I just bought a '04 v6 3.8L Black mustang.
It is extremely nice and I love the car. I am curious though on what I can do to give the car more power and appeal. I have about 1,000 to spend. It's not a lot and I don't want to do a lot, just give it the extra kick.
I just bought a '04 v6 3.8L Black mustang.
It is extremely nice and I love the car. I am curious though on what I can do to give the car more power and appeal. I have about 1,000 to spend. It's not a lot and I don't want to do a lot, just give it the extra kick.
my suggestion:
CAI - ~$70
Tuner ~$350
3.73/4.10 gears + Tlock ~$700 parts and labor
if you're thrifty, you can get all that done for a little over $1k, and feel an excellent bang for the buck.
What 232 said is what i would recommend. Have fun with it man!
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2002 Auto V6 Mineral Grey Mustang:
Go mods: U/D Pulley, BBK CAI and 65 mm TB, Pypes Violators dual exhaust with stock cats and an h-pipe, upper intake spacer, j-mod, SCT X3 tuner, and 3.73 gears and t-lock.
Show mods: Sequential tail light kit, GT fog lights, 8" shorty antenna, hood shocks, HID headlights, 17x9 inch Mach 1 rims wrapped in Vredestein Ultracs, and a chin spoiler.
Last edited by EagleAutosports; 07-16-2009 at 12:10 PM.
Reason: Edited out comments to basher
CAI - ~$70
Tuner ~$350
3.73/4.10 gears + Tlock ~$700 parts and labor
if you're thrifty, you can get all that done for a little over $1k, and feel an excellent bang for the buck.
The general suggestion is GETT.
Gears- $170 (plus $$$ for install)\
-These decrease your top end, but allow you to accelerate and get into the power band faster.
Exhaust- $350 for exhaust shop duals
-These add a little power and a lot of good sound. My suggestion is having a shop fabricate a set of true duals with Flowmaster 40 series mufflers. What ever you do, leave the cats on. V6's sound too raspy without them.
T-loc- $220 (plus $$$ for install)
-This allows our once one wheel wonders to apply power to both rear wheels instead of only the passenger side. If you get gears this is a must have.
Tuner- $380
-A tuner allows you to change your cars computer set up for different grade fuels. In doing so you can squeeze a few extra horsepower without modifying the engine. They also allow you to adjust your speedo after your get new gears or different sized wheels.
That is about $1000 without install or shipping.
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'01 Silver V6 5-Speed Show:17x8 Anthracite Bullitts w/Kumho 255-45s, spoiler, smoked headlights and fog lights, black LED 3rd brake light, Mach1 grill delete, Mach1 chin spoiler, splash guards, Hurst badge, chrome exhaust tips, carbon fiber bumper inserts, 8" antenna, black hood stripe, 232 badges, Ford Racing license plate frame (in the box: hood scoop, rocker stripes) Go: Divorced dual exhaust w/Original 40's, AM CAI, Hurst shifter, SCT 91+ Tuned
American Muscle, they're a sponsor on this site. By the way, go dual exhaust (about $350 at a shop), cai ($70), tuner(around $400 give or take a little depending on how many features you want). You might want to save the rest in case something messes up. But, if you continue, gears, underdrive pullies, and high flow cats are good. You might want to look into suspension to get that power to the ground as well. Have fun!
This is piece is only for 99-03 would it work for 04?
yes, they write that because on 04's (and earlier models as well) the MAF and IAT sensor are integrated into each other, and only require 1 hole in the intake. from my understanding, the 99-00 3.8L's have seperate MAF sensors and IAT sensors, and therefore require 2 holes in the intake.
all you would have to do is buy that intake, and cap off the extra hole.
my mustang is a 2000 model, so i have a seperate MAF & IAT sensor:
Yes, a bolt and some silicone sealant works great. My '01 has the combined sensor and that worked great.
Edit: The CAI allows more cool air to be used in combustion. It is more efficient that way and the car needs less fuel to produce the power.
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'01 Silver V6 5-Speed Show:17x8 Anthracite Bullitts w/Kumho 255-45s, spoiler, smoked headlights and fog lights, black LED 3rd brake light, Mach1 grill delete, Mach1 chin spoiler, splash guards, Hurst badge, chrome exhaust tips, carbon fiber bumper inserts, 8" antenna, black hood stripe, 232 badges, Ford Racing license plate frame (in the box: hood scoop, rocker stripes) Go: Divorced dual exhaust w/Original 40's, AM CAI, Hurst shifter, SCT 91+ Tuned
Now I am going to sound like an idiot but I heard that a CAI gives you more horse power and fuel economy. How can that be?
inside the engine bay gets really hot so a CAI changes the intake so it draws its air from outside the bay which is generally always going to be cooler than the air in the engine bay.. the scientific explanation for why cold air is better is... cold air is denser than warm air.. since it is denser it has more oxygen molecules for the same volume of hot air thus more fuel can be burned in one compression and thus more energy is released which gives you more power
Upgrades on a 2004 Black Mustang 
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) the MAF and IAT sensor are integrated into each other, and only require 1 hole in the intake. from my understanding, the 99-00 3.8L's have seperate MAF sensors and IAT sensors, and therefore require 2 holes in the intake. 
