Madrox

So far, my mods are:

Airaid CAI
GT take off muffler (single exhaust)
Bama 87 octane performance tune

Also keep in mind, my car has a manual transmission.

I have researched a bit, and found that headers seem like the next step to horsepower gain that is actually affordable for me. The reason I am looking at shorties rather than long tube headers, is because I'd really rather not have anything cut off or have to buy a new mid pipe. The headers I found appear to have great reviews: http://www.americanmuscle.com/pacese...ck-0510v6.html

What I would like to know is if this is a worthy purchase or a waste of time/money? How much torque am I looking at with an updated tune, roughly? My Stang is a daily driver, and reliability is also important to me.

Or perhaps there is a more effective mod I should look into first?

I know many may try to suggest dual exhaust conversion, but from what I've read, it nets fairly little power for the cost, and I'm quite happy with the way my car sounds as it is.

yourmom6990

You'll notice a gain, but it's not going to be HUGE. I noticed a nice low end gain with my shorties. Made it sound more aggressive as well. Those headers you linked are okay. They are painted which isn't a very good heat insulator. That paint is eventually going to peel off and then you're stuck with the exposed headers. I would recommend a set of ceramic coated headers which keeps the heat down resulting in slightly better gains and less heat exposer to other components under the hood which will help make those items last longer than with non coated.

Gears are always an option if you want "more power"

Soldier GT

^^^^^totally agree. The best bang for the buck (other than FI) would be gears. I would reccommend 410's.

Madrox

FI?

And the main issue I have with gears is installation...there's no chance in hell I am capable of installing them, and I heard it's about $300-500 for installation, which is quite pricey in my book. If the gains are really that noticeable (with the numbers to back it up), then I suppose it'd be worth it.

But don't most gear sets come with at least one disadvantage? (ex. kills MPG, lowers low end torque)? I don't know much of this technical stuff, so I'll need a bit of help here.

The01Cav

Gears are a very big bang for the buck. I actually just pulled my shorty headers and flowmaster catback off of my car to replace with Kooks long tubes, catted x-pipe, and Borla catback.

I did notice a bit of a difference with my car. SCT 93 Tune, JLT intake, Shorty headers, Flowmaster catback.

The01Cav

https://mustangforums.com/forum/part...r-catback.html

yourmom6990

FI=Forced Induction i.e supercharger/turbo etc. Which is extremely pricey.

A good reputable shop should install gears for around $300 which isn't too bad considering the process to go through and the tools involved. Also depends on the area your in and how many competing shops do gears. Expect it to be a bit more pricey if that's the only shop for 100 miles.

There really are no power numbers to back up gears because you are not gaining any power. Only numbers to show are 1/4 miles times etc. You are simply changing the ratio of the power to wheels. 2.73 gears for example basically means that for every 2.73 times the driveshaft turns, the wheels will make a full rotation. Changing the gears for a steeper setup, say to a 4.10 will increase your acceleration times thus getting you to your power band faster. The downfalls are a considerable loss in mpg as well as top end depending on how steep you go.

Here's a link on the topic to understand further: http://www.mpgenhance.com/differential.html

The only thing I don't like about gears compared to exhaust is that you can't just unbolt it if you're not satisfied. Once gears are installed, they're there foreverrrrrrrrr. Unless of course you pay to have them install a different set.

That's a pretty good deal for 01Cav's exhaust

jimkaray

I would consider a 93 octane tune for a good performance for the buck value. Bama is good but a custom dyno tune will squeeze out the max for your specific car. VMP is in central Florida if your in that part of the state.
Headers aren't going to add much in actual performance. Exhaust note will improve and it should rev a little more freely. You can get a cheap pair of headers off ebay to keep cost down.
Rear gears will give you a big bump in fun factor. 4.10's in a 5-spd 4.0 will make 1st gear almost unnecessary as 1st in the 4.0 T-5 is geared low at 3.75 vs the GT's 1st gear at 2.95 or .94 IIRC. The 4.10's are a hell of a lot of fun around town though. Don't forget 4.0 has an open rear so you'll want to add a limited slip diff with the new gears which is why a complete rear from a GT is the most cost effective route.
Also, you may find the 4.10 causes a lot of driveline vibration. An aluminum driveshaft can help with that and is another performance option for you list:-)
And of course for serious power Nitrous is your best bang for the buck!

Madrox

Unfortunately, I live nowhere near DE. And as I understand that is a pretty good deal, it's a bit out of my price range at the moment. Especially since you'd have to ship it to me.

I appreciate the elaborate answer. Really! I live in Miami, so it shouldn't be hard to find a shop...thing is, as one can imagine, there are a lot of hack job mechanics around here. Currently, the only shop I have experienced and trust is a local muffler shop, which obviously can't install gears. Again, since I live in Miami, 95% of the driving I do is city driving. My commute is less than 5 miles away, so I rarely hit over 45 MPH. I'm sure this will change eventually, once I get a better job (towards the beach). I'm not trying to be a pain in the *** here, but basically, I want the best bang for my buck, but something that also has a low risk factor. I'd rather get a smaller gain and be sure it will be done right with no disadvantages rather than getting a big power gain with significant disadvantages or things that could potentially harm or mess up my car in any way. The reason for this is because I simply don't have a lot of money to work with, as most if it goes to my education. Therefore, there can't really be a large potential for screw-ups, if you get what I mean?

Is there a noticeable difference between the 87 performance (if you've tried it) and 93 race tune? This is assuming you're referring to the Bama tunes, which is what I have. Perhaps this could be my first step to a bit more power. Fun factor is definitely a good thing, but all of these parts you're adding to my list also worries the hell out of me, lol.

2007StangV6

When I first tuned my car, I tried the 87 Performance tune first. I ran it through two tanks of gas, each time filling up with 93. At then end of the second tank, I loaded up the 93 Race tune, and never looked back. I could definitely feel a difference. The whole car seemed more aggressive, especially when shifting.

I might be the only one, but I think there is a bigger difference between the stock tune and 87 Performance tune than there is between the 87P and 93R tune. You WILL feel a difference though.

As others have said, definitely go with gears. Single best choice I've made on my car.