TorchRed '03

Hey everyone,
I'm new to the forums and thought I could use some insight. I, like everyone else, would love to get some mods for my 'stang for that little bit of extra fun. I'm not looking to pull 12's on the 1/4 or anything like that for a while, just to have a daily driver that is a lot of fun. I just got my '03 a couple of months ago and it has almost 140k on it. My question is...should I add bolt on's and beef it up a bit, or wait until this motor goes out and then go to work on a new one. I am also wondering if I should replace the motor with a 4v cobra engine when this one goes out because of its forged internals and higher HP ratings etc., or save some money by picking up another 2V. The Mach 1 engine is the obvious middle ground it seems. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. On a side note, how many miles can be expected for this motor. It has been well maintained and adult driven its whole life. First owner worked as a district manager for Hardees, so he put all kinds of miles on it. Second owner was my father-in-law and he took VERY good care of it.

liljojo4711

my mom bought mine off the show room floor in 99' and it has 190,000+ now and never had a problem that was the engines fault. spark plugs, COP's and such will go out but thats just part of it... im sure everyone will agree that these are great cars when taken care of and common sense is used.

boduke0220

both my friends run their cars pretty hard and both have 120k+ miles and run great..never burn or leak oil.

MJH78

I don't see any reason to hold off on certain mods...exhaust (catback and midpipe), gears, and a tuner are probably what most here will recommend to get you started.

Obsequious1

I was thinking about swapping my 2V out for a 4V but Yo Ken and many other people say you have to swap the ECU with that of a 4V. Your ECU carries the VIN # of your car. If you swap the ECU to that of a 4V then your VIN# won't match for the insurance company or for when you get your cars emissions done. I don't know if any of this matters. On the other hand, people have told me you don't have to swap ECU's.
I believe Yo Ken before any mustangform enthusiast.
If you buy a blower or you install NO2, you'll still have it if you blow your motor. So bolt stuff on and take it as far as it will go.

TorchRed '03

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like my engine should still have some life in it, which is good news. I'm planning on going with the CAI, exhaust, gears and tune for now. Should give me a little bit extra.

02TrueBlueGT

My mustang has 94k miles on it. I have put 60k on it since I got it 5 years ago. It runs real strong and I have not had any major problems at all. It has also seen a lot of track time, with about 60 passes if not plenty more. It only has a couple minor boltons and nothing crazy yet but these motors run strong.

Eagle2000GT

From your discription of the motor you may be waiting a long time if you are waiting for it to go bad. Highway miles are not as hard on a car as city miles. You should be fine with mods.

Fobra

the 2v 4.6 is an extremely reliable motor... there is a reason cops and taxis run crown vics.

Mustang3GT07

Your motor will fine. Judging by your mod list in your sig, you don't have a Catback or Midpipe yet. Do you any plans for either of the 2?