New to the world of Mustangs. Need upgrade advice.

The gears are one of the first and best upgrades you can do to your car. The gears are a torque multiplier meaning they get you off the line quicker down low from a start and put you in the car's powerband quicker which is where you'd want to be. You will need a tuner or speed-cal to calibrate the new gear ratio. I would prefer the tuner over the speed-cal because it will come in handy down the road when you do some more mods to your car. Gears should be done by a professional and trust worthy mechanic or anyone you know who KNOWS how to install them correctly.

Thanks for the info.
I read on one of the threads in this forum (can't remember which one) where someone was saying that you should calibrate the gears before you add a CAI or an exhaust because then you'll get more out of those upgrades after you do the gears. Is that true?
So if I got a tuner and found a trustworthy mechanic (that's an oxymoron isn't it?), I would need to tell him what calibration I want, right? Not to sound stupid, but I don't even know what I'd tell the guy (or girl I suppose).
Sorry for all the questions. Like I said, I'm pretty new to all of this.

prime_time7 said:

Thanks for the info.
I read on one of the threads in this forum (can't remember which one) where someone was saying that you should calibrate the gears before you add a CAI or an exhaust because then you'll get more out of those upgrades after you do the gears. Is that true?
So if I got a tuner and found a trustworthy mechanic (that's an oxymoron isn't it?), I would need to tell him what calibration I want, right? Not to sound stupid, but I don't even know what I'd tell the guy (or girl I suppose).
Sorry for all the questions. Like I said, I'm pretty new to all of this.

Click to expand...

They were most likely talking about a tuner to calibrate the gears. The tuner adjusts the air/fuel ratio and timing to add some performance. The tuner does come in handy when more mods are done like the CAI or off-road mid pipe, long tube headers, superchargers, turbo and nitrous.

As far as the mechanic goes, if he or she has done gear installs before they most likely will know how to calibrate them with the tuner, it's not that hard to do as it's pretty straight forward, but let the professional do it just in case. They should know what gear ratio it is by reading the label or you can just tell them.

Hi there prime_time7 welcome to the forum!

I'm also new to these sources of great info and great people willing to help on mods and other stuff.

I'm also the owner of a '99 GT Pony which will soon (I hope) turn into a beast!!!

So, about gears and tuners, do any of you guys know if the SCT Livewire has functions to correct gear ratio, tire size and spline differential axle sizes? If this pricey thing doesn't do you know of any that does the trick?

Thanks and happy tunning!!!

:bigthumbsup

StangRyder said:

Hi there prime_time7 welcome to the forum!

I'm also new to these sources of great info and great people willing to help on mods and other stuff.

I'm also the owner of a '99 GT Pony which will soon (I hope) turn into a beast!!!

So, about gears and tuners, do any of you guys know if the SCT Livewire has functions to correct gear ratio, tire size and spline differential axle sizes? If this pricey thing doesn't do you know of any that does the trick?

Thanks and happy tunning!!!

:bigthumbsup

Click to expand...

Not sure about the SCT Livewire calibrating the gear ratio's but the SCT X2 or X3 will do. Diablosport also does the same and both are great tuners.

Hey guys, let me just say first of all, thanks a lot for all the warm welcomes and for the help. It's all too common on the internet to find people being jerks just because they can hide behind their anonymity, but you guys have been beyond friendly and helpful and I appreciate it.
I was looking at tuners around the web and I ran across an SCT Mustang 4-Bank Eliminator Chip that says that you can adjust it to 4 different settings and change your tune on the fly. It sounds pretty impressive, but is there any downside to this tuner as opposed to the normal hand held tuner?
And I'm pretty sure the obvious answer to this is "yes," but would you need to re-tune your vehicle each time you add a performance mod?

I would stick with the hand held tuner because it's more versatile, although the chip is a great being able to switch tunes on a fly but as you mod your car in the process and have the chip, it will have to be updated (brought back to the dealer or local to update) to suit the new mods. This is just my .02 but I would only buy the chip if I'm completely done modding my car.

prime_time7 said:

As far as throttle bodies go, is there anything particular I should be looking for before purchasing one? I'm going to guess that the bigger the throttle body the better since the point is to improve air flow, but is there a certain brand I should be looking for or anything like that?

Click to expand...

Lol, bigger doesn't mean better. I would stick with a 70mm if you plan on staying N/A and a 75mm if you plan on going FI (Centrifugal wise as a positive displacement type blower will eliminate the need for the TB you put on there) The 75mm TB will give you exaggerated TB response and it also might be overkill(air wise) for your N/A. I have a 75mm right now because I plan on getting a Vortech down the road. I went with Accufab because it's a great product but expensive. I'm pretty sure the other brands work just fine, I just know Accufab is one of the best.

fobra559 said:

Lol, bigger doesn't mean better. I would stick with a 70mm if you plan on staying N/A and a 75mm if you plan on going FI (Centrifugal wise as a positive displacement type blower will eliminate the need for the TB you put on there) The 75mm TB will give you exaggerated TB response and it also might be overkill(air wise) for your N/A. I have a 75mm right now because I plan on getting a Vortech down the road. I went with Accufab because it's a great product but expensive. I'm pretty sure the other brands work just fine, I just know Accufab is one of the best.

Click to expand...

Whoah, you lost me there man!:headscratch: Sorry, but I started to think I was reading a foreign language there. What do you mean by "staying N/A?"
Right now, the only things I plan on doing to my car, involve getting a tuner, a CAI, a throttle body, and an exhaust. So would you recommend a 70 mm throttle body? Thanks for the help and forgive my profound ignorance about all things car related. :hihi:

The general rule of thumb is 3.73's for manual and 4.10's for auto.

N/A means Naturally Aspirated, No supercharger or turbocharger. F/I mean Force Induction or supercharger or turbocharger.

A 70mm throttle body would be ok. A 75mm throttle body would be overkill and you could possibly lose power with the 75mm.

When you do the exhaust go all out on it. Do Longtube headers rather than short tubes, mid-pipe H or X, and mufflers of your choice with 2.5" piping. That will give you a good sound and some power as well. A CAI will not do too much for you but it will do a little bit.

prime_time7 said:

Whoah, you lost me there man!:headscratch: Sorry, but I started to think I was reading a foreign language there. What do you mean by "staying N/A?"
Right now, the only things I plan on doing to my car, involve getting a tuner, a CAI, a throttle body, and an exhaust. So would you recommend a 70 mm throttle body? Thanks for the help and forgive my profound ignorance about all things car related. :hihi:

Click to expand...

If your staying away from Blowers, Turbos and Nitrous I would recommend the 70mm TB.

prime_time7 said:

Also, would I need to do anything to the suspension or make any other major modifications if I went to 3.73 gears? And why would 3.73 be preferable over 4.10?

Click to expand...

Traction might give you a problem. I suggest LCA's and Stickies (tires) Most people have a problem hooking up after a gear install. I also suggest a bearing kit if your car has high mileage on it, along the with the gear install.

First List

OK, my usual new guy package...

Make a plan. Many bolt-on modifications will NOT play well with the others down the line. Lots of people add expensive items to their car without much thought, then realize that what they REALLY want is that beautiful Kenne Bell supercharger...

So they get to unbolt those new underdrive pulleys, they have to go, and the new intake, no good, and the upper intake, don't need that anymore, and the tb is the wrong size, and the CAI won't work with the kit, and the gears are all wrong, way too strong...

I've seen people spend $4000 on bolt-on mods and end up putting them up for nothing on Ebay within 6 months.

MAKE THE PLAN first, then spend the money. Decide NOW what your goals are. Listening to the many wise owners on this site, and poking around with the search function and reading interesting threads, will get you some direction.

Put forth your ideas here, and continue to ask questions and receive opinions and ideas. Then plug the data into a plan, on paper, and FINALLY start shelling out money and making changes.

You are the proud owner of one of the most flexible, powerful automobiles available to the motoring masses on the planet - and you are plugged into the motherlode of data here on AFM!

Welcome Home!

tripleblack said:

OK, my usual new guy package...

Make a plan. Many bolt-on modifications will NOT play well with the others down the line. Lots of people add expensive items to their car without much thought, then realize that what they REALLY want is that beautiful Kenne Bell supercharger...

So they get to unbolt those new underdrive pulleys, they have to go, and the new intake, no good, and the upper intake, don't need that anymore, and the tb is the wrong size, and the CAI won't work with the kit, and the gears are all wrong, way too strong...

I've seen people spend $4000 on bolt-on mods and end up putting them up for nothing on Ebay within 6 months.

MAKE THE PLAN first, then spend the money. Decide NOW what your goals are. Listening to the many wise owners on this site, and poking around with the search function and reading interesting threads, will get you some direction.

Put forth your ideas here, and continue to ask questions and receive opinions and ideas. Then plug the data into a plan, on paper, and FINALLY start shelling out money and making changes.

You are the proud owner of one of the most flexible, powerful automobiles available to the motoring masses on the planet - and you are plugged into the motherlode of data here on AFM!

Welcome Home!

Click to expand...

I hear you man. I'm in the process of "making a plan" right now. That's why I'm here. I've spent the past week or so just going through threads on here and trying to soak in whatever might help. Then I started my own thread to get more specifics. You guys have been a huge help.
My idea right now (this is subject to change) is to get the gears done (and I suppose get the bearings replaced since my car's a little over 100k), then add a new throttle body, cold air intake, and exhaust. All those seem to be compatible (I think)...
I hope to stop there. I realize that it's easy to get carried away and I don't think I need to with my current budget.