DavidGT

So I'm long winded as it is.. and I'm going to be going into detail about what I'm about to do to my car.. for those of you who make it to the end of this post alive; I congratulate you and welcome your comments/feedback =0)

Ok here goes...

I purchased a 2010 GT (with the 3.73 sports package) black on black and full of sexy.. pics to come as I get more and more settled here on the forums lol..

I've been dreaming of the day when I'd have a car like this (I've been a mustang freak since I was a little kid), and that day is finally here!

I've given myself an $8000 budget. So what I'm looking for is feedback from you guys. I'm going to list all the mods I'm planning, brand names and part numbers when I can, and I'm hoping to get some kind of idea about this setup. Feel free to be critical with examples from your own experiences (i.e.; that part sucks when you use it with that part, I've had to take back two of those parts before because of manufacturers defects, etc..)

Now I firmly believe in doing performance mods before aesthetic mods, and because of that, I've already scrapped my plans for a body kit (was looking at the Rebellion Mustang) and wheels and such. There's just too much I want to do, and dropping $5000 on body kit/wheels alone just doesn't make sense.. so they'll come later.

So.. from the top...

Performance:

• BBK Ceramic Long Tube Headers
• BBK Shorty (Catted) X-Pipe
• Borla Cat-back Exhaust
• BBK 62mm Twin Throttle Body
• Steeda Underdrive Pulley
• Steeda "Stage 2" Suspension Pak
• Diablo Trinity T1000
• Was going to put a CAI on it, but $300+ doesn't make much sense for about 10 extra RWHP. So that's scratched for now

Interior/Exterior Aesthetics:

• Removing the GT emblems from both sides, and the rear faux gas cap and installing a blackout across the back of the trunk
• Halo Projectors (if I can find a set that will actually work with the 2010 model *grumble, grumble..*) to replace the headlights and fog lights
• Blackout panels for the front and rear lights
• Blackout Panels for the side lights (front and rear quarter panel turn signal indicators/reflectors)
• GT500 Steering Wheel (with my stock Pony airbag of course lol)
• Hoping to swap out the GT regular (4 gauge) cluster with the GT Premium (6 gauge) cluster that has the "My Colors" feature built in! (I've seen this done with older models and I'm hoping it can be done with the 2010 models)
• Illuminated "Mustang" door sills (blue light)
• Ambient Light Kit for the cupholder and Foot Wells (to give the interior a soft, blue glow.. nothing over the top)
• Carbon Fiber Interior Accent Kit with pieces for the door handles, various bezels, etc.. (Possibly.. still haven't decided on this one yet)

Electronics/Infotainment Goodies

• Metra Dash Kit for aftermarket radios (which will NOT be holding an aftermarket radio)
• Custom made (to double din form) 7" touchscreen LCD monitor installed in the above mentioned dash kit
• Micro ITX motherboard with a Core2 Duo Processor, 4GB DDR2 ram, 64GB Solid State Drive, 500GB USB or eSATA drive (for music/nav maps/etc..), USB GPS Antenna, HD Radio Tuner, and more lol
• Custom Circuit board with adapter to connect steering wheel controls to computer, and software to map the buttons to whatever I choose
• LinuxICE Operating System (small linux disto specifically designed for car computer/mobile infotainment applications)
• 2 x 12" Memphis Audio Subs in custom made boxes (that will sit on the sides of the trunk behind the wheel wells), 1200 watt Memphis Audio amp (for the subs), smaller 4 channel amp for the interior speakers (haven't decided what brand yet, but probably another Memphis Audio since I like them so much lol), and a full layout of Dynomat in the trunk, and possibly in the doors
• And I'll probably have a few other things integrated in to the "carputer" like a backup camera (maybe even a forward facing camera too lol), a high-gain wifi antenna for war driving (Wifi hotspot mapping for you non-nerds), etc..

So that's what I have planned for now...

All the above should come out to about $7500 or so (according to my preliminary estimates with shipping and such)

I know it's a lot of info to process, but what do you guys think? Am I missing anything lol?

hammeron

you've done your homework, it's a great plan.

Diabolical!

My advice would be to scrap that plan and spend the $8K on a Whipple and supporting mods, but I'm biased, lol. But seriously, it seems like you've done your homework and know what you want. I say go for it.

Xcelsius

From what I have seen, I would save the hassle and cost of the long tubes. not until your pushing serious horsepower through forced induction will that really help you out in the HP department. Kenne Bell site has some good info on that.

VRFlip

Ditch your entire plan, and spend that $8k on a Whipple.

Or

Ditch the entire performance section, put the aesthetics and electronics on the plan for next year, and spend the $8k on a Whipple.

Big50

Sounds like a great plan. any pix yet

DavidGT

What are the hassles you speak of lol?

The ceramic long-tube headers are a couple of hundred more than the shorty chrome headers... but why would it be a hassle to install them? Trying to maneuver them around the front axles?

Also, lol @ all the whipple 'fanboys' haha. Yeah, I hear you guys about the roots blower love.. but again, dumping all of my budget into about 100 HP.... just doesn't make sense.

My goal for this project is getting the most bang for my buck, while incorporating as much of the "nerdy goodies" as I possibly can.

And I'm not taking pics of my car until I get those damned waterspots off of it see I live on the island of Oahu and you wash your car and 2 hours later it's covered with dust again... sigh...

I've heard that distilled white vinegar mixed with distilled water should do the trick... either way, I get to my stomach everytime I look at her right now

More to come as I make final decisions on the parts list, and thanks a bunch for the feedback so far!

David

ShaneM

So I am the Roush M90 evangalist of late it seems, i really like the blower. You can get it for $4300 for the complete intercooled kit. Install will vary, but mine cost $600 for for $5K OTD you can get blown and keep your warranty. That would leave you $3K or so depending on install for your look good stuff. for myself, i am thinking the CDC chin, GT500 diffuser, and the roush side splitters. You can pick up that stuff for maybe $650 total. Throw on some steeda sport springs, koni yellow adjustable shocks (or go with the koni strt if you want to save abot $300 and don't need adjustment), adjustable pan hard, and J&M or steeda camber plates and consensus is you will have a much, much better suspension than the kit you mentioned for about $1200 OTD. That would leave you $1k for your sound stuff. That's what I would do, but if you are staying with stock wheels i'd at least get some 255 summer compound rubber.

OH and try living in the pine tree belt in texas with pollen -- california car duster and turtle wax ice detailing spray will take care of your dust and water spots.

PS- someone will be in here shortly to beat you about teh whipple roots comment lol, whipple is a TS blower the m90 is roots and those whipple boys are blower snobs (JK!!). Dont let them tell you the m90 is crap, it will give you all teh stock shortblock can handle if you want to custom tune it and get a new pulley.

dkersten

Sound mods, don't expect any gain in hp.
No gain here, save your money.
UD pulley will add hp, suspension will be nice.
spendy toy.. might just look at a gauge pod and a couple aeroforce gauges.. all the info for less money.. spend the difference on an sct tuner so you can get a multitude of canned performance tunes that would make more difference than anything else here performance wise.
CAI isn't much of a gain on the 2010 since they already improved it stock, so I tend to agree.
I can definately appreciate your planning, but when it comes to performance mods, you need to research beyond the advertisements.. tune, cai, CMDPs, and UDP are about the only simple bolt on mods that add power. Beyond that, cams will make a difference. If the engine is already tuned well, headers and exhaust won't add anything to performance - yes, some will argue it but honestly it isn't worth the argument.. even if you gained the max from headers that anyone has supposedly seen, you might get 14 hp from an $800 mod.. and you aren't willing to spend $300 for 10 hp? Personally I would bet money that the 14hp that some have seen came from the tune (headers don't need a tune, just an adjustment to the program for the sensor relocation, so if someone tunes with headers, the improvements they see are from the tune).

You could see a 100+ hp improvement from a simple vortech supercharger for around $4k, or see a 200+ hp improvement from a twin screw supercharger around $6.5-8k. Far and away the best bang for the buck, and realistically the only major power gain you will see with these cars.

Personally I would scrap all the performance mods and just add a vortech sc, and MAYBE springs. You already have the perfect set of gears at 3.73.

Just my 2 cents.. take it as you will.

siggyfreud

While you certainly seem to know what you want, your post confuses me a bit as you mention wanting performance mods above all else, but the mods listed really aren't going to give you a whole lot for the money spent.

I hate to be one of 'those' guys, but if you really want performance, then forced induction is hands down the way to go on this. Grab yourself a Saleen/Supershaker kit and get some serious added power, and a nice aesthetic change.