tweaked1017

I recently purchased an 04 mustang gt and want to put some money into it. im looking to gain horsepower but not break the bank. whats the best power for my money? also i was thinking about putting new heads and a cam in it. any suggestions on what i should put into it? Its going to be mostly for just street driving but i want to have more power than stock. it has about 50,000 miles on it

N3TD3V!L

First and foremost, as most everyone else will tell you, get gears first. I have 4.56 gears in mine but I think most people on here prefer 3.73 gears. Gaining a noticable amount of horsepower from a GT isn't going to be cheap. For some ported stage 2 heads, you're looking at about $1400 without the cost of installation.

My car is a daily driver and the list below is what has been done to mine and although I'm pretty happy with it, there are still things I want to do.

BBK O/R H-pipe, Flowmaster 40's dumped, BBK underdrive pulleys, BBK cold air induction, 4.56 gears, and shift kit.

dennis_112

The first question is whats your power goals?

Whats your power adder,if any,going to be N/A, superchargered, turbo,or nitrous?

Whats the car used for, you said mostly street driving, what else do you use it for? Drag, AutoX?

Knowing the answer to these questions will save you money in the long run. N/A is a crap shot honestly. The basic bolt on's hardly are worth the hard earned money it takes to buy them. A cold air intake, TB+plenum, exhaust, so on are barely going to make a difference. If you want to change your exhaust do it for the sound difference. Your best bang for the buck bolt on right now is a set of gears. I would suggest 3.73's manual, and 4.10's auto. About the Heads and Cams you mentioned. Personally I am a huge fan of Crane Cams. The heads I would have your stock heads sent off and CNC'ed by a professional as in Foxlake over here in OH. Find out the answer to the above questions and you will get a better answer. Ask like I want 'X' amount of power with nitrous whats the best way to do it and whats the best cams and heads for that setup. Because if you dont know the answers no one does.

tweaked1017

im also looking to get exhaust because its just the regular stock exhaust right now. i want it to sound good, but be pretty loud as well any suggestions for that? also i was told that if i was going to supercharge it down the road i should get some bottom end work done to strengthen it. what exactly needs to be done?

tweaked1017

i was planning on supercharging it probably later on down the road. do the supercharger kits come with the necessary adjustments you need to make like fuel regulator fuel rails injectors etc? and also naturally aspirated i was hoping to make around 350hp, essentially its going to be a daily driver and i may take it down to the local track every now and again to race.

dennis_112

SLP makes a excellent exhuast thats loud. As for the bottom end, you will need forged internals. Crank, Rods, Pistons. And all of this depends on those answers. Also whats your budget. Because modding cost money and a lot of it. Just the few things you are mentioned you are easily into the big bucks with forged internals, heads, cams, supercharger etc.

N3TD3V!L

By "bottom end work", they mean forged internals i.e. forged rods, etc. dennis_112 is right by saying you're not going to have a noticable different with bolt-ons but unless you have the cash to drop on a supercharger and motor work, it's the cheapest way to go (in MY opinion) until you just can't do anything else other than supercharging your motor.

tweaked1017

well i probably wouldnt supercharge it until at least next summer. basically i want to get some basic bolt on power thats noticeable if thats possible. like i said before i would like to be pushing like 350hp to the rear wheels. any suggestions?

dennis_112

350 N/AI would say wishfull thinking. That power level would take some radical cams, major head work, raised compression, and full bolt-on'sto make power over 120hp difference to the rear wheels. Not to mention racing fuel is expensive (inside joke).

As for the supercharger stuff you asked. When you would add the charger you would also change the injectors, maf,and fuel pump to make up for the additional air.

N3TD3V!L

You will never get 350rwhp with bolt-ons alone. The only way to achieve that is with a supercharger and unless you can do the motor work yourself, I'd say you're probably looking at about $6000 with the SC installation, head work, and forged internals.