GT 500 or tricked-out GT??

topoffGT · 10-01-2009

I say getting the GT500 is a no-brainer.

My buddy has an 07 GT500, and he's looking to do some power upgrades. We went to our local dyno shop yesterday. They showed us a dyno sheet with the stock rwhp numbers and then 3 more pulls with added upgrades for each pull. Bone stock the car put down about 423hp to the tires. By the 4th pull, the car was up to 588 rwhp! With an estimated 15% drivetrain loss, that's about 692 crank hp. This was achieved with a CAI, custom tune, upper & lower pulley change, and something else that eliminates belt slippage (I forgot what it's called). Not bad for around $1400 in parts & labor IMO.

I did mine the hard way, but I'm happy with the result. I've been modding my GT for 3.5 years since it was new. I don't have the 6-speed, big brakes, GT500 gauges, GT500 front seats, or the 5.4L motor.....but I do have 472 rwhp & 439 rwtq in a lighter car than the GT500.

Modding my car is clearly an addiction, but it's been fun seeing the car go through several stages of upgrades and changes in appearance. The Kenne Bell SC & GT500 body conversion totaled about $12.5k, and I have a lot more money in other upgrades. If I had it to do over again, I would start with a GT500 convertible. Since my car is a 2006 model, I didn't even have the choice of getting a GT500 at the time of purchase in March of 2006.

Now that I think about it, I probably have about as much invested in this car as many people paid for their stock GT500 convertibles. But I also have a unique high-performance car that I customized to my liking!

BlownNBagged · 6 Days Ago

If you haven't already purchased your car of choice, I have an '06 (same body style) S/C'd Saleen that has 46k miles and a built bottem end with well over 500RWHP for $22,000.
Best of luck on your search bro!