Throughout Steeda’s over the thirty-year history of helping Mustang enthusiasts live the Speed Matters
lifestyle, we have developed and engineered so many parts to make the Fox Body Mustang what it is known
in the community today. To this day, the 1979-1993 Mustang is still one of the most revered in all of
pony car history. Due to the lightweight architecture, unique design, and ability to be
customizable to any enthusiast needs, whether it is road racing, drag racing, or a great weekend cruiser
to carve your favorite canyon road. Unlike any other Mustang generation, the Fox Body was the
longest-running of any six generations of the legendary American pony car. Starting in 1979, the Fox Body was the first ever to receive a complete overhaul after the Mustang II was
a total miss among the Mustang faithful. So in the early stages of the Fox Body, Ford knew they had to
create something that would invigorate the automotive community with edgy styling, pure American muscle,
and a more sophisticated chassis for the hardcore enthusiast. What came was a smaller, more agile, and
shorter wheelbase Mustang the likes of which had never been seen before. Throughout the Fox Body
generation, Mustang enthusiasts saw various changes, including the original four-eyed fox from
1979-1986, then a complete refresh from 1987-1993, and then capping off with the most potent of them in
the 1993 SVT Cobra and SVT Cobra R. Throughout this article, you will receive a complete breakdown of what we think is the top five mods to
get your Fox Body Mustang to new heights of performance, excitement, and overall driving experience
within the Fox platform.
Driving Experience
Seat Of The Pants
Chassis Stiffness
Horsepower
Getting The Power To The Ground
When you ask a Mustang enthusiast what is most important in their pony, it is the ability to give you the
three most essential characteristics in fast, fun, and freedom. Being engaged with your American icon is
very crucial to receiving the overall driving experience that the Mustang is known. The Mustang has
always been the best that Ford could equip throughout each Mustang generation from the factory. Two key
components aid enthusiast in getting the best driving experience possible, these areas are the
following: High Flow
Exhaust: Heading into the Fox Body generation, Ford knew it has been invigorated
with the sounds of freedom
by high flowing exhaust from legendary powerplants such as the 427 Cobra Jet, Boss 429, and 289
V8 engines. Heading into the Fox Body generation Ford knew they had to reclaim the racing and
performance heritage they built within the 1960s with the Ford GT, Shelby GT350, Shelby GT500,
and racing pedigree. Coming into the 1980s, Ford was set on bringing back the Mustang GT with a
modern interpretation of the legendary 302 Cubic Inch V8 only this time nameplated as the 5.0.
Overtime, enthusiasts came to know the 5.0 as powerful, sophisticated, and readily modifiable.
To enhance the overall sound, performance, and driving experience the first choice for
enthusiasts would be to add Long-Tube Headers, X-Pipe, and High Flowing Cat-Back Mufflers. It
would help enthusiast create an experience unlike any other and this is still being seen in
today’s modern S550 Mustang as well. With the engagement, sound, and the visceral driving experience is taken care of, in the form of High
Flowing exhaust and a Tri-Ax Short Throw Shifter. Unlike today's modern 5.0 Coyote engine, the
Fox Body 5.0 heavily relies on old fashion push rod muscle to take it to the competition. Without proper
gearing and pulleys, this power and torque can't get to the ground efficiently. To give a better
example, imagine you're at the starting line of the racetrack. It would help if you got out of the hole
as quickly as possible. Proper rear gearing will allow you to transfer all the energy from the
drivetrain to the ground. While on the other hand, pulleys are going to help the engine run more efficiently throughout the RPM
band. Some of our pulleys offer much lighter weight and design to add less rotational mass in which the
driver has to rotate freeing up horsepower and torque. Together with a significant amount of horsepower,
these components will aid enthusiasts in getting off the line better while increasing much-needed
acceleration. Rear
Gears: There are various components to your Fox Body Mustangs drivetrain, including the
engine, transmission, driveshaft, and back end. These components are what gives the Mustang is
legendary performance, sound, and visceral experience. Unfortunately, during the years of the
Fox Body, Ford did not implement substantially excellent rear gearing to any of the Mustang
models.
Luckily thanks to Steeda, we have been able to offer a wide variety of gearing, including 3.73,
3.55,
and 4.10 gears ratios. These variations will be applicable for various reasons such as drag
ratios,
road racing, daily driving, and, most importantly, to give enthusiasts better accelerations.
Pulleys: These
components are essential to maintain engine
health and deliver consistent horsepower. Adding an upgraded engine pulley will aid in lighting
up weight through the pulley system, which will assist in creating more horsepower and torque.
It will ensure your Fox Body 5.0 will be reliable throughout punishment and abuse when it
matters most. Whether its an idler pulley,crank pulley, and accessory drive pulleys, these all
are
necessary to keep your engine healthy.
Now that we have accomplished a more significant driving experience and more acceleration, it is time to
ensure that we stiffen up the chassis to keep everything together as tightly as possible while still
adding strength. One of the greatest things you can do to any performance vehicle is to add depth and
rigidity to reduce chassis flex. You're probably wondering what this will? Suppose you have a high
horsepower Fox Body Mustang that the factory design did not intend for it to have. It will often twist
the chassis from the drivetrain because the energy is being transferred into the body of your pony. By adding various chassis stiffening components, you will aid what Ford didn't have intended for
1979-1993 Fox Body Mustang model years. In any form of racing, this is a critical area to have in drag
racing, road racing, and even if you're just on your favorite back canyon road. Below you will see the
following two chassis stiffening components we feel will make significant changes to aid your pony! Frame Rail
Connectors: Like the strut tower brace, subframe
connectors allow for tying the chassis's underpinning together where it matters most. Among
every facet of racing, the Fox Body needs underbelly chassis bracing due to the connecting
points between welds and the unibody construction. Adding this will lessen the risk of
chassis flex while adding stability and rigidity at the same time.
With all of these areas accomplished above in driving experience, acceleration, and chassis stiffness,
you should now have the ability and confidence to build as much horsepower you can into your Fox Body
5.0. Since our founding in 1988, Steeda has been finding new ways over thirty years to adding
enthusiasts to make as much horsepower as possible to accomplish what Ford could not. Any Mustang
enthusiast will tell what solves every problem, more strength, and torque. In the world of American
muscle, the sound of a rumbling V8, roar from the exhaust, and brute power is something that sometimes
can't be explained. The pushrod 5.0L V8 became an absolute legend from the factory due to its earth rotating torque and
instant power. The likes haven't been seen in the early 1970s before the oil embargo, and the gas crisis
happened, which made Ford reduce power in the Mustang II, which was a hard era for the community. The
most exceptional ability the Fox Body Mustang gave enthusiasts the ability to be utterly upgradeable
front eh aftermarket to create more horsepower through various components including: Cold Air
Intakes: Feeding the legendary pushrod V8 will be the system
that collects all of the cold air to feed the behemoth of an engine. Cold air intake systems are
the best way to feed any Fox Body Mustang engine to create more power throughout the RPM band.
In the world of Mustang performance, the saying goes more air, and more fuel equals more
horsepower
and torque.
Camshaft:
In
American muscle cars and most especially the
Mustang, there is nothing like having a chopping idle, which says nothing but power. Besides
the great sounds in which an upgraded camshaft does in a number in creating higher RPM
redlines and giving the valvetrain more lift to take in more air to generate more
horsepower.
Cylinder
Heads: With the camshaft upgraded, you can turn to the
next component, which has to go hand in hand. Allowing better valve springs, more CFM,
larger valves, and letting more air in you will create more horsepower and torque in the
end.
With all the added horsepower and torque combined to the legendary pushrod 5.0L V8 engine that made the
Fox Body so legendary among the automotive and Mustang community. Even if you have a massive amount of
horsepower, it will not do any good to an enthusiast if you can't get it to the ground. Luckily, Steeda
has been the industry leader to aid Fox Body Mustang enthusiasts to get the most out of their ponies.
From the factory during the 1980s and early 1990s, Ford put in the best suspension technology they
possibly could. Thanks to our founding in 1988, Steeda developed specifically engineered performance
parts in suspension to aid horsepower and toque getting the ground efficiently. Unlike stock suspension for the Fox Body, our suspension systems for 1979-1993 Mustang are designed with
enthusiasts in mind. Having more beefier parts and better bushings will allow transferring horsepower
better
to the ground through various parts below: Upper Control
Arms: When you're sending a tremendous torque and
horsepower to the rear axle, the stock Mustang suspension can only handle so much before the
forces
of power take they will break. Steeda upper control arms upgrade this problem by controlling the
side to side and up and down motions when the suspension is under compression while driving.
Lower Control
Arms: Like upper control arms, the lower control
arms control the axle from twisting from the horsepower coming from the engine.
Simultaneously, we explained early how chassis stiffness helps with the body from flexing to
much. Lower control arms aid the axle in not moving or rotating in the wrong way, which
won't help power get to the ground. Furthermore, it will improve the overall ride quality
and give enthusiasts the confidence that their Fox Body will go full send when needed most.
1979-1993 Mustang Paint Codes & Colors Top 5 S550 Mustang Modifications Mustang Short Throw Shifter Pros & ConsTop Five Fox Body Mustang Mods
Driving Experience
Seat Of The Pants
Chassis Stiffness
Horsepower
Getting To The Power To The Ground
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