Ford Racing Boss 302 Laguna Seca Brake Duct Kit Install

April 17, 2012 Leave a comment

If you own a 2010 through 2012 Ford Mustang with the California Special or Boss 302 front lower fascia and want more brake cooling, you may want to check out the Ford Racing Boss 302 Laguna Seca brake cooling kit. The purpose for this kit is to funnel cooling air from the front of the car to the brake rotors to help keep your brakes from fading and keep them working optimally. If you’re driving your car hard, racing on the track, or running autocross course; these cooling ducts go a long way towards helping your brakes not fade and work their best.

This particular Ford Racing kit specifically designed to fit the Boss 302 front fascia, which is the same front fascia is used on the California Special between 2010 and 2012. At first glance, you might not think this would be a complicated installation, but as often happens with DIY projects for your car instructions at times make things seem simpler than they truly are. If you’re ready to install your Ford Racing brake cooling the kit, read on for all the details. The installation process is the same for both sides. Note, if you are installing these on a GT or California Special that has fog lights in the front lower glance, you will need to remove those fog lights.

-THE INSTALL-

The first thing you need in this installation process is to get your car off the ground and on jack stands. Once you have the car secured on jack stands at the proper supporting points, you want to take off both front wheels. Once those front wheels are off you will need to remove both front calipers from your car. The photos with this installation show a Boss 302 with Brembo brake calipers, if you’re installing these cooling ducts or standard GT or California Special your calipers will be different. They should be similar enough that you have no problems following along with these installation instructions.

Removing calipers requires you to remove two bolts on the back the caliber that hold it to the wheel hubs. Once those two bolts removed calipers will, and you need to tie them up in out-of-the-way where there is no pressure placed on the brake hoses. If you simply let the brake calipers dangle, you will damage the brake lines. I used wire ties, but you can use short bungee cords as well.

With the calipers tied up in out-of-the-way, you can then pull the brake rotors off the car. Odds are your brake rotors will be held on the car with little round press on rings around the lug bolts. You will need to pry those off using pliers before you can remove the rotors. Those press rings are not needed and are simply used on the assembly line to keep components in place.

Once you have the brake rotors off, you need to remove the factory black dust shield. Once you have the factory dust shields off, you are ready to replace them with the shield included with the brake cooling duct kit. Be sure you use the brake cooling duct kit shield for the appropriate side of your car. You reuse the bolts that held the factory dust shield on the wheel hubs for the brake cooling duct kit.

Once you have that new brake cooling kit dust shield installed, you need to go under the car and remove the black plastic aero tray featured on 11 to 12 Mustangs. The tray is held on with numerous small screws, just be sure you don’t lose any of them. Once the plastic pieces underneath the car are removed, you be able to get a hand into the tight recesses to reach the black plastic fascia inserts on the right and left side of the radiator opening. If you’re installing this kit on the Boss 302, those fascia inserts will be closed. The instructions that came with my Boss 302 brake cooling duct kit showed fascia inserts that were open to connect the cooling ducts cut were included. However, my kit did not include those inserts. I had to call Ford Racing and they sent a set out quickly and at no charge. I could have simply used a hole saw and cut the back of my factory inserts, but I wanted to keep all the factory parts.

To remove those fascia inserts simply put your hands behind the front fascia and push. It takes considerable force to remove these because they fit very snugly. Once you get them off, you can see from the front fascia into the front bumper area of the car. On the driver side, there are no obstructions, but on the passenger side, you’ll note that the windshield washer tank is directly behind the opening.

Some people take different directions here. Some install these kits by using spacers and moving the water tank out-of-the-way, or simply removing the water tank altogether. I took my trusty Dremel and simply cut the tabs intended for CS fog light mounting to allow more clearance for the brake-cooling duct, which worked perfectly. I then took one of the ducts push it to the front opening of fascia and went on to the next step.

The next step was the most difficult and time-consuming of the whole installation process for me. This is the point where you connect the brake cooling duct to the back of the open fascia inserts. The problem I had was that the ducts are connected to this fascia insert using included hose clamps. No matter how far I pushed the slippery orange silicone style hose onto the back of those fascia inserts, as soon as I started to tighten the hose clamp, the hose would slide off the back of the fascia insert. I fought with this for hours and ultimately took some normal silver duct tape and put one single strip of tape around the entire diameter of the opening on the back of the fascia insert. That duct tape gave the hose enough grip so when I started tighten the hose clamp it didn’t slide off. I have read on forums that Ford has modified the instructions on some kids for easier install method. I can’t verify that because my kit included instructions that simply said secure with hose clamps.

Once you have those fascia inserts connected to your brake cooling duct slide the hose back through the opening simply press and snap the fascia insert into place. You need to go back under the car at this point and route the cooling duct around components so you can put the front aero tray back on the car when you finish the other side. The kit comes with large wire ties to secure the hose to components underneath vehicle. I also took the time to wrap some points of the cooling duct with duct tape to help prevent abrasion.

After you route and secure the cooling duct, you can then secure it to the brake cooling duct kit dust shield that you installed earlier. I had the exact same problem here is that the front fascia with the hose sliding off each time I tried to tighten the hose clamp. I used to the duct tape trick on the black metal dust shield and was able to get the hose on very securely. At this point, I moved to the driver side and went through the same process.

On the driver side I opted use my Dremel to cut some of the black plastic fender liner to provide clearance for the cooling ducts. I also wrapped the duct with some duct tape on the side to help reduce abrasion. Once I had the cooling ducts installed on both sides of the car, I turned the ignition on and had an assistant move the steering wheel through its complete range of motion from lock to lock. This step is necessary because if you don’t secure the hose properly, your tires will hit the hose and could destroy the cooling duct and possibly damaging your tire. You have to be sure there is no rubbing or binding throughout the full range of steering travel. You may need to reposition the hose for proper clearance.

Once you have both of the ducts installed and both of the fascia inserts plugged back into the front fascia, it’s time to put the brake rotors back on, reinstall the calipers, and put the wheels back on your car. You also need to put the aero tray back under the front of the car and you are finished.

I have had this kit on my car for a long time now and haven’t had any issues at all with the cooling ducts pulling away or falling off the fascia or brake dust shields. I have multiple track days, autocross runs, and thousands upon thousands of driving miles on the car with these brake cooling ducts, and they still work as good is a good the first day I installed them.

You can find the Ford Racing Brake Cooling Duct Kit at the following link: http://www.stangsuspension.com/Boss-302-Brake-Cooling-Duct-Kit-p/1695.htm

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Installing Steeda’s Heavy Duty Rear Swaybar on 79-04 Mustangs

February 22, 2012 Leave a comment

After a few months of not working on our car we decided to pick up one of Steeda’s Heavy Duty Rear Swaybars for our project 93 LX. Since we have already done shocks, springs & quads, the next step for us was upgrading the factory rear sway bar to tighten up the rear of the car even further. Doing so will get rid of the car’s tendency to understeer in the corners, giving the car a more neutral balance with a bit more oversteer. This install is very straight forward and only took us 30-40 minutes to complete. As with any install under the car, make sure to secure the vehicle on jackstands before getting to work.

Tools required:

  • 16mm socket wrench

Once the rear wheels are removed and the car is in the air, begin by locating the two swaybar mounting bolts on either side of the car. These two bolts are the only things holding the swaybar in place, removing them will allow you to drop the bar.

With the four mounting bolts removed (two on either side of the car) you can drop the bar from under the car. The photos below show the differences from the factory swaybar and Steeda’s unit. Not only is the Steeda bar thicker, but it’s a solid high quality piece made in the USA.

This bar gives the rear of the car a much tighter feel and gets rid of nearly all body roll under hard cornering when coupled with a good shock/spring combo. There is an art to tuning your suspension properly, you don’t want too much stiffness in the rear or front, you want a good balance so you don’t get too much understeer or too much oversteer. A neutral car through corners is more stable and allows you to reach it’s limits with more predictability.

Mounting your new swaybar is the opposite of removing it. Have someone help you line up the bar and thread the new hardware included with the Steeda bar. This new hardware is designed for strength and longevity over the factory bolts. After everything is lined up go ahead and hand tighten the bolts, we don’t recommend using air tools for this, just enough torque to make sure the bar is in securely.

After all the mounting bolts are tightened up you can mount your wheels back up and enjoy the new view! Keep in mind a swaybar is going to cause a dramatic change in how the rear of the vehicle handles. If your Mustang wasn’t “tail happy” before, it will most likely oversteer much easier. Take it easy and re-learn the limits of your car before driving it really hard. We immediately noticed more oversteer when cornering, so be aware of this and don’t do anything you might regret!

That concludes the install guide for the Steeda Heavy Duty Swaybar for 79-04 Mustangs. We were very pleased with how noticable the difference in handling was after install, if you are looking for a quick inexpensive mod to reduce body roll we definitely recommend this or any other high performance sway bar. You can find this Steeda bar on our store here: http://www.stangsuspension.com/Heavy-Duty-Rear-Swaybar-w-Hardware-For-79-04-p/1560.htm

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Foxbody Quad Shock Install Guide

September 6, 2011 Leave a comment

We have been receiving quite a few questions about quad shocks and what they do for the rear suspension. We decided to pick up a set for our project 5.0 and install them and really see if they can make a difference on a street driven car. We went with Bilstein’s Quad Shocks for 86-04 as they are readily available and we have had nothing but good luck with Bilstein products. Bilstein makes some of the best, longest lasting shocks on the market. Right out of the box we noticed the exquisite build quality of these, they are worlds above the stock units and even before the install we were confident they would stiffen up the rear of the car and help with traction and stability. Below is a photo of the stock quad shocks in place, as well as a photo of the Bilstein units next to the stock ones.

Before we get into the guide, lets discuss a little about what quad shocks are and why they are important. Other than the rear sway bar, there really isn’t anything in place to dampen up and down movement between the right and left side of the rear axle. With worn out stock quad shocks you will feel a sloppiness in the rear end almost like it rocks back and forth when going over uneven surfaces. Ontop of that, with worn quad shocks they aren’t really doing their job of damping vibrations in the rear also known as wheel hop. So not only will you get a soft feeling in the rear but you will lose traction from hard launches.

Many people decide to remove their quad shocks so they can fit a beefier wheel/tire setup, but unless you are running some serious suspension upgrades and a rear end designed for racing, removing them will most likely hurt straight line and cornering performance. After we installed these right away we felt more confidence in the rear end when driving and taking corners, and were really surprised by how much a difference they made overall in the driving experience and confidence.

As with any rear suspension install you first need to jack up the rear of the vehicle and secure it on jack stands. To make things go quicker we recommend jacking under the differential and placing jack stands under the pinch welds in front of both rear wheels. This makes it easier to get both quad shocks replaced without having to jack each side up independently. You will be working under the rear of the vehicle for this install so it’s very important to make sure the vehicle is secure.

Once the vehicle is in the air and the rear wheels are removed, start by removing the upper 19mm nut that holds the stock quad shock in place.

After the upper mount nut is removed, you will need a 15mm socket to remove the lower mount bolt. This bolt is removed from the back so you may have to get under the car to remove it. We had trouble getting our impact wrench in such a small space so we opted to remove the rubber stop above the rear axle as shown below. This gives added space to remove the lower quad shock bolt. After the install use WD40 to lubricate this stop and it will pop back into place fairly easily.

Remove the 15mm bolt holding the bottom of the quad shock to the hub assembly. after this bolt is removed the quad shock is free and will slide out easily.

After the old unit is removed, install the new Bilstein quad shock in it’s place. It’s important to install the new shock in the correct direction, the shock has markings letting you know which side is to go toward the front.

Tighten the 15mm lower bolt and the 19mm upper nut and make sure the shock is nice and secure. After everything is tight and buttoned up, enjoy the view!

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Foxbody Front Strut/Spring Install Guide

August 19, 2011 Leave a comment

We finished up our basic suspension install on our project 93′ LX by installing Koni STR.T shocks and struts coupled with Ford Racing’s mild drop “C” springs. This setup is one of the most affordable options for those looking to tighten up their car’s handling and stability without losing ride quality or lowering the car too much. The car has been lowered no more than a half inch front and rear, a drop that isn’t really noticeable but does help lower the car’s center of gravity. The springs are also a little tighter than the OEM units so they get rid of some of the stock body roll. Koni’s STR.T dampers are non-adjustable and are designed for street use . They also help firm up the suspension a bit but aren’t too stiff as to make the ride uncomfortable. On to the install:

First you will want to make sure the car is on level ground and put blocks behind the rear wheels. Jack up the front of the vehicle and place a jack stand under the side you are working on. Never trust a jack alone to support the car while you’re working on it. Take all necessary safety precautions.

Once you remove the wheel on the side you will be working on, you will notice two 19mm bolts holding the brake caliper in place. Remove these bolts and support the caliper by either hanging it inside the wheel well with a zip tie or rest it on another jack stand as we did.

Next up is the sway bar bolt. This is a 16mm bolt that you must remove to get to the spring. After you remove this bolt, use a jack to lift the control arm from beneath to remove weight from the strut. Be sure not to raise the jack high enough to lift the car off of the jack stand, you just want to support the control arm a bit.

The hardest part of our install was removing the stock lower strut bolts. These two bolts are 21mm with 24mm nuts on the other side. You will have to hold one side with an open end wrench so they don’t just spin. We had to use plenty of PB Blaster to get these to break free.

Once you have these lower strut bolts out, simply remove the 21mm upper strut bolt to remove the strut completely. This one was pretty hard to break free for us, but with patience and the right tools it will come loose. If you aren’t using an impact wrench, you will most likely have to use a flathead screwdriver to hold the shock tube in place while the top nut is removed, as the whole shaft will spin otherwise.

Before lowering the control arm to remove the spring, be sure to secure the spring with a chain to ensure it doesn’t fling out of the wheel well when you lower the jack supporting the control arm.  These springs store lots of energy so it’s important to take every safety precaution you can when dealing with compressed springs.

Once the spring is secured, slowly lower the jack under the control arm completely and this should give you enough room to remove the spring. We had to pry it out with a bar so it would clear the bottom spring seat, but with patience it will come free.

Now that everything is removed, you just reverse the steps for re-installation. You will be re-using a few parts from the OEM strut on the new replacement, those parts are shown below. We decided to install the new strut first and leave it hanging from the new top strut nut.

Below you can see the stock spring and it’s isolators against the new spring and Prothane isolators.

It’s important to make sure the new spring is seated properly in the control arm, using a jack to raise the control arm will help seat the spring. Make sure you thread the endlink through the sway bar and reinstall the sway bar bolt while raising the control arm. Once you install the new strut and the top mount nut, you will reinstall the two lower strut bolts. Tighten everything back up and you’re done! Go enjoy your new suspension.

Overall we are more than pleased with this new setup. It is the most affordable on the market at under $500 for all four corners springs, shocks & struts, and it in no way feels cheap at all. It’s a huge improvement over stock. The car feels more planted and agile, and the front end really points faster than before.

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Install Guide – Rear Shocks & Springs On Foxbody Mustangs

July 15, 2011 2 Comments

When it comes to replacing worn suspension components on your 79-93 Mustang, anything is an improvement over stock. Installing new and updated suspension components will completely transform the way your foxbody rides and handles. Thankfully there are many options out there for these cars, and you don’t have to break the bank to completely change the way your fox handles. We opted to go with Koni’s STR.T shocks & struts and Ford Racing’s “C” lowering springs. We wanted a setup that didn’t lower the car much but would get rid of the “floaty” feeling at high speeds and get rid of most of the body roll.

This setup came in at under $500 for all four corners, making it one of the the most affordable options out there when replacing your suspension components. Koni is world renowned for their damper technology and their non-adjustable STR.T shocks/struts are perfect for the driver that wants to install it and forget about it, no adjustment involved.

The install was very straight forward, follow along with our install guide and be sure to take all safety precautions when working on a car in the air. Using jack stands is a must.

We started out by jacking up the vehicle by the rear differential and placing jack stands on the pinch welds in front of both rear wheels. Keep a jack supporting the rear differential even after the jackstands are in place, this will make removing the shocks easier as there is no load on them when the rear axle is supported.

After the car is in the air, remove the rear shock access panels in the trunk and use a 15mm deep socket and ratchet to remove the upper shock nut. You will most likely notice the whole shock tube spinning, making it impossible to remove the nut. You can either use a pair of locking pliers to hold the top of the shock tube and use an open ended 15mm wrench on the nut, or (if you are getting rid of the stock shocks) cut the protective plastic shield from around the shock tube in the wheel well and use pliers to hold the top ring while a helper removes the upper shock nut with a socket as we did.

Next, remove the lower shock mount bolt and nut using an 18mm socket and a 15mm open end wrench. After removing this bolt the shock will come free. You will be re-using the lower mounting hardware on the new shock so keep it in a safe place. You can see the stock unit compared to the new Koni STR.T shock below.

We had a bit of trouble removing the stock spring without a spring compressor. After securing the spring with a chain to prevent it from coming loose unexpectedly, we decided to remove the sway bar and lower the spring perch/control arm to free the spring. Remove the two bolts holding the sway bar in place (on each side, circled in red) to allow the control arm to drop when unbolting it from the hub assembly.

After the sway bar is removed, you will need an 18mm socket and 18mm open end wrench to remove the bolt holding the control arm tot he hub assembly. You may have to use a jack under the control arm to take the load off and get the bolt free. Before the bolt is out, a jack is required to slowly lower the control arm and free the spring.

Once the bolt holding the control arm in place is removed, slowly lower the jack and the spring will fall free. It is a good idea to have someone hold the spring just to make sure it doesn’t fly out. Again, safety is a first priority here. Take no risks!

Below you can see the difference between the stock spring and the new Ford Racing “C” spring. We also decided to swap out the old rubber isolators with new Prothane high strength polyurethane ones.

From here on, you are pretty much just reversing the removal process when installing the new components. Install the lower spring isolator on the spring perch and set the spring. We used a jack to lift the control arm up and line the bolt hole up with the hub assembly. It may take some pushing and pulling on the rear axle to get the hole lined up, but take your time and with the use of a jack and hammer you can feed the bolt through and voila, the new spring is in place.

Install the new strut starting with the lower mount. Once the lower bolt is in place use a jack to lift the rear axle to give you enough thread up top to thread the new nut supplied with the new shocks on the upper mount in the trunk. Don’t forget to install the rubber bushings included with the new shocks before bolting in the units. After the shocks and springs are in place, reinstall the sway bar and you’re done!

Make sure everything is properly tightened and torqued before mounting the wheels and lowering the vehicle. Enjoy your new setup! Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions, feel free to email sales @ stangsuspension.com, we are here to help!

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Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter Install – 93′ LX Project Car

June 6, 2011 Leave a comment

One of the best mods you can do to your manual trans Mustang to improve driving feel is installing a short shift kit. Steeda’s Tri-Ax unit is CNC machined from billet aluminum and offers the shortest throws of any short shift kit in a compact, easy to install package. We decided to install the Tri-Ax shifter in our 93′ LX project car, follow along below with our comprehensive install guide.

Begin the install by removing the plastic interior trim surrounding the shift boot as shown below, pull up and the trim piece should pop out of place.

Remove the shift knob and boot to expose the stock shifter handle assembly.

Using a 10mm socket or wrench, remove the two 10mm bolts holding the stock handle in place.

Remove the four 8mm bolts holding the inner rubber shift boot plate. The two bolts towards the front of the vehicle are harder to get to, but using an 8mm wrench they can be removed without disassembling the center console.

After removing the four 8mm bolts shown above, carefully remove the plate and rubber boot through the shifter opening to expose the stock shifter assembly.

Remove the four 13mm bolts holding the factory shifter to the transmission. Depending on the age of your Mustang you may have to pry the stock shifter free, however on our 93′ LX the stock unit came out without any trouble.

After removing the stock shifter, be sure to scrape all remaining adhesive away and clean any dust and oil from the surface before installing your aftermarket unit. (Note: 2001 and above Mustangs require the use of a plastic bushing on the bottom of the shifter, be sure to transfer this bushing from the stock to aftermarket shifter before reinstalling.)


Thread the StangSuspension shifter gasket onto the new 13mm bolts included with the Steeda Tri-Ax kit. Again, be sure to scrape all remaining adhesive away and clean any dust and oil from the surface before installing the new shifter. Make sure the plastic bushing designed to cover the ball joint is either in the transmission or installed on the new shifter. (2001 & up Mustangs)

Tighten the four 13mm bolts included with the new shifter, DO NOT reuse the stock bolts, as they are too short for the new shifter. Do not over tighten these bolts. 30-40 ft-lbs is sufficient. We decided not to set the Steeda shift-stops and backed the stop bolts out fully to prevent damage to the transmission. Setting the stop-bolts (circled in yellow) is an optional step for those wanting to take advantage of the feature.

Once the new Tri-Ax shifter is installed and tightened, carefully replace the rubber boot and plate and fasten the four 8mm bolts. Take your time and make sure these bolts are threaded properly, sometimes the rubber boot can get in the way.

Steeda’s Tri-Ax unit has two handle positions, install your handle at your desired height and tighten with the two included 10mm bolts and locking nuts.

After the handle has been fastened, reinstall the stock shift boot, plastic trim piece, and knob and you’re done!

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Installing MRT’s Hood Struts On 79-93 Foxbody Mustangs

May 16, 2011 1 Comment

We recently picked up our LX foxbody project car and the modifications have already begun!  A quick and inexpensive mod that will add convenience and styling to your foxbody is the MRT hood strut kit.  We grabbed one off the shelves and went straight to work.  Check out the installation article and photos below.

Tools required

  • 10 MM socket and wrench
  • 5/16″ socket
  • Flat head screwdriver (optional)

We began work on the passenger side of our 93′ LX.  Use a 10 MM socket and wrench to remove the top hood hinge bolt.  This is the bolt closest to the front of the hood.

It is important to note we are working on the passenger side first.  Take the long RH bracket and bolt it to the hood hinge using the existing 10 MM bolt you removed in step 1.

The image below shows the correct orientation of the longer RH hood hinge bracket.  Please note the round ball studs should be facing outward.

Next, we’ll be installing the smaller fender bracket. Use a 5/16 socket to remove the fender bolt as shown below.

While Still working on the passenger side, mount the RH bracket to the fender using the existing bolt you removed in step 4.  The round ball studs on this bracket should be facing inwards towards the engine bay.

The final step is to attach the strut to the ball studs on each bracket. The thicker part of the strut attaches to the top. Snap in the bottom ball stud first. Remove the hood from the prop rod and raise it up slightly to get the top of the strut lined up with the top ball stud. We had to spin the strut for it to align with the top ball stud. This completes the install.

Now you just have to repeat these steps for the driver’s side. Overall this is a fantastic mod that will eliminate the need for the hood prop rod. It cleans up the overall look of the car with the hood up. It’ll also give you a bit more clearance when working under the hood of your foxbody. You can find a few photos of the entire MRT Hood Strut Kit installed below.

You can purchase your MRT fox body hood struts on the Stangsuspension Store here: http://www.stangsuspension.com/Foxbody-MRT-Mustang-Hood-Struts-p/01471.htm

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