If you were to ask any number of late-model Mustang owners what their biggest issue is at the dragstrip, you would most likely here lack of traction as their response. Thanks to the latest innovations of chassis and suspension components, companies like Spohn Performance are able to cure this problem. They just sent over releases on their new upper and lower control arms for the ’79-’04. 

Official Releases:

Spohn Upper Rear Control Arms For 1979-2004 Ford Mustang

Our adjustable rear upper control arms for the 1979-2004 Ford Mustang and Fox Body cars outperform the flexible, stamped steel arms and soft rubber bushings that come from the factory.

Eliminate wheel hop and increase traction with an easy bolt on installation. The adjustability feature allows for setting the pinion angle. Our right hand and left hand threaded CNC machined male/female double adjuster allows for easy on-car adjustments, no need to unmount the control arm to make adjustments!

The control arm bushings on the 1979-2004 Ford Mustang and Fox Body cars have a significant impact on your vehicle’s ride, comfort, handling, acceleration, noise and vibration. When the vehicle leans (rolls) in a turn, one side of the chassis moves up relative to the rear axle and the other side moves down.

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 and uncontrolled changes in handling such as snap oversteer.

The factory minimizes this suspension bind by using compliant rubber bushings. These 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 is common to replace the stock rubber control arm bushings with polyurethane bushings to resolve the shortcomings of the factory’s soft rubber bushings. Polyurethane bushings eliminate wheel hop, reduce axle deflection, and improve straight line traction. However, the downside of 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 high stresses on the control arm mounts on the vehicle. Polyurethane bushed control arms do not allow for rotation of the control arm during cornering because of the stiffness of the bushings.

Spohn Lower Rear Control Arms For 1979-2004 Ford Mustang

These adjustable LCAs do NOT have any provisions for mounting a factory style rear sway bar. These are race inspired rear lower control arms that should be used in conjunction with an aftermarket rear sway bar or anti-roll bar that does not mount to the rear lower control arms.

The control arm bushings on the 1979-2004 Ford Mustang and Fox Body cars have a significant impact on your vehicle’s ride, comfort, handling, acceleration, noise and vibration. When the vehicle leans (rolls) in a turn, one side of the chassis moves up relative to the rear axle and the other side moves down.

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 and uncontrolled changes in handling such as snap oversteer.

The factory minimizes this suspension bind by using compliant rubber bushings. These 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 is common to replace the stock rubber control arm bushings with polyurethane bushings to resolve the shortcomings of the factory’s soft rubber bushings. Polyurethane bushings eliminate wheel hop, reduce axle deflection, and improve straight line traction. However, the downside of 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 high stresses on the control arm mounts on the vehicle. Polyurethane bushed control arms do not allow for rotation of the control arm during cornering because of the stiffness of the bushings.

* NOTE: Both of these are available with their patented Del-Sphere Bushings, and you can read all about them by clicking here.