Saturday, May 9, 2015

Big Performance Changes Coming to Shelby GT350 and GT350R Suspension

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2015 Bold Ride LLC.
 
ford shelby gt350 specs photo

The 2015 Ford Mustang has proven to be a great take on an already classic pony car recipe. Judging by the latest technical news from Ford, the 2016 Shelby Mustang GT350 and GT350R look to launch that performance further in some pretty key ways. 
 
Ford has announced the performance-tuned duo will receive substantial changes to their brakes, wheels, and tires in their transformation to Shelby GT350 and GT350R trim, but the most radical alterations will occur in the suspension.



ford shelby gt350 suspension photo

The new Shelbys fit aluminum front knuckle, hub and bearing assemblies – stiffer and lighter than the standard units – as well as rigid control arm bushings, uprated front and rear antiroll bars, revised shock tower bracing, and for the first time on a Ford vehicle – continuously variable MagneRide suspension. Iron particles live within the car’s dampers and when introduced to an electric current, the MagneRide system can adjust the suspension in a near instantaneous seven milliseconds.

Just so you know Ford isn’t throwing random parts at the car, the development team went as far to fit one side of the rear suspension with a counter-wound spring in order to mirror the opposite side identically.



ford shelby gt350 brakes image

Stopping power on the GT350 and GT350R comes courtesy of race-inspired floating brakes. The two-piece, cross-drilled rotors – a hefty 394mm in the front and 380mm in the rear – will be paired with six- and four-piston Brembo calipers, respectively. On the GT350 cars, 19-inch alloy wheels will come dressed in GT350-specifc Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires. On the hardcore GT350R, the wheels are fabricated from carbon-fiber and weigh 50 pounds less than the road car’s versions.

As previously noted, these 2016 cars will be rare but their 2015 limited-run counterparts will be unobtainium. In honor of the 1965 Shelby GT350’s anniversary, a scant 100 Shelby GT350s will receive 2015 VIN numbers, along with an even rarer 37 GT350R models.

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