Bryan is 32 year old web based software business owner
- with some time on his hands for toys, like his 05 Mustang and 04
V-Rod.
"Back as a teenager, I was involved with some
muscle car building, hot rodding and street racing. After reaching
a certain level of success, I wanted a muscle car and began looking
at older 65-72 Chevys. After finding and falling in love with the
05 Stang, I purchased the Torch Red at the end of Oct 2004."
"I have been married for 11 years, to a great woman. I got
luck, after 11 years she still ... umm takes care of me . Most men
aren't so lucky. I also have 2 children, one 7 and 1/2 year old daughter
and an 5 year old son. I have been very fortunate with my family to
be happy. As for my business, I spent a few years with ZERO cash and
made a few big sales to some nationwide companies and have been set
since then."
Set he his, and as you will see in the following pictures, he also
has great taste. This brand new 05 sports MANY mods, something many
people will not dare to do, more so when Ford has been so picky with
warranties and mods.
Bryan's first mod was to replace the stock wheels with
a set of 18"x9" VR5S MB Motorsport Wheels with 114mm bolt
pattern and 45mm offset. The tires are BFG g-Force T/A KDW in the
front and back. The front sizes are 55/45R-18 (27" tall / 769
RPM) and the rear tires are 255/55R-18 (29" tall / 717 RPM).
To complement the nicer looks, Steeda Sport Springs
(part: 555-8215) were installed, this kit lowers the front 3/4"
and the rear 1 3/4". The advertised lowered height is up to 1".
In
his own words Bryan tells us something about this particular mod:
"Needless to say, I am very happy. By lowering the front and
back, the car handles excellent. There is NO lean and I have take
90 deg corners at 50 MPH with out any lean nor push. The same is true
at 80-90 on curved off ramps. The springs are firm (not stiff) yet
still give a decent ride on the highway."
Bryan ordered the Springs and Motive Gears (part: 21103) on
Nov-15-2004 and had them installed by Street Rod Concepts which specializes
on hot rods and customs.
To improve things further, but more so in the SOUND department, he
had a Magnapack Cat-Back system installed.
"First
i had some Flowmaster 40's installed and decided to go with the MagnaPack
Cat-Back system (part: 15883) instead. The sound is more mellow yet
deeper sounding. It does not have the metal sound the Flowmaster does.
The new system provided more torque than the Flowmasters. The best
way to describe it is this: take the stock mufflers, add volume, bass
and a nasty WOT and you have the Magnapacks."
But..the list is not over, Bryan decided to improve the POWER delivery
of the stock 24 valve engine by installing a SCT
Calibrator
The Programming was performed in Houston, TX. by Andre Terranova (aterranova@houston.rr.com).
Dyno was a Mustang Dynamometer performed by Chuck at Horsepower Engineering
in Houston, TX.
The SCT Tuner hold 4 flash programs, 1 for the stock that it downloads
the first time you use it. Then 3 other slots you can have programmed
any way you like. Now, a SCT tuner MUST do the initial programming
him/her self. Once the program is completed, it is downloaded to the
XCalibrator. At that point, you can flash your car with on the of
the three. Now, you can also buy a smaller version of the programming
software, called QuickTune (avail 12/3), that allows you (the end
user) to make tweaks yourself, and update your own XCalibrator and
Mustang.
Dyno:
"On the initial Dyno test on the 05 Mustang got 232 RWHP.
We then used the default program from SCT with some minor tweaks to
get 255 RWHP/266Ft-Lbs of Torque. We also switched for a Regular octane
fuel to a Premium octane fuel. However, SCT provides tunes for both."
"The SCT tuning software has the ability to update Auto Tranny
Pressures, etc. however, we did not change much. We could have also
modified the injector settings and other fuel/air items as well as
some other items I did not understand to well (too technical); but,
we are taking it slow. We did adjust some of the timing settings between
4500-5200 RPMs for a gain of about 10HP. With the tune, even under
light throttle it is much more responsive. Under half throttle or
even wide open throttle, it screams. Mixed with the 4.10 gears and
Magnapacks, it makes for a very exciting time."
Note: Cable and QuickTune 2005 should be ready by 12/3.
MPG Gains with 4.10 Gears: With the new flash and my 4.10 gears I am able to get:
-- @ 65 MPH (~2200 RPM) at 24.5 MPG
-- @ 80 MPH (~2700 RPM) at 21.5 MPG
-- City AVG of 30 MPH at 16.5 MPG
All semi aggressive driving style - more so in town with about 1200
miles on the Stang as of 11/29.
Underdrive
pulleys are always a good bet for low cost horsepower, this time Steeda
went to the rescue with their new pieces.
Steeda Underdrive Pulley System (part: 555-3305). Per Steeda: "You
can free up horsepower with this pulley set. A simple way to improve
performance - easy installation!"
"I had the Steeda Underdrive Pulley System professionally
installed by Street Rod Concepts. Here are some notes from the installer:
The stock Ford harmonic balancer had holes but no threads, this made
the removal a bit difficult. They were not able to use a standard
pulley remover. Please be aware of this, that removing the harmonic
balancer may be more difficult than normal under drive pulley sets."
"I could tell from the moment I press the accelerator that
there was more torque available to me. I drove light footed until
I reached the highway. Once I pulled on to the highway, I waited until
about 30 MPH and press about 3/4 down on the throttle. I was able
to light up the tires through first gear and then I left off a slight
bit. The under drive pulleys free up some nice Stang power that should
not disappoint anyone.
After putting a few miles on the car, I can now tell that in park
and during acceleration, there is a noticeable 'rev' performance.
Between the MMR Annihilator and the under drive pulley set, I
am very confident that at the next tune / dyno, I should have gained
/ freed an additional 15-20 HP. Time will tell ..."
Are
we done yet? not at all, Mustangs love to BREATH without restrictions,
a Modular Mustang Racing Annihilator Intake Kit (part: 900800), was
installed next: "This is the finest intake kit you can buy for
your 05’ GT, the MMR kit replaces the restrictive factory airbox,
mass air sensor housing and panel filter with our high flow mass air
sensor housing and washable element filter, adds 8-15RWHP and a smooth,
deep growl for the new 3 valve V-8 engine (no noise increase at idle
or cruise speeds.)"
Coming soon, you will be able to purchase a race version and a race
version upgrade (for people that buy the current kit). This race version
will include a heat shield and a smooth tube to the intake. It will
be powder coated with Red and Silver coloring.
"I
started by removing the stock airbox. I then removed and placed the
mass air sensor from the stock air box to the new MMR kit. After that,
you simply slide it on and tighten the clamps and rebolt the front
of the air filter to the same mount that held the stock airbox. Install
time took about 10 minutes."
"On the first crank, you can hear the new air filter working.
The intake of air is more like the old days when you simply had a
filter mounted on top of a carb. For now, I have not have time to
verify any new power/torque ... but I will soon enough.
After
taking the car out for a 'test drive', Here are the results. There
is more intake flowing sound for sure. You can hear the air rushing
into the intake manifold. This seems to produce a louder exhaust note,
and some cracks and pops. As far as power is concerned, there seems
to be a slight torque increase beginning at 3000 through 4000 RPM's.
However, until I tune, I will not know of any performance gains. Overall,
I am very happy with this product. The guys at MMR are fantastic.
If you call, ask to speak to Mark Luton. "
Happy
with the above mods (but surely into 100% done) was time to improve
the interior and exterior looks with a Round A/C Knob Kit (part: 1003-05)
and Billet Regular Style Door Pins (part: 1001-R-S-10/32).
The door locks are extremely easy to install. Do not over-tighten.
If you do, the doors will look lock but actually not be locked. To
install, start the lock on the thread, then lock the door. Then screw
the new lock until it sets against the lock molding. Use some 'Loctite'
RED to keep the locks in place from twisting - since they do not screw
all the way down. The A/C Knobs are very easy to install. Simply pull
and replace.
Bryan took the red Mustang to a local Paint and Body Shop named Damian
Paint & Body in Clute, TX. The job at hand was to have the area
between the left and right tail-lights painted black. "Overall,
Damian's Paint & Body did an excellent job. The black is deep
and have ZERO defects could not be happier."
Next Bryan will take the car for more Dyno tuning, the purpose
will be to tune the car with the SCT Xcalibrator and accomplish:
-- Adjust for new MAF size. The new MAF is 85mm. The original MAF
79.5mm.
-- Adjust for 29lbs/hour Injectors
-- Lower Dyno weight to 3518 lbs
-- Adjust for tire size of 29" with 717 RPM@45mph
-- Lower Idle to 600 RPM
-- Shift 1 -> 2 @ 6200 RPM
-- Shift 2 -> 3 @ 6400 RPM
-- Shift 3 -> 4 @ 6000 RPM
-- Shift 4 -> 5 @ 5800 RPM
-- Set Redline to 6800 RPM
Is he over??? by all means...no...there are plenty of mods to be installed
!!!
UPDATE : Bryan is taking his 05 to add some custom Stripes , these
should be ready shortly and this article updated with new images and
new dyno numbers.
Visit our Feature
Car Comments and Discussion forum to pass along your comments,
and view those of others regarding this article and Bryan's Mustang.
Article By Rob Hernandez, 2004, AllFordMustangs.com
