trameaa

Hope I am posting in the right place - if not, I apologize.
I have a 2001 GT auto that I bought about a year ago, just hit 50k miles last week.
Last year I had 4.10 gears installed. I've been really happy with the decision to do the gears, but I'm ready to take the next leap.
I've been researching and doing my best to take in everything I can from the thousands of threads that already exist, but there's no substitute for experience.
To start with, I want to stay NA. The car isn't my daily driver, but I do drive it on the street almost exclusively.
This is what I was planning to do -

CMS Stage II Cams - and new springs
TFS Intake Manifold
Steeda Underdrive Pulleys
Lowering springs - haven't selected which ones yet

The car is otherwise stock, except for the 4.10 gears and a canned SCT tune.
Couple questions I have are -
Will I sacrifice drivability with this type of setup?
With these changes would there typically be a noticeable difference in the performance of the vehicle?
..and in line with the previous question, what kind of horsepower gains (if any) would be typical from this type of upgrade?

Thanks in advance to anyone that takes the time to read and comment. I'm happy to read and learn, but also honest in that I am no auto mechanic. I love driving the car though!

dwtjr3

Honestly i would skip the intake, you wont be revving high enough on a stock motor to see benefits from it, they do look better then stock ones tho. And to answer your questions, no you wont sacrifice drivability, your fuel mileage will be affected a little but not your drivability. And Yes you definitely will feel a difference power wise, you car will feel a lot more responsive, i predict ~280 rwhp with that setup

And if you think you even have the slightest thought that you may go some form of F/I in the future, save your stock pullies you cant use underdrive pullies with a blower

uberstang1

I would def pick up an aftermarket mid pipe and a cat back exhaust so that motor and mods can breath a little.

tdcalhoun89

+1

Cams and a good exhaust will make you put your DD in the garage and run the miles up on your mustang.... with the biggest grin ever!

As for lowering the car, ever considered coil-overs?

trameaa

LOL... I hope you're right. Hard to believe its already gotten a little stale with just the gears.
Never looked at coil-overs, I'll have to check it out.

wifes pony

Headers and exhaust will let that pony breathe! More in...more out!

TRUEBLUE3934

Definitely do the stage II cams, and I would suggest long tubes to go with them. You will notice a big difference in performance, and the sound of those mods is awesome! A mid-pipe would be desired along with a cat-back to maximize these mods.

I gained approximately 40rwhp with those two mods installed at one time. I agree that you would probably be in the 280-285rwhp range with those two mods. Obviously, you would have to have a custom tune to go with those mods.

sv650lex

I'm not sure how much it matters on the stangs but with my silverado I went from a 13 " torque converter to a 10" and also bumped it up to a 3200 stall. belive it or not it was still very drivable and because it was a lock up converter I could still pull 20 MPG on the highway.

On my truck this made as much of a differance as the cam I put in it.

trameaa

Yeah, this whole conversation is kind of making me think about reprioritizing things. I wonder if the smarter thing to do would be the cams and a full reworking of the exhaust from headers back.
I'm sure I'll enjoy the cams a lot more with a great exhaust to match.
A local shop quoted me $2800 to do the cams, degree, valve springs, pulleys, lowering springs, and the dyno time to properly tune after the upgrades.
That doesn't necessarily seem like a ridiculous number, but I'm not too in touch with what this type of work normally cost.

Jazzer The Cat

Since your asking here... my advice would be the following mods in THIS order:

#1. Tires ~ Ones that are appropriate for the needs of the car AFTER the motor mods are done
#2. Brakes ~ You want to go fast, you will need to STOP fast, at some point and are only as good as your tires
#3. Suspension ~ At least some FLSFC's, but a set of LCA's* would be nice
#4. Driver mod ~ An on-going one and will NEVER be completed
#5. Motor mods ~ Build away and have respect for the new found powa

Jazzer.. building for success