MustangNuB

Hey all, im still kind of new here. I looking to purchase my first Stang soon hopefully, after i sell my current hunk of junk.
My friend has a '99 Z28 6-spd camaro. Stock. Nough said.
I am looking to purchase a '99-04 Mustang GT 5-Spd convertible. For some reason insurance is cheaper on the verts over the coupes. That and I have always wanted a convertible.
Now on to my ideas. I have been doing alot of researching on parts and performance items etc etc etc. I have some of the basics down that i am going to get like catback, intake, gears, shifter etc. Now the difficult (for me) stuff
I am going to put these items and questions in stages so when one answers they can answer them all individually or whichever one they have the knowledge of.

Headers: whats the performance difference between longtubes, shorty's. equal lengths?? Which one is better and why? Also Which brand has the best gains and quality??

Exhaust question: Should i get an X-pipe or H-pipe ?? Which brands are best and dont give a raspy tone??


Mass Air Flow Sensors: I have seen numerous ones of these and dont know which one/brand to purchase?? Any help or preferrences?? How much of a H.P gain to they give?? are they worth the money??

Upper intake plenums: Which brands are best?? and any other info yall wanna give me?? are they worth the money??

Pulley kits again which brands are of best quality and best performance gains??? and are they worth the money??

Larger throttle bodies which brand? and how big should i go?? worth the money??

MIL eliminators: what are they for?? Should I/will I need one??

Chips/electronic tuners: I have seen lots of these, which ones are best/give the best gains/performance??


As for superchargers: I plan on adding one, and running about 7-8 psi. If not right away, within a year of having the vehicle. I like the prochargers just b/c they dont need to punch a hole in the oil pan and are mostly maintenance free. However, hows there performance? when do they kick in etc??
Also how do these supercharger brands stack up, vortech, paxton, powerdyne, and whatevers left??
when purchasing a S.C kit, do they come with fuel/tuning items?? or will i have to purchase a programer or chip & will I Have to take the car to a dyno right away after installing the S.C? when i was looking into getting a VW GTI their upgrade turbo kits came with chips etc so u just installed it and it was ready to go, no need for major tuning or dyno'ing??
BTW: I already own an innovate Wide-band O2 if any of yall have heard of them.

WOW I just majorly went brain dead, but thats about it for now, whenever I need to write stuff down I forget most of it. So when I remember whatever I have left to ask i will edit this post. Thanks for any/all help.

I just want to put the smack down on this damn 16 yr old with a Z28!! Ok, fine screw the LS1 I want to at least keep up. His ego is killing me!!! [:@]

EDIT: also what about a meziere electric water pump?!?!?

which brands of products do you prefer.............

Steeda
BBK
MAC
Trickflow
UPR
Granatelli Motorsports
Stillen
March Pulleys
C&L performance
Hypertech
Superchips
Diablosport Predator
ETC ETC...

Thank you all again, and hang with me I am a real fast learner...

code3GT

Start of with gears and exhaust. 3.73's or 4.10's, exhaust...Bassani is probably the best. If you are going to do forced induction, go with long tubes. As far as MAF, don't worry about it until you get your blower.

Superchargers...KB's are very nice, but I like Vortech and "yes" just about everything you will need, should come with your kit. Hope this helps a little. Oh, yeah...get some sticky tires and a roll bar, just in case...

Dan04COBRA

Long tubes are the best you can do, but midlength & shorties would be just fine on your 'Vert. The FRPP shorties are great, Bassani Midlengths are great (but insanely pricey) and any Long Tube is great - most people here have a vote for Mac. The differences on a NA 4.6 are minimal, but in the long run long tubes will always be the best bet. A good header/mid-pipe/cat-back combo will get you a good 20-30rwhp. Say, you get Mac LT's, Magnaflow X-pipe, MIL Eliminators (these trick your computer into thinking all your cats are there and functioning), Magnapack Catback (straight through, no restriction) for about $1,000 + $400-$800 for installation you can see 20-30RWHP, now your car is ready to go, you can do intake/plenum/cai/MAM and really see the benefits.

As for gears, the only gear worth spending the cash on (If your looking for the best performance possible) is 4.10 - 4.30 gears. You will need a speedcal to fix your speedometer, Dallas Mustang sells a speedcal for around $99-$120. The gears can be had for $125-200 bucks depending on where you buy them. All gears are good quality, but people tend to say the FRPP gears are the easiest to install. If your car has low miles 20-30k, 40k (pushing it) you won't need the installation 'kit' that is offered, but it never hurts. Make sure you add friction modifier when you have them installed.

As for UD Pullies, I see most people are satisfied with Steeda's.

I'll let everyone else suggest what they want with the TB's & Plenum.

My opinion on tuners = waste o'cash. If you want a tuner, save up another couple hundred bucks are your done modifying & get a dyno tune, nothing beats a dyno tune.