SRA vs IRS

[dutch]

Endless discussion and it only comes down to what you want from your car. Is it a weekend warrior that sees regular (drag) track use, stick with the solid.

Do you like comfort, cruising, daily driving, twisties, road course, or anything not the above: IRS.

Yes it'll cost you some money, but can be done relatively cheap with a trade. Apart from the bushings, parts aren't that much more expensive. But you get a lot back for that money, I love mine. Best mod I did for the sheer enjoyment of driving the car. It's much more comfortable, predictable, handles better, and in the real world (corners, bumps) grips a lot better.

Also, the weight penalty is neglectable as the mustang is nose heavy to begin with, so that evens it out nicely. Apart from that, the unsprung weight is actually greatly reduced. Which you feel when driving. The only way you're gonna notice the increased weight might be on the strip... But you shouldn't have swapped the IRS in in the first place if you only care about ET's.

[justinschmidt1]

SRA:

Pro's

-Comes in GT's/96-98 cobra's stock so you don't have to buy a new one.

-Easily upgraded

- Less weight

-Great setup for drag racing

Con's

-Poor Road Racing performance stock

-Expensive to upgrade and bring up to par with a stock IRS

-When modded, the ride will become extremely rough (torque arm)

-Lots of NVH

IRS

Pro's

-Very Very smooth for street driving

-Almost 100% Bolt-In

-Upgraded IRS's are excellent for road racing

Con's

-Poor Drag Racing Performance Stock

-Expensive to buy

-Expensive to upgrade

-Heavy Weight

-Weak Half-Shafts

-Potential to overheat under hard cornering

-Difficult to change fuel filter

-Have to get an alignment which costs extra

I spot more cons on that IRS side

I entertained the idea of irs actually just decided I didnt want the extra weight or any wheel hop issues.

[LilRoush]

Actually, when you get deep enough into road race, you'll find out Ford's IRS design suffered from being made to fit in a place where a SRA already was. In doing that, they scarificed a LOT.

When push comes to shove, by the time you swap IRS and do all the upgrades needed to take abuse, you could have done a MM set up, Griggs or even Steeda's 5 link and come out with a better handling SRA than the modified Ford IRS will give you under a Mustang.

I looked at it from every angle I could when I took my V6 off the street, and after talking to the guys who knew more than me, the modified SRA had the upper hand on the road course for the Mustang application.

(Not saying ALL SRA are better than ALL IRS, just in the case of the SN95 Mustangs.)

[95riosnake]

RIO please stop posting pics like that you make me feel bad about myself. lol

Thats got to be the sickest IRS setup i have seen yet!!!

Thanks!

did you have the cradle painted? im not familiar with the whole process. just saw end results.

I smoothed and powder coated the cradle and control arms, then painted everything else.

Yea.. what the hell.. that IRS looks brand new.. Then you had parts painted.. I take it this was not done over night? lol

When I got it, the IRS had 10k miles on it. And no, it was definitely NOT overnight lol. It took me a couple months working on it here and there between working on other parts of the car. I moved that cradle around the garage at least a half million times. I get carried away with detail work sometimes, I guess that IRS was a prime example lol.

[dutch]

I spot more cons on that IRS side

I entertained the idea of irs actually just decided I didnt want the extra weight or any wheel hop issues.

That because that list isn't complete or accurate..

I'll only target the IRS CON list for this example..

-Poor Drag Racing Performance Stock [true, but better in every other instance, stock for stock]

-Expensive to buy [not really if you're prepared to look, or trade]

-Expensive to upgrade [just the bushings, which along with a diff brace are the only real upgrades you need]

-Heavy Weight [like I said before, you won't notice on the street. In fact evens out the nose heavy mustang, and has much less unsprung weight compared to the stick axle]

-Weak Half-Shafts [that's a myth.. The '03-'04 halfshafts are as strong as you'll ever need. They break because stupid people launch like it like a SRA and don't let off when it starts wheelhopping. Kill wheelhop, kill breakage]

-Potential to overheat under hard cornering [diff can overheat on long and hard track use, no problem in the real world, unless you are a serious trackmaniac]

-Difficult to change fuel filter [true, but since we all have to swap first, make sure you change it then and be good for the next 10 years ]

-Have to get an alignment which costs extra [this is true, but also allows for more precise suspension tuning]

Apart from the bushingsets, nothing is really more expensive. Shocks, springs, brakes, gears, all the same prices.

On top of that, there's only 2 things you really need for a perfect IRS: bushings and a diff brace. If you mod your SRA, you need a panhard, upper control arms, lower control arms, etc. It's all relative...

[justinschmidt1]

It all depends on what you want .......although it seems like a SRA is the way to go for drag racing 100% and seems to be better on a road course anyway when its set up right.

IRS is smooth on the street though lol:tyrannosaurus:

[Mikey94gt]

Actually, when you get deep enough into road race, you'll find out Ford's IRS design suffered from being made to fit in a place where a SRA already was. In doing that, they scarificed a LOT.

When push comes to shove, by the time you swap IRS and do all the upgrades needed to take abuse, you could have done a MM set up, Griggs or even Steeda's 5 link and come out with a better handling SRA than the modified Ford IRS will give you under a Mustang.

I looked at it from every angle I could when I took my V6 off the street, and after talking to the guys who knew more than me, the modified SRA had the upper hand on the road course for the Mustang application.

(Not saying ALL SRA are better than ALL IRS, just in the case of the SN95 Mustangs.)

Yup. All these reasons, plus the simplicity of the sra, is why my car is still with a stick axle.

[95riosnake]

Before I decided to pull the trigger on an IRS, I read up on them A LOT and rode in several cars with them (both with stock rubber bushings and with aftermarket delrin). I decided IRS was the right move for me.

Here's a link to Bruce's (from FTBR) in depth article about the IRS. I highly recommend reading it, the man knows what he is talking about.

http://www.fulltiltboogieracing.com/mystery_of_irs.htm

In the end, it all boils down to driving style, how you use the car, and personal preference. Both the SRA and IRS can be great suspensions given the right parts.

[LilRoush]

In the end, it all boils down to driving style, how you use the car, and personal preference. Both the SRA and IRS can be great suspensions given the right parts.

^^This.