I seek knowledge oh wise ones
 

Yesterday I was driving past the Ford dealership in my 2000 Expedition. I bought it 6 weeks ago before gas went through the roof. Anyway, I happened to spot this screaming red 2000 Mustang and had to have a look. To make a long story short it had 22,280 miles on it (amazing for the age) and had a polishied intake, cold air, and a custom chip. It was an agonizing choice to make (for about 8 seconds) but I traded the Expedition on the Mustang for $4 K back of book (I can't pass up a deal).

So now, for the first time in my life I have a Mustang, the 3.8L V-6, and I know little about them other than for a V-6 this one is damn quick and gets about 25 MPG.

Teach me, oh knowledgable ones, everything I need to know about all things 'Stang', for instance realizing that this will be my daily driver, what can be done to make it stronger, faster, etc, and for starters where can I get some decent seat covers (not the crap at Checker). The interior on this car is show room perfect and I want to preserve it.

Thanks in advance. I'm heading out to read through the forums.

First of all, congrats on the new stang. Oh yeah, and you should do update your sig to reflect the new ride ;).

Well, as far as fast, how fast do you wanna go? There are a few superchargers in the aftermarket for the V6 mustangs. Vortech, I think. In terms of cornering capabilities, I haven't done much work or have much experience in that area, but maybe if you post up in the corner carvers forum or even the windsor power forum, you might get more info there.

Take care. :)

Congrats on the Mustang. I have a 3.8 too. Read the posts on the Small Ponies board there is a lot there. Also I have some post under power adders where people gave a lot of advice on superchargers and turbo for the 3.8. I think Turbo will get the most power by a lot across all the rpm band and the price is not a lot different than a supercharger after you get done with it from what I can tell. Have not done it myself but did a lot of dreaming and getting prices etc.

You will need to decide if you want to go fast in a straight line or not. There is a ton of work to be done if you want a pretty good suspension and brakes. See all the posts on Corner carver. Bottom end price of good suspension system will be almost $1000 installed. Of course there are drag/launch suspensions too.

Then there is the exhaust you will need to upgrade to true dual and so it goes

Is your stang a 5 speed or automatic? Either way there are significant upgrades to the transmission possible.

Oh and the wheels and tires and the new gears and the custom chip

How much money do you have to spend? That is going to have some impact too

And then there are the people who will say why do this to a 3.8 go buy a 1998 Cobra it will be cheaper.

This is just a start of the journey you are on. Good luck it is a lot of fun and this is the place to get some advice and meet some nice people.

Oh and I forgot no decals or stickers or neon lights and definitely do not get a bigger wing on the back or one of those a-hole tail pipes. There ARE some style points to all these mods after all.

seriously though it is mostly about getting more air and fuel in quicker, mixing it well , burning the mixture right and then having a big enough exhaust to get it all back out again.

No worries
 

I have no intention of changing the overall look of the car. I realize that kind of thing is cool to the younger crowd but I'm not interested in flash, just bang. I checked around on the dual exhaust today and got some reasonable quotes, but since this will be a daily driver I don't think I'll do the turbo/supercharger route. THe gas mileage is good, and the guy that read the chip said that I had a decent one so I won't replace it either.

Suspension on the other hand is one of my pet peeves and I'm looking at options right now. I'm keeping the original wheels (because they're the originals), but I looked at several options for tires (Goodyear, Pirrelli, etc)

I took some pics today and started putting a sig together. Is there a post on how to post a pic to your sig?

You guys are great, thanks for all the help already. This is a pretty decent board.

Chad

V what?
 

Coulda had a V8...

hey I was just kidding you a little... There are a million mods for the Mustang. I don't guess there is any right way but there are a lot of opinions.

Are you going to get an H pipe. I read those give the best sound with a dual set up on a 3.8. That is vs X pipe or just something that the muffler guy comes up with.

Welcome to the Mustang world! Man, tough choice dumping the Expedition...God bless you in the snow!

Anyway, there some great guys here. Listen to mustardjohn, he will not steer you wrong and I think he speaks wisdom. He is a V-6er too!

Want some speed only when you need it and fear the cost of a blower, think about nitrous. There are some really safe ways to breath juice into cars these days.

My favorite mods are (besides ones you already have):

1 - shifter
2 - gears
3 - exhaust
4 - wheels

and, oh yeah, breath some nitrous. I would love to find someone out there who uses nitrous with the 3.8.

Congrats on the new ride!

BOOYA!!

Light Em Up!!:)

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!

Have fun man! :)

hey let me know, i just traded off my 00gt, bought an 04 v-6 , my first, i loved the gt, but the payment's were killing me, still got my 95 gt vert though. :D :D :D , it was the only way i could afford the 95, but i am suprized at the 3.8 it is pretty peppy, & better gas mileage, i drive 70 miles a day to work & back, plus i love the sonic blue, he-l y'all help me out here too lol, alway's had a v-8. :confused: :rolleyes: :D :D :D :D