me and a friend were talkin the other day and i didnt know.....
i know the v6 has a 7.5 rear end.....whats the stock gt, mach 1 and cobra got? 99-04

 

8.8 then cobra is IRS

 

IRS= Independent Rear Suspension?

 

gt and mach are 8.8?

 

yup 8.8

 

ok nice......some1 now explain to me irs :P

im more of a bolt on person then i just shut the fug up lol

 

SVT Mustang Cobra IRS: The Inside Story

DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 11 -- The 1999 Ford SVT

Mustang Cobra has a new independent rear suspension, but unless you get
comfortably underneath the car on a lift and get close, it's difficult to
appreciate the technical elegance that went into this SLA design.
Today's SVT Mustang Cobra SLA independent rear suspension -- SLA stands
for "short and long (control) arms" -- was a clever answer to an IRS question
that Team Mustang had been dealing with for some time. The new design had to
meet two key directives: The first was the mandate that there could be no
significant changes to the chassis, fuel system, or body structure in any way
to accommodate IRS; the second was that all the suspension loads had to be
introduced into the chassis in areas already designed to accept those loads.
The SVT Mustang Cobra is the most popular and affordable high-performance
sports coupe in America -- both of the IRS technical mandates were imposed to
keep it that way.
The solid-axle suspension used to date had been an excellent performer,
and the SN95 Cobra had obviously been designed to take maximum advantage of
its characteristics. Eric Zinkosky, Suspension Systems/Development Engineer-
Mustang Vehicle Engineering, was the Team Mustang engineer directed to make
the Cobra's IRS a reality.
"What we had to do," Zinkosky said, "is package a new independent rear
suspension in not only the same space as the solid-axle design, but we had to
use the same suspension mounting points. We virtually 'reverse-engineered'
the IRS from the known suspension hardpoints, and we had to keep everything
inside the same box."
At a time when conventional wisdom often insists corporate executives and
engineers think "outside the box," thinking inside a box was precisely what
Team Mustang creative thinkers were forced to do. "The box" was an imaginary
packaging space Zinkosky drew under the Cobra's rear end, incorporating all of
the solid axle components and their range of movement. If the IRS was going
to meet its cost and packaging requirements, it was inside "the box" that the
new independent rear suspension would have to fit and operate.
The independent rear suspension's springs and Monroe shocks attach to the
Cobra exactly where they did with the solid axle set-up. The only difference
between the two systems is the addition of two bolt holes and "weld nuts" near
the former Quad-Shock mounting holes. This four-bolt mounting system attaches
the subframe mounting brackets to the underbody in a very secure way.
For the highest quality, the entire IRS module arrives at the Dearborn
Assembly Plant pre-assembled and even pre-aligned. And it's such a match to
the assembly tooling that the same machine that lifts the solid-axle
suspension for V-6 and GT Mustangs also raises the IRS into place.
The components of the new IRS are unique to the Cobra except for the
aluminum differential case, which is borrowed from the Lincoln Mark VIII, and
the Mark VIII's wheel bearings are used. The Traction-Loc limited-slip
features 3.27:1 gears (all Mustangs now have the 3.27 rear-axle ratio across
the board). The differential is installed using a torque axis mounting
system. The most effective mounting point to minimize movement and
differential rock was determined to be slightly to the left side of the
centerline, Zinkosky said, "where I already know the loads are going to be."
Thicker half-shafts minimize wind-up and improve the efficiency of Cobra's
standard four-channel anti-lock brakes. Also in tune with improving the ABS,
the anti-lock system's sensors are mounted inboard on the half-shaft instead
of outboard at the wheels. This minimizes vibration on acceleration and
enables a faster ABS response to wheelspin.
An isolated, welded tubular steel subframe provides the mounting points
for the sophisticated "permanent mold" control arms, tie rods for fully
adjustable toe control, stabilizer bar and differential. The permanent mold
metal casting process produces aluminum lower control arms manufactured for a
smooth and predictably uniform surface. This permits the piece to be designed
lighter because it doesn't have to take into consideration the production
variances of conventional sand casting. "We know the tolerances will be the
same piece to piece, so we don't have to make the control arm thicker than it
really needs to be," Zinkosky said.
There are minor changes in the stabilizer bars. Where the 1998 Cobra used
25 mm tubular stabilizer bar in the rear, the IRS deploys a 26 mm bar, and in
front the 29 mm bar used in '98 is replaced by a 28 mm bar. IRS permitted
higher spring rates and a stiffer car, so while the stabilizer bar changed
their sizes, equivalent roll stiffness was retained.
The ride and handling characteristics of the Cobra were pretty great
before -- and now are world-class in every respect. Important ride and
handling benefits are derived from IRS and the modified MacPherson strut front
suspension. Steering response and on-center feel are improved -- including a
reduction of the turning circle to 38 feet -- critical to the enthusiast
driver.
Along the way, Team Mustang made the rear track wider by 1.2 inches,
uninterrupted suspension travel was increased, and weight distribution was
improved. The Cobra's handling is especially refined on uneven or bumpy road
surfaces and rear-end lift under hard braking is reduced.

 

Just about every car on the road has an IRS. No great secret.....the secret is putting lots of hp on an IRS is a bit of a problem, though, the Japanese have figured it out.

IRS cars handle much better. Live axles such as are employed on Mustangs are cheap, easy to modify and beef-up, and better for getting out of the hole. But, they don't do much for handling. Live Axle is about as "old school" as it gets.

Plenty of $15k cars out there with IRS.....Ford acts like it is some major accomplishment on the Cobra.

 

The GT's,Cobra,machs all have 8.8" rears. just the cobras of cetine years have IRS 8.8" rears.