Thoughts on a torque arm?

[Ingwe]

I'm very seriously considering going from the Steeda coilovers I have now to the air lift kit. Mainly for the adjustability for getting over huge speed bumps and crappy roads without scraping. Car is a daily driver and jack of all trades. Would love to be able to take it to the track and carve some corners and then rip it down the strip every once in a while with the ease of adjustability the kit offers.
I'm really wanting to go with a torque arm and watts link setup. I know that watts link would work with the kit but what about the torque arm? Anyone have this combo or know any reason why it wouldn't work?

 

[Dubstep Shep]

Torque arm and watts link combo is one hell of a combination. The rear end becomes far less skittish with the WL and the TA really holds the power down in the corners

If you're planning on racing though, I would go with either a set of adjustable coil overs or some adjustable shocks.

 

[Ingwe]

The watts link and torque arm are almost a certainty (if they work with the airlift kit) primarily for skittishness as you said as well as increased confidence in hard corners.

I love road racing however only get a chance to go to the track maybe 2 or 3 times a year. Realistically I will never race enough to be anywhere close to maximising the potential of an excellent suspension set up. I've had the height and damper adjustable coilover kit from Steeda for the past 5 years and it has served me well although i'm quite a way off maximising even that. Hence my choice to go to airlift as it will give me a quality adjustable set up (for the road course and the drag strip) with excellent ride quality for the street as the car is a daily driver first and foremost. I'm not looking for a dedicated set up as the car does a bit of everything and I'm also concerned with scraping over bumps so having the ability to raise and lower the car on the fly will be invaluable.

I don't see why the torque arm wouldn't work and it may even be advantageous in that I wouldn't have to mess around with pinion angles at varying ride heights.

 

[Dubstep Shep]

I'm just not a big fan of air suspension for anything but towing. The ride height and spring rate are backwards from what they should be. So increasing your suspension travel also increases your spring rate rather than lowering it and vice versa. Just my $0.02

 

[Ingwe]

I'm just not a big fan of air suspension for anything but towing. The ride height and spring rate are backwards from what they should be. So increasing your suspension travel also increases your spring rate rather than lowering it and vice versa. Just my $0.02

On paper and at your level of technicality, yes I can see how this system wouldn't be a feasible option. But it's tried and tested as far as comfort and the level of performance i'm looking for. It also solves the 2 key issues I have. 1. Adjustability for different scenarios i.e. extra large speed bumps of which there are many here and 2. essentially a plug and play solution with minimal maintenance.

You've got to understand my situation is relatively unique as I don't live in the US so there is no SCCA or other organisations for me to race competitively at a lower level. Unless it's a private track rental or a competitive race (big $$$), the track evenings I go to are untimed so apart from feeling the car in a corner there is no accurate way to gauge a lap time and improve upon times. Therefore my obsession with trying to be a track star has taken a back seat to practicality hence a decision to go turbo, forge the block, push out 600whp on pump gas (no E85 here) and generally have a comfortable daily driver than can turn some heads and wet some pants along the way.

 

[Jeremy@AirLift]

A torque arm and watts link will work just fine with our air suspension kit.

I have spent numerous laps on road courses and auto cross tracks in our company Mustang, and the handling is amazing. Our Mustang is stock underneath besides our suspension and a rear sway bar. Handling is on par or better with a high end set of coil-overs.

On the drag strip, I know a guy that runs over 1000hp and running low 9's in his Shelby on our suspension. This is also a street driven car with full interior.

Most people that put down air suspension for performance handling, have never been in a car with air suspension on a track. No offense to anyone, but a lot of people tend to knock things they have never tried.

 

[Ingwe]

A torque arm and watts link will work just fine with our air suspension kit.

Thanks Jeremy. No need for the rest of the sell. That's all I needed to hear. I'm sold

Most people that put down air suspension for performance handling, have never been in a car with air suspension on a track. No offense to anyone, but a lot of people tend to knock things they have never tried.

Never had the opportunity to ride in one sadly. Mine may even be the first mustang in the UAE with an airlift kit. As I said before, the ease of adjustability for jacking the car, speed bumps and different scenarios like drag/road racing/street driving is exactly what i'm looking for.

 

[Jeremy@AirLift]

Excellent, let me know if you have any questions at all!

 

[Ingwe]

Thanks. Will do.