Solid Rear End Vs I.r.s.

[DJ HEARTLESS]

:rockon: OK guys I have an option that just fell in my lap. I have a choice to swap rear ends with a 98 GT(straight axle) and while the swap is happening the straight axle is getting a rebuild and my 4:30's installed. Hes got it lowerd and sway bar too. The I.R.S. thats coming of my cobra has the same brand of sway bars and lowering springs. My I.R.S. has just recieved a rebuild too.

:shrug: The Question is would it be worth it to swap? Im going to drag race the car not road race it and by the begining of next year I will be putting in two turbos that will give me allot more power. I really want to keep the cobra as original as possible specialy it was the first year of the I.R.S. on this car I just don't know what to do.....Iam stuck

 

[droptopsnake01]

Im not going to repeat my self in every IRS vs. solid axle thread, all Im gonna say is...

a solid axle is the shit! Nuff said. You will not regret it at all, it was by far the best mod I have ever done to my car.

 

[1999-COBRA-6661]

If you plan on drag racing then yes the solid rear is the way to go. Personally I would never get rid of my IRS because that is part of what makes my car a Cobra and sets it apart from other Mustangs.

 

[DJ HEARTLESS]

Im not going to repeat my self in every IRS vs. solid axle thread, all Im gonna say is...

a solid axle is the shit! Nuff said. You will not regret it at all, it was by far the best mod I have ever done to my car.

Sorry man didn't to piss you off. oke: but if you were to guess in how much weight you have lost in this mod, what would it be :shrug:

 

[DJ HEARTLESS]

If you plan on drag racing then yes the solid rear is the way to go. Personally I would never get rid of my IRS because that is part of what makes my car a Cobra and sets it apart from other Mustangs.

YES, you have a point and thats whats holding me back from doing this swap :??: but its so damn heavy....... does anybody make a light wieght I.R.S. cross member and parts for the rear :shrug:

 

[Dingleweed]

That's a cool opportunity. I would have to think about it if I could do an even swap as well. It would certainly be very tempting. Are you guys going to swap exhausts as well?

If you are sitting on the fence about this one, one thing that might push you over the edge is the piece of mind down the road if you twin turbo it. You'll be pushing insane amounts of power through it, and well... a built solid rear would hold it just fine. With the IRS you would more than likely be pushing the limits and would more than likely break a few things before you find a combo that works for you.

 

[droptopsnake01]

Sorry man didn't to piss you off. oke: but if you were to guess in how much weight you have lost in this mod, what would it be :shrug:

No man you are not pissing me off at all. Its just that these IRS guys are gonna come in here and knock it, and most of them dont know the difference b/c they STILL HAVE A IRS.

But I prolly lost like 100 pounds maybe.

Also the guys that say changing the rear end would degrade from it being a cobra are stupid. Thats like saying putting a saleen wing on my car makes it a saleen. Or putting a cobra R hood on it makes it a cobra R. Or putting a blower on it makes it a "wanna be" 03 cobra. I mean give me a break. :bash:

 

[DJ HEARTLESS]

That's a cool opportunity. I would have to think about it if I could do an even swap as well. It would certainly be very tempting. Are you guys going to swap exhausts as well?

If you are sitting on the fence about this one, one thing that might push you over the edge is the piece of mind down the road if you twin turbo it. You'll be pushing insane amounts of power through it, and well... a built solid rear would hold it just fine. With the IRS you would more than likely be pushing the limits and would more than likely break a few things before you find a combo that works for you.

yes we are going to swap exhaust but for a little while until we hit the muffler shop

But I just can't decide :??: :bash:

 

[DJ HEARTLESS]

No man you are not pissing me off at all. Its just that these IRS guys are gonna come in here and knock it, and most of them dont know the difference b/c they STILL HAVE A IRS.

But I prolly lost like 100 pounds maybe.

Also the guys that say changing the rear end would degrade from it being a cobra are stupid. Thats like saying putting a saleen wing on my car makes it a saleen. Or putting a cobra R hood on it makes it a cobra R. Or putting a blower on it makes it a "wanna be" 03 cobra. I mean give me a break. :bash:

you have a point :read: .........................
HOOOOLLY SH1T 100 POUNDS

 

[lone sailor]

Solid rearend has my vote.

 

[Dingleweed]

HOOOOLLY SH1T 100 POUNDS

Yeah, there is a lot of extra "stuff" on the IRS

compared to the solid

* Pictures taken from this site, where they swap a solid in a GT for an IRS:
http://www.apiem.com/cobra/IRS.html

 

[vertcobra99]

my car was actually one of the first to do the swap... it was featured in the may 00 issue of MMandFF i believe the article was called beating IRS... the guy i baught the car off did the mod. If you are thinking about doing a swap read that article. If you hate wheel hop then the solid axel is the way to go

 

[green99_svt]

do the solid just put a panhard bar on it or youll feel alot of side to side play under hard accel upshifts. if your doing the drags its a good swap.

now on my street / highway car i love the irs. alot smoother and tighter on turns and bumps. plus you hae to love the looks of the exhaust under the fuel tank.

sleep on it and make the right choice for your car/ application

 

[Mach0ne351]

with TT coming soon, go with the solid axle. i am one of those that love the IRS, and will keep it forever. BUT i do know that the ford IRS isnt what it should be, and there are cons to it. with heavy HP going to the rear wheels, youll need a rearend that can take the power and plant it to the ground, especially in drag racing.

marek

 

[DJ HEARTLESS]

:shrug: Is there any down fall as far as doing this swap into straight axle,
is it all straight bolt on or do I have to buy any special brakets :shrug:

THANXS FOR ALL THE INFO GUYS and if you have more info or comments let me know :rockon: :rockon:

 

[REX-RACER]

Did you read this:

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213384

It's a sticky in this forum just because we've had this discussion so many times. It's kinda like the breather debate . . .

At any rate, I'm stickin' w/ the IRS. You guys are probably correct that the solid is better for drag racing but if you intend to road race the irs would be superior especially given the upgrades listed in the above thread.

Droptop, not all of us are "stupid" because we want to stay w/ the irs, it does have it's benefits. I've driven and rode in cars that have done the solid swap and for I want to do w/ my car, I prefer the irs.

 

[droptopsnake01]

Did you read this:

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213384

It's a sticky in this forum just because we've had this discussion so many times. It's kinda like the breather debate . . .

At any rate, I'm stickin' w/ the IRS. You guys are probably correct that the solid is better for drag racing but if you intend to road race the irs would be superior especially given the upgrades listed in the above thread.

Droptop, not all of us are "stupid" because we want to stay w/ the irs, it does have it's benefits. I've driven and rode in cars that have done the solid swap and for I want to do w/ my car, I prefer the irs.

Not saying its stupid, just that the people that knock it dont know the difference and all the facts. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[quick01snake]

i wouldn't ever swap back personally, and if i get the 03/04 i want next year, solid will be one of the first mods...

 

[E. Green Cobra]

:shrug: Is there any down fall as far as doing this swap into straight axle,
is it all straight bolt on or do I have to buy any special brakets :shrug:

THANXS FOR ALL THE INFO GUYS and if you have more info or comments let me know :rockon: :rockon:

You'll have to use the Gt brakes, and the axles for those years are shorter than the 99up cars, so you'll need a different offset, could be a plus if you wanna run 13inch wide rears........

IMO do whatever ya like- just remember that a pos 28spline solid is not much better than the pos 28spline irs, everyone complains about the reliabillity of the irs but fails to mention that people still break stock rear ends in Gt's and mach 1's. If you're doing a build up, build one up. Some guys swear by the solid, yet there are several 03's in the 9's on relatively stock irs setups (yes different from our cars) it can be done and yes it costs money, this is very much like the pushrod vs modular debate, or return vs returnless etc etc. You can stick with the tried and true or you can push the envelope its your choice. Btw POSTBAN has an awesome writeup on what it takes to build a killer irs, he also has a few videos of his 03 rippin outta the hole- hard to argue with the performance of his setup especially when you take into account driveablillity, he also has a breakdown of costs to go with a built solid or irs as he has had both (he swapped to a solid, then went back to irs) Good Luck

 

[F-Body-Fear]

I forgot that my car ever had an IRS, what's this thing they call wheel hop ? What's a halfshaft ? :burnout: