swat 79

Hey guys, I've been following your forum for a good month now and am very impressed with how fell with forum functions. You all seem very knowledgeable and helpful, so hopefully you guys (and girls) can give me hand.

Right now I have a 2005 cadillac cts, and although I treat it better then I treat myself, it doesn't have the power or all weather handling I am looking for, and the 100k warranty prevents me from fixing the former.

I am most interested in a 2005-2007 mustang gt, for around 15-19k with under 37000 miles. I realize that this car is just as bad in the snow, but I live in nj, so the power more then makes up for the 8 days of the year it will snow and I'll have to borrow someones truck. I do have some questions however. Mind you, this car will also be my daily driver.

Is there a power difference between the manual and automatic transmission? I have never driven a stick before, but I'm eager to learn.

Is there a benefit to overdrive? What does it do?

I'm not sure about going the cai + tune route, however I was interested in a k&n intake, along with the corsa performance exhaust system, bbk throttle body spacer, and possible headers (are they illegal in nj?) I do not plan on going forced induction for quite some time, however I am all for using bolt-ons to get the most out of my car without taking that big step. What could my suspected gains be, at best, to the crank or to the wheels (just specify)

How is this car as a daily driver? Are there any minor issues that continual bother you if driven daily?

And lastly, what don't you like about the car? After reading the threads on here, it seems that everyone loves their car (as long as they have the v8 lol) to death, and rightfully so, but what issues would you want to fix or have been made aware of before you bought the car? Blind spots? Squeking? ect.


Thanks for your help, and hopefully you can help me make this decision, for I am very much on the fence.

Nuke

Welcome to the forum. We're all "impossible" Mustang owners: impossible to please, impossible to reason with, yada yada (at least it often SEEMS that way! LOL!).


My comments:

1. Don't bother with the BBK TB spacer. It's a waste of money and does jack-chit.
2. The CAI & tune is the biggest-bang-for-the-buck power adder short of going FI. IMO, you're a fool for doing any other mods before the CAI & tune combo. Just doing a CAI gives you perhaps 10-20% of the power from the combo so don't skimp.
3. There are a number of issues with our S197's so I suggest you read through the forum and use the search feature. None of them are deal killers, IMO.
4. I can't speak for the auto tranny and again, IMO, the manual is way more fun to drive (one of the "impossible" topics).
5. There's nothing I don't really, really like about these cars except Ford could have done a little better with the RWHP #'s despite the car still being easy to mod and a decent street beast on average.
6. The Stang CAN be a cop magnet. Watch yourself but DO have fun!

08SGT

i agree 100 percent with everything said above. deff get a stick its alot more fun to drive and its noth hard to learn. i am 19 this *mustang gt * is my first car and i had never drove a stick befor but i had a friend show me how and it is easy i picked it up less in less then a week and i have had it for 4 5 months now.

mine is a DD and it does fine. *im in pa* you just have to take it slow and be mindful and careful

headers should not be illegal as long as they are shorties. im not sure on the laws in nj so do not take my word for it.

swat 79

Ok guys, thanks, keep the advice coming...So the tune seems to be a must have, but I have a question, if i get headers and a new exhaust after i get the cai and tune, will I need to re-tune the car, or will it adjust automatically? I know a decent amount about cars and what not, but nothing about tunes, so any help there would be great too

08SGT

the CAI you will need a tune because the AFR will run to lean the headers and the new exhaust you will not need a tune

JD57

If it is a daily driver in alot of traffic I would get the auto. I drove a stick in LA for 3 years and really got tired of it. I have had no problems with mine yet.

wingman75

There are CAIs out there that don't need a tune. Mine is a Granatelli and didn't need a tune but I did eventually get a custom dyno tune and am glad I did. Its definitely the first power mod to do. If you ask what problems we have with these cars you will get several but everyone doesn't have them so don't think they are universal problems or it will be an unjust evaluation of these cars. I personally have not had any issues that would have to be addressed by the dealer so I am very happy with mine. One thing that I can tell you is to be careful until you are familiar with the car, assuming a GT that is. Too much power on entering a corner and you might find yourself fishtailing. Learn the car and this will not be a problem.

gatkins94

I have both...an Auto, and a Manual. The manual is more fun to drive, but if I had to do a LOT of city driving, I think I would recommend the Auto. As far as that tranny goes, it's about the most impressive Automatic tranny I've ever driven!!! It's amazing how it moves from 1st to 5th!!! Other than that, the other questions you had, I agree with the responses you have already.

Nuke

If you DO decide on an automatic, then the CAI & tune combo is all that more important. The custom tunes will improve the shift patterns of the tranny amongst all the other driveability improvements.

owero01

If you can save up and have it all done at the same time, then the tune will give you better performance. I know it will be hard to wait, but if you can. I have had mine since November of 05 and the only issue I had was with the Shaker 500. I'm loving it more each day.