I don't think I'm going to go Turbo, but once the car is paid off a supercharger might be down the road.

Thanks Purp...that was exactly the kind of answer I was hoping for. While there is no gurantee I'll ever put a supercharger on I'd like to have that option. Which means a 4.30might end up as a mistake. 4.10 would work either way so I think that's my best bet. I'm guessing that's why so many people here use that gear size.

The mods I posted originally are all I'm planning on doing for a while. Money is a bit tight and upgrading the mustang is a luxury for me.

I basically make one improvement a month.

 

That's more than I can pull off at the moment. lol

 

4.10s, longtubes (full exhaust), Tuner, 100 shot, and a good tire. That is my vote.

 

i didnt read everyones response but heres mine. This ^^ i havent seen one run. What i have seen is 14.5, alot of 14.5 maybe a best of 14.3 but heres the thing. best thing you could do is learn how to drive your car, learn how to run the **** out of it. I can tell you one thing that in my opinion wont help, and thats gears. gears are great for the street cuz they up the fun factor. But i acctually did a back to back test before and after at the strip...learning how to drive the car, i managed a 2.0 60` on street tires and rolled through the traps in top of third pretty easy.

i put gears in the thing after i fried the posi....now i had 4 shifts and was luck to get a 2.1 60` without drag radials or sticky tires because of that i lost .2 roughly off of what i was running. these cars factory or mild bolt on dont need gears. if you get the all important driver mod (takes practice) and get aggressive on how fast you shift, you will likely beat him with no mods at all....to me that would be worth the effort to make someone feel like they bought a heavy piece of junk! lol.

lastly...if you must do cheep....tint your windows really dark like 20% or darker, then take out your front and back seat and rear factory amp rack, then spare tire and run on 1/8 tank of gas. If you can drive that outta the hole, youll be rollin. i picked up 1.5mph trap on average and a best of 3mph. with just the weight out. thats all. cant get cheeper than me....lol

edit: on that note i just saw your an auto...so some of this doesnt apply, gears and a tune may be quite a bit more effective i wouldnt know since im a stick. point still remains, weight, drive like hell, and of course making sure your car doesnt shift more than it has to...

 

Thanks for such a detailed answer man. I liked your comment on racing stock for the fun of it. I'm going to do that for sure...just to get a base line and have some fun at the same time. I am in an automatic...so I do have less to consider when it comes to shifting (which I'm pretty sure is where the gears come in). I basically have the car for cruising (it's a convertible) taking all kinds of weight out is not really necessary for my overall goals with the car. I just want it to be quick as it can be with seats and all in place. My windows are dark as hell so I might be able to get away with it...but my wife would be pretty frustrated having nowhere to sit Not to mention having to put the top down for all the cops to see (I mean I could leave it up forever but that would kind of defeat the purpose)

Eitherway I'm sure there's still ways to learn to drive your automatic better and faster. I practice when the road allows And as far as the car shifting more than it has to...that's why I'm so concerned about buying the right gears. I like being in an automatic because it makes it a comfortable daily driver. If I could race more I'd rather have a stick, but here where I live we only have a clay track (rubbing allowed ---and F... that!) So its rough to take it racing. So my main goal is red light quickness. I got beat by a guy test driving a new challanger and a 2011 stock gt mustang... and I have been pissed (and a little butt hurt) ever since. So I'm trying to bring my car up to where they already are.

I'd like to get a beater mustang and load it up to take it out on that clay track

 

I couldn't DISAGREE (respectfully) more with the comment above regarding gears!
Gears should be the FIRST mod for anyone who wants to be quicker at the track. Torque multiplication is a huge factor in accellerating our cars.

Think about a ten-speed bike. If you try to race a buddy on his bike, but you start out in 7th gear and he starts out in 3rd gear... he wins! It is too hard to accellerate the vehicle with tall gearing. Shorter gearing will absolutely help a vehicle get out of the hole, and it WAY MORE than makes up for one additional quick shift.

I have raced my car with 3.27, 3.73, and 4.10 gears, there is no comparison between each step up in gearing.

DO THE GEARS my friend! You won't be dissapointed.

 

in order for gears to be effective ya really need a good tire to take advantage of them...kind alike shelby adding a 3.73 package to the gt500....kind apointless when it already lights the tires up at 60 mph

 

^^ totally agree! It doesn't matter how powerful your car is if you can't put the power down.

 

im not saying they dont have their place....but with your 3.27 your 3.73 and your 4.10 did you ever go to the track and actually do a real comparison? as opposed to your butt feel? and since i ran a 2.0 60` with street tires and 3.27s i dont think i was starting out in 7th. and for 9 people out of 10 id put money down that the majority does better at the strip with factory gears. just saying....... oh and autos are different than than stick which do you own? autos i agree gears are worth it...stick i put my foot down.

 

i had 4.10 and a turbo 5 speed and i ran much faster off the line with the 4.10s.