[Wolfpac]

I just bought my first Mustang last month. It's the new '06 V6 engine with the pony package. So far this car is the best vehicle I have ever spent money on and getting it at a discount doesn't hurt either. I know the one I have currently has 210 hp but I would like to give it a little more of a punch and maybe try to bump it up to about 240-260 hp. I have never done anything like this on any of my cars before.

I'd just like some suggestions on what can be done.... One of my friends mentioned a supercharger and another one mentioned an intake. I was thinking about going down to a shop that specializes in these things that my friend goes to. How much would I be looking at? What angles should I look out for? What kind of parts can you guys suggest to me? If I do end up going with a supercharger or an intake am I going to have to buy other parts because of it? Any info for a newbie will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[fishingjts]

Originally Posted by Wolfpac

I just bought my first Mustang last month. It's the new '06 V6 engine with the pony package. So far this car is the best vehicle I have ever spent money on and getting it at a discount doesn't hurt either. I know the one I have currently has 210 hp but I would like to give it a little more of a punch and maybe try to bump it up to about 240-260 hp. I have never done anything like this on any of my cars before.

I'd just like some suggestions on what can be done.... One of my friends mentioned a supercharger and another one mentioned an intake. I was thinking about going down to a shop that specializes in these things that my friend goes to. How much would I be looking at? What angles should I look out for? What kind of parts can you guys suggest to me? If I do end up going with a supercharger or an intake am I going to have to buy other parts because of it? Any info for a newbie will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Congrats on the new Stang!!!

You didn't mention if you have an auto or manual tranny... While a tuner, like the SCT X-Cal2 will benefit both the auto and the tranny, the difference is greater on the auto.. I recommend the X-Cal2 as a must have mod.

The other 2 bolt on mods would be cold air intake (CAI) and a better muffler... For a CAI i would look at the new C&L... good looking and nice gains... For the SCT X-Cal2 and C&L I highly recommend Alternative Auto (www.alternativeauto.com). These 3 things will really tranform your car! It will be a night and day difference!

If you just want an occasional big boost and are on a limited budget.... (A supercharger or turbo will set you back a minumum $3500 probably more like $4500 by the time your done) then I recommend looking at the Zex Nitrous Oxide kit... the 2005/06 GT kit fits perfectly on our cars... I'm running a 100HP shot...

Hope this helps...

[Wolfpac]

Originally Posted by fishingjts

Congrats on the new Stang!!!

You didn't mention if you have an auto or manual tranny... While a tuner, like the SCT X-Cal2 will benefit both the auto and the tranny, the difference is greater on the auto.. I recommend the X-Cal2 as a must have mod.

The other 2 bolt on mods would be cold air intake (CAI) and a better muffler... For a CAI i would look at the new C&L... good looking and nice gains... For the SCT X-Cal2 and C&L I highly recommend Alternative Auto (www.alternativeauto.com). These 3 things will really tranform your car! It will be a night and day difference!

If you just want an occasional big boost and are on a limited budget.... (A supercharger or turbo will set you back a minumum $3500 probably more like $4500 by the time your done) then I recommend looking at the Zex Nitrous Oxide kit... the 2005/06 GT kit fits perfectly on our cars... I'm running a 100HP shot...

Hope this helps...

I actually have an automatic. Believe it or not, I bought the auto because I pictured how the manual would feel if both cupholders had cups. Now, as for the tuners, how do they work exactly? Can I install them myself or should I buy it from a specialty shop and have them install it? Would the tuner add more noise to my engine? How much alteration to the engine do I have to make to install the tuner? The same for the cold air intake. Do I have to buy a better muffler if I get the intake or can I just have the intake without the muffler?

[fishingjts]

Originally Posted by Wolfpac

I actually have an automatic. Believe it or not, I bought the auto because I pictured how the manual would feel if both cupholders had cups. Now, as for the tuners, how do they work exactly? Can I install them myself or should I buy it from a specialty shop and have them install it? Would the tuner add more noise to my engine? How much alteration to the engine do I have to make to install the tuner? The same for the cold air intake. Do I have to buy a better muffler if I get the intake or can I just have the intake without the muffler?

Tuners will reprogram your car's computer. I have and recommend the SCT X-Cal2. It is very simple to use. You simply plug it into the ODB-II port which is located under the dash below the steering wheel. You follow the simple instructions on the little LCD screen and it copies the stock program to the tuner and then loads a new "tune" to the car. This way you can easily return the car to stock if you need to.

Since you have the automatic you will immediatly notice a HUGE difference in the car! The throttle response will be greatly improved, the shifting will be improved, and you'll have to be careful or you'll find yourself squawking the tire at every stop light! LOL!

An X-Cal2 is very simple and will take about 2 minutes to load the first time... There are a couple of very respectable shop you can order and X-Cal2 from... personally I recommend Alternative Auto (www.alternativeauto.com). An X-Cal2 is the one mod I consider a MUST HAVE...

Now if you want a CAI I would recommend you buy it in a packages deal with your X-Cal2. Many companys claim "no tune needed" but I would stay away from these... that's just my opinion... I had the MMR CAI but have recently switched to the C&L.... the C&L rocks! (much to my surprise! LOL!)

Muffler... I would get rid of the stock muffler... (I got rid of mine day one!) The stock muffler is incredibly restrictive! You can pick up a nice axle back muffler ( I have the Magnaflow) and pick up about 10RWHP and get a lot better sound!

Personally I would do the X-Cal2 first.... if you really want a CAI then do a package deal... That might be enough to satisfy you... but then again it will probably be just enough to hook you! LOL!

[Wolfpac]

Nevermind about the tuner installation part. I just read more on it and it looks like something I attach to the car and program instead. How would I know which calibrations I should use? Is there a site where I can look them up? If you can help me out I'd greatly appreciate it only because I know absolutely nothing about cars except for the fact that I can drive them and maybe change a flat or oil.

[fishingjts]

Originally Posted by Wolfpac

Nevermind about the tuner installation part. I just read more on it and it looks like something I attach to the car and program instead. How would I know which calibrations I should use? Is there a site where I can look them up? If you can help me out I'd greatly appreciate it only because I know absolutely nothing about cars except for the fact that I can drive them and maybe change a flat or oil.

Really nothing you need to do if you car is stock... if you go with an X-Cal2 it can hold 3 different tunes. Usually there will be a tune for 87, 89, 91 or 93 Octane... You simply load which ever tune you want depending on the type of gas you use... it's when you start modding the car you may need to make some changes to the tune... but in your case you'll just be loading the tune...

[Wolfpac]

Oooooh ok! Thanks so much! I really appreciate you taking out the time to explain it to the way you did. I'll probably order that thing in a few weeks. I'll private message you to let you know how it turns out. Just wondering: How much hp and extra torque did you get out of your car after you used the tuner? Thanks again! Saw your car at your site by the way... that thing looks so awesome.....

[fishingjts]

Originally Posted by Wolfpac

Oooooh ok! Thanks so much! I really appreciate you taking out the time to explain it to the way you did. I'll probably order that thing in a few weeks. I'll private message you to let you know how it turns out. Just wondering: How much hp and extra torque did you get out of your car after you used the tuner? Thanks again! Saw your car at your site by the way... that thing looks so awesome.....

No problem...

Here is a before and after dyno sheet of a completely stock V6 automatic using Lidio's 89 Octane tune... most noticable is the bottom end torque...

http://www.tammyandjohn.com/Mustang/...ang%20Dyno.jpg

[Wolfpac]

Another question if you don't mind. The specs for my car says 210 hp with 240 ft lbs torque. How come the numbers on the chart are showing lower than those specs? On the website for the tuner it says an increase of about 40 ft lbs torque on 89 Octane. How much is the hp increase with 89 Octane?

[Waxed'05 GT]

I hope you don't mind me cutting in here and "stealing the question". The dyno shows less because it is computed as rear wheel horse power (rwhp) and the manufacturer rates the engine at the flywheel. That hp the manufacturer uses is BEFORE any kind of hp loss due to the powertrain. Am I missing anything here jts?

[fishingjts]

Originally Posted by Waxed'05 GT

I hope you don't mind me cutting in here and "stealing the question". The dyno shows less because it is computed as rear wheel horse power (rwhp) and the manufacturer rates the engine at the flywheel. That hp the manufacturer uses is BEFORE any kind of hp loss due to the powertrain. Am I missing anything here jts?

yep, our cars HP is rated at the crank, not what actually makes it to the pavement... That why you'll see 210HP vs 210RWHP (RW=rear wheel). For our automatics there is about 20% loss in HP by the time you measure it at the tire... so... 210HP - 20% (42) = 168RWHP... Automatics are usually 18% to 20%, while manual trannys are more in the 15% range...

Lidio's 89 octance tune showed a 12RWHP gain which would be about 15HP at the crank. So now your 210HP is 225HP.... A CAI/Tuner/Muffler will take your car up to about 190RWHP... so your HP at the crank is now about 235HP to 240HP...

[Wolfpac]

Thank you, JTS. Everything is getting clearer and clearer and I am now starting to understand my car a little better. So you said in your previous post that the XCal2 tuner is just a plug and play type equipment huh? Ok, like I said, I will definitely give it a try in the next couple of weeks. If I have any other questions about the instructions I hope you won't mind me asking you on these msg boards. Thanks again. By the way, just so you know, the more I talk to you about my new car the more I appreciate the fact that I bought it and the more I feel I made the best choice. Thanks again! I know I can learn a lot from you!

[fishingjts]

Originally Posted by Wolfpac

Thank you, JTS. Everything is getting clearer and clearer and I am now starting to understand my car a little better. So you said in your previous post that the XCal2 tuner is just a plug and play type equipment huh? Ok, like I said, I will definitely give it a try in the next couple of weeks. If I have any other questions about the instructions I hope you won't mind me asking you on these msg boards. Thanks again. By the way, just so you know, the more I talk to you about my new car the more I appreciate the fact that I bought it and the more I feel I made the best choice. Thanks again! I know I can learn a lot from you!

yep, he x-cal2 is plug and play... in the instructions it talks about pulling some of the cars fuses... you can ignore that... Other than that you just follow the instructions on the x-cal2...


keep us posted!