Here's my short, cliff notes version, 10 minute reply. Stay tuned for the long version shortly once I have a little time to compile some information.
See my responses in red. Someone feel free to forward this to Jack Hidley.
MM tech support comparing the MM IRS kit to the FTBR kit:
The comparison listed above from the FTBR website contains quite bit of incorrect information about MM products. Well maybe in the eyes of MM but let's take a look at the facts.
The actual price for the MM IRS upper and lower Delrin control arm bushings is $498.68. This includes the tools to install the bushings which are an essential requirement to get the job done.
Some people like to save money and drill the bushings out themselves without using removal tools. We give the customers the option, MM does not!!
IRS Rear Grip Package - The Basics [MMRG-20] : Maximum Motorsports, the Latemodel Mustang Performance Suspension Leader!
The price for the FTBR IRS upper and lower Delrin control arm bushings is $410. This does not include the price of the required tools to install the bushings. This costs an additional $70. This brings the total cost to $480. A 3.9% difference, $18.68.
There is a $60 refund on the FTBR tools when they are returned to us. MM offers NO REFUND on tools.
The comparison of the differential mounts is invalid. The quoted kit from MM (MMIRSB-40) is not a bushing replacement, but a complete mount replacement made of aluminum. This is a very high strength design that will not break at any power level. The gear cover housing will break first. All of the components in the kit are aluminum and will therefore conduct more gear noise into the IRS subframe.
This rear mount from MM actually doubles the NVH transferred into the passenger compartment because BOTH the front and rear of the differential is mounted solidly by aluminum mounts. The FTBR rear mount isolates NVH utilizing a Delrin isolated rear mount in the OEM bracket. In addition the FTBR rear Delrin differential support works with the two major aftermarket replacement covers, Fore and LPW. The MM rear mount DOES NOT!!!
IRS differential mounts, aluminum, pinion angle adjustable [MMIRSB-40.1] : Maximum Motorsports, the Latemodel Mustang Performance Suspension Leader!
The more suitable kit to compare the FTBR differential bushing kit to would be the MMIRSB-45 ($50.58). This is a polyurethane bushing replacement kit with installations tools. It is $104.42 cheaper than the FTBR equivalent. This is complete and total BS. They want to compare the cost of their poly bushings to our aluminum parts? How crazy is that!?!? They are comparing some cheap poly bushings that cost them $2.00 each to our machined aluminum!??! Are they serious. Besides who in their right mind would put poly anything in an IRS? Nobody I know!!!
IRS differential mounts, urethane, complete kit [MMIRSB-45] : Maximum Motorsports, the Latemodel Mustang Performance Suspension Leader!
With regards to the MMIRSTR-1 tie rod kit. This kit does not include higher strength inner tie rod tubes as most customer do not need these. The higher strength inner tie rod tubes are primarily needed by drag racers and cars involved in wheel to wheel racing. Slight wheel to wheel contact will bend the OEM inner tie rods. For most customers using their car for street use, they aren't needed. The customer is better off spending that money somewhere else on the car. That is why we sell two different tie rod replacement kits.
Telling people with 600, 700 or 800 rear wheel horsepower that they can run that crappy OEM toe link is laughable.
On the subject of the inner tie rod tubes themselves, we use aluminum for a good reason. The IRS uprights are no longer serviced by Ford. In an accident or collision, you need something in the system to be a fuse so the steering arm or inner subframe mounts are not damaged. That is the job of the inner tie rod tube.
Ok, then how do they explain offering their MMIRSTR-2 that INCLUDES a stronger toe link???
On the subject of the studs and spacers included in the tie rod kit itself. We have designed and manufactured custom parts for both of these applications. The studs are made of the correct steel alloy,Ours as well! with proper hardening, stress relieving and thread rolling. They are expensive to manufacture. The spacers are made of high strength steel alloy to allow the nuts to be torqued to a high enough level to give the stud the proper amount of stretch. Without the proper amount of stretch in the stud, the nuts can come loose when the stud is subjected to radial loads from cornering. Once the nut comes loose, the steering arm can fail very quickly or the outer tie rod can fall off. These are parts where cutting any corners in the design or manufacturing is unacceptable as they allow the driver to control or not control the direction of the vehicle. No worries there. No failed FTBR toe links kits yet to date!
We've tested plenty of competitors bumpsteer studs and spacers that just mushroomed when torqued to the proper amount of stretch.
On the subject of the IRS subframe to chassis mounting bolts. Why would you want to install the wrong bolts in the car, even if they were a total of $5.97 cheaper? Ford has almost completely purged the car of English fasteners, so you can work on the car with one set of tools. I don't want to use two sets of tools. For a total cost difference of $5.97 you get real OEM Ford bolts and nuts from MM with the proper flanged heads, shank diameter and much better corrosion resistance than a generic zinc plated grade 8 bolt.A 9/16" Grade 8 bolt is .010" larger diameter than a 14mm bolt and it ALSO HAS A HIGHER TENSILE STRENGTH THAN THE BOLT MM OFFERS. Better corrosion resistance?!?!! Please. By the time a 9/16" Grade 8 bolt fails from corrosion it will be SEVERAL DECADES!
On the subject of the polyurethane subframe bushings. We use the appropriate bushing material for the appropriate application. In the case of the upper control arms as an example, you must use a very stiff material as the bushings are very close to each other. The moment (torque) applied to the bushing pair has a lot of leverage on them, so they must be made of a stiff material to resist deflection.
On the other hand, the subframe bushings are very far apart, so much less bushing stiffness is needed to keep deflection to a designed level. The custom polyurethane we use is several times stiffer than the OEM rubber bushings. This limits deflection to an acceptable level. I've had far too many bad experiences with poly. It's a cheap and crappy material. We use UHMW for a reason, Sean Hyland makes SOLID ALUMINUM bushings and Kenny Brown offer a solid mounted rear hard mount. If you don't mind your subframe moving around in your chassis then you could settle for some cheap poly bushings. I don't want poly in my car.
What about using an incompressible (very stiff) bushing material in the IRS subframe mounting locations? There are at least two major problems with this.
1) NVH. The subframe bushings are the last series element between the road and the body of the car. The amount of NVH that they transmit to the body is a function of their stiffness. If you make them out of aluminum, Delrin, etc they are going to conduct much more NVH into the body. The correct durometer polyurethane in this case gives acceptablely low NVH and low deflection for good handling. There is no free lunch here.
2) Installation. The IRS subframe is a large weldment. The exact location of the four mounting tubes is not that well controlled. Installing the first two bushings and getting the bolts to go through the holes in the chassis is not that difficult. To get the second pair of bolts into the chassis holes can be a challenge. When you have an incompressible bushing in the subframe, this job can very very difficult. You may need to use a ratchet strap to bent the subframe into position. This is not fun when you are trying to hold up 150lbs+ of IRS stuff. If the subframe bushings allow some deflection, this job becomes much easier. This is why Ford installed M12 bolts at one end of the subframe from the factory. It added enough slop to make the installation easier. This is precisely why we also include shimming washers with our subframe bushing sets to take up any slack and excess space in the subframe mounts.
The $332 cost savings quoted is pure fiction. It is made not using the actual MM component prices. It is made comparing oranges to apples in terms of products. When one accurately compares the prices of the various IRS kits, in some cases the MM prices are lower, in some the FTBR prices are lower, but this is primarily a function of how the products are grouped. In most cases it is not possible to do an apples to apples comparison.
So if you don't want to buy or rent removal tools you have the option when you choose FTBR as your IRS bushing kit vendor. If you want to save money and not get the tools and drill your bushings out you have the choice with FTBR but not MM. If MM wants to compare a cheap $2.00 (their cost) differential poly bushing to our aluminum machined bushing, I don't think anyone is going to buy that.
I guess my little bushing kit hobby has gotten under the skin of our biggest competitor. Let's let the customers decide who has the better kit!
Sincerely,
Bruce and Steve
Full Tilt Boogie Racing
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Jack Hidley
Maximum Motorsports Tech Support
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