I have a 97 V6 5 speed and will have a little over $1000 to blow on my car when taxes come. I am new to modding my cars. Hell this is the first one i have really cared enough to put money into. I was wondering what would be the best mods to start with. Its my daily driver not "planning" on racing anyone just like to have fun with my pony lol .

My american muscle shopping cart as of now

BBk 56mm throttle body
SR Performance Blackout cold air intake
SR performance Clutch adjuster kit
Ford Racing 3.73 Gears & install kit (do i really need it?)
Bama sf3/x3 Power flash tuner w/ 3 custom tunes (then other pages says free tunes for life... so which is it? lol )

Grand total 1109.94

Am i going in the right direction? Any extra steps i should think about? lol any feedback would be appreciated

 

Ditch the throttle body... use that money towards suspension work, or use that money towards the installation of your gears. Installation from a good shop will run you between $300-$450. Throttle bodies won't do much with the mods you have listed.

 

Ditch the intake, throttle body, and the gears.

Get a drop in k&n replacement filter, pop off the intake "snorkel".
Find an 8.8 rear out of a 94-98 gt. That will have a limited slip and buy gears and install for that. Installation will be cheaper as well since they won't have to take it off the car. The tuner comes with 3 tunes installed, but you can have more tunes made for life for free.

 

I think you really need to figure out what the long term plans are for the car first. Then you can make decisions that will lead you in the right direction form there.

However, regardless of your route, I do think a Bama tuner is a good choice. Once you purchase a tuner from AM, you're enrolled into our Free Tunes for Life program. Whenever you make any bolt-on mod changes in the future, we'll gladly hook you up with new adjusted tunes. This will keep your engine always running at its peak performance and max efficiency!

Get back to me with some long term goals and we can plan out the rest!

Shane

 

TB = paperweight
CAI = Ok mod, but not a lot to it. Unless you plan on doing shows just get a K&N drop in filter and remove the snorkel
CAK = Not needed unless your stock clutch cable is going out or intend to be racing the car and need the adjustment ability
3.73 gears = good mod, but as stated get an 8.8" rear end with gears already in them. It'll cost about the same, maybe cheaper, and is much stronger than the 7.5" rear
SF3 = Good mod and you'll need it for the gears, just don't expect a world of difference performance wise. They make great power on 05+ Mustangs, but the 96-04 generation was tuned pretty good from the factory and doesn't allow for much improvement, but its still good for a couple hp and minor performance boost.

 

When i adjust my clutch as i read online it stays that way for a day or two then its all over the place it seems. I think i will get an 8.8 rear end from a junkyard and go that route. Ill just keep the gears that are in it for now since its a better ratio anyways. Take any extra money and get my cluster rebuilt. Tach is not accurate at all .Bounces at idle and sticks sometimes. Thanks for all your help guys.

 

Seems like you've got a good idea, but like everyone said, ditch the throttle body and I'd just get a drop in k&n filter instead of the whole intake

 

I'd also do the throttle cable adjustment to bring your gas pedal in line with your brake pedal.

 

yea i saw that too ... with the plastic and hose clamps? was wondering if it was worth doing.

 

I still haven't done it and every time I go anywhere im remi9nded of how much I hate my gas pedal.