Mustang CoolRide. Installing Air Ride Technologies CoolRide air suspension in Mustangs. by Doc Frohmader

Transcription

1 Installing Air Ride Technologies CoolRide air suspension in Mustangs by Doc Frohmader I still remember the first Mustangs. They were, for the time, relatively sophisticated and high-tech. Since 1964, things have changed a lot. The suspension that was adequate back then would cause a rebellion today. Not surprisingly, Mustangs dropped rear leaf springs and steering boxes long ago and went with carefully engineered trailing arm rear suspensions with coils and the newer ones have struts as well as coils up front. Since the first Fox body in 1979, everyone s been looking for new ways to make them ride right and a lot of interesting upgrades have been developed. So just when you think the Stangs are about as tricked out as they can get, you realize there s another level to step up to: Air ride Ẏou ve probably seen one or more of the special factory customs floating around at the shows, and perhaps even thirsted for the kind of trick gear they sport. Well, kids, the same air suspension Air Ride Technologies developed in prototype for Ford is now available for your own personal hot wheels. It s my intention to show you how it all goes together, using the 2001 Mustang Titanium GT convertible that happened to be stabled in the ART shop the last time I was visiting Bret and the guys as the platform. This is the 400 hp 4.6L, Vortec supercharged, Tremec 5-speed backed, Baer 14-inch 6- piston braked, and Air Ride equipped dream machine you may have noticed lurking about in the Primedia booth last year and may have been featured in your dreams. The setup includes air springs and new QA-1 Motorsports 12-way adjustable billet shocks at the rear and air springs in the front. To make it all function, ART installed a trick RidePro 4-way solenoid control unit to handle each corner separately, a couple of high-pressure pumps with storage tank, and digital gauge to keep track of the air pressure numbers. Both control rocker switches and gauges are located in the console, looking like they have an inalienable right to be there. Mustang CoolRide

2 Compared to the stock Mustang suspension, the ART unit drops the car an extra 2 inches, even with the 18-inch custom wheels. If you like the way the stock Mustang rides, you ll need a sedative to calm you under the wheel with the air ride. The car is not only SMOOTH, but actually gains in handling - especially over the sport springs sometimes used to drop these cars. It s pretty obvious the Mustang builders are a pretty savvy crowd who know what they want and how to get there. So whereas just the smoothness of air ride might convince others, the Mustang guys typically look for ways to make these cars perform above and beyond the call. It just happens that you can use air ride to achieve both - win/win, you know? The Mustang front suspension has come a long was from the early days and this 2001 has the standard GT gear plus a set of big Baer brakes. It s where we start with the ART CoolRide upgrade. Start tearing down with removing the ABS sensor and cable bracket - you don t want to damage them - and the outer tie rod end.

3 Remove the caliper assembly and tie it up so it doesn t hang on the flex line. It s safe and you don t have to bleed brakes later. Before removing the spring, wrap a chain around the spring and through the frame like this. It may save you from some serious pain if something gets away on you. I drove this car around Jasper and outlying areas and admit to pushing it as hard as I could without risking jail time, and was impressed with the cornering in particular. On winding roads it over-steered slightly, but that s what I like. It went through corners like it was on rails. Going up through the gears the rear stuck well despite the Vortec supercharger under the hood adding a lot of extra horses. Once rolling you had to slip the clutch to get em spinning, so acceleration was surprisingly quick. All this and a smooth ride...

4 Another fortunate aspect of the CoolRide kit is it s simplicity. You don t need a Masters in engineering to make it work. Air Ride spent a lot of time making sure that the parts fit the way they re supposed to without re-do. They made sure the kits work right and spent months perfecting this kit on their own car, driving and testing along the way. They also made sure the kit required the absolute least alteration to the car so you don t damage or devalue the car s resale value. If you want the kit can be removed and reused. All you need is hand tools, a decent jack and jack stands, and a drill. Except for important common sense safety and mechanical techniques, anyone with moderate mechanical skills can install the entire kit in a day. Most of it entails simple bolt-ons, but the plumbing and wiring are also not complex. If you can read and understand the need to secure the lines well and tight you can master it. Under the ABS bracket are the two large strut bolts. There s pressure on this unit, so you can remove the bolts and free the strut only after supporting the A-arm. Then, lower the jack slowly until the pressure is off and you can remove the spring. I suggest looping a length of chain around the spring and arm until the pressure is off for safety. The sway bar link is dropped, the lower A- arm is slowly dropped and the spring can be removed. Ready for new parts.

5 This is the kit for one side front. The fact that there are so few parts shows how simple it is to install. ART planned it that way. Assemble the spring spacer sleeve, upper stud, and air fitting. You can t get to this stuff later. Probably the hardest part of this job is getting the top retainer nut fished into the gap with a needle-nose pliers and getting it started on the stud. Patience pays and yes, it can be done.

6 The lower plate is aligned on the original sway bar link hole and settles into the A- arm. Once located you will drill three 7/16 holes and bolt the plate to the arm. Swing the arm way down to get room to drill. Lift the A-arm and spindle assembly up and catch the lower strut bolt first. Then rotate the spindle up until you can get the upper bolt in. The original sway bar link and hardware bolt right back in without modification.

7 Looking up from under the A- arm, you can see where the lower air spring retainer bolt in inserted. Don t over-tighten air spring bolts - they are used primarily to located the spring, not to hold the car up. Nothing is changed on the top. Because the strut tower hasn t been altered, you won t have to get the car re-aligned. Finished and ready to roll, you can see that there s no clearance problems and how much lighter the suspension is. That makes it more responsive.

8 At the rear, after supporting the axle, you have to get it completely loose to get the coils out. Take this bolt out on either side holding the upper trailing arm to the axle. The springs are captured so you don t have to worry about them getting loose until you drop the axle. The shocks are removed top and bottom. The axle won t drop far enough with them in and they get in the way of the work.

9 The rear axle link must also be dropped at the axle. It can hang from the rear as you work. After the coils are removed, you can bolt this and the upper trailing arms back on. This shows one side rear kit components including the QA-1 adjustable shock. After assembling the spring and spacer sleeve, the whole thing is lifted up into the old spring pocket. This plate is slipped over the stud and then nutted down. Don t tighten it yet.

10 The air spring rests on a plate and then on the lower arm. Lift the arm with the jack until it sits flat. Another plate and bolt hold the spring to the arm. When you have both ends in, wiggle the spring until you get the best fit on both ends and tighten the hardware. The shock is bolted into the original upper bayonet mount inside the car.

11 The QA-1 shock is installed with the adjuster knob to the rear. This prevents road rash. Because the CoolRide kit is engineered to replace original components and use original locations as much as possible, there s likely to be no clearance problems and no alteration to stock parts in the rear. However, check clearance through the entire range of travel just to be sure - there are always exceptions to a rule.

12 Inside the car, the digital gage fits in front of the shifter down low. From driver s position it is easy to see and pressures are shown for all four corners. The four control switches mount in the plate (part of the RidePro kit) fit on top of the console and look stock. Although there are any number of places to locate the pumps, tank, and RidePro solenoid operated pressure controls, ART owner Bret Voelkel opted for the trunk.