2005 Mustang Steeda

When modular Mustangs debuted in 1996, we often lamented the lag time before performance parts hit the market. Fast forward to 2004 and there's no lag at all. Couple the hullabaloo surrounding the debut of the '05 Mustang with Ford's recent open-mindedness toward the aftermarket, and we suddenly have the benefit of our friends in the performance world working with measurements, technical specifications, and actual development cars ahead of the real car's release. Meaning, when you roll your '05 Mustang off the lot, you can already have a pile of parts waiting in the garage to make it your own.

At the forefront of such product development is Steeda Autosports in Pompano Beach, Florida. Steeda has long worked closely with Ford on projects such as the '93 Cobra R, the CJ-R 6.1 show car, and several others we never heard about. When Ford began its Technology Transfer program in conjunction with aftermarket trade group the Specialty Equipment Market Association, Steeda was one of the first companies to jump onboard, working up tuning technology for the then-new returnless-fuel electronics in the '99 Mustangs. Since then Steeda has been heavily involved in transferring information back and forth with Ford.

As a result, the company had intermittent access to '05 Mustangs for measuring and fitting its product. So, when its first '05 Mustang arrived in anticipation of the '04 SEMA show, Steeda already had 60 part numbers on the shelf and another 40 in the pipeline. By the time you read this, the company will have more than 100 new pieces for your '05 Mustang. The car you see here will have been ogled by thousands at the SEMA show and will be on the order sheets at Steeda dealers.

The car in question is the Screamin' Yellow Q, the latest in a line of Steeda Q Mustangs, which included the Windsor-powered Q351 and the supercharged modular Q400. The former Q-cars took their names from their respective displacements and horsepower numbers, but the latest Q obviously takes its handle from the bright hue on its bodywork. It's here where you first notice the SYQ is no stock '05 Mustang. The towering

GT-R-style wing and blacked-out cowl-induction hood exude performance intent. Subtler, but pure Steeda, is the new front splitter, which is stylistically similar to those found on New Edge Steedas, yet smoothly incorporated in the '05's retro look. Steeda's team was careful to follow the factory body lines so the splitter is legal for Grand Am competition.

Of course, the requisite Steeda stripe package and Ultra Lite wheels continue the theme, but it's under the car that Steeda's engineers really put in the hours. Handling has long been a Steeda specialty, but the all-new suspension under the '05 Mustang gave the protractor jockeys a whole new race course. From the factory, the Panhard bar and three-link rear suspension are a marked improvement over Fox platform's compromised four-link, but Steeda takes things a bit further. While offering various ways to bolster and replace the factory Panhard rod, Steeda opted for the fully adjustable Panhard rod, that allows for adjusting the rear roll center, which is necessary when the '05 is lowered.

The drop is accomplished via Steeda's new coilover Sport springs on the factory dampers. Replacing the lead-filled lower control arms are a pair of lightweight aluminum pieces with robust urethane bushings. The car is scheduled to receive a new adjustable upper link as well, but it wasn't on at the time of our shoot. A larger stabilizer bar with urethane bushings, and an upper shock-tower brace round out the Q's improved rear underpinnings.