[dardenus]

Hi,
I have a 2003 Mach 1 mustang and am at a bit of a loss of what parts i should be looking at next.
She currently has the following:

MGW short throw shifter
JBA cat back exhaust
Steeda under drive pullies
Steeda cold air intake

Most of my friends have been saying i need to work on suspension and breaking, though i view the Mach 1 as a drag strip car and most of them are into SCCA and such; however i wouldnt be against taking her to a circuit track, but there are not many around here and am a bit concerned she would be a bit of a wall magnet.

So with suspension i am left with two options, either go for a suspension designed for track and assume it does okay for drag, or get a suspension designed for drag, and hope that its still reasonable for every day use and doesnt turn it into a drag only car.

As far as breaks go, the Mach 1 confuses me, im really not sure if it has Cobra breakes, Billet breakes, or GT breakes. Either way, i dont really know much about breakes and was considering getting power slot rotors and hawk pads mainly due to the friendly price, or is this something where you tend to get what you pay for?

I talked to steeda and they suggested i look at a new rear end and suggested 4.10s, but im trying to keep this as a car thats still reasonable to drive on the street/highway.

Well enough ranting, anybody have any ideas what i should look into working on next?
maybe a dyno tune....
thanks for any input guys

[Bullitt5339]

4.10's and a tune, definately.

The Mach has the same brakes as the Cobra and Bullitt, so they're pretty good to begin with. A set of nice pads, and maybe crossdrilled rotors and you're set.

As far as suspension, the Mach has a similar setup as the Bullitt.

[gilomach]

get 410's gears.mach 1 brakes are pretty good,tough they can fade a bit if race on the road course.always stopped good when drag race.for everyday driving,you can consider yourself lucky that you have a mach 1.

[mell0]

for the suspension you might have to pick which type of racing you are really going to want to do most. drag springs are made to transfer weight and road racing springs are made to not transfer weight and keep the car relatively flat. although if you got some drag springs they would kill you at a road course where some road racing springs wouldnt hurt as bad on the strip. for the strip look at some upper and lower control arms. those suckers will get you to hook like no other.

also look into some weight saving items as well. racing front seats and a rear seat delete are just some of the few.

[johnr2001]

gears I have 4;10's in mine and love them

[dardenus]

well, for brakes i guess im gona get pads and rotors (my rotors are starting to rust anyways). Is this the type of item i need to be brand specific? or go for the best deal? Steeda has "power slot" rotors and "steeda/hawk" pads that have a real good price tag, but they seem to be kind of a house brand, but then again steeda house brand might not be bad. I seemed to like the pricetag a lot more than brembo and wilwood

Im still not sure what i want to do for suspension, i guess i should go for drag suspension since thats kinda what the car seems to be at heart, but am worried about how its going to behave for driving around casually.

I have been considering changing out to 4.10s for some time now, but my main concern about having them is if im going to have crazy high RPMs going down the highway. any idea what kinda difference i should expect as far as highway RPMs / MPG?

she isnt my daily (97 ford ranger, yeah!! ), but she doesnt exactly live at the track either.

thanks for all the input guys!

[Bullitt5339]

Hawk are great brakepads in general, definately not a house brand, they're on a majority of autocross and roadrace vehicles.

4.10's aren't too crazy, especially on a 4V engine. You'll probably gain a little mileage in town, lose about 2mpg on the highway. Mine pretty much cancelled each other out, I don't notice a huge loss. 5th gear is actually useable below 55-60mph now, it was useless for cruising with the stock 3.27's.

[johnr2001]

with my 4;10's I am taching 1950 at 60 mph in 5th

[dardenus]

wow, thanks for the numbers guys, i was way off, i thought the rpms would become rediculous on the highway.
so i guess the question is where to start then, probly either brakes or gears.
I think id like to stay with a drag suspension, any thoughts on how reasonable a drag type suspension is for every day driving? and any suggested kits? was looking at the steeda stage 1 kit but have heard the steeda suspension parts are way over priced.
Thanks for all the help guys.