Mustang CoolRide

Installing Air Ride Technologies CoolRide
air suspension in 1979-2002 Mustangs
by Doc Frohmader
I still remember the first Mustangs.
They were, for the time, relatively sophisticated and high-tech. Since 1964, things
have changed a lot. The suspension that
was adequate back then would cause a
rebellion today. Not surprisingly, Mustangs
dropped rear leaf springs and steering
boxes long ago and went with carefully
engineered trailing arm rear suspensions
with coils and the newer ones have struts as
well as coils up front. Since the first Fox
body in 1979, everyone’s been looking for
new ways to make them ride right and a lot
of interesting upgrades have been developed. So just when you think the ‘Stangs
are about as tricked out as they can get, you
realize there’s another level to step up to:
Air ride.
You’ve probably seen one or more of
the special factory customs floating around
at the shows, and perhaps even thirsted for
the kind of trick gear they sport. Well, kids,
the same air suspension Air Ride Technologies developed in prototype for Ford is now
available for your own personal hot wheels.
It’s my intention to show you how it all goes
together, using the 2001 Mustang Titanium
GT convertible that happened to be stabled
in the ART shop the last time I was visiting
Bret and the guys as the platform. This is
the 400 hp 4.6L, Vortec supercharged,
Tremec 5-speed backed, Baer 14-inch 6piston braked, and Air Ride equipped dream
machine you may have noticed lurking
about in the Primedia booth last year and
may have been featured in your dreams.
The setup includes air springs and
new QA-1 Motorsports 12-way adjustable
billet shocks at the rear and air springs in
the front. To make it all function, ART
installed a trick RidePro 4-way solenoid
control unit to handle each corner separately, a couple of high-pressure pumps with
storage tank, and digital gauge to keep track
of the air pressure numbers. Both control
rocker switches and gauges are located in
the console, looking like they have an inalienable right to be there.
Mustang
Mustang CoolRide
CoolRide
Compared to the stock Mustang
suspension, the ART unit drops the car an
extra 2 inches, even with the 18-inch custom wheels. If you like the way the stock
Mustang rides, you’ll need a sedative to
calm you under the wheel with the air ride.
The car is not only SMOOTH, but actually
gains in handling - especially over the
“sport” springs sometimes used to drop
these cars.
It’s pretty obvious the Mustang builders are a pretty savvy crowd who know what
they want and how to get there. So
whereas just the smoothness of air ride
might convince others, the Mustang guys
typically look for ways to make these cars
perform above and beyond the call. It just
happens that you can use air ride to achieve
both - win/win, you know?
The Mustang front
suspension has come a long
was from the early days and
this 2001 has the standard
GT gear plus a set of big
Baer brakes. It’s where we
start with the ART CoolRide
upgrade.
Start tearing down with removing
the ABS sensor and cable bracket you don’t want to damage them and the outer tie rod end.
Remove the caliper assembly
and tie it up so it doesn’t hang on
the flex line. It’s safe and you
don’t have to bleed brakes later.
Before removing the
spring, wrap a chain
around the spring and
through the frame like
this. It may save you
from some serious pain if
something gets away on
you.
I drove this car around Jasper and
outlying areas and admit to pushing it as
hard as I could without risking jail time, and
was impressed with the cornering in particular. On winding roads it over-steered
slightly, but that’s what I like. It went through
corners like it was on rails.
Going up through the gears the rear
stuck well despite the Vortec supercharger
under the hood adding a lot of extra horses.
Once rolling you had to slip the clutch to get
‘em spinning, so acceleration was surprisingly quick. All this and a smooth ride...
Another fortunate aspect of the
CoolRide kit is it’s simplicity. You don’t need
a Masters in engineering to make it work.
Air Ride spent a lot of time making sure that
the parts fit the way they’re supposed to
without re-do. They made sure the kits work
right and spent months perfecting this kit on
their own car, driving and testing along the
way. They also made sure the kit required
the absolute least alteration to the car so
you don’t damage or devalue the car’s
resale value. If you want the kit can be
removed and reused.
Under the ABS bracket are the two large strut
bolts. There’s pressure on this unit, so you
can remove the bolts and free the strut only
after supporting the A-arm. Then, lower the
jack slowly until the pressure is off and you
can remove the spring. I suggest looping a
length of chain around the spring and arm
until the pressure is off for safety.
All you need is hand tools, a decent
jack and jack stands, and a drill. Except for
important common sense safety and mechanical techniques, anyone with moderate
mechanical skills can install the entire kit in
a day. Most of it entails simple bolt-ons, but
the plumbing and wiring are also not complex. If you can read and understand the
need to secure the lines well and tight you
can master it.
The sway bar link is dropped, the lower Aarm is slowly dropped and the spring can be
removed. Ready for new parts.
This is the kit for one
side front. The fact
that there are so few
parts shows how
simple it is to install.
ART planned it that
way.
Assemble the
spring spacer
sleeve, upper stud,
and air fitting. You
can’t get to this stuff
later.
Probably the hardest
part of this job is
getting the top
retainer nut fished
into the gap with a
needle-nose pliers
and getting it started
on the stud. Patience
pays and yes, it can
be done.
The lower plate is aligned on
the original sway bar link
hole and settles into the Aarm. Once located you will
drill three 7/16 holes and
bolt the plate to the arm.
Swing the arm way down to
get room to drill.
Lift the A-arm and spindle
assembly up and catch the
lower strut bolt first. Then
rotate the spindle up until you
can get the upper bolt in.
The original sway bar link and hardware bolt
right back in without modification.
Looking up from under the Aarm, you can see where the
lower air spring retainer bolt in
inserted. Don’t over-tighten air
spring bolts - they are used
primarily to located the spring,
not to hold the car up.
Nothing is changed on
the top. Because the
strut tower hasn’t been
altered, you won’t have
to get the car re-aligned.
Finished and ready to roll, you
can see that there’s no
clearance problems and how
much lighter the suspension is.
That makes it more responsive.
At the rear, after
supporting the axle, you
have to get it completely
loose to get the coils out.
Take this bolt out on either
side holding the upper
trailing arm to the axle.
The springs are captured so you don’t have
to worry about them getting loose until you
drop the axle.
The shocks are removed top
and bottom. The axle won’t
drop far enough with them in
and they get in the way of the
work.
The rear axle link
must also be
dropped at the axle.
It can hang from
the rear as you
work. After the
coils are removed,
you can bolt this
and the upper
trailing arms back
on.
This shows one
side rear kit
components
including the QA-1
adjustable shock.
After assembling
the spring and
spacer sleeve, the
whole thing is lifted
up into the old
spring pocket. This
plate is slipped over
the stud and then
nutted down. Don’t
tighten it yet.
The air spring rests on a
plate and then on the
lower arm. Lift the arm
with the jack until it sits
flat.
Another plate and bolt
hold the spring to the
arm. When you have
both ends in, wiggle the
spring until you get the
best fit on both ends
and tighten the
hardware.
The shock is bolted into the
original upper bayonet
mount inside the car.
The QA-1 shock is installed with
the adjuster knob to the rear.
This prevents road rash.
Because the CoolRide kit is engineered to replace original components and use
original locations as much as possible, there’s likely to be no clearance problems
and no alteration to stock parts in the rear. However, check clearance through
the entire range of travel just to be sure - there are always exceptions to a rule.
Although there are any number of
places to locate the pumps, tank,
and RidePro solenoid operated
pressure controls, ART owner Bret
Voelkel opted for the trunk.
Inside the car, the digital
gage fits in front of the
shifter down low. From
driver’s position it is easy
to see and pressures are
shown for all four corners.
The four control switches
mount in the plate (part of
the RidePro kit) fit on top
of the console and look
stock.