rcerm

Hi all, I sole my '09 v6 about 2 weeks ago and picked up a '13 GT. What a difference! On my v6, I only did little mods as I knew I would be buying a GT in a few years and didn't want to drop a lot of cost on it, as both cars are daily drivers. Now that I have the GT, I'm thinking of dropping some money into it, and am curious what I want to do to it first.

The biggest thing is that this car is a daily driver, and I have a good commute to work (app. 55 minutes). I have a second beater car that I take to work as well to save on gas, but I really enjoy this stang and want it to beat the other 5.0 coyote's out there, while also improving the MPG.

American Muscle has the BOSS 302 power (manifold, tune, CAI) pack that I will most likely make the first purchase; I'm unsure where I should go from here. I'm trying not to spend more than $2,500 if possible and the power pack with a new strut bar will be around $1,350.

I'm thinking the Ford Racing 90mm throttle body would be a great addition, but would I do better with that or with changing the exhaust? My neighbor also has a bit of an issue with the noise of our vehicles and has filed complaints in the past, so I'm not trying to go too illegal on the sound db.

I'm a tad new to some of this stuff, so please bear with me.

Also, what should you not do to your exhaust if you plan to pass inspection in the future?

Thanks,
Ryan

E_cox310

Boss power pack is a good way to start, Exhaust (Keep the Cats on to pass inspection, I would just start with a simple cat-back or axle-back exhaust), and suspension (Lowering Springs, Struts) are great additions as well. Throttle body should be an afterthought, won't net you much power if you haven't done a significant amount of work to your engine.

NAVYMAN

^^^pretty much what he said, maybe look into an aftermarket shifter if you are in a 6 speed.

clowe1965

+1 on the suspension, it is something you will notice more than you think, plus you can have fun at any speed with a good setup. New shifter is a good upgrade as well. Forget the throttle body. Unless you are going to switch out your exhaust your stuck with cat-back or axleback systems. Before you buy anything PM jayman33 or Sleeper_GT to see what prices they can get you.

mapitts

Make that one more one the shifter upgrade. The stock shifter sucks. I went with an MGW. King of them all IMHO. You will be amazed at how a custom tune / CAI and shifter will make your DD experience better. Also I agree with clowe1965 on suspension although I have do not have any upgrades in that department.

tj@steeda

Yes ... once you add the power ... then you will need to keep the rear end planted. All the power is worthless if you can't go anywhere.

I agreee with the shifter as well ... you will want to get a more precise feel with an aftermarket shifter. The Tri As is great at shortening the throw and giving you confidence when you hit that 2 -3 shift.

http://www.steeda.com/store/mustang-...-manifold.html will run you about $1250.

Now you can go several ways with your suspension ... since you are a daily driver ... will you ever see time at the track? You can go with lowering springs that will help the appearance and handling, without sacrificing ride quality. The Lower Control Arms will plant the rear end so you can launch with that power ... etc.

Shoot me an email at tim@steeda.com if you would like me to start putting together a package for you based on your budget.

Do you plan on installing these items or will you be having a shop install them? That will factor in to your budget as well.

Just in case you are not familiar with Steeda ... you can check us out here:

http://www.steeda.com/

We make our parts in American ... we are ISO 9001:2008 certified ... we work with Ford Motor Company through our Tech Transfer Program ... and we have had 0 issues when our parts have been installed on a consumers car ... our tune is very safe and also has had 0 issues or engine failures.

Best Regards,
TJ

rcerm

Hey guys,
Thanks for all of the input! I have already changed the shifter on the car from the standard stock - that was a day one mod My neighbor/good friend is the head mechanic at the local Ford dealership, so I rarely pay anything for installs... or details or anything of the nature (pretty rad).

I will probably not see any track runs, or at least not in the near future Pardon my lack of knowledge, but wouldn't shocks and struts give the car a more bumpy ride too? I understand the performance with the handling that it will give, but I also don't want to feel like i'm in a truck.

Exhaust wise, would an axle back vs. a cat back make much of a difference? In the '09 I changed all of the exhaust chopped out the resonators for a deeper growl in the v6.. but I did all of it for the sound, not necessarily the performance.

Tim - I didn't see this on steeda's website, so I apologize for not linking you guys.. but would it also be worth waiting and shoveling out a little more for the Cobra Jet intake instead of the Boss 302?

Thanks again,
Ryan

AKRA

Cold Air Intake, Pypes LT Headers w/cat back, and a SCT tune would probably be around the $2500 and give you close to 500 FWHP.

clowe1965

The cobra jet intake is not worth it for a street car. You have to have a lot of head work, cams, rotating assembly, and exhaust done before switching to it vs the boss manifold.

Catback vs axleback will affect tone, and at higher RPM it may affect performance (there aren't many posted before/after dyno sheets to say one way or the other). You can cut out the resonators to change the tone, a lot of people have done that. The only other worthwhile performance gain axleback or catback exhaust gets you is possible weight savings. SW is advertising 41 lbs lighter, for racing that is fairly significant.

Don's Stang

for your budget
Skip the boss intake manifold, all it adds is high rpm power,

get a tuner for throttle response
Axle back for sound
maybe a CAI, and better shocks

and enjoy