and carving out the best lap times.
Throughout the years, Mustang braking from the factory has not been the cream of the crop compared to
its European and Japanese rivals. Nowadays, with the help of companies like Steeda and Brembo,
enthusiasts now have the choice of upgrading your ponies' brakes without hesitation. From the Fox Body to the latest addition to the Mustang stable in the S550, racers everywhere
have the option of upgrading every piece of their braking system. While the factory Ford braking
components are great for daily driving, they won't cut it for the abuse endured during a road race. It
is why upgrading to a big brake kit is the way to go if you are serious about getting better
lap times while gaining confidence to brake later on crucial corners out on the track. Big Brake Kits: For well
over two decades, Steeda and other industry leaders have aided many enthusiasts with simple
solutions such as a big brake kit to make it a one-stop-shop to improve braking performance at
every level. Most brake kits include larger calipers, typically six-piston front and four-piston
rear, higher temperature brake pads, and drilled/slotted rotors. All combined will aid your
Mustang out on track tremendously for a few reasons; including braking later when heading
into a corner, reducing rotational mass, brake pedal engagement, and a dramatic increase of
stopping power.
Rotors: If you're not
an all-out racer who has deep pockets to afford a big brake kit but still wants to improve
brake wear during a track day. If not then we suggest to opt for a set of drilled & slotted
rotors are going to aid your
Mustang drastically in terms of brake bite, pedal engagement, and confidence. Beneficially they
won't break the bank for the average enthusiast that wants to improve their braking performance.
Brake Pads: On the other
hand, big brake kits and upgraded rotors are great. You can't benefit from the improved braking
performance without a better brake pad. Standard daily driven vehicles have the necessary brake
pad material to bring your car to a stop within reasonable federal guidelines. Road racing brake
pads require a high heat wearing material that can withstand harsh abuse endured during an
entire road
race. Most performance brake pads will use ceramic or carbon to withstand searing high heat to
slow down your pony coming off a back end straightaway.
For Ford engineers there work on building the stiffest chassis for the Mustang was in their sights for
the general population. They weren't always meant to be a full-fledge racecar or weekend track day car
at
the road course. Unfortunately, for many generations of Mustang, they see more chassis flexing
than others, especially the Fox Body, SN95, New Edge, and S197. Each Mustang was engineered with the
best chassis engineering when produced, but they fall short when throwing your pony into a hairpin
corner on a road course. To fix this issue, Steeda's thirty years of road racing experience has figured out many areas in which
the Mustang can use
additional chassis bracing to support additional horsepower, stiffer suspension, and reduce your frame
from
flexing. Resulting in your 1979-2020 Mustang attaining its full potential on track, which in turn will
help with better lap times, quicker turn-in, corner exiting, and entry, while reducing brake dive. Roll Cage: Adding a roll
cage to your Mustang is necessary if you plan to go road racing. It will be required by a
sanctioning racing bodies such
as SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) depending on what class you enter in. Installing one of
these is classified in two areas; it includes safety and rigidity. The safety portion will be
in case of a major accident if you flip your Mustang or hit a barrier wall to protect you and
will allow you
to install your six-point harness. Rigidity will consist of either bolting or welding
into specific areas to reduce chassis flex. Your pony will flex in its chassis under hard
G-Force cornering, a roll cage will give
you the confidence you need to go flat out in a sweeping or hairpin corner.
Frame
Stiffening: Many areas of your Mustang can be addressed to fix chassis flexing issues by
adding simple modifications such as adding chassis rigidity. These components include front and
rear strut tower braces, subframe connectors, and front suspension bracing. All of these will
aid your Mustang in reducing chassis flexing while going full throttle at the track. Frame flex
is caused by added horsepower, increased suspension performance, and wear & tear on your
Mustang over the years.
K-Member: Unlike the
competition, the Mustang has used a K-Member as the skeleton to support the
engine, suspension, and steering rack to your Mustang. The OEM K-Member is built to withstand
all
the standard abuses you would find during normal road conditions. Steeda's K-Members
are built to withstand the harshest punishment that a road course can throw at it. Using high
strength steel, tig welding, and specific engineering processes, we can give enthusiasts better
handling, stability, chassis bracing, and a lighter front end. In turn, it will aid in faster
laps, harder turn-in, and a more agile Mustang all the way around.
Since the beginning of hot rodding in the 1930s, enthusiasts have sought any way they could become more
connected as one with their ride. More often than not, the best way to achieve this is by selecting a
manual transmission over an automatic to have full control over their hot rod. When the Mustang debuted,
both Lee Iacocca and Gale Halderman knew they had to offer a four-speed manual to give owners the
connection to their pony they deserve. Thanks to this, enthusiasts have enjoyed the innovation of
companies like Steeda, Hurst, and more of giving them better shifter connection to promote faster
shifts,
crisper throttle response, and shorter shifter throws. All while enabling racers on the road course to
not worry having a loose shifter and boosting more confidence. Short Throw
Shifter: While on a road course, getting your Mustang around the track as quickly as
possible is crucial to take out the competition. Other than a driver's skill and ability,
getting proper shifting down is existential to obtaining precise cornering, lap times, and
speed. The way to do this is by adding a short-throw shifter; by doing so, you will
add crisper shifts, shorter throws, better engagement, and more confidence when upshifting or
downshifting. All while giving your Mustang better reliability in the long run at the road
course.
Top Five Road Racing Mustang Mods
Mustang Suspension
Mustang Wheels & Tires
Mustang Braking
Mustang Chassis Bracing
Mustang Shifters
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