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Improving Performance by 30 HP - A Balanced Approach

2002 Views 23 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  cvarley
Hi all...

I'm looking to bump up the performance on my 07 GT convertible.

So far I have the FRPP cold air kit (FR1) and the track kit (FR2).

So...I'm thinking this for the next steps...

1) go to 4:10 rear gears
2) install Underdrive Pulleys
3) install the larger FRPP throttle body
4) maybe steeda charge plates...

I think that bumps up the snappiness...but keeps the car very reliable.

Does that sound like a good (balanced) approach?
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Did you get the FRPP mufflers or just the CAI? Also, I thought the track kit was only for coupes, not verts. How is that working for you?
For the "performance kit"... i did the M-FR1-MGT. It has the mufflers..which sould great and look really nice too.

For the track kit... I did the M-2005-FR3. At the time, there was no mention of "coupes". Just said GT. it's a little bit of a bumpy ride...but it did improve the handling (roll) a lot.

This isn't my every-day car...so i can sacrifice some on comfort :shiny:
Hi all...

I'm looking to bump up the performance on my 07 GT convertible.

So far I have the FRPP cold air kit (FR1) and the track kit (FR2).

So...I'm thinking this for the next steps...

1) go to 4:10 rear gears
2) install Underdrive Pulleys
3) install the larger FRPP throttle body
4) maybe steeda charge plates...

I think that bumps up the snappiness...but keeps the car very reliable.

Does that sound like a good (balanced) approach?

Yes to the 4:10 gears
Under drive pulleys Sure.
New throttle body-- Dont bother at this point.
Use that money for a Tuner:bigthumbsup
I can't remember exactly what the Ford kits are composed of...

The gears are an excellent idea. I'd skip the pullies and the plates for now. Lower control arms, wider tires, and sway bars are all zero risk and much higher gain than those two parts combined.
I can't remember exactly what the Ford kits are composed of...

The gears are an excellent idea. I'd skip the pullies and the plates for now. Lower control arms, wider tires, and sway bars are all zero risk and much higher gain than those two parts combined.
How do these parts gain HP?:headscratch:
Hi all...

I'm looking to bump up the performance on my 07 GT convertible.

So far I have the FRPP cold air kit (FR1) and the track kit (FR2).

So...I'm thinking this for the next steps...

1) go to 4:10 rear gears Good, but lose HP
2) install Underdrive Pulleys Maybe 10....
3) install the larger FRPP throttle body Not with out some F/I
4) maybe steeda charge plates... Sure, good for another 10 or so..

I think that bumps up the snappiness...but keeps the car very reliable. Tuner will get you better numbers

Does that sound like a good (balanced) approach?
Can't go wrong with more HP...
Yeah Im with get a tuner with a custom tune from Brenspeed, Tillman or Bama. The FRPP tune is gonna be conservative. Plus you will need a tuner for the charge motion plates anyway.
Gears will be the biggest acceleration gain.
Pulleys are OK.
Charge Motion plates OK
Throttle Body? I wouldnt. Too many people having problems. Although the FRPP one would be your best bet.

Also replace your stock inlet tube on the CAI with a Saleen one. It is wider and will add a couple horses.It also doesnt have that carbon honeycomb vapor trap in it. I felt it when I did mine. I did it at the track and saw 1-2mph. Not the most scientific test but the runs were within 1 hour of each other.
get an intake/tuner package type thing.

im going for the jlt and sct x3 package.

i dont know, what your budget is, but i would do the following things, in the following order...

1) intake/tuner package
2) i would do 3.73s if its a daily driver, but if not, sure, go for the 4:10s
3) longtube headers with h pipe

to me, the underdrive pulleys arent worth the money.

i dont know too much about the charge plates or throttle body. but i did hear something about how the larger throttle body doesnt really do much because having a bigger throttle body than the inlet hole for the intake manifold would be basically useless since it wont really allow more air in.

im not sure if its true, but its something i read somewhere. i would check that out and see if its worth it lol.:scratchchin
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No throttle body unless you have the heads, cams, or supercharger to support it.
Got it...and concur.

Throttle body: FRPP said it would gain 10-20 hp...but what you're saying makes sense. More air "in-front"..but doesn't flow through the entire system.

Plates: Got it...just saw some folks chatting about it... a "no go"

Tuner...I can have the shop do that when we do the gears.

Saleen intake pipe....so that "bolts up" right to the FRPP "air box"?
The IMRC delete plates are actually a pretty decent mod.
if you're going to modify the cai, just go to brenspeed and get one of their intake and tuner packages. the jlt or c&l with the xcal3 tuner is a great way to go. and if you buy one of those packages, i believe you can tell brenspeed your what you have done for mods, and they will put a tune into your tuner so you can just upload the tune into your car after installing the intake and youre ready to rock and roll.:bigthumbsup
The IMRC delete plates are actually a pretty decent mod.
+1....These are my next mod(along with LT's). The way I understand it the butterflies on the stock plates fully open around 3500 RPMs, so if you have an intake and tuner, they are not at their full potential under 3500 until you get rid of the butterflies.
Yeah the Saleen intake hose bolts right onto the Mass Air housing and then the throttle body. I bought mine from Brenspeed and they included the sleeve you need to insert inside of it.

Also he does not need a new Cold Air Intake. The FRPP/Steeda is already a nice intake(With 90mm MAF). With a proper tune and the new inlet tube he will pick up some more power. At the minimum take out the honeycomb in your stock inlet tube.

The tuner will allow you to get email tunes for your car. You can get different octane tunes to suit the gas sold in your area 87,91,93. You can adjust axle ratio, tire size, idle speed and alot of other things. You can read and clear error codes and check engine lights. You can datalog. It will basically come in very handy for when you really start to modify your ride.
Hi all...

I'm looking to bump up the performance on my 07 GT convertible.

So far I have the FRPP cold air kit (FR1) and the track kit (FR2).

So...I'm thinking this for the next steps...

1) go to 4:10 rear gears
2) install Underdrive Pulleys
3) install the larger FRPP throttle body
4) maybe steeda charge plates...

I think that bumps up the snappiness...but keeps the car very reliable.


Does that sound like a good (balanced) approach?
  1. Gearing You have the ability to answer the question of what gear ratio will work best for you. Don't simply listen to some dork that says you "need X.XX gear because they ROCK!" For all you know they are borderline brain dead. Just because they don't mind driving around with the motor spinning to the moon doesn't mean you won't.

    This is the most important information you need before making your own choice based on your situation:

    What RPM’s do you want to be cruising down the freeway at and at what speed. Think about that hard, and go drive the car. Drive it for 2 miles at 3,000rpm…..it will most likely drive you crazy. If it does, you want to make sure you don’t get a gear that will put you in that range. I have mine set up to run at 2400rpm’[email protected] I wouldn’t want to spin it any higher than that even if it costs me a bit of acceleration.


    Depending on what the height of your tires are I'll bet you will want 3.55's or 3.73's to get a comfortable cruising RPM.

    I run a 3.55 and couldn't imagine wanting to gear my car shorter than it is. I do have a screw blower though. 1st gear is worthless, I just punch it and have to shift right away and 2nd gear will haze the tires even though I have some seriously sticky rubber. Shorter gearing wouldn't get me going any faster....faster. It could possibly even slow me down.

    Even if you don't have a blower but have stock-ish tires (high performance, all season about 235-245mm wide) you will still light the tires up something good in first and have to go for second super fast which makes that gear borderline useless. You will still lightly spin the tires most of the way through second too (if you make the 1-2nd gear shift fast) which lessens the effectiveness of that gear too. Which will slow you down.

    When I had my stock 3.31's and stock Pirelli tires (about 75 miles ) I could SPIN the tires all the way through 2nd gear if I wanted too.

    Use this gearing calculator. It will help you pick a gear for your situation. Use the # .71 for the auto trans ratio and .68 for the 5 speed. You will also need to measure the height of your rear tire at the right pressure sitting on the ground. You can keep firing numbers in till you find the gear that gets you the cruising RPM that you are looking for.

    MOTOR - A Rear Axle Calculator

    Oh yeah.......NEVER BUY A USED GEAR!!!!!
  2. UDP's I have always thought UDP's were a waste of money. I think they sell well because the not very experienced home mechanic can do the job themselves and they are not a very big outlay of cash. Of all the Mustangs I have had, all my friends have had, etc I don’t know anyone who purchased a set. This will not be a very popular opinion because of what I call “Buyers Justification”. It breaks down that if someone purchased a set and put them on they will trick themselves into thinking they offered a bigger or any gain. Polling people who have UDP’s is a bit silly when you step back ad look at it. It’s like going to an Anti Gun rally, polling everyone there about if people should be able to have guns or not. Gee, what do you think you will get for results? And poling shops that sell them won’t yield very good results either.
  3. TB I'm with STL here. Unless you have cams, intake, head porting and a raised rev limit or a blower it's a waste of money. It has been proven lots of times that the stock TB flows plenty of air. By spring I will be makig 650 at the wheels with a stock TB.
  4. CMDP I'm all for the charge plates. Once past 3500rpm's the butterflies are a big restriction and screws the airflow into the intake port a lot.
  5. Get a real tune:bigthumbsup
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CMDP
I'm all for the charge plates. Once past 3500rpm's the butterflies are a big restriction and screws the airflow into the intake port a lot.
I thought the main restriction was prior to 3500 before they are fully open, or are they fully open at lower RPM's and close up as the RPM's increase(can't think of why they would operate that way though)?
Thanksfor the feedback everyone.

Tomorrow...in to the shop for 4:10's, knock out the honeycomb on teh FRPP CAI and dyno tune.

Worked the speed/gear/tire calculator and the 4:10's will work fine by me.
I thought the main restriction was prior to 3500 before they are fully open, or are they fully open at lower RPM's and close up as the RPM's increase(can't think of why they would operate that way though)?
They're a restriction even when fully open.
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