First Stang - 04 GT

[Narshadda]

Hey all,

First off I wanted to say thanks for the tons of information that everyone posts. It has been a very humbling experience.

I purchased my first Mustang last week. It is a black 04 GT with the 40th anniversary package. I have read most of the posts pertaining to bolt on performance and I have a few questions for all of you.

My plans are to add parts over time since I have a family and can't put every penny towards the car just yet. My plans are to build up to a supercharger. I'd like to do things in an order that would make sense and at the same time prepare the car for the supercharger.

I have the following things noted in order of installation so far:

1. Remove Air Silencer (Done - noticed some power at high RPM's)
2. Installed a K&N cone filter (Done - nicer sound)
3. Cat Back Exhaust - Flowmaster American Thunder
4. X-Pipe (Not sure which one)
5. Headers (Long tube? Shortys? - Not sure which one or why)
6. Underdrive Pulleys
7. Suspension Kit
8. Motormounts (not sure if I need them)
9. 3.55 Gears /Speedcal (I do a bit of Highway driving)
10. Short Shift Kit
11. Brake Kit
12. Cams
13. Bigger Injectors
14. Bigger Fuel Pump
15. 75mm Throttle Body and Plenum
16. Matching CAI for 75mm Throttle Body
17. Computer Chip/Mod
17. Supercharger
Please let me know if this order makes sense or if in you think other things should be in there, shifted around or removed. I am still ways away since this will be a costly project.

Needless to say, I love my Stang and I am anxious to participate in such an enthusiastic community.

Thanks ahead of time,
Narsh

[bigwhitecobra]

Originally Posted by Narshadda

Hey all,

First off I wanted to say thanks for the tons of information that everyone posts. It has been a very humbling experience.

I purchased my first Mustang last week. It is a black 04 GT with the 40th anniversary package. I have read most of the posts pertaining to bolt on performance and I have a few questions for all of you.

My plans are to add parts over time since I have a family and can't put every penny towards the car just yet. My plans are to build up to a supercharger. I'd like to do things in an order that would make sense and at the same time prepare the car for the supercharger.

I have the following things noted in order of installation so far:

1. Remove Air Silencer (Done - noticed some power at high RPM's)
2. Installed a K&N cone filter (Done - nicer sound)
3. Cat Back Exhaust - Flowmaster American Thunder
4. X-Pipe (Not sure which one)
5. Headers (Long tube? Shortys? - Not sure which one or why)
6. Underdrive Pulleys
7. Suspension Kit
8. Motormounts (not sure if I need them)
9. 3.55 Gears /Speedcal (I do a bit of Highway driving)
10. Short Shift Kit
11. Brake Kit
12. Cams
13. Bigger Injectors
14. Bigger Fuel Pump
15. 75mm Throttle Body and Plenum
16. Matching CAI for 75mm Throttle Body
17. Computer Chip/Mod
17. Supercharger
Please let me know if this order makes sense or if in you think other things should be in there, shifted around or removed. I am still ways away since this will be a costly project.

Needless to say, I love my Stang and I am anxious to participate in such an enthusiastic community.

Thanks ahead of time,
Narsh

Welcome to the club, so to speak. Ok here are a few thoughts:

1. As far as the gear and speed cal go, save your money and get a custom chip burned and have the gear compensation done that way. It'll be cheaper in the long run, and you can reflash it as many times as needed.

2. Flowmasters rob power. I have seen gains of 20 horses on supercharged cars that ditch the flow-crappers for a MAC set up. Just my $0.02.

3. If going with a supercharger, the underdrives will come off when you install the blower. So again, pointless in the long run.

4. No need to change your motor mounts if they are not deserving. Save some money man.

5. What do you mean by a suspension kit? Rear control arms? Tubular K-member? Coil over suspension?

6. Headers.......Long tubes or nothing. Don't even waste your time with anything else. It all costs about the same in the end. So get what you like. The long tubes give a better sound, and give better power.

7. MAC offers a CAI kit for your car with a bigger MAF. Again, save money.

Whenever you get to the point of buying all this stuff, call my shop and I'll be glad to point you in the right direction.

Again, welcome to the board.

[Narshadda]

Thanks a bunch for the reply.
I like the grunt that the flowmasters put out, I'll have to check out the MAC exhaust sounds on www.mustangexhaust.com
I'll have to check to see if my local shop carries the exhaust and all but if they don't, I'll definitely give you a buzz.
I am going to do the exhaust this month, and I was thinking of following up with the underdrive pullies for the time being. The supercharger is at least a year away and I would like to have a bit more power.
What I meant by the suspension kit is I would like to do the springs, shocks, roll bar etc. all in one shot. I saw mustangtuning.com and just like Ford Racing had a suspension or handling package that included everything so that is where I got the idea from.
Thanks again for replying it was definitely a big help.

-Enrique

[bigwhitecobra]

No problem. I would recommend a UPR suspension kit. I have some of their pieces on my car, but have installed many pieces on customers' cars and have had nothing but good experiances with them. As I get a better plan of attack on my car, as to what I entend to compete in with it, I will make a decision as what to do with the suspension. For now, a set of adjustable upper and lower control arms, sub-frame connectors, and some caster camber plates should be on your list, as they are on mine. After that, it would depend on what you wanted to do with the car. Autocross, Road course, drag strip, daily driver, weekend warrior. You get the idea. Anyway, glad to help and feel free to call anytime you like. I can let you hear the MAC kit on my car if you would like also.

Later.

[Narshadda]

Thanks again for the help.

I listened to the MAC exhaust and it did sound a bit more open in terms of airflow. I saw the packages you had on your site and was very impressed with the pricing. I may be taking advantage of that!

My car is a daily driver. I don't have intentions of running it, I just love having that grunt and power at my disposal. That is why the supercharger is way down on my list.

Thanks again for the help,
Narsh

[bigwhitecobra]

Glad I could help. Let me know if you need anything.

[2000saleen]

i'm not sure exactly what kind of supercharger your looking for or anything but here's an idea get saleen or roots supercharger, chicane sport tuning in torrenca, cali. makes a pulley for the supercharger that increases the boost to 9-11 lbs. also they make an intake called the ripp kit with add's 8-12 hp over the mac intake which comes stock on saleens so it's probably adding close to 15-17 hp. they also make an intercooler that add's 27-50 hp. as far as exhaust don't go with flowmaster it does sound nice, however a complete magnaflow system with x pipe high flow cats and magnaflow magnapax's sounds amazing on a mustang, for brakes i'd just buy a set of cobra brakes. and the computer i'd go with the sct stage 2 programmer. also if you plan to do this stuff yourself i'd definetely consider the shorty headers.

[Narshadda]

Thanks again for the replies fellas.

The blower is in scope but pretty far off. (2 years min).

My immediate plans:

Tonight(3/13): Ford Racing 70mm Throttle Body
Tomorrow(3/14): Eibach Springs
Thurs(3/16):Steeda Tri-Ax
Next week: Pulleys - I think the guy at the shop was full of it, I compared the pulleys to what I saw on line and they look nothing like aftermarket pulleys. (Still have that rounded edge at the crank) If they aren't, I am going to get them put on.

After Summer: Complete Exhaust(Long Tubes, X-pipe, Catback) I am thinking MAC from what I have heard, but I still have some research to do. If anyone has any site that includes performance (Dyno) numbers, please feel free to post them.

Thanks again,
Narsh

[Narshadda]

Oh yeah, I'll probably squeeze the 3.73's in there as well....

[bigwhitecobra]

Sounds like a real good plan. Hope it works out for you.

[Narshadda]

Hey all,

I swapped out the Throttle Body an hour ago. Man, it isn't a monsterous difference, but it pulls harder and is a lot smoother than before. There is a noticeable difference at 4000 RPM, it climbs to redline a lot faster. Definitely worth the $$$.

Thanks again for all the advice. Now that I graduated to junior inexperienced mechanic, I will be tackling the Triax. I'll keep you guys posted.

-Narsh