persistantthug

I was almost all ready and set to buy some 4.10 gears (whenever I get my tax money that is) and now I hear that in order for them to be effective, I may need to invest in different/better tires. I was eventually gonna get tires, I mean, we all have to get em eventually, but I don't wanna go out and buy new tires when I've got some pretty expensive stock ones that come with the car. I've got to burn em up before I can justify buying $200+ or so new tires. Also, If I'm gonna buy tires, I might as well buy the rims I like....which I'm sure are gonna cost 1k or more.

Tire thing aside, According to you people, I'm gonna have to "tune" the car's odometer for the new gears which means I'm gonna have to take it into the shop or get my own Tuner. I would rather have my own since I'm gonna need one anyways, but if thats the case, Why wouldn't I want a CAI with that and make it a combo.

I definately can't afford new tires, rims, Gears, install, Tuner, and CAI all at once.

Sounds like the first best option for me and a lot of folks with a not so bottomless pit of money is to buy a Tuner and CAI combo first.

JEEZ, you guys made it all sound so easy speezy [:@]

dkano

Yeah, that's actually another good reason to go for the intake and tuner as your first mod, you get the tuner you'll need later to fix the speedo if you decide to change the gears. Shop around for the intake and tuner combo, I think I've seen it for around $540 or somewhere around there. I've been putting the wheels and tires upgrade off myself, that's just an upgrade that needs some more thinking.

EJD05GT

Thats what I'm doing.
-E





Sounds like the first best option for me and a lot of folks with a not so bottomless pit of money is to buy a Tuner and CAI combo first.

CrazyAl

Let me see if I can clarify things a bit.

If you buy gears, then you will definatley have to have some kind of tuner in order to correct the speedometer/odometer readings. Like you said, you can either buy your own tuner or have a shop do it for you. That is a must.


Now then, tires. Tires are a very basic mod--probably the most important mod--if you are going to be taking your car to the drag strip. But, there is no reason why you can't enjoy your car (or the other mods such as gears) on the street with stock tires. Drag slicks are going to give you improved traction off the line. But mods, including gears, are going to give you more oomph throughout the entire RPM range. You don't need slicks for passing on the highway or having fun on deserted streets. In my opinion, if you're not going to be dragging then there's nothing requiring you to buy new tires.


My suggestion is that if you are going to race the 1/4 and building up for that is your primary goal, then by all means snag tires as your first mod. But, otherwise it's not so important. If you're looking for street performance or the general "fun factor", then the Tuner is going to be the first thing you need. Basically every performance-oriented mod is going to require it: gears, CAI, headers, etc. Of course, what you buy first is going to be your choice, but you could do Tuner+ CAI, or Tuner+Gears, or whatever...

FREAKO

My factory Pirellis M+S tires do just fine with traction on the street with 4.10s......my 2 cents

chevykiller

When people (myself included) say that gears should be your first mod, we are usually assuming you already have a tuner and CAI combo. YES, a tuner should be the first thing you get for your car hands down. Anything else you do to your car engine performance wise is going to require it. After you have the tuner, yes, gears should be your next purchase. The gears do make a great improvement but don't take it out of context either. It's not like gears are going to give you a 100 hp so you can't hook up on the street - that's just silly. Your stock tires will work just fine with 4.10's on the street. If you're not going to the track, I wouldn't worry about rubber with minimal mods.

93BlackNotch

So what if the speedo is off a little bit... With 4.10's the fun factor will be doubled... You can punch it in 2nd gear and blow the tires off, an intake isn't going to give you that much of a noticable difference....

nghthawk

Now this is what im doing, i see this car as a 4 year project, IMO i think the first thing to do is suspension. Lower your stang, get shocks/struts, upper and lower controle arms, anti-role bars, and panhard bar. Before u start moding for HP u need to be able to hook your car. the stock stuff sucks. with no engine mods i can burn through 1st and 2ng gear. Then im going 4 looks stripes body mod ext. By then my factory warranty will be done with so i wont have to worry about it. Yes i know ppl what go faster parts but stock isnt bad. You have the best performing car in its price range so dont worry to much bout going quicker/faster. We all can dump boat loads of $$$ in our cars. But my pockets are not bottemless. So it will take time to get all this done. Hopefully by then the prices will come down on performance parts. I had a 91 GT and EVERYTHING for the 05/06 is about twice as much $$ for basically the same parts. These companys need to recoupe their research $$ so they jack up the cost now but prices will come down eventually. Remember the most expensive parts to buy now are HP mods. Just something to think about.

fin1

Your stock tires are fine and no, you don't need a tune. The speedo will be 15% off and can be fixed later with a CAI, etc.

chevykiller

Don't count on the the prices being significantly lower for mods anytime in the near future. 2nd - The stock suspension is the best ford has put out on the GT base model ever so I don't think it sucks at all. I actually laugh at the people who start stiffening their ride and going crazy suspension upgrades when they're are making 50 more HP over stock. They actually believe in their daily street driving that they need a full race drag suspension. For the average person, some LCA's and a panhard bar is about all you need to add to your car for daily street fun. Put your car and purchases into perspective and be realistic with yourself and you'll save money.

YES, me and some other guys are making crazy fast mustangs but there is a method to our madness. Most of us knew going in exactly what we were going to do and what it would take. Also, most of us are setting up street legal DRAG cars which is certainly not what the majority of you want or need. The main thing for all is to be happy with your ride and don't compare it to anything else. Decide exactly what YOU want - power wise - and then set about building and finding info on the set-up YOU need for YOUR power goals. Try not to get caught up in that game of who can be the fastest cause there will always be somebody faster and you don't want to end up making your family car into a drag racer that will never be worth what you put into it and perform for crap on the street. Stop worrying about putting power to the ground if your car is going to see a track once or twice a year if at all.