Jball001

Although my goal is to get the most out of my 2012 GT, it still needs to be a DD, ie nothing super loud or droning. I already have a steeda CAI and tune and gt500 axle backs. I have about 1,000 or so to spend on my car.

JCON

I would start with some 4.10 gears and an offroad x-pipe.

83foureyedfox

I feel the exact same way. 4.10s are great and will give you some low-end umph, I'm guessing you have the 6 speed which would be great for the gear, but your gas mileage will still likely suffer especially if you're doing a lot of interstate driving. If you're looking for pure performance, if you haven't already a good intake can add a few horses, you can also look into a small cam and/or heads where you can pick up power for a fair price. As far as the gear, you could compromise with a 3.73.

Nuke

After the CAI & tune on the 5.0, there aren't many large-gain mods w/o going FI. You can look into cams & LT's and the BOSS intake.

dcarlinf1

I would not go with 4.10 gears for a DD. I second the BOSS intake.

Jball001

Any suggestion for Long Tube headers and a shorty mid pipe? I don't want some obnoxiously loud. Lol.

Ricardo

Sheesh, you guys with a 400+HP engine complaining about HP.
I saw a '11 5.0 put down a little over 400hp ot the wheels on the dyno with GT500 mufflers, off road x-pipe, and intake/tune. My 4.6 made 275 on the same dyno a few minutes after with the same type mods. If you don't want too loud make sure you don't go off road with the mid pipe or it'll be seriously loud.

808muscle

Yeah the coyote platform is a helluva starting point vs our 4.6

OP, you already have a CAI and tune, add some headers or save for a blower.

Nuke

+1 that...

The 5.0 off-the-floor makes about 350-360 RWHP and then a bit more after a short break-in. A good CAI & tune adds about 35-40 RWHP so most of you Coyote's running tunes are in the 400 RWHP neighborhood (f***ing rich kids! LOL!).

I know that the 4.0 and 4.6 have the heavier-than-chit 2 piece DS which, when replaced with the aluminum 1 piece, reduces drivetrain loss on the order of a gain of roughly 3-5 RWHP. I haven't heard if it's similar with the 5.0.

AJ06GT

Like said, the 5.0s are already pretty damn beefy. I'd go for suspension work. It'll make the car a LOT more fun to drive, but if you want to be DD, be careful what you pick so you don't go too harsh.

If you do a mid-pipe, go with high flow cats since you said you don't want it that loud, and HP difference is negligible. LTs are a good mod but a pain in the *** to install if you do it yourself. I see a lot of people put the Boss intake on their 5.0s, but I don't know how much power that gives you for the price.

Then of course there's gears. I agree, I probably wouldn't go 4.10s on that car. 3.73s should be pretty good since it will already be around 400 RWHP.