BREAKING THE MOLD
heavy parts on my car , side scoops that people hate and I run air ride suspension while heavily racing the car . It ’ s exactly what I want it to be and people can think or say whatever they want about the car ; chances are most people who talk smack on the car are going to get their asses drug anyways .
“ Once Corsa decided to bring me on , it just kind of spiraled upward from there ,” Baker continues . “ I never thought the car would take off the way it did and I don ’ t even think we are close to finished yet . This car is such a great platform and thanks to Corsa , Hypermotive , VMP , Fastlane and Cervini ’ s , the car has become something I never imagined . Cervini ’ s gave the car a makeover with a new front lip , Auto Designs Stalker Hood , Wing and Side Scoops , and it is the most killer look of any car , in my opinion , it makes it aggressive and very appealing .”
With the domino effect in full swing , Baker was adding part after part .
Full Corsa Performance Exhaust , Stainless Works longtube headers with Performance Connect off-road pipes , a full VMP Gen II Stage 3 Kit , Injector Dynamics ID 1300 Fuel Injectors , Fore Innovations L3 returnstyle fuel system , ARP head studs , and Drive Shaft Shop 1400-horsepower , half-shaft axles rank among the many modifications .
One modification in particular stands out , though . Most hardcore drag racers go for the traditional drag suspension setups , but not Baker , who decided to incorporate an Air Lift Performance V2 Digital Kit with Viking double-adjustable ‘ Warrior ’ shocks and hasn ’ t looked back since doing it .
“ People are shocked when they hear I run an air suspension setup ,” Baker says . “ Guys that talk smack on air ride have never used it before . I don ’ t believe by any means that my Air Lift suspension is a limiting factor at all right now . It ’ s a 4300-pound , six-speed car that ’ s been to the drag strip running 20-inch wheels on radials while making mid 10-second passes ; that should be a testament to the performance of the bag setup .
“ We honestly haven ’ t run into any issues at all . I ’ ve had the kit on the car for two years and it ’ s gone through so much abuse . My stance on the subject is that I honestly think it gives me a little bit of an advantage because it ’ s so much easier for me to adjust on the fly and get the car to transfer weight correctly .
“ Hypermotive and I talked with Steve at UPR Products to see how we could do this the correct way and we decided to throw some Viking Shocks on the back , because we didn ’ t think the stock shocks would be suitable for what we needed . We then went and took a whole day at the track , test hit after test hit and watched videos from behind the car . After each hit we adjusted the rebound and compression until we got it just right . Now we have settings specifically for the track and the car just squats , goes , and makes it look effortless . It ’ s definitely easier and less time consuming than constantly adjusting a set of coilovers . I just press a button and it adjusts — plus I can make it over a speed bump or two if I need to .”
For the Honey Badger ’ s future , Baker is already making quite a few changes leading into the 2018 racing season . He originally was looking to run a nine-second pass on the supercharger setup , but has since decided to move forward and swap it out for twin-turbochargers . He has switched out the OEM brakes for Baer Deep Stage SS4 + Drag brakes front and rear to fit new 17-inch Weld Racing Alumastars up front and 15-inch Weld single-beadlock RTS S71bs in the rear . Also , he will be changing out the stock transmission for a built TR6060 from Ben Calimer Transmissions .
“ The MT82 in the Mustang has a bad reputation for some reason ; it ’ s
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