January 13, 2009 | Press Releases
Just like the lower control arm bushings in the Mustang the upper control arm can have a significant impact on the vehicle’s ride, comfort, handling, acceleration, noise and vibration. When the car leans (i.e., rolls) in a turn, one side of the chassis moves upward relative to the rear axle, the other side moves downward, and the upper control arm must twist (rotate) to allow for the axle to articulate through its suspension travel. This rotation causes the control arm bushing to bind. If this bind becomes excessive, it will raise the rear wheel rate and produce sudden, uncontrolled, undesirable changes in handling (e.g., snap oversteer).
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November 24, 2008 | Reviews
Every once in a while a cool product comes along that actually works as advertised. Recently, I had the chance to try out a new product that is advertised to do the same thing that so many other products claim to do, but the DashDAQ actually does the job of datalogging well.
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November 18, 2008 | Press Releases
November 18, 2008 | Press Releases
Are you envious of those luxury cars that have seat heaters? Now you don’t have to be with Fast Toy’s universal deluxe seat heater kits. They can be installed in almost any vehicle (as long as the seat cover can be removed) and work with both leather and cloth seats.
Seat heaters are great for those cold mornings as they can provide heat in as little as 2 1/2 minutes from startup. The kits come with one pad for both the seat bottom and back to warm your complete body from the core. Seat heaters are also great for convertibles and extend the number of top down days you can enjoy. They are also great for soothing sore backs.
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October 24, 2008 | Press Releases
Livernois Motorsports is proud to introduce another exciting new product for the Ford 3-Valve 4.6 modular engine. With the ever evolving technology and development of new camshaft and valvetrain components for the 3-Valve modular engine, the need for improvements to the factory Ford VCT system has become a hot topic. Livernois was the first in the market with an economical and readily available fix for the problems that plagued the factory Ford VCT system. We introduced the solid fixed lockout kit which locks out the factory phaser and eliminates the failures & noise problems associated with the cam phasers, thus allowing the use of aftermarket cam and spring profiles without fear of failure of the factory cam phaser. Now, we have taken this one step further and are proud to introduce our new phaser lockout limiter kit.
The original cam lockouts were built with the goal of preventing failure of the cam phaser. They do an excellent job of this and cure cam phaser issues, however they do limit the engines ability to retard the cam timing and as a result, cause a small loss in power at high RPM. In most cases we are talking 10-20HP depending on the application. That loss in power was worth it, given the gain from using aftermarket springs and cams was double that number. Not to mention, with power adders vehicles making 600+ RWHP, the loss of 10-20 HP was small for the gain in durability and ultimate assurance that the cam phaser would not fail causing possible engine failure.
The next step in this evolution comes with this new limiting version of the same lockout. Simple in design and requiring no special tools to install, the limiting lockouts allow for the phaser to retard the camshaft still but limit its travel to only 20 degrees maximum. In most cases max power can be found in the 8-14 degree range of retard, so by still allowing up to 20 degrees of camshaft retard, the ability to get maximum power from cam phasing is available. The limiter mechanically locks after 20 degrees and prevents any further movement. This allows for use of larger camshafts with more lift and duration and prevents piston to valve issues. The other benefit that goes with the limiter is that it prevents the noise and durability issue from becoming a factor. By reducing the volume of oil and limiting the total travel rotation of the phaser the issues with noise and failure of the phaser are eliminated.
Retail $129.99/set
*Patent Pending
For more information, visit www.livernoismotorsports.com
October 6, 2008 | Press Releases
The control arm bushings found in the Mustang automobiles can have a significant impact on the vehicle’s ride, comfort, handling, acceleration, noise and vibration. When the car leans (i.e., rolls) in a turn, one side of the chassis moves upward relative to the rear axle, the other side moves downward, and the control arms must twist to allow for the axle to articulate. This causes the control arm bushings to bind. If this bind becomes excessive, it will raise the rear wheel rate and produce sudden, uncontrolled, undesirable changes in handling (e.g., snap oversteer). Ford minimizes this suspension bind by using compliant rubber bushings in both lower control arms. These relatively “soft” bushings help accommodate the necessary motion of the control arms during body roll. However, the rubber bushings do not provide much in the way of forward and aft support, which can cause wheel hop during hard acceleration and braking.It has become common practice to replace the stock rubber control arm bushings with solid or two piece polyurethane bushings to resolve the shortcomings of the soft rubber bushings. Hard polyurethane bushings eliminate wheel hop, reduce axle deflection, and improve rear straight line grip. However, the downside of common aftermarket bushings such as delrin, steel, stiffer rubber, solid or two piece polyurethane bushings is they prevent the necessary movement of the control arms during body roll, which in turn produces significant binding in the suspension when the vehicle is cornering. The polyurethane bushings also place unnecessary high stresses on the torque boxes, which are the attachment points for the control arms to the chassis. Standard aftermarket control arms do not allow for rotation of the control arm during cornering because of the stiffness of the bushings.
The Solution:
We at J&M Products designed and built a tubular lower control arm which will eliminate the unwanted uncontrolled control arm flex. Round tubing is harder to work with but has many other advantages over square or rectangular tubing. It is stronger in bending, torsion, and also lighter than square or rectangular tubing.We then solved the shortcomings of the factory rubber and other aftermarket polyurethane and stiffer rubber bushings. This was accomplished with our new Extreme Joint. By spending countless hours looking and dissecting the geometry and the need of the rear suspension we come out with bind-free bushings set up. Our Extreme Joint bushing design incorporates a steel inner ball which is surrounded by polyurethane outer cups. This combination allows the bushing to articulate like a spherical bearing during cornering but the steel inner ball does not allow the bushing to deflect during acceleration giving you great traction during acceleration like solid bushings but remains completely bind free like a spherical bearing during cornering for great predictable traction in the corners.
- Offset Design for Proper Bind Free Geometry
- Street / Race Version uses our Bind Free Extreme Joint Bushing
- Easy Installation Without Modifications
- Powder Coated Red or Black for Great Long Lasting Looks
- Reduces Wheel Hop & Improves Traction by Eliminating Control Arm & Bushing Flex
Contact J&M Products for more information and for pricing. Click here to visit their website.
August 8, 2008 | Technical
Back by popular request, Dave King’s article on installing a 4R70W Automatic transmission into an 03/04 Cobra
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July 21, 2008 | Installations
by Eric Brooks
ModularFords is proud to bring you the most comprehensive and in-depth GT500 build up on the web!
Background
We picked up our White / Blue Stripe GT500 Coupe in April 2007. In factory form, it is a very nice car. Quite possibly the best riding and most comfortable Mustang made. But its performance does not cut it, due to its weight. In factory form, these cars are tanks! The very first modification was a flash tune, which picked the car up a whopping 60 RWHP. In stock form the car managed 407 RWHP (SAE DynoJet). With a tune only, it laid down 470 RWHP. The aftermarket tune (by me) was very conservative, 500 RWHP is attaintable with the stock pulley / blower combo. With nothing more than 275/40/17 Mickey Thompson drag radials, I managed a 12.33 @ 114 MPH. Impressive for a stock car, but still not quite, due to the weight and horrible 60 foot times.
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June 10, 2008 | Press Releases
Livernois Motorsports is proud to introduce another exciting new product for the Ford 4.6L Modular engine. This kit allows a modification once reserved for race only engines to the mainstream and makes it both affordable and easy to install for the end user.
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May 29, 2008 | Press Releases
Saleen has just announced their crate engine lineup. The lineup consists of 302 cubic inch short and longblocks, available both for naturally-aspirated or for supercharged applications.
Based on the 4.6L 3V Ford aluminum block, the entire internal package is upgraded with premium Saleen-engineered forged pistons, rods, camshaft, and crankshaft, exceeding the requirements of even the professional engine builder.
Packages range from 390hp (normally-aspirated 302 engines) to 580hp (super-charged 302 engines) using existing EPA-certified induction and exhaust systems. Furthermore, these packages can be further upgraded with 6-speed transmissions, high-performance clutch/flywheels, higher-performance rear end differentials, Watts link rear suspension, and of course, superchargers.
Longblock Specs
- Ford Aluminum Block
- 3-Valve Cylinder Heads
- Optional CNC Ported Heads (developed jointly with Ernie Elliot)
- Comp Cams High Lift and Extended Duration Cams
- Comp Cams Premium Valve Springs and Retainers
- Ford Lash Adjusters and Rockers
- Ford Cam Phasers
- Felpro MLS Head Gaskets
- Complete Front Cover
- Valve Covers
- Oil Pump w/Primed Oil System
- Ford Crank Damper
- GT Oil Pan
Shortblock Specs
- 302 CID (5.0L) Modular, 3-Valve Cylinder Blocks
- 620 HP @ 6300 RPM Capable
- 600 Lb-ft TQ @ 4400 RPM Capable
- 3.554″ X 3.800″ Bore & Stroke
- new GT Block plate honed + .002″ to insure improved bore geometry
- Clevite Premium coated select fit rod bearings
- Clevite Premium material select fit main bearings
- Kellogg forged steel crankshaft - featuring improved oiling, Induction hardened journals and 8 bolt flange
- Premium Forged Pistons designed to Saleen specifications
- Manley Forged Steel Connecting Rod designed to Saleen specification w/ ARP Fasteners
- Windage Tray
