Zod

@Bitter; Yea it's a possibility I suppose. Not sure about the traffic I'd get, there's quite a few places where I have to stop/slow down to turn on my way home D:

@Windy

Insurance costs (if that's what you meant) are definitely a big buzz kill. I didn't think much about them before but that can be pretty limiting depending on how much it is.

On American Muscles project car (the 05 legend lime) the springs they used to lower it 1-2 inches were around $200 I think, which doesn't seem so bad. How hard would the brake rotor upgrade/pads hit me? Cause I've seen brakes for thousands :x.

Does it mix with the gas and boost performance? Like the more it puts in the faster the engine goes? I sound dumb but I really don't know much about it .

Yea I think the white/red/black scheme looks pretty cool, do you think it's too flashy for high school though? It seems like something for a show car more than just cruising around. I never have learned to airbrush, I wanted to try a while ago but never got around to it. That's a good idea to practice on, but jeez with that much money riding on it I think I'd be pretty scared. Right now I think I'd be afraid to paint my car, or do any serious mod's , like that involve drilling or cutting :0.

That's a good idea to be ready. I'm so addicted to looking for them every day online now, but it stinks because I know these aren't the cars I'll be able to buy in 6 months ish (probably).

About the manual.. Do you really think I'd enjoy it that much? I feel like there's a lot more to think about with a manual, although I've never driven one so I don't know for sure.

@MadStang; Manuals sound so scary to me. I'd be so embarrassed if I stalled out in a public place :X. My mom's car and dad's truck are both automatic, so I don't know how I'd learn. My dad knows how to drive manuals though, maybe I could ask him.. somehow.

Does a CAI/tuner help a lot in terms of performance? Like a noticeable difference over the stock engine? And.. would it make other options down the line not do-able? (Again sorry, I don't know anything about motors).

MadStang40

Hey, I've stalled a handful of times in public over the past four years. You know what I do? A peel out from the intersection out of self-hate haha. It's really not that much to think about after you learn. It becomes second nature, like loading a rifle.

About the nitrous: Nitrous mixes with the gasoline which boosts performance due to the huge increase in combustibility inside the cylinders. Ever heard of 100 shot? 150 shot? Even 200 shot? The higher the shot, the higher the hp gain. And if you're not careful, you'll blow a motor if you run too high and don't know the limitations of your engine block and internal hardware.

The CAI/tuner helps in performance as well as MPGs (like 1-2mpg) if you can keep your foot off of the case. It also tightens up the shifting points in automatics making it a lot more aggressive and increases your throttle response, making it faster off of the line with less time between pressing down the gas and the car actually taking off. Most people start off with a CAI/tuner combo. It works with every other mod! Until you go forced induction (supercharged/turbocharged). Then the CAI will be useless but the tuner is still necessary which the dyno shop will use to tune your car.

Zod

I'd be so embarrassed stalling in public haha! That sounds like a fun solution though and I guess you're right, I'd probably get used to it after a while, even though at the moment it looks so tedious.

Ah that makes sense about the nitrous. Never heard of the shot things, never really did much research into it, since the only thing that comes to mind when I think nitrous is the Fast and the Furious movies haha, so I assumed it was specific for street/drag racing or something. Does it inject itself automatically? Or is it like in movies where there's a switch or something (sorry I'm really dumb lol). The CAI and tuner definitely sounds like a good idea with all those beneficial sounding things . Is the tuner one of those handheld ones that plug in somewhere (?) or something? Or is it something installed and kept in the car? And it'll probably be a while before I can afford those forced induction (learned a new car vocab word woohoo!) methods, I haven't looked at turbochargers, and don't know how either work really except that they increase horsepower (I feel so awkward talking about this stuff I don't understand). All I know about superchargers is that they cost like 70% of what my entire car will cost me. Yikes.

Thanks for the reply Do you think I should shell out the money for the CAI and tuner even before I get new wheels/rims? I think the performance will be worth it, although visually I'd be on stock wheels. Off topic, but the prices that nice looking wheels run drives me insane.. I see these decent prices, and then I remember it's four times more than that.. plus rubber.. ugh. That's typically how everything works though so I shouldn't be surprised, the more stylish, the more green.

MadStang40

Well let's see where to start...

I can't tell you about nitrous details as I've never (and would never) install it on my ride. Not because it isn't safe, but I kind of view nitrous as cheating haha. But that's just me.

The tuner is handheld and plugs into a port in the driver's foot well below the steering column (it's tucked up underneath the plastic trim). I personally keep mine in the glovebox so whenever I want to switch tunes I can (providing I'm running the correct octane)!

I'm currently saving up for a 5.0 after I graduate, so I'm in the same boat as far as forced induction goes. Can't decide on what my first mod will be. Go big and save with a supercharger then get dyno tuned after each mod or start small? Hell if I know...

My first mod on this car was wheels. It's up to you really, you can't go wrong with either choice. Yea, really nice wheels cost a ton (I'll be putting some nice ones on my 5.0) but there are plenty that are in the middle of the road or cheaper. I have GT500 replicas from americanmuscle.com. Cost me $1400 for the wheels and tires. They came balanced (they place weights on your wheels to even the weights) and all you have to do is pay a shop 25 bucks to install if you don't want to do it yourself. There are plenty of wheel/tire combos there that cost less too. Mine cost a little high since I went with better tires (Nitto NT555s) and have a staggered set up with beefier wheels/tires in the rear.

Yessir, you gotta pay to play! haha

rocket237

Get the v-6, Insurance is a factor not yet discussed, the lesser the cylinders the cheaper the rate. Also , You can get a v-6 too look like a gt with the dual exhaust, and rebadged, but thats taken it a bit far imo. Check out swap meets in the area, and keep an eye out for the unfortunate accidents that tend too pop up. Also a visit to a pick an pull can be a gold mine,( I dressed up a dodge nightrunner with all oem nightrunner parts that way). Be viglante, get the cheapest 'stang you can find, and treat it like gold......it will repay you. Welcome too the forum, and good luck.......on a side note check out ''the smith system'' on defensive driving, It will keep you and your car safe. here's a link
http://www.smith-system.com/splash_intro/

Zod

Thanks for the reply rocket! I agree with you that getting GT or v8 emblems and such (I think that's what re-badged means) is a little too far, especially when you get compliments for something you don't have. Those are all good ideas! I probably will look for the cheapest I can find once the 2013 models are out, and don't worry, I'll baby it like crazy . Thanks for the link to the smith system, I'll check it out! Much appreciated

JimC

The "Fast and Furious" is NOT where you want to learn about nitrous LOL - and the "ha ha" is appropriate. All the "nawzzz" talk and crap, not at all what nitrous is about. (and Nos is simply a trade name for one of the systems out there, just like Zex is a different trade name).

Nitrous is a great little power adder. With the S197 you do a "wet shot" which adds both nitrous and fuel at the same time rather than a dry shot which adds only nitrous to the air flow and relies upon the injectors to keep up. The size of the shot has to do with how much nitrous and fuel you are adding to the stream - the bigger the shot the more fuel and nitrous and more power.

And nitrous is a race specific application. It isn't something you run on the street; in fact a lot of states don't allow you to run on the street with the system turned on. When I was running a 75 shot I could get about 10 passes on a bottle before I couldn't keep the pressure up high enough.

And yes, there is a button you use to turn the system on. It can be a momentary button you push and hold or a toggle switch you throw to turn the system on.

It is a lot of fun to use, but you won't get the special effects of the "Fast and Furious", but it will toss you back in the seat with the instant and massive torque that it creates

Nitrous is not flammable, despite the "Fast and Furious" and screams of "nawzzz" in the face of a car fire. It is inert and you can start a flow of nitrous and put a flame to it and it will blow the flame out.