mavfan4344

Hello Everyone! I am new to the Mustang Family and need some help. I just purchased a 08 Ford Mustang GT Convertible. As far as appearance, I know exactly what I am going to do! I need help under the hood. I don't want to throw thousands and thousands of dollars into the engine (YET), I just want to do some "Starter Mods" for the car. Like Exhaust, Cold Air Intake, etc. But I don't have any idea what name brands I should go with. I need help!!! I was thinking Magnaflow or Borla for the exhaust. And JLT for the intake. Long or short tube headers? X-Pipe? Any suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance!!!

Nuke

Lot's of info throughout the forum, especially in the stickies.

A stand-alone CAI is barely worth the effort; maybe 4-6 RWHP. A CAI & tune combo will gain about 20-25 RWHP. After that it's nickle and dime stuff unless you go FI. You'll gain no performance with any exhaust mods beyond the H-pipe.

Adding 25 or more RWHP will require some suspension improvements in order to hook-up.

mavfan4344

Okay, thanks for the info! Like I was saying I am new to the Mustang World. Now, this might sound like a dumb question, but what does FI stand for? So, no performance gain beyond the H-pipe?!? Does that mean I need to up grade to a X-pipe? and or headers?

UpTo11

FI stands for Forced Induction. If I'm not wrong, it's basically a force that makes the engine work harder, like Superchargers, Turbochargers, and Nitrous Oxide. For performance I would no doubt go with a Cold Air Intake, and a SCT Flash Tuner. They sell them in kits at sites like brenspeed.com and americanmuscle.com. As for performance gain on your exhaust setup, I'm pretty sure Longtube Headers are the way to go, much less restrictive. I would buy your headers and midpipe both from Kooks. They are not illegal in Texas, but your midpipe (which needs to be shorter than stock) must be catted. As far as sound goes, I'm currently running Flowmaster Series 40 Axlebacks (Mufflers) and they sound GREAT! I'm also a huge fan of the Magnaflow "Magnapacks" Mufflers. So to recap.

CAI's
-Steeda
-JLT
-K&N

Handheld Tuners
-SCT
-Diablosport

Exhaust
-Kooks Longtubes w/ Kooks Catted X

Mufflers
-Flowmaster
-Magnaflow
-Borla

Although I'm sure you'll hear TONS of different opinions and that's great. The above is just my opinion. You'll get an awesome sound out of your mustang and significant performance. I've also heard that Ford Racing gears, (4.10s) are a really great early mod, and Underdrive pulleys (UDP's) are a decent upgrade, although I wouldn't expect to see a big change in horsepower. Superchargers are unbelievably awesome, but they're also pretty expensive. If you do plan to go that route, I would beyond a doubt recommend the Techco supercharger. It has the most horsepower for the money. But if I was driving your car, I'd do:

Steeda CAI & 93 Tune
FRPP 4.10 Gears
Kooks Longtube Headers
Kooks Catted X
Magnaflow Magnapacks
Steeda UDP's
FRPP Hot Rod Camshafts
18x10 Wheels
Nitto 555 Tires

UpTo11

Here is a video of Kooks LTs, Kooks X, and Magnapacks...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_51BaVEYlQ

mavfan4344

WOW!!! That Stang sounds bad azz!! All the info is greatly appreciated. I am full of questions...............why long tube headers instead of short tube headers? And why Kooks over in other brand?

bm2088hp

You should deff. get the CAI + Tune combo as one of the first mods. You will get a nice HP gain for a fairly low price. The Steeda, JLT, K&N are all good CAIs. The tune however is what makes all the difference. The different custom tunes that you get with the tuner are specifically designed for your mustang based on your mods. The custom tunes that you get from AmericanMuscle.com are pretty good however if you want even better custom tunes, you can get them from Bamachips or Brenspeed for a couple extra bucks. Other mods will give you a much lesser HP gain unless you go with a supercharger.

mavfan4344

So,a cfi & tune combo is a def! Now as far as long tube vs short tube headers, I still need a little info on. Once I figure this out, I think I will be ready to start spending some money!

BRENSPEED

A intake/tuner package is by far the best bang for your buck modification. Not only do you get more power with equal or better MPG, you also get instant throttle response, different torque management, and eliminated adaptive learning at wide open throttle. Brent has been tuning the S197's for over 5 years and we strive for a great product with awesome customer service.

As far as headers go, Pypes released their own long tube that is half the price of kooks and includes a mid pipe (x or h). The quality is excellent as well as fitment. They are made of 304 stainless steel and are polished. We are running them on our Saleen 435S car and another one of our employees cars. For the mufflers, choose them based on sound preference since the factory mufflers flow as well as aftermarket mufflers. IF you have any other questions, feel free to PM me or give us a call.

574.594.9559

http://www.brenspeed.com/05-08-musta...-packages.html

http://www.brenspeed.com/pypespackagea.html

http://www.brenspeed.com/05-08-musta...-mufflers.html

Here are some sound clips. See if you can find a combination you love.
http://www.brenspeed.com/videos.html

UpTo11

I believe longtubes provide less restrictive exhaust flow. I think shorties do too, but to a less noticeable extent.