im hoping to get a 2012-2013 mustang gt in the near future. I had an old 94 mustang with some basic mods. Just wondering if i should do the intake, exhaust, header mods first or is there something that i should mod before those? Seems like those are the typical "beginner" mods, but I havent read anything about mustangs in 10 years, so im a little new to these newer models

 

it has plenty of power, lower it first...

 

Cold air intake and tune. Tune is a MUST if you go CAI. Then get ready to dump some money into suspension because you just can't keep the wheels from spinning... what a terrible problem to have!

 

It kind of depends what you are looking for. Some people prefer to go for better handling by lowering it. Some people want more power so they start with the intake and exhaust. IMO, if you are going to do the intake and exhaust, do it right. Do the intake and exhaust all at once and finish with a good tune to complete it. I think a lot just goes to what you want and how much money you want to spend.

 

thats what im beginning to think. vixr made a good point though how it already has power, so i think boosting the handling may be my first priority.

 

Whipple...

 

For S197-specific handling:
https://mustangforums.com/forum/s197...g-section-121/

Another source for handling information in general - and which occasionally gets some S197 specific topics:
https://mustangforums.com/forum/suspension-152/


A few thoughts:

Lowering by itself does not translate directly to better handling. Looks can be deceiving.

Since it ultimately comes down to what your tires are doing, better and somewhat wider tires on wider wheels really need to be at the beginning of any handling-oriented project.

It doesn't end with simply getting and installing the parts you want, there is still some tuning required to get the most benefit from them. Tire pressures and alignment, just to name a couple.


Norm

 

It doesn't matter where you start...it just matters that you do if you really want to mod. Start with the things that you can afford and go from there. Power adds, gear swaps, suspension mods...you've come to a good place to get advice but ultimately you gotta get the car first, determine what's bothering you the most and start there. My Shelby the first thing to go was that crappy head unit and speakers.

Also head mods or swaps are not something that I think I've seen. I would guess that the head swaps are harder with the tuning or perhaps something else then what you might have had on your old 302 (guessing you had a GT). Makes me sort of wish I had my old 82 F150. Couple hours swapping the heads for instant powah. Now, I'm wagering it's not that simple.

PS - Nah - don't want that old pickup. It was a rusty old piece of junk!

 

I'm working on a new 3.7L in a way that I think will sort of prepare the platform for power mods. Starting off with simple usability upgrades like a new shifter base bushing which went on yesterday. It's a manual so that's something that gets used quite a bit and I already notice the difference. Plan to do CAI/tune after several other upgrades are already on, so I know that it will take advantage of every ounce of that new air. This means exhaust will go on before the CAI and headers as well, if I decide to upgrade the manifold. Gonna clear the exit path and get it set before I start trying to drive more through. The suspension kit on mine is pretty decent, but I'm looking into possible upgrades for that. I'm thinking it should be able to deal with the extra hp I can get from a passive intake upgrade and tune. That might be a different level of priority on a GT.

 

I agree. The car has plenty of power to start with, I'd suggest going aesthetic mods first, or suspension mods. Suspension mods I did first, the real necessary ones like lowering the car, and then of course UCA/LCA/PHB etc...