Tarantula_Keeper

I'm looking to add some mods to my 05 mustang gt 5spd. I've owned the car since June of 08 and never done anything to it, so I'm assuming it's still stock. I've got about $1200 in extra funds, so I figured I'd add some mods to make my mustang a little faster. Now as far as mods and tuning go, I'm pretty much a noob. The mods/bolt ons I was thinking about adding were the Pypes Black Pype-Bomb Axle-Back exhaust and the JLT CAI & SF3 Tuner they have on AM. Now I spoke to my friend who knows way more about this stuff than me and showed him the SF3 tuner and he told me that I shouldn't get it since it's a preloaded tune that's made up from previous cars and not all cars are the same. He said what I need is an actual dyno tune instead since they'd be remapping my ECU after each pull. Now my friend isn't really familiar with mustangs, he's much more familiar with Honda and Mitsubishi. I realize those are completely different but I still trust his opinion enough to listen to him. My question is, is he right? Is the SF3 tuner not worth the money compared to a dyno tune when you don't actually have to buy a handheld tuner? I've read a lot of people on different mustang forums saying they recommend the intake/tuner combo on AM. Which is better and the best bang for your buck, the dyno tune or the handheld tuner? And if you could tell me why one is better than the other I'd appreciate it too, as I said I'm pretty much a noob on this subject.

Thanks, David

Roush05

save some more and supercharge it.

Your friend is partially correct. The 'canned' tunes that come with the tuner aren't good for much. however, if you get the 'free tunes for life' deal from AM, they will send you custom tunes any time you add a new mod. Getting dyno tuned after every new mod would get real expensive, real fast.

cfr865

You don't need a dyno tune with these mods. When you purchase the tuner along with the cold air package you will get your choice of three different octane tunes,Am. is a good as is Brenspeed. This addition will make a positive difference in performance over stock tune.

cfr865

Alos the exhaust mods. you mention will not add to your performance, it will be sound only. A coastline driveshaft would be money better spent.

HxCGuitars

The exhaust you're buying will be mostly sound rather than performance fyi. For what it's worth, though, I love the way my Pype Bombs sound. Also, I noticed a huge difference with my intake and tune from AM. I absolutely love it. Normally the "canned" tunes do suck, but the ones from AM are custom. You're friend isn't necessarily wrong, but the Mustang 'world' is a bit different.

Happy modding

808muscle

AM and brenspeed have great tunes with the SCT. You were smart to come here and do your own research than to listen to a non mustang guy. You best bet for power is getting a supercharger but if that is too far out of the budget for now a CAI and tuner will do wonderful things. Other great mods are 4.10 gears, longtubes and eventually maybe cams.

Tarantula_Keeper

Thank you everyone for the advice and insight. Unfortunaty, a supercharger is a bit out of my budget. Plus I don't really want to add that much stress to a motor that's 8 years old and over 66,000 miles on it. I'd rather stay N/A. Now, I know my friend isn't too knowledgeable when it comes to mustangs, but his main concern with the SCT tuner was the same as mine. With running preloaded maps/tunes, wouldn't they be setup to run a little rich just to be on the safe side since all cars are different? Or should I not even be concerned about that? And as far as those exhaust tips I mentioned go, I think I'd rather save up for a full exhaust instead. Maybe I'll be better off getting like a throttle body instead, since that would still be within my budget.

808muscle

Forget the throttle body they do nothing unless you got a big blower setup. Tunes from AM , brenspeed will be very safe tunes. They really know their stuff. I am running a so called canned blower tune myself with no problems. You don't need a Dyno tune at all.

Tarantula_Keeper

Ok. But the throttle body is useless without a blower? I was under the impression that it would help get rid of throttle lag, which I do get from time to time. If a throttle body isn't needed, then what other simple, easy to install bolt ons would you recommend in the $400-500 price range that could give me a little extra power? Also, if those tunes are pretty safe then I should be able to run just the race setting only and not have to worry about things failing as long as I'm not constantly driving like a fool right? And I should be able to use that setting with primarily 91 octane only as opposed to 93 also with no problems right? Sorry for all the questions, I'm still getting used to figuring all this stuff out.

wayne613

I regularly "drive like a fool" with mine, so long as I feel it's semi-safe to do so. No burn-outs or the like, but I constantly gun it. So long as you keep the maintenance up, nothing should happen N/A other than drawing the attention of people that like to hand out tickets. Aside from the obvious of wearing things out a little sooner than usual.

You're pretty much at the zone I was in when spending. CAI/tuner, and 4.10 gears from a local reputable shop that does this kind of work(although you may wish to do 3.73) put the price-tag around $1000 total. Figure a bit under $600 for gears with install, $400 for tuner and CAI with custom tune. A race tune will chew up your spark plugs far quicker from what I noticed though. Not a biggie, just something to keep in mind. 66k on my car. (replaced plugs about 600mi ago).

Throttle lag should be gone after a good tune. And/or after you clean your throttle-body and MAF sensor.

There are odd things here and there that will help aside from exhaust mods after what's already mentioned, but other than cams N/A'd, electric water pump, and UDP's(under-drive pullies), it's mainly all about getting it to the road better with LCA's, shocks, springs, etc.

Long tubes really don't seem to be worth it unless you're looking at dyno numbers, as you lose some power on the lower RPM end. You gain it back and then some as the RPMs go up, but the usual overall gain is from changing out the entire exhaust system when doing LTs. That would eat up your entire budget, likely more. Although you may find, even best case the shorties not to be worth it. Think normal gain for them is like 3-8rwhp, as it just smooths out from the stock ones, and might improve scavenging a bit. LTs obviously will do more overall, but with a much larger cost involved, and usually losing a bit on the low end due to lack of back-pressure.