Roush05

I have been looking around a bit at cars that already have work done to them, and it raised another question. I found one on eBay that has a Paxton Novi making ~680/510 with no forged internals. I don't want quite that much power, but it made me wonder how the clutch holds up on these. According to the mod list, it still had the stock clutch in it. I don't see many mentions of upgraded clutches on cars in this power range, so I'm guessing they're pretty stout as well.

P51C

Yeah, true. The only thing the stock clutch doesn't like too much is elevated rev limits. The Paxton kit has a huge head unit, easily able to support 1000 horse. The Vortech I have caps out at about 750 but, I was hoping for friendly street manners and that's why i picked it. Each will blow a stock short block into the ether if you pulley down and tune aggressively. Both can be tuned conservatively and be totally safe.

P/V kits come with lots of room to grow without buying additional stuff. Huge IC core, big charge pipes, larger MAF X-section already on blow through. The included 47 pound injectors will be the first to tap out, at about 600 wheel, a little more with a fuel system and/or boost a pump.

You can buy a new tuner P/V kit with ID1000 injectors on the right day for $4500 and have the tuner of your choice pop a tune on it, if you have an X3 or 4 SCT already. Used SCTs are a dime a dozen on the internet if you don't. Just make sure it is unmarried before shelling out cash.

Roush05

I am in the same boat as you were in terms of twin screw vs centri. If I can find a car with a Whipple or something already installed and it can pass my checklist, I'll probably go for it. If I'm doing it myself, I will almost certainly go with a paxton or vortech due to the price difference. I do love a good whine, but power is power. I should have no problem finding an SCT. There are also a lot of good tuners in this area that I could contact.

I would feel safest at 550 ish, since I might drive it to work and back. Time is dragging by lately, since I have a date in mind for when I will start actively shopping. Sorry if I'm rambling, I really appreciate all your help.

P51C

Right in the middle of the tune, datalog, tweak, datalog, tweak cycle that characterizes tuning something like this. It'll be worth it in the end though, as the setup will be suited more precisely to my desires.

Roush05

Yeah, for sure.

I ended up buying a certified pre-owned 2014 GT/CS simply because there weren't any FI cars around this area. I'm looking into tuning and basic mods for now. I'm getting mixed answers when I search about CAIs though. Some people say the stock airbox is more than enough, while some people are claiming anywhere from 20-40 rwhp gain with a CAI over a stock airbox. Should I buy a CAI or is that a waste of money?

P51C

Let's put it this way: I ran 11.91 at 115 through the stock airbox, filter and exhaust, on a fully loaded BBP GT, on the mildest tune out there (Procal 91). So, I don't think the factory CAI is a bottleneck. In fact, I'm using the factory CAI on my blower setup. An aftermarket CAI might be worth a couple ponies there there but n/a? NFW. It's all in the tune.

Roush05

That's what I thought from what I had read, but the few reviews saying there was a large difference in power made me think it prudent to at least ask. 11.91 is pretty stout! I'm going to get Shaun at AED to tune mine once I get a tuner in. If I'm not going to spend money on a CAI, I wonder if I should get some gt500 axlebacks or if I should wait until I want to run a full exhaust. I know somewhere that I could get them for about $180 shipped and I know it's a good deal. It would either be axlebacks, something for the suspension, or the money would go in the fund for new wheels/tires. As a side note, I wonder what the market value for stock GT/CS wheels on new Pirellis is.

P51C

If you can get genuine gt 500 axlebacks for 180 shipped, grab them then sound fantastic, aren't loud or obnoxious. The car should have come with them.

Make sure they are the right ones. The need to have a ball clamp joint on the inlet end or you are cutting and welding.

Thrashard340

Agree with P51C that factory airbox is sufficient in your case, but my reasoning is a bit different. Since you plan on upgrading to a FI later, most FI kits will come with their own CAI. My Whipple kit came with its own CAI and pretty much every stage 2 and 3 kits from various manufacturers will include the CAI.

As for exhaust, I started with GT500 AB with resonators cut out for straight pipe. Before I had the Whipple installed, I upgraded the exhaust to a full 3" Flowmaster cat back kit. To be honest, I wish I would've done this in the beginning to save myself the cost of the GT500 AB ($275 at the time) and $100 to cut the resonators out. In hindsight, I wish I would've just used the $375 towards a good cat back kit. As P51C also pointed out, $180 is a good buy. Although IMHO, you may want to shop around for a full 3" cat back as a first mod.

I spoke with Shaun as well. His shop is about an hour and a half from me. I plan to have him do the tuning and he knows his stuff. If I recall, one of the early Coyote projects he worked on utilized a stock airbox and drop-in K&N filter and still made good power. It was eventually upgraded with a CAI, but this is now also a full bolt-on E85 car...which is a different end-result than what you want to ultimately do to your car.

Thrashard340

Oh...and congrats on your 2014 GT/CS!