So plans for my next mod are going to be performance, rather than the appearance stuff I've been going for. Woo!


I just put on a GT take-off muffler from a manual (Thanks AmericanIcon!)
Although I liked the sound without a muffler much more =p.

So now I'm either getting.

A.) Dual exhaust (Probably stealing the design AmericanIcon had on his v6..mid-muffler setup, with glasspacks).

or

B.) Tuner/CAI.


What do you guys think?

Do the exhaust first, then save for tuner/cai?
Or vice versa.

(I'm not rich.)

 

Since you have an auto, I'd easily suggest a tune and CAI over exhaust work. You'll feel much more out of it and the slushbox will turn into so much more to enjoy

 

Alright cool, that's what I was thinking,

now another question..
I found 2 choices on a CAI/Tuner combo on AM.
One with the Ford Racing CAI.
http://www.americanmuscle.com/ford-sct-0509v6-kit.html

And one with the Steeda CAI
http://www.americanmuscle.com/2005v6...ator2-kit.html


They both cost the same,
but the Steeda CAI says it adds 20RWHP,
compared to some of the others, that only said like 14.
The ford racing says something about sound?

Which should I go with?

 

I personally would not choose either. JLT offers a combo

http://www.americanmuscle.com/jlt-sct-0509v6-kit.html

or you could buy the CAI from JLT and get the color match option, wish they had that when I bought a CAI, and then buy the tuner from AM

since most CAI are the same why spend $600 for FORD or $630 for Steeda when the JLT for $540 will work

 

After running around with no muffler, I was wondering if you'd actually bolt on the GT muffler! It actually sounded really good when you drove off.

If you're thinking performance now, I'd definitely go with intake & tunes next. The tunes really wakes the car up and gets that automatic shifting much more aggressively. The hesitation on acceleration will disappear.

I do have a big problem with $200-$300 intakes though. It's a PIPE and a FILTER. Nothing more-- and the people spending that much on them are literally getting hosed. First of all, most of the power comes from the tune, not the intake. Anybody claiming that an intake alone gives them more than 15hp is absolutely full of it. Try 3-10HP. (if even that!)
I've owned intakes on 3 different cars, plus a truck- and I'm here to tell you that it's just a pipe and a filter. They're all going to give you similar power.
Buy an intake from Ebay. Yes, those $60-$80 chrome intakes. And if you think the filter is crap, than throw away the K & N style filter they ship you, and buy an actual K&N. Now you're left with a tube--and JLT or Steeda or whoever, is supposed to have a pipe that hundreds of dollars better? Yeah right.

So my advice, is get the simple 3-10hp from ANY intake. Then, buy a tuner with tunes from whomever you want. The real power lies in the tune.
Bottom line on tunes is that everybody is going to recommend going with the tune that they own because most of us haven't purchased tunes from multiple companies to compare. Some have, but not the majority.

With my old 4.0, and ebay intake, dual exhaust, VMP 93 octane performance tune, t-lok and nitrous-- like I told you, my car was very respectable. Even without the nitrous, I'd have great races with any pre-'05 GT.

 

Yeah, I would have kept it off, but I don't have the cash to get the pipe welded on at the moment.
Don't wanna get pulled over =p.

Hmm, maybe I'll just run by Advanced Auto Parts and pick up one of their cheap CAI's then.

 

Well, I'm not sold on the CAI/tune yet. It's a great move, don't get me wrong. I think it depends on your plans. Are you looking to do dual exhaust at some point regardless? I'm thinking in terms of efficiency. If you get the tuner now, then you will need to buy new tunes when you get dual exhaust (well you won't NEED to, but I would recommend it). Whereas if you bought the exhaust first, then the tuner, you would only need to purchase one tune to cover it all. All depends on how soon you want to do both, if you want to at all. Personally, I loved the exhaust first, I could tell a seat-of-the-pants difference.

Also, do not discount AM. I have their BBK intake ($179-ish) and their SCT tuner. You buy from them, you get free tunes for life, which, may be the route you would like. You get the CAI/Tune first, then later get exhaust, no problem! Just go order another tune for free!

 

Yeah I thought of that, which is why I'm going with the AM tunes. Free for life, sounds pretty great to me.

So for now I'll get the Intake, then Tuner.
Dual ex further down the road.

 

Just make sure you get the combo pack (i.e. tuner and CAI) just buying the CAI and installing it without a tune is not a good idea, you need to retune when installing a new CAI (even a BBK one despite what they say).

The only CAI I know of that doesnt require a retune is the K&N.

 

It's important to note that a CAI that doesn't need a retune, is a CAI that isn't really worth buying. The point of a CAI is to give you much better airflow, so if the CAI alone won't throw a code, it's not increasing air intake enough meaning you just replaced the current system, not upgraded it.

I'd definitely buy a combo pack with tuner and CAI as that way you can hook up the CAI, upload the tune, and enjoy yourself all you want!