GWFoos

Thanks for the offer. I just got back from the Ford dealership in Mission Beach, which is the only certified Saleen dealer in San Diego and drove the GT (again) and the 2005 s281. They both drove great. The lady who I worked with seemed to be exceptionally knowledgable and said that the GT with a K&N intake kit and the Flowmaster Dual Chamber 40-series would be my best bet for a cheap upgrade to horsepower without worrying about the warranty. She said that I would expect up to 30hp gain for the Flowmaster and 10-15hp for the K&N intake kit (I may have it reversed).

Does this sound reasonable to people?

If so, my grin from ear to ear may drop the top of my head off.

titaniumGT

She might sound like she knows what she's talking about but no exhaust for the 05 GT will grant you 30 hp, the exhaust is already badass enough. But go for the steeda intake kit with the SCT tune and get 26 hp, thats your best bet of the easiest mod. The exhaust will just make it sound better.

Birdieman4

Gosh I wish you could gain 15 hp from a K&N. -No, sounds like she wants the sale pretty bad. The k&n will net you around 3-5 horses and the Flowmasters by themselves with nothing else will net you maybe 10-15 hp. The Saleen should have felt faster, sounded louder, and handled WAY better than the gt. Are you leaning toward the gt?

GWFoos

I am leaning towards the GT, but still await the specs and visuals of the Cobra. My biggest issue is maintaining the warranty, if possible. The Saleen sounded great, drove well, and was visually stunning. However, the rep told me that warranties on Saleens are different than most cars and that since they are modified, especially the s281 sc, that you have to put alot more down on them for financing purposes.

My thought is to go with the GT, modify it, and save money versus the Saleen or the Cobra. I will not make that call until I see a pic and specs of the Cobra though. Saleen is now out for me.

Birdieman4

Nothing wrong with doing the gt and modding it. Let me know what you end up doing. Good luck!

GWFoos

I have e-mailed JBAracing.com to ask for their input as well. I truly believe the way to go is the GT and add the modifications. The supercharger may invalidate the warranty if something goes wrong, but what are your thoughts on reliability issues for the engine with the blower on the new GT? I really want to make the modifications for hp, even if it means understanding the warranty for the motor might be invalidated.

I have seen the cat-back thing, and intake kit's and such. What would be the way to go for the daily driver GT, no drag racing (for now)? I am willing to wait on tires and other visual mods to complete the hp mods first.

Can you tell the excitement is building exponentially for me? Money and a vision (with help from those who know more) is a dangerous thing.

Birdieman4

As far as reliability issues with a blower on a new 05 gt, your biggest enemy is a lean condition. What I mean is as long as you have a good tune with a blown 05 gt, it will be extremely reliable. The only way you would really have issues is if your air/fuel ratio got too high, or your timing was set too high. To make the blower shine, you will want an exhaust upgrade, as you were touching on above. Choosing a cat-back exhaust is a very personalized thing. They all sound a little different, but the gains will be similar. It sounds like you want something semi- conservative. A lot of people on this site have magnaflows, which are popular. I happen to prefer the sound that Borla 1 chamber mufflers make vs the Magnaflows, although I like the Magnaflows better than the Flowmasters. What kind of sound are you looking for?

GWFoos

Thanks, BirdieMan.

The main requirement is I don't want to break the eardrums (what is the difference in sounds for the borla 1 and magnaflows?), if that helps with the exhaust note question. As for the tuning, how often would I need to tune the engine and blower to keep it in 'lean' condition? What type of hp gains would be achieved assuming the right blower and cat-back?

I guess this is what I am gathering from our discussion:

blower (whipple? vortech? procharger?)
cat-back (magnaflows or borla 1)
dyno tune
K&N intake kit
cold-air intake

Does this sound like a good way to go? I know that everything is a personal choice, but I am a newbie to the language and mods thing, so I really enjoy (and need) your input.

Thanks again for the input.

Birdieman4

Ok, as far as exhaust sound goes, the borlas provide a quieter idle, and produce a sort of 'european' sound under load. The magnaflows are louder, but I think a little less refined. The new Saleen you drove had magnaflows with dumps. Did you like the way it sounded? The Saleens from 99-04 used Borlas. There is a website that gives you sound clips of exhausts. I forget what the address was, but someone may chime in and provide it again.
As far as tuning goes, once your car is tuned, you won't have to 're-adjust' it. You are looking to stay away from running too lean, but with a good tune you'll be fine. It's all in the tune. People who have had problems adding a blower to a gt are usually the same people who neglect the tuning process, or don't pay enough attention to it. You'll be fine.
Ok, as far as a blower goes, you need to understand how different styles of blowers will perform. Here in the forums we discuss this all the time, and it's a never ending topic. My short answer is to do a twin screw blower, like a Whipple, Kenne Bell, or a Saleen blower. You'll have the most balance with a twin screw blower. -And that's a good thing to have in a daily driver, -balance. The twin screw blowers make good power across the board, which is why I say go that route. You won't be disappointed. Oh, and with the blower, you won't need a cold air intake. Everything else on your list looks ok. Any other Q's? I'm happy to help.

GWFoos

Let me just say now, thanks for the input now and for the future, so as not to bore you with thanks in each post.

1. Whipple twin screws sound the right way to go. The website says over 50% increase in hp over entire range. Does this mean that I would expect ~450hp?

2. What would I expect the total hp gains to be with magnaflows, K&N intake kit, and the twin screw Whipple blower? What if I did everything but the blower, what would the hp gains be?

3. What would you expect I would have to pay for the items in #2 to be installed, plus a dyno tune?

a. Magnaflows ($694.71 on their website)
b. Whipple twin screw blower ($N/A yet?)
c. K&N Fuel Injection Performance Kits (FIPK)($200-$300)
d. dyno tune ($???)