ahkitekt

So I bought my first Mustang 4 months ago, and now I want to start working on adding some power to it. All I have done so far are appearance modifications.

I have an '06 GT automatic and everything is stock

I see so many different options advertised but I am trying to figure out what I need and what goes with what?

1. I see power packages like the Mustang Power Pack from Sutton High Performance. Is it best to buy a package?

2. I want a better sound to my car, nothing obnoxious or very loud, just a deeper rumble in idle and of course when accelerating.

3. I keep seeing these tuners for sale, and from what I gather they tune the factory settings of your car which were regulated in production? What is the difference between the Diable Predator, the SCT power flash and the SCT Livewire besides price? Is the Livewire worth the money? How much knowledge do I need to work one of these?

4. I know nothing about exhaust, and there are SO many to choose from, catback, axleback, midpipe, etc. Is there a site that best explains them all in terms the average person can follow? Again I want something nice, but nothing obnoxious or VERY loud.

5. Do other small items make a big difference in performance? Like high-end spark plugs? etc?

Any info would greatly be appreciated, as I want to start upgrading this car soon

thank you!

Vader GT

Hope this helps.

1. Not sure

2. This is a personal choice, I have flowmasters & I like them, but everybody is different. Go to YouTube and do a search, there are a ton of clips to compare.

3. Factory tune is very conservative. Most name brand tuners are about the same. The most popular are probably the SCT & Diablosport. Can't go wrong with either.

4. If you are not going to mod the S%^$ out of the car, then the axle back should be fine. The more you change (cats, h-pipe, etc...), usually the louder it gets!

5. CAI (Cold Air Intake), Rear Gears, Headers, every bolt-on basically builds on the next...Good Luck!!!

Mike

GotMunchies?

If you're going through the effort to increase the performance of the car, you owe it to yourself to understand as much as possible about how each part will effect the performance. Spend some time lurking the forums - read as much as possible about parts you're interested in and do some research on your own. Use the search function, its there for a reason.

1. A "package" is ideal for people who don't care too much for specifics - you'll feel a significant difference with just about any package. Find one that does what you want and doesn't break the bank. The only thing that should really concern you is the reputability of the company.

2. There's already a very comprehensive exhaust topic. Its a stickied thread - you shouldn't have too much trouble finding it.

3. I don't think you need the bells and whistles of the Livewire - find an SCT or Diablosport cAI & Tuner package for a reasonable price from a reputable distributor with good tunes (Brenspeed or Bama) and get a package from them.

4. See 2. Though in your case, I wouldn't touch the headers.

5. Rear end gears will give you the best bang for buck and will register the most on the butt dyno.


Remember this: you will learn a lot more about your car if you do some of the internet leg work yourself and spend some time on various forums or exploring vendor websites. Its worth the time investment.

ahkitekt

thanks guys, i have just started poking around. and i have subscribed to the 2 Mustang Magazines they sell out here at most news stands. So many of the terms are foreign to me, but I am learning. I honestly have no idea what rear end gears are or how they work, same for "headers". But I am about to read those sticky threads and do some google searching. Thanks again

ahkitekt

well i now know what headers are and what they do, so i just have to decide if they are right for me.

one thing i notice, there are SO many kinds of exhaust, even a bunch of axle-back types. The research continues

ahkitekt

well based on sound and reviews, i want to get the Borla Stinger Axle Back Exhaust. Do I need to get new headers? Should I?

lbballin9

I have the magnaflow exhaust on my car and sounds awesome! In my opinion for what I have owned, Borla is amazing. For my 05 gt I am about to add Borla long tube headers and an offroad xpipe. Any bolt on you really do is gonna add up. Bolt ons inlude CAI's, headers, mid pipes, exhausts, throttle bodies, TB Spacers (Not a huge difference in the last two) and stuff like that. Each one of these compliment each other and work off each other to give more hp. If you get headers, make sure you get long tubes because there is a huge difference between shorties and long tubes. The tuners help like crazy too. If you are interested I have a SCT tuner that you could use. Let me know if you are interested. Any other questions you have you can email me directly on mustang forums.

Jestaar

I'm going to say, 1st, take your time and decide what goals you want. What are your HP goals? Do you intend to drag race or Auto-X? Are you just looking for a little giddyup for now?

I waited about a year, doing much research, asking a lot of questions and planning. I can't tell you how many contradicting opinions I've heard, but, I've finally sorted out what I wanted to do.

I think to start, your best bet would be to go with gears and CAI/tuner. Right there you'll see a real nice jump in performance and should put a smile on your face.

I intend to put on a supercharger, so I have JBA longtubes and JBA H-pipes ordered, hoping to get her to breath better for FI.

If you want better handling, I believe most would say that springs and Tokico adj D-Specs are a good place to start.

Personally, I'm avoiding bolt ons like UDP's, CMDP's, and TB's. From what I understand, this stuff will just be paperweights after I throw a s/c on. Just take your time, make up many lists of different dream builds and then go for it. Good luck!

ahkitekt

thank you guys, that is a huge help. i read quite a bit about gears, and now i just have to figure out where i should take my car near Chicago to have any work done that I personally can't do.

Jestaar, I do not plan on any drag racing or anything like that, just want the little added punch and a bit deeper meaner sound to the exhaust.

In 2-3 years I will have to decide if I want to go the supercharger route, or try and trade up to a low miles Roush or Shelby. My dream car was an '04 Cobra with under 40k miles, but those are getting more and more difficult to come by. Plus, many could have been driven full force too much and beaten on.

From what I see the exhaust work alone just for Borla Stingers Axle-back will be a big step and cost about a grand. So at this point I am leaning towards getting the CAI and a tuner for now. Then the gears. Then the exhaust.

My big question is, if I go with the Borla axle back stingers, should I look into headers? Do they really make a difference? And with those axle backs, are there certain long tubes that are ideal?

Jestaar, love your car. I am looking to order rear quarter window louvers and I am going to go with the prefinished white ones where I do not have to remove my windows for a long install. Were yours factory? I think Roush and some other company I read about on here have a nice set easy install.

Somewhere down the line I want to get some new wheels, but for now I am digging the '06 GT stocks

Margarita Girl

Sounds like a good plan.

Last year I installed the Steeda CAI and SCT tune package from Brenspeed $600.
This year the FRPP 4.10 gears, parts & labor $500.

Better throttle response and more torque made me happy enough...for now.

Other mods: sequential tail lights, hurst shifter, Roush springs, Koni adj.shocks/struts, 3 pt. strut tower brace, cdc classic chin, custom paint, headlight splitters, 18x8.5, 18x9.5 rims with toyo summer tires, painted calipers.

My next mod will be FRPP GTA exhaust.