Stop on a dime… And get change

The artistry and strength of the Factory Five roadster chassis would be a waste without an equally well-designed suspension.  Throw away all the kit car marketing claims, it’s real simple.  Suspension design and engineering is an extremely challenging endeavor. You can’t get lucky and you can’t say it works unless you prove it.  The only way to prove it is at a track and under the most extreme circumstances. 

Our engineering team has paid its dues.  The Factory Five Mk3 roadster handles better than any other replica out there. Period.  In a 2007 Kit Car shootout hosted by Primedia Group, Factory Five cars spanked all other replicas in categories of acceleration, handling and braking.  In the replica and kit world, it’s not even close.

We’ve applied the lessons learned developing and racing in the Factory Five Challenge Series over ten years to design a world-class suspension for the Roadster. 

Over the years our engineers, who are all race-car fanatics and real drivers, optimized the suspension on the computer and in real world testing. 

Front Suspension

Up front, the Factory Five Racing Mk3 kit comes with a fully independent tubular front suspension with unequal length upper and lower a-arms and high-end Koni or Bilstein brand mono-tube adjustable coil-over rod-end shocks (say that three times).  Our car has earned huge praise and recognition for its suspension which delivers razor sharp handling and a comfortable ride.  The front suspension design is a big reason why that’s true.  Our rugged front suspension is race-proven to deliver superior handling without the notorious problems of Mustang II style set-ups that are commonly used on hot-rods, replicas, and customs.

In the base kit we use the lower control arm from the Ford Mustang, which incorporates Ford’s low friction ball joint.  We offer an optional tubular steel lower control arm for people seeking lower un-sprung weight over the Mustang unit.  The entire front suspension and brakes are standard in the Mk3 complete kit. 

The advantage of using the stock Mustang lower control arms is primarily cost savings, however they also provide an amazingly smooth ride.  We manufacture a custom spindle bracket that allows you to attach the 1987-2004 Mustang front spindles and use the massive 11” front brake assembly from the Mustang.

The front suspension components are well engineered and bolt-on with ease.  The big Mustang disc brakes are excellent.  We supply the aluminum coil-over shocks, coil springs, custom mounts, spindle brackets, and upper A-arms with ball joints and fasteners, all ready to bolt together.

The complete kit provides the entire front suspension and brakes instead of recycling Mustang parts.

Rear Suspension

The Mk3 roadster kit is delivered to you ready to accept bolt-on suspension components.  There are three (3) rear suspension configurations that can be used on the roadster kit.  The base kit is ready to use the Ford Mustang 4-Link rear suspension configuration.  The Mk3 Complete kit provides an upgraded 3-Link performance suspension standard.

Let’s review each set-up to find out what’s best for you. 

1)       Standard 4-link solid axle rear-end

2)       Optional 3-link solid axle rear-end

3)       Optional Independent Rear Suspension.

1.  Standard 4-link Suspension.  Solid Axle, Solid Performance, Solid Value.

The base Mk3 kit comes with welded mounts ready to accept the bolt-in rear suspension parts right out of the Ford Mustang donor car.  This is a four link solid axle suspension that uses the Ford Mustang quad shocks and 8.8” posi-traction differential.  You can slip the variable rate Mustang coil springs right into place and bolt the whole thing together in about 30 minutes!  This standard Ford Mustang rear suspension works amazingly well.  We added custom anti-squat geometry, similar to those used by the Mustang race crowd, and engineered all mounts to be in double shear, made from 3/16” plate steel.  The car handles great and delivers eye-ball flattening launches. 

As our racing programs have progressed over the years we have added optional upgrades to the 4-link Ford suspension.  Check out our parts and options catalog for a full line of parts for the Ford 8.8” rear including, coil-over shocks, control arms, bushing kits and more.   

There is a whole aftermarket of upgrade items for this bulletproof rear suspension.  You can change everything from gearing and brakes to springs and shocks.  About half of FFR roadster kits are shipped with the standard 4-link rear suspension.  It works great out of the box, is the most affordable, and with the huge aftermarket, you can always upgrade individual parts later. 

2.  FFR 3-Link Rear Suspension, Pure Performance

The Upgraded Factory Five 3-Link rear suspension is standard in the complete Mk3 kit. 

The 3-link suspension is a great example of how racing and product development go hand-in-hand.  After the inaugural season  racing our Challenge Series cars in the Mid-Atlantic and West Coast series we found the standard four link suspensions had a tendency to oversteer (similar to Mustangs) when pushed to ten-tenths competitive driving.  Our engineers began working with customers, racers, and the team at the Bondurant School to develop a more neutral, racer-friendly suspension.

After more than seven years of racing action and thousands of hours of brutal track testing, the FFR 3-link is recognized as a proven and worthy upgrade to the standard Mustang 4-link.  The 3-link suspension is standard in all FFR Challenge Series cars and Complete Mk3 kits.  It works wonderfully, aiding hook-up, eliminating bind and provides an amazingly predictable ride whether you’re at the track or on the street. 

The 3-link suspension package includes the frame brackets, panhard rod, control arms, coil-over shocks and aftermarket springs.   

3.  Independent Rear Suspension, Comfort and Artistry

The story of the FFR Independent Rear Suspension, like the 3-link, is really the story of our company.  Every day we do something better.  The IRS was designed for those looking for not only the best handling package available, but the most elegant as well. 

In 1998 we put our engineers to work full time to develop an authentic but strong IRS setup.  The goal was to add comfort and authenticity to the rear suspension.  We introduced our optional IRS in 1999 at the NE Replica Challenge.  Our first race car outfitted with this rear suspension won 1^st Place in the Pro Class at the NE Replica Challenge, beating all the competition by a margin of more than two seconds!  More importantly, the car was more comfortable on the street, and elegant in design.

The IRS upgrade can be added to the base kit or the complete kit.  This IRS option includes the welded-in cage, upper & lower tubular control arms, high-end Bilstein or Koni pre-valved mono-tube rod-end coil-over shocks (matched to the fronts), and custom axles.  The IRS option for the Mk3 base (donor capable kit) kit requires that you provide the 8.8” center section from a 1989-1997 Ford Thunderbird as well as the T-bird rear spindles, CV joints & brakes. 

The Mk3 Complete kit also provides an IRS option that delivers (in the complete kit) the entire rear suspension, differential, brakes and all parts needed to complete your cars rear end, with no donor parts.