How To Install A Coilover Rear Suspension

Adjusting VariShocks
When adjusting VariShocks for the street, you want more shock compression (bump) to take up road shock. At the baseline ride height, shock and spring should give (collapse) 40 percent from the installed height.

If you intend to go road racing, you want a 50/50 mix of bump and rebound. It's not too stiff, but there's not too much give, either. Drag racers want it looser, with a 40 percent bump and a lot of rebound for good weight transfer.

Adjusting VariShocks is a matter of knowing how to work the two QuickSet Two-Valves at the bottom of each shock. Turn the valve clockwise to increase stiffness and counterclockwise to decrease stiffness. The valve on the left controls bump (compression); the valve on the right controls rebound (extension). The first position is the softest setting.

Street baseline is 60 percent bump, 40 percent rebound. Handling baseline is 50 percent bump, 50 percent rebound. Drag race baseline is 40 percent bump, 60 percent rebound.

Affordable, Low-Buck Handling
Because we're in challenging economic times, it may be difficult to afford a high-end TCP four-link rear suspension system. However, it's easier to afford better handling in a five-leaf Grab-A-Trak suspension system from Mustangs Plus.

Grab-A-Trak is another name for handling with quality products you can bolt right onto a tired, old Mustang. If we were going this route with Project Reclaim, we'd fit a new Currie 9-inch housing along with 3.89:1 limited-slip cogs and the five-leaf, mid-eye Grab-A-Trak suspension from Mustangs Plus. Grab-A-Trak gas shocks provide a smooth ride, while KYB shocks deliver better handling with a firmer ride.