It's all about the handling

[4rgone]

Now I like going fast and I do it a lot more then I should, but lets say my goal isn't to race from point A to point B in a straight line, lets say I want to focus on the handling of my car and dump a bunch of money into that. What should I be looking to buy (from where), I want less body roll tighter cornering and all that good stuff. I know I can get sway bars better tires and all that, but is that it and what is the best? Flame suit on :flamer:no more talk about going fast lets go with handling for the moment.

[CBT]

There was a guy here who did road rally type stuff in a blue marauder, if i could remember who it was i'd say look at his pics.

[fastblackmerc]

The BEST:

Addco frt & rear solid sway bars.

Metco rear upper & lower billet control arms. - You'll hear about M&Z control arms, but you can't get them and they use the stock bushings :down:

Metco billet Watts link.

Cut a full coil out of the frt springs.

Carfixers alignment specs.

And while your at it a Metco drive shaft hoop.

[ctrlraven]

^Yep, also some Naake QA-1 shocks for adjustment, wider and lower profile performance tires will also be a big help.

[Pat]

Now I like going fast, lets say I want to focus on the handling of my car and dump a bunch of money into that. What should I be looking to buy (from where), I want less body roll tighter cornering and all that good stuff. I know I can get sway bars better tires and all that, but is that it and what is the best?


http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/data/21/medium/MM_Win.jpg (javascript:;)

Find out who this gentleman is and maybe you will be better informed.

Regards,

[CKMustangCobra]

Less weight.

[offroadkarter]

I have heinous motorsports control arms, got them WAY cheaper than the metco's and i instantly noticed an improvement after i got them on.

adtr.net is selling them 25% discount from the original price. Unless your planning on putting out 500rwhp, they are worth looking into especially if you want to save a good amount of money

[ChiTownMaraud3r]

Ryan, why wouldn't yours hold up to that much power? Whats the difference?

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

carfixer's alignment specs are for better tire wear. They reduce camber from stock. This is NOT going to make your car corner better. It will make your tires last longer. If anyone reads his specs, he says, most street car drivers won't notice the slightly reduced cornering capability from losing some neg camber in exchange for tire wear.

But if you are aiming for cornering, zero'ing out your camber or close to it, is not the best idea

Steve

[Vortex]

I always thought the best thing about our MMs was not that it was the fastest car out there in a drag race (it isnt) but it was a fast car that handled damn good, especially for its size. Looking great and being comfortable were bonuses.

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

Everything is relative. The stock MM handles pretty damn bad compared to most normal size sedans. But for a megaton ship it does better than you'd expect.

[Dobs]

The stock MM handles pretty damn bad compared to most normal size sedans.

I totally disagree

[Hotrauder]

Not mentioned yet, but as important as any of them....Big Brake Kits from TCE. Wilwoods.... add to that all of the handling stuff below...Yes, they can be made to handle at speed. Have fun. Dennis

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

Quote:
Originally Posted by VicsEvilBrother http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?p=764462#post76 4462)
The stock MM handles pretty damn bad compared to most normal size sedans.

I totally disagree

I have driven enough cars to form this opinion. You don't have to agree. Put any jap or american mid priced 4 door sporty sedan stock for stock up against a stock MM and run them through some windy tight backroads and see what happens. There is a ton of body roll in these cars stock, when pushed. It's a tall, huge car with a lot of mass.

[Pat]

Time out.... You said "normal size sedans". Now you say "mid priced 4 door sporty sedan". Does mid priced equate to mid size? If so then it's apples and oranges.

My 04 MM runs circles around my 05 Grand Marque on the back roads and in town at any speed.

But the SHO's run off and leave me.

[Vortex]

I have driven enough cars to form this opinion. You don't have to agree. Put any jap or american mid priced 4 door sporty sedan stock for stock up against a stock MM and run them through some windy tight backroads and see what happens. There is a ton of body roll in these cars stock, when pushed. It's a tall, huge car with a lot of mass.

Yes, you are entitled to your opinion. However, at the ripe old age of 25 you dont have the driving experience some of us on the board have. Nuff said.

[Glockafella]

My Parents have a Cadillac STS that is just as heavy and powerfull as our cars, handles 400% better in everyway.

[WESTTXPATRIOT]

My Parents have a Cadillac STS that is just as heavy and powerfull as our cars, handles 400% better in everyway.
the sts also comes with AWD so of course its going to handle a lot better

[O3 pharoh]

Not mentioned yet, but as important as any of them....Big Brake Kits from TCE. Wilwoods.... add to that all of the handling stuff below...Yes, they can be made to handle at speed. Have fun. Dennis

Hey dennis, what mod to the arm rest do you have, or is it just stock, and where did you get the foot rest? i am about 2 weeks away from trying to get some scraps and fab one! Thanks -T

[O3 pharoh]

Time out.... You said "normal size sedans". Now you say "mid priced 4 door sporty sedan". Does mid priced equate to mid size? If so then it's apples and oranges.

My 04 MM runs circles around my 05 Grand Marque on the back roads and in town at any speed.

But the SHO's run off and leave me.

Can't play with SHO's in twisties, can't tell you how many times i would get killed off the line in my old SHO and i would keep it to the floor through the corners and pass those who forgot about me on the straight away. Used to get my brother so mad!:rofl:

[ludwigvan968]

Ah, what a great discussion... As for MM's handling bad, I always thought they had a decent ride and handled well. It is a big RWD format, yeah it has some heft when you slam into the turns, yeah the passengers sway, but the car is pretty well planted in my opinion.

And while I am "only 28", I have driven my fair share of cars and have some handing experience, I do own a Honda S2000. I think a MM with all the suspension upgrades will shock many unsuspecting drivers. Stock it will perform admirably. But if one really does put a fresh upgraded suspension in, I bet it would rock their world.

And in terms of panther experience, just read my signiture. To say I have one of the best handling MGM's around is probably an understatement and I still need to get a big brake kit and tire package. And for nay sayers, here it is on the track:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yuTjmcnMDY&feature=channel_page

Anyway, I look forward to seeing others who have upgraded their suspentions chime in.

[offroadkarter]

Ryan, why wouldn't yours hold up to that much power? Whats the difference?

Im just going by what ADTR says but...

Heinous - holes
http://adtr.net/shop/images/UPPER_LOWER_500.jpg


Metco - solid

http://adtr.net/shop/images/Metco%20Control%20Arms%20500.j pg

[Krytin]

Ah, what a great discussion... As for MM's handling bad, I always thought they had a decent ride and handled well. It is a big RWD format, yeah it has some heft when you slam into the turns, yeah the passengers sway, but the car is pretty well planted in my opinion.

And while I am "only 28", I have driven my fair share of cars and have some handing experience, I do own a Honda S2000. I think a MM with all the suspension upgrades will shock many unsuspecting drivers. Stock it will perform admirably. But if one really does put a fresh upgraded suspension in, I bet it would rock their world.

And in terms of panther experience, just read my signiture. To say I have one of the best handling MGM's around is probably an understatement and I still need to get a big brake kit and tire package. And for nay sayers, here it is on the track:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yuTjmcnMDY&feature=channel_page

Anyway, I look forward to seeing others who have upgraded their suspentions chime in.
I'm with you - I have done a lot of work on my suspension. Stock the car handled very well for it's weight. Now I think I could bounce the passenger's head off of the door glass during emergency lane changes (not that I would actually do anything like that).

[Dobs]

Ah, what a great discussion... As for MM's handling bad, I always thought they had a decent ride and handled well. It is a big RWD format, yeah it has some heft when you slam into the turns, yeah the passengers sway, but the car is pretty well planted in my opinion.

Exact!

The car is very predictable and solid in hard cornering.

[MM2004]

Time out.... You said "normal size sedans". Now you say "mid priced 4 door sporty sedan". Does mid priced equate to mid size? If so then it's apples and oranges.

My 04 MM runs circles around my 05 Grand Marque on the back roads and in town at any speed.

But the SHO's run off and leave me.

What Pat said.

In addition...


The Mack and Zack control arms (stock bushings) made one helluva difference in the handling of my MM. Along with the Addco front and rear bars.

Mike.

[Motorhead350]

The Zack arms work just fine and helped me off the line when I was N/A.

The stock bushings worked just fine too. They will probably exceed the life of the car and are easy to remove with a simple hammer. Why would you buy new ones when the old ones are as good as new?

Unless I am missing something on a different bushing size that would be better for us???

[Spectragod]

I have heinous motorsports control arms, got them WAY cheaper than the metco's and i instantly noticed an improvement after i got them on.

adtr.net is selling them 25% discount from the original price. Unless your planning on putting out 500rwhp, they are worth looking into especially if you want to save a good amount of money

I installed these on my Marauder, I must say, I am quite pleased, these will definately tighen up your rear suspension. I cannot believe that the factory installed the control arms that they did, when you look at the new arms VS the original, you gotta think, WTF?

Just a couple of tidbits, I am in the high HP range, 472 at the wheels, on a launch on the street, I noted that the rear of the car is easier to control, granted, there is a lot of wheel spin:burnout:, but is launches different.

Handling on the road and corners is a lot more firm and defined.

Installation was a breeze, I did mine with hand tools on the garage floor, it took more time to get wheels off and the car jacked up than it did to install the arms.

I give this product 3 thumbs up, the quaility is there, as is the expectations of the product.

The added bonus, PRICED RIGHT!!!!