IRS- Big Decision

[Jibber]

I have read the information/threads on IRS upgrades to the 03/04 Mustang Cobras. There is a ton of information on this subject. To be honest with you I am having trouble choosing which way to go. It seems like this is a polarizing subject with FTBR and MM going head to head. I guess we have to make our own decision based upon what we read and what we feel like is best for our cars.
I was going to go with the FTBR and when I called an installer on their own website they tried to persuade me to go with MM. I found this to add even more confusion to my decision. (Maybe he was going to make more profit on the MM pkg and thats why he did what he did)
Unfortunately, noone I know in my area has this done to their cars so that even adds more confusion/frustration to the situation.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[gtmustang00]

My fathers cobra has the FTBR kit installed in his 03 cobra. Got rid of most of the wheel hop and feels like it hugs the road better. Dana at Pro tree installed the kit a few years ago.

 

[Mystic-SVT]

I have FTBR differential bushings and rear mount bushing on my car, helped a lot with wheelhop now I just need to buy the rest of the kit.

I've also installed on a friends '03 a complete FTBR kit along with the 9/16 front cradle bolts and it was a night and day difference. His car had the infamous "clunk" badly and the wheelhop was stupid in this car. 2 days later and on the first drive I got on it and no wheel hop and no clunk.

I fully recommend the FTBR kit!

Also another point I want to make about it is that there wasn't any noticeable added noise transfer with the kit in my friends '03 and his car still had the original catback and catted H. I know on my car I have slight gear whine but nothing that is overbearing whatsoever.

 

[rudycobra]

Ftbr ! I watch the videos on their site

 

[DSG2NV03]

I have the full kit on my 03 Cobra and it is pretty amazing. I have MM everything else (I mean everything) except for the rear end. I think it feels awesome and Bruce's Customer service is second to none. Another vote for FTBR!!

Link to my rear end build thread.
http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...nsion-upgrade-progress-powdercoat-inside.html

 

[SJ SNAKE]

In the same boat as the OP

 

[rudycobra]

Nothin against mm because I just installed their flsfc's this morning but I was deff impressed with ftbr kit and customer service .

 

[3Dglasses]

I have pretty much everything FTBR. All delrin and aluminum. It just plain works.:rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon:

The worst part of the installation for me was drilling and tapping grease fittings into the rear upper arms. Other than that it was by the numbers...

In the front tubular lower arms I was crushing the rear poly bushings every 6 months until I put the delrin bushings in. These came from MM. Now just a squeeze of grease every oil change and it has no noise and performs like it was SUPPOSED to ..... People ask me what my next mod is and my answer is always the same.... tires, tires, brakes, and more tires... :beer::beer::beer:

 

[REX-RACER]

You can't o WRONG w/ either! Seriously!

Both manufactures/kits work well and are good quality. I actually have a mix-n-match on my car.

From MM I have:
FL-SFCs
Poly IRS bushings
Poly diff bushings
Poly Spring isos
Front sway-bar end-links ( Eibach sway bar )

From FTBR I have:
Rear adjustable sway-bar end-links
Rear toe links

I also have H&R Race springs.

The reason I ended up w/ this arrangement is b/c I've added pieces over time and many of the MM pieces were added first when I bought them off of other members here and on a local board but they were all "nib".

I ended up having to replace the rear sway-bar end-links when I added the EIbach sway bar kit, and I had to replace the rear toe links when the stripped the crown nut of the stock piece and FTBR was the ONLY replacement I could find.

All of it is good quality stuff and both suppliers stand by their parts. The owner of FTBR, Bruce is a regular member on this site and you'll see him around all of the time in threads like this one as the SN ac427cobra :

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/2012-boss-302-mustang-373/757330-boss302s.html

Bruce builds hard core race parts b/c he's a dedicated track junkie. He builds them, he races them. The 99-04 irs specific tech videos are worth every minute you'd spend watching them twice. When I took apart my irs last winter for a gear swap, Bruce's videos where an invaluable primer on the guts of the Cobra IRS. If you're building and all out track car, the FTBR delrin parts is likely the way you want to go.

By the mildest of contrasts it could be said that MM makes parts more suited for a track capable street car. The poly-urethane pieces WILL help eliminate big bad wheel hop and will likely perform to about 85% of the FTBR pieces but will likely be a bit more liveable on the street. If this is your focus you'd likely never be able to tell a pure handling difference in the two setups unless you spent several hours/miles running on the ragged edge. Support from MM is also very good but it's more of the standard you'd need to call or e-mail them but I've found them to quite knowledgeable and responsive.

So that's the deal as I've seen it having dealt w/ both, you seriously can't go wrong w/ either. As w/ most of these projects you need to think it through and some of you're early decisions will be influenced by where you ultimately want to end up.

HTH!

 

[my98stang46]

Ive seen too many MM poly bushings in person that have fallen apart from heat and just being junk to justify having to pull the IRS to replace them. Id rather spend more money, maybe have a little more nvh and, pull the IRS only once than settle for MM bushings.

 

[suaveflooder]

I've never really been a fan of poly. It's junk IMHO. I've run it on a couple cars and after a couple years it ends up being worse than the stock bushings.

That being said, I do have the MM poly diff bushing only because I couldn't for the life of me find another cheap replacement for the stock bushings. I plan on going with the FTBR kit as soon as I have the time. I've had two friends put it in with no complaints. I'm excited and I can't wait!

If you are going to do anything, either stick with stock or go FTBR. I wouldn't go poly

Another vote for FTBR.

 

[SCMOKN]

Prior to getting My 2012 I was going to do the FTB kit!

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

Ditch the IRS and get a SRA with a tq arm and a watts link ahaha J/K but seriously if I had a IRS I'd go no where else but FTBR

 

[tt335ci03cobra]

800whp on 6 year old full mm kit with poly, delrin and aluminum pieces that see's 0 degree days in winter and 110 degree days in summer. 30,000 miles since install and no complaints.

 

[P49Y-CY]

i was very please with the fit/finish and customer service of bruce's ftbr kit

i also thought that it was better engineered than some of the mm stuff i had also bought for the irs.

i would highly recommend it! best of luck, and enjoy :beer:

 

[my98stang46]

800whp on 6 year old full mm kit with poly, delrin and aluminum pieces that see's 0 degree days in winter and 110 degree days in summer. 30,000 miles since install and no complaints.

Everyone lucks up lol

 

['03snkbt]

after researching a bit and talking with Bruce at FTBR, i'm definately sold with his kit. just ran out of funds for the time being but hopefully by the spring. decided to complete fuel system first.

 

[tt335ci03cobra]

Bruce makes an awesome kit, it is better than the mm kit but either one is great.

Good luck on the build and keep us posted how you like the new improved chassis setup, should be a lot of fun

 

[FOURCED]

I'm one of probably the rare few that have actually installed, and had both kits in their car... and while I am a big fan of Maximum Motorsports products the FTBR kit for the IRS is much better than the MM kit is. At one time I thought the other way around but once I started really looking at his kit, and then seeing the differences first hand I was made a believer. A few things that come to mind:

Control arm bushings for MM's kit fit really loose. When I first did my MM bushing install I really didn't think much of it until I started having vibe problems from the rear end, and then I watched Bruce's videos of the problems the loose fitting UCA bushings can cause.

Grease type and grease fittings. MM has you put the bushings together with that... well... whatever it is they call it but I assure you its NOT grease or at least I don't think so. You're supposed to use that "grease" on assembly and supposedly never have to worry about them again, which you will have to believe me. With Bruce's kit you have the grease zerks to pump grease in periodically and you're free to use whatever quality grease you desire. I personally use Amsoil synthetic grease in mine.

Shimming procedures and non-binding movement. I tried on two different occasions for several hours at a time to get the MM bushings to move freely with the bolts torqued to spec. I had the control arm tabs perfectly straight and they still would never move correctly. I put the FTBR kit in the control arms and never touched the tabs when I did this and both the uppers and lowers could be moved with two fingers.

Those are just a few off the top of my head. Aside from these differences the FTBR kit is more affordable, and Bruce is never farther than an e-mail, or PM away. He is always prompt on replying to you and helping you with a problem if you ask of his help. He was even trying to help me fix a problem with my car BEFORE I changed to his bushing kit. If that isn't customer service then I don't know what it is ;-)

You'll be happy with the FTBR kit... its leaps and bounds better than the competition :beer:



Shannon

 

[forcefedcobra]

FTBR hands down! Superior parts and superior customer service! If you have the space, tools, and time..........do it yourself. With the help of a friend you can do everything in a weekend. Rent the bushing install/removal tools from Bruce and get a whole new appreciation as to why his kit is so good and how everything works together to make the best irs setup you can possibly have.