2003 Mustang GT performance on a budget

Sct Tuner And gears.

Jacob Joiner said:

Alright guys, well this is my first post on StangNet so I apologize in advance if this has been talked about before this post, which I am almost 100% positive it has.

That being said, I have bought an 03 GT and it is completely stock. I am a college student so I am def. on a budget to say the least. I do work and I have saved up some money to put into the stang. I have already done a maintenance tune up and brand new tires. Now I want to do a couple things for the "fun" part with the rest of the money. The things I know for sure: FlowMasters and Cold air intake for sure. But on a budget what else can I do in order to increase acceleration/horsepower?

Click to expand...

Look at my signature. I made the mistake that probably most of us do, that being installing just about ALL the mods you see there, Tuner, X-Pipe and Catback, 75mm Throttle body, Upper Intake Plenum, Lowered W/ Ford Racing Springs, Caster/Camber Plates, Subframe Connectors, plus a few more not mentioned in my sig. I know you are just starting out, but I need to tell you to be careful with the manufacturers claims for hp gains. Most of it is BS. Since you are a College Student, money is probably tight. Net gain was probably in the 35-45 hp area for me with ALL those Boltons. That being said, your 1st mod should be gears; 410's if you plan on staying Naturally Asspirated, 373's if going SuperCharged down the road later. My advice.... ditch the Cold Air Intake; you'll be lucky to gain 3-5 hp. They DO look nice though. 1st get gears, and a tuner to adjust your Speedo; the tuner will give you 10-15 hp. 2nd Shifter.... it makes a WORLD of difference. 3rd X or H pipe, and a Catback; maybe 15-20 hp. These 3 mods alone will cost you around $2000. No labor included. Maybe you can see were I'm going with the "Mistake". If I had to do it all over again, I would have SuperCharged her 1st, $5000 installed... net gain about about 160hp!!! I went from running 14.0 - 14.3's to 11.94(one time only) - to 12.3(average). I know that's not in your budget, so I say gears and Exhaust. Gears give you no real hp gains, but believe me it feels like you just bolted on 40-50hp! Exhaust will give you another 20, maybe, so with those 2 mods it'll feel like 60 hp gained. It'll be a different car, my friend . Maybe down the road you can get her S/C'd. Sorry for the long winded response, but I wanted to get my point across. Good luck with your new Mustang, welcome to our forum, and Stay in College, lol!!!!!

Nice post! I have a 97 and you helped me decide what to do. Thank you.

Yeah, when I bought my car it had a cai and flows on it from the previous owner, since ive added headers and off road x-pipe, 3.73 gears, bought a tuner and upgraded my driveline. So pretty much if you just looking to have some fun for the time being, start out small then when you have a job and are making some money look into a s/c pretty much thats the only cost effective mod your going to find. But first I would just get your catback on there so it sounds good then do a bit of research on what best suits your current buget. Oh and congrats and enjoy the new car!!

Congrats on the new car! 03 GT's are the best in my opinion (i am very biased!) i agree with cronin 100%. the first mods i did were a shifter and exhaust. tri-ax shirt throw shifter is what i have and i love it. SLP loud mouth and SLP x-pipe give me some great sound. i just got 4.10's finally and will be installing them for this autox season. sounds like you are on the right track and good luck with the car! post some pics too.

Since your on a budget. Watch CL and websites for used parts exhaust and lowering spring wise.

I would first add gears and a tuner. This will run about $600-$850 installed including the parts if you purchase them using discount codes offered by being a member of the forum. Your car will feel much, much faster. Then watch for your choice of exhaust used through websites. I would recommend UPR's ORX or Summit's ORH depending on what sound you would like. Then go with your choice of lowering spring. Ford's springs don't offer a ton of drop but will give your car much better handling, and springs can be changed out in approximately 3 hours if you have hand tools, 2 jacks and several jackstands.

Then I would start saving money for the things that will start wearing out soon, i.e. brakes, clutch, shocks etc.

I'd add sub frame connectors too. If your putting gears in it, it's gonna start twisting the chassis more. I had Maximum motorsports full lengths welded in over the weekend. I'd sware its a different car. Rides ALOT better and now that it's not wasting hp to chassis flex, it acts like it has a bit more power.

Yeah gears and full length subs, awesome mods. I bet there is a place you could get them for cheap

*looks at sig*

Subframe connectors
lowering springs
Shocks, struts
X or H pipe
Gears, sct tune and shifter. That is it for basic mods. Next Boost or juice .

Like all before me the gears are the BEST bang for the buck, then go with a tuner (thats my next step) and for the s of it go with a K&N drop in for $45 bucks its basically a poor mans CAI.

IMO, the BEST bang for the the BUCK for anyone on a budget is a service manual. Save $$ by doing repairs yourself.

Signed
Ward Cleaver