KeithC

Hello ALL
Am new to the mustang world and to the forums. Purchased my first mustang 2 weeks ago. (2004, GT Convt). Been looking at the forums for info. on initial hp mods for low bucks and have many questions. Most advise is to get CAI,gears, and exhaust first. How do I determine which gears are right for me? 373,410, or 390's? Which would best suit my needs? Street use. What are catbacks? Straight pipes or 2 chambered? X pipe or other? Do I need a tuner when implementing these mods? Any advise would be great and I am looking forward to chatting with other members.
Thanks
K.C.

mrtstang

If your car doesn't see a lot of highway miles, and isn't going to see a big power increase (beyond bolt on stuff) 4.10 gears might be your best bet for all around fun and performance. If you think you might want a blower down the road 3.73's or 3.90's might be a better choice.

The main difference between chambered and straight through mufflers, and x and h pipes, is mainly the sound. Performance gains between them all is minuscule.

Gears and a tune are your best basic performance mods, with exhaust being next.

HEAVYMETALMATT

On a GT I would go 4.10's. On the intake, JLT is the best I have used, ever. X-pipes are the preferred mid-pipe in the Mustang community. Mufflers are really a personal preference kind of thing. Go on youtube and find the sound you like. A tuner isn't a must, but you can't go wrong. For one, the GT comes with a weak 87 octane tune. Also, you can adjust for gears and off road pipes so that your speedo stays right and you dont throw codes.

KeithC

Thanks!! Helps alot.

BKAT-MACH

Welcome to the fun.

Exhaust is really all preference. If you want loud exhaust, or quiet, or somewhere in the middle. Listen to youtube clips to see what you like. All basically give similar power gains. For me I prefer X-pipe, and most people will. If your looking to do headers in the future, hold off on the X-pipe, so you can get the matching pair. I prefer kooks, and nothing else.

As for gears. 3.73's are safe for your car, where you'll notice a big difference, but not kill you highway driving. 410's are what I'm going to do in my mach, because I race at the track a lot.

As for tune, you can't go wrong with a SCT tuner. It smooths, out all yours mods, and makes them work together, and will give you decent power gains. Also most shops like to work with SCT, and if you ever get her dyno tuned, you'll need a tuner, and then you'll see some real gains.

Hope I helped!