[julianrodriguez]

Hello, I recently bought an automatic 02 gt Mustang. The general goal for this car is to buy as many bolts on to get as much hp gains as possible without having to invest a lot of money in upgrades that wont give me more hp. This is more of a guideline than a rule I couple disclaimers: I am an 18 year old idiot. I accept that. I live in Minnesota. I am totally open to any suggestions about anything. I am also looking for missing links, e.g. getting headers with stock catback. Thank you ahead of time you guys are awesome!

Lets start with tires and wheels
Staggered Black 1995 Style Cobra R Mustang Wheel & NITTO Tire Kit - 17x9/10.5 (99-04) - Free Shipping 28084||28086||76000||76014
Don't really have any questions except is this over kill and how will the 555's hold out in the winter? (I am planning on buying most things in the spring) Also would the black 6 spine or the black acorns blend in better?

Exhaust
Headers
MAC Mustang Chrome Long Tube Headers TF9625 (96-04 GT) - Free Shipping TF9625
with the off road mid pipe. My main problem is that its an automatic, and I couldn't find that many headers that you can use for automatics. Also because I am going to s/c I was thinking that I might need ceramic ones but then I was like its MN so probably not but then I was like with all the salt and sand on the road maybe the chrome will corrode faster?? Also I really don't care about the catty converters, the only reason I would go offroad is because it cheaper. Anyone have any experience with cops actually checking? Does anyone have any specific experience with these headers and clearance issues? Do I have to lift the engine to install these?

Catback
Pypes Pype-Bomb Mustang Catback Exhaust SFM29V (86 GT; 86-93 LX; 94-04 GT, Mach 1, Bullitt) - Free Shipping SFM29V
Pretty much I choose these because they were cheap. As long as they aren't obnoxious I'm fine. I have read that most catback are going to give very similar hp increases.

Brakes
Hawk Performance Hawk Quiet Slot Mustang Rotors - Front Pair KIT (94-04 GT, V6) - Free Shipping 53051||HUS8141||KIT
Hawk Performance Hawk Quiet Slot Mustang Rotors - Rear Pair KIT (94-04 GT, V6) - Free Shipping 53053||HUS8142||KIT
Hawk Performance Ceramic Brake Pads HB274Z.610 (99-04 GT, V6) - Free Shipping HB274Z.610
Hawk Performance Ceramic Brake Pads HB183Z.660 (94-04 GT, V6) - Free Shipping HB183Z.660
I am upgrading them mostly because I need new ones. Is this overkill. Also I am debating ceramic vs HPS, tips? I am also going to paint the caliper black.

Gears
I am planning on getting some 3.73's It is my understanding that they wont really kill top end, but still improve my acceleration. If this is wrong please let me know. I was thinking of ford racing brand.

S/C
Heres where thing get real interesting. I'm pretty sure I want a centrifugal s/c which pretty much leaves me with vortech, paxton, or procharger? The car is a daily driver, and it would be awesome if I could get the highest psi possible without risking the longevity of the engine. I have been told that targeting 8psi at redline is a good place to start, what do you think? I am looking to upgrade the: camshafts, intake manifold, heads, plenum, throttle body, maf, meth kit if the s/c doesn't come with a intercoller, sparks and coils.

Everything depends on the s/c kit. Are any of these upgrades overkill. Remember I'm aiming for highest practical psi for daily use. I think that once I can really narrow down what kind of psi I am targeting I can chose a s/c, and then all of the list components to follow.

I understand that I asked a million and a half question. I you can answer just one that totally cool. Like I said if there is anything I missed or id there is anything incompatible please let me know!

Thanks again.

 

[075581]

Hopefully ill be able to help you out

The rims your looking at are nice. I think black goes good with every color car. What color is your car? I also like the staggered look.thumbsup3.gif Just remember its your car and people have different opinions but as long as you like them then who cares. I got similar rims I got the GT500 rims and there staggered and I love them.

As far as headers they do sound nice but they are a ton of labor for maybe 10HP. I would do them last and focus on a mid pipe and cat back for now.

Gears all depends on your driving. Are you driving far to work on the highway? The most popular are 4:10's and 3:73's. I have 4;10's and im glad I went with them.

The brakes your looking at are the same ones im looking at. I cant really comment on them because I don't have them but from what I read they seem like a nice upgrade to stock brakes. Im sure someone will chime in who actually has them.

As far as S/C go they all seem to be good. You have to do your homework on this. You can probably squeeze 10 lbs of boost on stock internals. I would recommend a Intercooler. Some kits don't come with fuel upgrades and your gonna need them. Fuel pump, Injectors, MAF, colder spark plugs gapped between 30-35, and a DYNO TUNE. A canned tune will get you to the tuner, and drive to the tuner like your grandma would drive to church. I like the centri S/C myself. There a lot of people that like the PD s/c like a Kenny Bell there awesome too (more low end power) its all preference.
Im planning on a S/C myself and im doing tons of research on this im leaning towards a Procharger but not 100% sure yet.

Your looking into about $8000-$10000 in parts for everything you want and then labor unless you do it yourself. That's why I stress do a lot of reading and research before you jump in to a S/C theres a lot involved.
I also forgot to mention suspension.
Subframe Connectors: foundation of all mods to come, Highly recommend them they keep your body from twisting and put the power to the ground.
Rear Lower Control Arms: The *ss end in our cars is average at best and the LCA's are really going to help out a lot especially wheel hop and quick starts.
I know you want HP and speed but you have to have suspension. How would you feel if someone rolled up to you at a light in a Honda Prelude and beat your S/C car because you couldn't get out of the hole and spun tire. I wouldn't be able to sleep that nightrage-smiley.gif

I hope I was able to help you out a bit any questions feel free to ask. And your going in the right direction (I don't think your an 18 year old idiot) I pretty much like the route your going and Im sure people are going to chime in and help out as well.nod.gif

 

[willyg1997]

An idiot from MN? Na, we are just a little tougher.

And the rest pretty much what 075581 said .

As far as those 315 rollers in the snow are going to suck, even a couple size small will still suck. But the 315’s give the stangs the best looking stance. I would just run you stock’s in the winter, or get smaller (narrower) rims for the winter and run the 315’s the other 8 months.

For the cats, not sure what the cities are like for emissions, but up north we have a designated scrap pile on the back 40’y of dead cats. And with LT headers running without cats you may want to rethink those pypes bombs, tractor loud.

For me 4:10 is a great fit with the centri running 8/10#. But you may want to look into a good stall conv also.

Max boost on a stock engine is 8/10 #. I would lean more towards the 10# and keep the rpm below redline, vs running 8# at redline. Redlining is what will kill your stock engine.

Cams, intake, and head upgrades aren’t really needed if you are going to stick with stock internals with the s/c.

Pick up this book, lot of good stuff you’ll need to know.
http://www.amazon.com/Build-Max-Performance-4-6-Liter-Ford-Engines/dp/1613250819

 

[julianrodriguez]

Hopefully ill be able to help you out

The rims your looking at are nice. I think black goes good with every color car. What color is your car? I also like the staggered look.thumbsup3.gif Just remember its your car and people have different opinions but as long as you like them then who cares. I got similar rims I got the GT500 rims and there staggered and I love them.

As far as headers they do sound nice but they are a ton of labor for maybe 10HP. I would do them last and focus on a mid pipe and cat back for now.

Gears all depends on your driving. Are you driving far to work on the highway? The most popular are 4:10's and 3:73's. I have 4;10's and im glad I went with them.

The brakes your looking at are the same ones im looking at. I cant really comment on them because I don't have them but from what I read they seem like a nice upgrade to stock brakes. Im sure someone will chime in who actually has them.

As far as S/C go they all seem to be good. You have to do your homework on this. You can probably squeeze 10 lbs of boost on stock internals. I would recommend a Intercooler. Some kits don't come with fuel upgrades and your gonna need them. Fuel pump, Injectors, MAF, colder spark plugs gapped between 30-35, and a DYNO TUNE. A canned tune will get you to the tuner, and drive to the tuner like your grandma would drive to church. I like the centri S/C myself. There a lot of people that like the PD s/c like a Kenny Bell there awesome too (more low end power) its all preference.
Im planning on a S/C myself and im doing tons of research on this im leaning towards a Procharger but not 100% sure yet.

Your looking into about $8000-$10000 in parts for everything you want and then labor unless you do it yourself. That's why I stress do a lot of reading and research before you jump in to a S/C theres a lot involved.
I also forgot to mention suspension.
Subframe Connectors: foundation of all mods to come, Highly recommend them they keep your body from twisting and put the power to the ground.
Rear Lower Control Arms: The *ss end in our cars is average at best and the LCA's are really going to help out a lot especially wheel hop and quick starts.
I know you want HP and speed but you have to have suspension. How would you feel if someone rolled up to you at a light in a Honda Prelude and beat your S/C car because you couldn't get out of the hole and spun tire. I wouldn't be able to sleep that nightrage-smiley.gif

I hope I was able to help you out a bit any questions feel free to ask. And your going in the right direction (I don't think your an 18 year old idiot) I pretty much like the route your going and Im sure people are going to chime in and help out as well.nod.gif

My mustang is white. I think the black will look slick with the black gt stripes.

Me and my friend do most labor and time is not a factor.

I was thinking 3.73s because I really don't want to lose any top end speed. I commute to work and school everyday which is about 10 miles one way.

For s/c I was thinking centri because only when i set on it am i really getting boost, but I wont have turbo lag. I'm never gonna tow anything and don't really care too much about low end torque. One of my biggest concern is the because I live in MN there may be an issue with how cold it gets. What I have read, and please correct me if I am wrong, is that as long as the s/c is self lubed and doesn't need a oil line from the engine I should be fine as long as I don't do anything crazy till the car warms up. Is this true? Because of this I was also thinking of a procharger kit because its self lubed, comes with an intercooler, and i wont need to get fuel upgrades. Is there a more cheaper, but still reliable product that also has those three features and would be able to do at least 8 psi?

I haven't even started my suspension research, so I won't bother you guys until after I do.

Thank you for you input.

 

[julianrodriguez]

An idiot from MN? Na, we are just a little tougher.

And the rest pretty much what 075581 said .

As far as those 315 rollers in the snow are going to suck, even a couple size small will still suck. But the 315’s give the stangs the best looking stance. I would just run you stock’s in the winter, or get smaller (narrower) rims for the winter and run the 315’s the other 8 months.

For the cats, not sure what the cities are like for emissions, but up north we have a designated scrap pile on the back 40’y of dead cats. And with LT headers running without cats you may want to rethink those pypes bombs, tractor loud.

For me 4:10 is a great fit with the centri running 8/10#. But you may want to look into a good stall conv also.

Max boost on a stock engine is 8/10 #. I would lean more towards the 10# and keep the rpm below redline, vs running 8# at redline. Redlining is what will kill your stock engine.

Cams, intake, and head upgrades aren’t really needed if you are going to stick with stock internals with the s/c.

Pick up this book, lot of good stuff you’ll need to know.
http://www.amazon.com/Build-Max-Performance-4-6-Liter-Ford-Engines/dp/1613250819

Your plan with the tires was my idea exactally. You just worded it better

I go back and forth about the catback. On one side I want a nice borla or magaflow for like 600. On the other side for 200 less I can get the pypes that should free up the same amount of hp. Is this right? If I had to choose my idea noise level it would be relatively quiet until 2500 or 3000 rmp and then it can be as loud as it wants. I other words if sounded not that loud for my daily driving, but then when I want to have fun I would sound like it. Is this possible? Again my main goal is more hp and if it has to be a different noise than I want at the end of the day I will deal with it.

I am starting my research on stall convs...

About the book wouldn't I be able to ask you awesome people for free? Ok is there something special in there no one car tell me???

Thank you for all your help.

 

[julianrodriguez]

So what I think the general consensus is: s/c 8-10 psi get spark plugs, intercooler, maf, cai, fuel upgrades, but.... no cam, intake manifold, of head. Does this sound righ?
Oh and suspension of course

 

[julianrodriguez]

Anybody else have any feedback?

 

[075581]

Your on the right track with that


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[JonR2006]

So what I think the general consensus is: s/c 8-10 psi get spark plugs, intercooler, maf, cai, fuel upgrades, but.... no cam, intake manifold, of head. Does this sound righ?
Oh and suspension of course

I would also add that you should get some guages: A/F ratio, Oil Temp, Oil Pressure that actually tells you what the oil pressure is, Boost Guage, etc...

At least buy Lower Control Arms for your suspension to begin with...

For longevity purposes, you need to have it Conservatively Dyno-Tuned. No need to go crazy on the stock short block and rotating assembly...

 

[S281-793]

I am running the Kennebell 2.1L Kit and I LOVE it. My car is a automatic and puts down 400 RWHP on the rollers. I will warn you, if you get up there in Power with the 4R70W transmission you will need suspension and Trans work.

Also if you went with the complete Kennebell kit any other bolts you buy would be a complete WASTE of money.

Kennebell is a Positive displacement S/C and with 3:55 rear gears starting out in 1st I hit the REV limiter faster then the Trans can shift. Matter of fact I am still fighting this Problem

 

[S281-793]

I would like to explain one sentence in my last post, Because some will think I am Full of it. I did all the bolt ons and now there setting on a shelf collecting dust

As for Gears, I also have a auto I would Recommend 3:55's, at times I would like my 3:08's back. you can do a search and find a Richmond gear calculator, to see what happens to your RPMs and speed for different Ratios.

The Kennebell complete kit comes with CAI, 39 lb injectors, BAP the only thing else you need to reach near 400 RWHP is a 75mm Throttle body.

Everyone is all over the header thing, But in reality the cost of headers + install is no where near worth the small gain. Headers do not show there true potential over fords stock manifolds, until you are dealing with upwards of 700 HP, The main gain people see with long tubes over short tubes, is the fact that when you install long tubes you remove atleast one set of Cats, if not both for a OR mid pipe.

I would Recommend a new High flow Mid Pipe or Cat free Mid Pipe, to help exhaust flow and sound.

 

[Black46vert]

sounds like you have a lot of good advice. I went with a vortech, but I have a manual trans. I think if I had an auto, I'd lean towards a kenne bell. Do the mods to get your power do the ground and minimize body flex. Don't worry about cams and heads, the sc will really wake this motor up.

 

[julianrodriguez]

I have done more research and here is my new thought:
Keep everything the same as in the original post except swap out the pypes for:
MAC Catback Mustang Exhaust TK9635 (96-04 GT, Mach 1) - Free Shipping TK9635
I think the chambered mufflers will help keep the noise down, but not too much. Is this a good call?

I have done my suspension homework and here is what I am thinking:
SR Performance Chrome Mustang Strut Tower Brace STB-94-CH (94-04 GT, V6) - Free Shipping STB-94-CH
Eibach Mustang Sport-System-Plus 4.1735.680 (94-04 V8 Coupe, 99-04 V6 Convertible) - Free Shipping 4.1735.680
What do you guys think about this?

I am them also at a dilemma about the company SR. On the one had they seem cheaper than most other brands, but I don;t know if I can trust them. Does anyone have any good or bad experience with any of their parts?

Because of this i can either get bbk or sr rear control arms and I am not sure which to get or if I will even need them. I am thinking on keeping my control arms stock, and then after I s/c if i am getting wheel hop or anything like that I will upgrade them.

As for the intake system I am thinking a 75mm throttle body either SR or for 100 more bbk. Also should I upgrade my plenum keeping in mine my intake manifold will remain stock?

SCT Mustang Big Air 90MM MAF Meter / Sensor BA-2600 (89-04 V8) - Free Shipping BA-2600
Is this the maf for me?

Ford Racing Mustang A/C Delete Kit M-19216-D46 (96-10 GT; 96-04 Cobra, Mach 1) - Free Shipping M-19216-D46
like I said I live in mn and I have no use for my ac. Is this the cheapest way to go about doing this. I figured I would just pull the compressor out and maybe even sell it.

 

[julianrodriguez]

Also the kit doesn't come with an intercooler. Should I get one of should I go with a meth kit?

 

[DJAlsip]

Also the kit doesn't come with an intercooler. Should I get one of should I go with a meth kit?

An intercooler would be the safer bet in the long run.

 

[S281-793]

Also the kit doesn't come with an intercooler. Should I get one of should I go with a meth kit?

what for kit are you talking about? If its the keenebell kit it depends if you buy the intercooled kit or not.

 

[julianrodriguez]

An intercooler would be the safer bet in the long run.

I agree. I don't think I want to have to fill it up every so often. How hard is it to install your own intercooler and do all of your own plumbing?

 

[julianrodriguez]

what for kit are you talking about? If its the keenebell kit it depends if you buy the intercooled kit or not.

Vortech V3 Sci which I know for a fact doesn't come with a intercooler.

 

[DJAlsip]

I agree. I don't think I want to have to fill it up every so often. How hard is it to install your own intercooler and do all of your own plumbing?

Well, I work with compressor and compressed air systems for a living, so for me it wouldn't be a problem. If you plan on doing it yourself I'd say put off a whole weekend so you don't have to stress anything. I have never installed an intercooler or a supercharger on a car though, but as far as I know you will need to remove the front bumper and mount the intercooler in front of the lower part of the radiator. It should be pretty straight forward, only time consuming. As for the plumbing it depends on the airflow required by the supercharger and piping size, I'm sure you'll find some good information online if you google it.

 

[julianrodriguez]

Well, I work with compressor and compressed air systems for a living, so for me it wouldn't be a problem. If you plan on doing it yourself I'd say put off a whole weekend so you don't have to stress anything. I have never installed an intercooler or a supercharger on a car though, but as far as I know you will need to remove the front bumper and mount the intercooler in front of the lower part of the radiator. It should be pretty straight forward, only time consuming. As for the plumbing it depends on the airflow required by the supercharger and piping size, I'm sure you'll find some good information online if you google it.

Absolutely, I always just take a weekend and tinker with things till I am positive I got it as perfect as possible.