Modification Survey Thread

1998 GT 5spd.

Great idea Scotty! This should be a sticky!
Here are my "major" mods:

VRS o/r X-pipe:
Don't have this anymore, but thought I'd add it as well. I loved this thing! Sounded awesome and gave some nice gains! Install sucked totally though! Took 4hrs. for my first and only time. I traded the X-pipe for the Prochamber just for something different. I miss the X-pipe though and will have another one some day (except it'll be Dr. Gas ).

MAC ProChamber:
I love the sound. Not loud, but not too quiet. Doesn't sound like every other Mustang on the road. I felt a slight power gain. But I feel the VRS X-pipe I traded for it offered more power gains all throughout the entire band. Didn't install this but my X-pipe was a PITA to install!

MAC Catback:
I love the sound of the MAC flowpaths. Not much to say about power gains. Maybe a few HP Sounds great with the ProChamber. Some have tons of trouble with MAC exhaust, I however haven't. And installation took about 25 minutes.

Steeda Pullies:
I honestly felt no difference with the pullies. But I'm sure the gains are there. Installation was a piece of cake! Great mod for everyone. I did have to remove my alternator pulley to due charging problems.

Steeda Timing Adjuster:
Another great mod! Works well when paired with the pullies. I noticed a good gain down-low. SOTP meter says I gained some decent torque. I found it works best at 14-15 degrees on 89 octane. Also easy to install!

Densecharger:
I'am very happy with the Densecharger. Installation took about 20 minutes. Noticed better throttle response. Didn't expect much in gains, maybe 4-5rwhp at the most. But I didn't want a C&L or a MAC/BBK CAI. Another great "starter" mod.

UPR Blu-Thunder shifter:
Well I bought this one to replace my Hurst shifter. I liked the Hurst a lot better. Only thing going for the UPR in my book is the adjustable handle.

Bullit Suspension:
I won't even get started on this crap! I was VERY displeased with this junk! My shocks blew out after being on the car for 4 months (2 of those the car wasn't even driven ).
Dropped the car almost 1.25" front and rear. Looks okay. But the ride sucks! Too bouncy for me! If I would've known better when buying suspension parts, I'd have went with Tokico adj. struts/shocks (drag).

FRPP Aluminum Driveshaft:
A well recommended mod! One of the first things I bought for my car. Goes great with different rear-end gears. Won't notice any gains or anything with it. It does save a few lbs. though. Which is a huge plus!

FRPP 3.73 gear:
These were on the car when I bought it. I'm overall happy with them. If buying them myself, I'd have went with 4.10's! But acceleration is pretty nice, gas mileage is great for a Mustang, and the rpms aren't too high when driving at higher speeds.

intake spacer:
I don't even consider this a mod but had to put it anyways to prove something....this thing DOES NOT work! I bought it to just try it out. I'd take the damn thing off if one of my bolts hadn't crossthreaded into the intake.

Steeda G-trac bar:
Cheap mod! It's that simple! $35 to replace the flimsy stock bar. I noticed a difference in handling (probably because I have no front swaybar). Took about 10-15 to install.

UPR Adj. clutch quadrant:
I didn't install this, but I'm glad I didn't. Doesn't look like much fun to install. Took and 1.5-2 hours for my friend to do it. It works great! Replace that POS stock plastic quadrant! I love being able to adjust where my clutch releases at. And it's cheap too. $45 for only the quadrant, firewall adjuster, and locking jamnut. I didn't buy the cable (reused my stock cable). And the UPR uses a triple hook quadrant.

Pro3i street/strip LCA's:
Installed these the same time as my shocks & springs. I'm happy with them. Traction seemed a lot better. They're kinda noisy at times though. I'm thinking of replacing them with some UPR or Steeda lower drag arms (they're only 3lbs. a piece).

KSR White face gauges:
These things were a PITA to install. They look good though. Not bad like some of the other white face gauges I've seen. They cost me $100 for them, including the a/c gauges. They can be bought from www.50resto.com. I don't have pictures to post, but I wish I did. They look great in an all black interior Stang. Just be prepared for a frustrating install (allow yourself 2 hours at least to do it right). AND REMEMBER WHERE ALL OF YOUR NEEDLES WERE AT BEFORE YOU TAKE THEM OFF!

thats a great idea, but the thread should read something like, "Which Parts To Buy?" or "Beginner Mods"

2001 Cobra 'vert

FR500 Cat Back exhaust: Overall I'm happy with it. It was a bit pricey, but I like the fact it's from Ford Racing. I had someone do the install, but it lookes super easy, only took about 20 minutes. Understated sound just cruising around, but wakes up when you get on it.

Steeda U/D pullies: As above, I'm not sure if I got much from this, can't feel it much. I haven't had the car dyno'd since it was stock. Good directions with them, had my brother-in-law help me out with the install.

Steeda tri-ax shifter: Highly recommended. Shifting feels much more solid now. I haven' missed a shift since I put this on. Easy install & I don't even change my own oil.

C&L Mass air meter: Another very easy install, got a little different sound from it, but I guess it might have just been from the K&N filter. Seems to accelerate a little quicker now. Overall I am pleased with it, it was a bit cheaper than the pro-m.

The rest of the stuff I have done has been cosmetic so I won't mention them here, but they are all in my sig & I would recommend them.

I have all my stuff written down on my web site, but i haven't had t time to up-date it on the Single Chambers.

1999 GT Convertible -- 4R70W automatic tranny

Borla Cat-Back-- In my opinion the best cat-back you can buy. Installation was a breeze! The fit and quality are unmatched by any other system that I have seen. Very unique sound. Almost no drone at highway speeds, but roars like a beast when you get on it.

Magnaflow Catted X-Pipe-- I bought mine used with less than 3000 miles on it but it is a very nice piece. Installation wasn't too bad but breaking the stock manifold bolts off was a royal pain in the A$$! I felt a huge SOTP improvement with this and the Steeda Pulleys (I installed them both at the same time). Car is lowered 1 1/4" and have had no clearance issues with the cats either. No SES light or problems to date. This however has caused my car to idle around 1000 rpms until I drive it around 2 miles and then the idle returns to normal. Tried re-setting the computer and everything.

Steeda U/D Pulleys-- Installation was very simple. I left the stock alt. pulley on because I didn't want to worry about any charging issues. These with the magnaflow X-pipe gave a huge SOTP improvement. They ate my belt up a bit when they were first put on but have not done it since. I am at a loss for the explaination to this one (everything seems to be lined up correctly).

MAC Cold Air Intake-- Mostly a "Show Mod" as it is pretty much for looks only. Yes, it does bring in colder air but I did not really notice a difference.

FRPP 70mm Throttle Body-- Installation took five minutes. I did not really notice anything performance wise when I installed this.

1/2" Intake Spacer-- Pretty much the same results as the throttle body. But for $30 I figured I'd give it a shot.

180* Thermostat-- It takes much longer for the car to heat up now. Runs a little cooler too. For only $10 you can't go wrong!

Edelbrock Lowering Springs-- Great springs for what I was looking for. They are made by Eibach and I got them for $125 from a local shop! Gave the car a 1 1/4" drop in th front and a little over 1" in the rear. Handling and ride is much better than stock even with the stock shocks on it. These and the C/C plates are the only things that I didn't install myself.

Pro 3i Caster Camber Plates-- Very nice C/C Plates for the money! I did not install these but they are just like the Maximum Motorsports ones from what I hear.

Steeda Strut Tower Brace-- If you owna vert, you need to buy one of these! It made a huge improvement in the handling and feel of the car. It feels much stronger with it. The best $120 you can put into your Suspension!

Other mods are in the sig. below.

2000 Mustang GT (Automatic)

Flowmaster 40 Series Mufflers-I only have the mufflers and not the cat-back. I had them installed because of the welding part. I absolutely love the sound. Definitely attracts alot of attention while driving. As for the infamous drone.....Yes, there is drone but I love it. I actually cruise around in the drone range just to listen to it. It is loud inside the car but like I said, I like it. I recently heard a 2002 GT with a Magnaflow cat-back with Magnapacks and I must admit that they (in my opinion) sound better than my Flowmasters. But overall, I am happy with the sound.

Spoiler Moved Back- Very easy to do. Just a bit nerve racking taking a drill to a perfectly good car. I feel it looks 100 times better than stock. I would definitely recommend this mod as it is simple and makes the car look alot better.

1998 GT 5spd

Bullit Suspension: Never driven a car with really high end suspension, but overall the car seems to handle and ride better. Can't go wrong for 330$

MM solid bearing LCAs: Installed these with bullit suspension, but traction feels better, they are alot more noisey than stock but you get used to it.

FMS Alum D/S: Great mod, replaced my nasty u-joints and the car feels smoother and even feels like it accels a little bit better.

Steeda triax: Another great mod, shifts alot better and alot harder to miss a shift. Again, more noisey than stock, but of course thats to be expected when you remove the stock rubber.

Steeda quad/firewall adjuster: Good mod because it allows you to adjust your clutch by turning a knob, only thing I don't like it they don't have a locking mechanism.

K&N FIPK: a cold air induction (CAI) is one of the first and easiest mods people do. There are other cai's like the Mac/BBK ones (chrome) or the popular Densecharger. The fipk is the best of the bunch (looks and performance), but its close to $200. It's also the easiest to install. Any one of these kits will give you 5-10 hp at the most.

1997 GT

Steeda Tri-Ax ****fter Install was easier than expected, a couple bolts, some RTV and you are set. I Feel this was a very good buy, if you are looking for a slightly shorter throw and real firm shifts i would higly recommend the Steeda Shifter. However if you are looking for a true short throw shifter i would recommend the Pro 5.0.

MSD Coil packs and 8.5mm Spark plug wires Install was very easy! it was a direct replacement. I didnt not expect any performance gains nor did i notice any after installing. But the quality of the MSD is SO much better than stock!

As soon as i intall what i have in my sig i will be back to add more!

-Mike

Magnaflo Catback $328.00 at fullinexhaust.com, best Mod to date! I will have to get drag radials for traction now. Excellent fit,easy to install and those polished 3.5" tips are the $hiz-nit. There is a drone at 70mph, but bassani baffles will cure that.

Bullit Brakes$399.00 from stangparts.com(front)Easy to install, very good street brakes. You can tell a big difference between them and stock brakes! They really fill up the space inside the 18" Y2KR wheels.

Vortech Supercharger I recommend it to all the slow NA Mustangs that are tired of losing to LT1's!

1996 Cobra- I modded the car in this order..
Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter A must have for any gearbox- equipped Mustang. Cheap insurance against any possible damage that may occur due to the rubbery-like feel of the stock shifter. Feels 'boy-racer' when shifting gears too.
Steeda Chrome-Moly Subframe Connectors
Since I have owned a Fox body chassis previously, I knew the importance of chassis stiffening. When I installed these on my car ( Used car but very well cared for and maintained by previous owner) it had 40K on odometer. Took it to a Race Car Fabrication shop that had experience in properly installing connectors. After install I could feel a definite tightness of the body structure. It was stiff before, but it was better now. Bassani X-Pipe w/cats
I chose this because I like the X-pipe sound and MM&FF said this setup sounded great with 3 chamber Flows, which my car allready had when I bought it. Noticed an increase in midrange and no loss in off the line torque. When car was stock, had it dyno'ed. With K&N and opened up silencer and Flow's it ran to tune of 256 HP. Ran it once on the dyno with the Bassani in place (Engine was a little warm, temp gauge on 'M') Ran like a 262 HP.
Steeda Ultra-Cool Radiator
My car did not have the 'Cooling fix', in the summer the car ran too hot for my liking. Sometimes you could actually hear the fluid 'percolating' inside the engine on hot days while the computer retarded the timing big-time. No more problems now. Before, the temp gauge would soar up to the 'A' or 'R' . Now it will go up to maybe the 'M' on the hottest of days.
C&L Mass-Air kit
Personally, I like this kit. Never had a problem on this particular car with idle problems and such. Feels stronger in midrange, and have better tip-in throttle response at low revs. Dyno'ed once with the C&L. Car had a bad misfire in the mid (3500 rpm) on up range. Dyno sheet looked like a seismograph reading. The stock plug wires gave up the ghost. Car still put out 268 RWHP.
Taylor 8mm Plug Wires
Ignition problems solved. Pep restored. Noe dyno #'s yet.

2001 Zinc Yellow GT w/ T-45 5-spd

I'll also do mine in chronological order, as well.

K&N filter - One of the first "cheap" mods you should do to your car. For one, you'll never have to buy another filter again. Guaranteed for a million miles, all you have to do is clean it and re-oil it periodically. On top of never having to buy another filter again, it also adds horsepower by allowing your motor to breathe better.

Remove air silencer - This one is often debated. I removed mine a couple of months after installing the K&N filter. It "felt" like there was an improvement, as if air was getting sucked through a larger straw. However, after becoming a drag strip addict and getting consistent, for S&G's I put the silencer back on and I picked up half a tenth in the 1/4 mile and gained a 1/2 mile per hour trap speed. Removing the silencer is OVERRATED, in my opinion.

Steeda G-Trac Stage 1 - At the time I bought it, it included the Sport Springs, caster/camber plates, strut tower brace, and adjustable rear sway bar. I was able to install all of these parts myself. Cutting the plastic under the cowl at the firewall to install the brace is a PITA. Also, it takes some balls to drill holes in your own car to install the brace. Changing the springs is easier than most would think. The rear sway isn't too difficult, but again requires drilling and you better make sure you get the holes drilled in the same place on both sides. You have to remove the struts to install the caster/camber plates so you might as well order the struts and do those when you do the caster/camber plates. Re-alignment is a MUST after installing the springs, struts, and caster/camber plates. If you don't know what you're doing installing suspension parts, I highly recommend having a professional do it. Springs alone, however, are fairly simple.

Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter for T-45 - Not difficult to install. Hardest part was breaking the seal and removing the old shifter. The shifter seemed really stiff at first after installing it. I still found I had a difficult time shifting into 3rd gear from time to time. It took a while before getting well broken in. It's been great ever since. Once you get used to the Tri-Ax, you can't go back.

Flowmaster Deltaflow 40 series mufflers - I had these installed along with some pre-made 2.5" exhaust pipes (custom cat-back) which came with factory-style 3" exhaust tips. The sound is great. Sounds like the 2-chamber 40 series mufflers, but toned down just one notch. Sound quality is just as good outside the car, drone's not quite as bad (although there IS drone) and it's a tad more quiet inside the car. I have a sound clip of just the Deltaflow 40's on my car with the 2.5" pipes here

Ford Racing King Cobra clutch - Forced to buy a new clutch after breaking the other one at the track. Everyone recommended the King Cobra to me, so that's what I got. Ever since 3 weeks after I put it in, I had a problem with a squealing throw-out bearing. However, the clutch seemed to bite pretty hard and help all the power I was throwing at it. The only bad thing about it was that after 7 months of burnouts and drag racing on the clutch, it's now totally worn down. The clutch has not held up as long as I had hoped. I would highly recommend this clutch to anyone running N/A who wants a harder biting clutch that doesn't drag race at all or very little. If you drag race regularly, I'd say get something a little more heavy duty than the King Cobra because it won't last. It's just SLIGHTLY better than stock. Trublu01's also only lasted him about 8 months before being worn down to the metal, and he took the whole summer off, too. I got more passes on mine than he did.

Steeda Underdrive Pullies and Timing Adjuster - One of the best bang for your buck modifications you can do to a stock N/A GT is the timing adjuster. Having the underdrive pullies installed only enhances the benefit of the timing adjuster. I'd say if you're going to get a timing adjuster, get the pullies at the same time (it's easier and cheaper to have them both installed at the same time anyway). After running consistent 13.7's and 13.8's in the 1/4 mile with the T/A set at 15*, I decided to play with it a little. I dropped it to 14* and I was running 14.0 consistently. Put it up to 16* and ran back to back 13.79's. No other mod I've installed to date has given me more than two tenths than the timing adjuster and pullies. The only disadvantage to them is that you have to run premium fuel and with the timing set higher than 13* you may experience some bucking at mid-throttle cruising.

Steeda subframe connectors w/ cross braces - I got the tubular chrome-moly 4130 SFC's with the cross braces, and it did a great job stiffening up the body. Handling definitely improved, and I noticed less body twist going through corners. If you're going to get subframe connectors put on, get the cross braces done, too. The cross braces are inexpensive.

Steeda HD Upper and Aluminum Lower control arms - Get a professional to install these. At least the upper control arms. Getting the old bushings out of the differential housing is a real PITA. You have to drill them out or use a torch to get them out. Drilling them out is not easy, either. Also, you have to be sure you grease up all of the bushings really well. Lower control arms are a little easier, but I still recommend that if you don't know what you're doing, have a professional install them. Cornering is a lot better with the heavy duty uppers installed. There is a lot less side-to-side axle movement after installing the uppers. The lowers I've noticed helped a little with traction. It was more noticeable after I installed drag radials, though.

Steeda G-Trac Stage 2 and 3 - Obviously having the upper and lower control arms and the subframe connectors already installed, I had stages 2 and 3 partially completed. I bought the Tokico Illumina adjustable shocks made for the Fox-body Mustangs from another source and took them to Steeda and bought the rest of the stage 2 and 3 kits. I also bought the offset rack bushings and X2 balljoints. In a nutshell, I got the tubular front sway bar, offset A-arm bushings, offset rack bushings, X2 balljoints, and Tokico Illuminas. I had Steeda install it all and do the alignment. I got the car back, and it was a different car. The steering grip I get is incredible, and the rear-end traction is awesome. All understeer seems to have been eliminated, and I only seem to have just a little oversteer. If you want a car that can really handle, you have to get all three stages!

MAC Offroad H pipe (economy) and PEP MIL eliminators - Performance and mean as hell sound for CHEAP. This piece was $109.00 plus $18 shipping, so $127 to my door. I did the install of this one myself, as well. If you do it yourself, make sure you have a LONG extension and a swivel to get to the header nuts. Spray them down with WD-40 first, too, and let it penetrate for about 15 minutes. Getting the new MAC H pipe was a little bit of a pain to get it all aligned and in place before bolting up, but wasn't too difficult. I had a slight leak at the H, so I clamped it shut. Once you put it all together though, taking it back off is a bit of a pain. Where they slide together at the H will get a little rusty and stick together making it difficult to get off when you can't twist the two pieces apart. MIL eliminators had to be soldered in. Wasn't too hard. Sounds great after getting it all together. Here's a sound clip. Click here.

Nitto NT555R Drag Radials - For those that go to the track, these are a must. My 60' times went down from 2.0 to 1.9 and I cut about a tenth to a tenth and a half off of my quarter mile ETs. The only problem is that I put them on in August and here it is in November and they're almost totally bald now. They don't last long, especially when you burn them out. But the grip is amazing!

The rest of my mods are appearance mods and speak for themselves in my pictures here.

2001 GT Vert Auto

K&N filter and silencer removal - The K&N was free from my mechanic at my local Ford dealer but they are very cheap. With the filter and silencer removed on an otherwise stock car, my auto span the tires off the line more easily and did feel quicker. Installs in about 2 mins.

JMS autologic chip - Obsolete: Install takes about half an hour first time, and is fairly easy. Trying to get the ECU out from inside the panel and replacing it is a pain though. The chip went back once because they raised my shift points (without me asking) in the original burn, and the car shifted WAY too late (clipping 6500 rpm!!). Free reburns in the first two months, so they fixed that immediately. Car feels more powerful and the fans operate as expected. The major improvement is with the auto shift pattern - part throttle shifting is vastly improved, and shifts are faster. My car seems to take about ten minutea to get comfortable with the part throttle shifting after you re-set the ECU. It sometimes shifts up a gear and then changes its mind at very low throttle, but after a few minutes all is perfect. Excellent customer service.

SCT SF3 Tuner Great mod. Adjust for gears etc. Makes a massive improvement to the auto shift pattern (part throttle and full throttle). Can dyno tune to it. Gains about 10hp. Highly recommended. WAY better than my old autologic chip.
Magnaflow Catback - high quality parts and packaging. Install was very easy. Idle is deeper but not much louder. The mufflers have a nice smooth sound with the stock H but arent really that loud. Everyone thats heard them has been very very impressed.
Are we talking power-mods only?

Steeda pulleys - Nice. Installed at the same time as 4.10s so its hard to gauge performance. Only negative effect is that power steering is a little weaker when stationary.

Steeda pedals - look nice feel great. reduced the height of the brake pedal slightly and added some to the gas. I liked it. Install cab be a PITA, get a good drill.

CDC styling bar - Instructions suck. You can install without cutting holes in the front of your trim. PM me for details. My old thread has disappeared with old age.

2000 GT 5 spd convertible

MAC Cat-Back 2 1/2"
Don't remember the price but don't buy them if you have a 99+ GT they don't line up with the rear bumper exhaust half moon shape hole(unless I got the wrong application), but they sound good.Did the work myself , very easy if you cut the old one.If you buy a Cat-Back make sure you get the 3" or 3 1/2"tip for a 99+

1/2" intake spacer

Cheap mod ! I don't know if they do something ,I got caught with the Intake spacer mania a while back and I bought one . $40.00 and easy to install(about 40 minutes)

Eibach Pro kit (springs)

$229.00 about . Did not like the drop of the front springs so I cut them. Rides good for what I do . I paid someone to do the work but I regretted it, because I took them out of my car twice after for some minor adjustement. About 4 to 5 hours of labor .

K&N air filter

About $40.00 easy as it say

Tri-Ax shifter

Very good mod if you like shifting quick and to have the "race" feeling and noise retail around $180.00 , again very easy to install(about 45 minutes)

Rotors : Slotted & Cross drilled

In my case it's mostly for looks(I don't race) Paid $200.00(all 4) Easy installation (same as replacing brakes)

Caster Camber Plate Maximum Motorsport

After cutting my front springs I had no choice to do it. $200.00 for the plates , if you can do the Coil springs yourself you can do this . About 3hrs of work.Can't tell about performance but I'll extend my tire life

NOSzle kit Notrous Oxide System

Not the cheapeast kit on the market but I'm very please with it , it's very safe kit and the way it comes it's perfectly set up for a Stock 99+ 4.6L GT . Took me 14 hours for the install... I may be in the Guiness book next year for the slowest time of the installation of this kit Price about $1200.00 Fun = priceless

1999 GT convertible auto (4r70w)

FRPP underdrive pulleys i noticed a power increase. nothing dramatic, but noticeable. i recommend them 100%. no longer on my car due to the blower.

FRPP 70mm t-body didn't notice any hp improvement N/A, but i did notice a mpg increase. good for blown applications. i recommend them for highly moddified N/A or blown applications. easy installation.

Dragon plenum fits fine, seems to work well with my combo.

Vortech V-2 SQ Trim 8# love it!! i've got a very conservative tune, and it still kicks ass. get one. i had a V-1, but i traded for a V-2 because i didn't like hearing the V-1 all the time.

MPH boost pipe good fit. no complaints

Reichard Racing 3.2" pulley seems to help belt slip some. better than the Vortech pulley that came on the blower.

SVT Focus fuel pump holds a nice flat 11.3:1 a/f ratio with 380rwhp.

90mm Lightning MAF helped with the fule pump to make a great a/f ratio.

Bosch 42lb injectors see fuel pump and LMAF.

SCT Pro Racers Package nothing like tuning your own car.

Bullit suspension good improvement over stock. i recommend this also.

Nitto 555's can't complain here. much better than the stock Goodyear F1's.

JBA shorty headers gained .2 and 2mph with stock h-pipe. i didn't think i'd gain anything.

Keith Craft Racing forged shortblock with ceramic coated pistons. so far so good with the shortblock. added 3ci! lol. my only problem was with the customer service. i was told it would be done in 3 weeks. it took 7!!!!!

180* t-stat the car runs noticibly cooler.

MagnaFlow Cat-Back it's Borla quality at half the price. moderate sound increase at idle, screams at WOT. no regrets.

SLP catted X-Pipe sounds great combined with the Magnaflows. feels like i gained power everywhere.

Autometer Gauges mechanical boost gauge and electronic fuel pressure gauge. also not yet installed.

B&M auto trans cooler 24,000GVWR works great.

1999 Mustang GT Auto Chrome yellow Coupe

Steeda Subframes - This was my First Mod I had these welded in along with the seat braces. They made a major difference in tightening up the unibody. If I ever did it again I would try Maximum motorsports subframes or equivalent with jacking rails.

SVO 70mm Throttle body - Since I had this on my 96 I swapped it out before I traded it in for the 99. Crisp throttle response but otherwise no real gains that you can feel. <save your money>

Flow Master Mufflers. - I had these welded into my stock system after about 3 months of owning the car. Needless to say I had a big smile on my face after I heard my car start after the install. I still have them to this day and they keep sounding better with age. One sidenote. The drone from the mufflers disappeared after my 2800 RPM torque converter was installed. My guess is that rpms are now different causing the drone not to occur where it would normally happen at highway crusing speeds.

Vortech SQ supercharger. - I wanted a mod that really gave me some bang for the buck. Well the supercharger did it. Definite increase in power. Sorry no dyno numbers yet. Installed in the spring of 2000.

PI 2800 rpm Stall converter. - Totally changed the transmission characteristics of the car. I can rev the engine up with my foot on the brake and take off like a sling shot. Driving in stop and go traffic became a pleasure. The Mustang could now creep along at 3 MPH and I never had to hit the brakes

SVO Transmission cooler - Cooler was installed same time as my Torque converter at a Transmission shop. The transmission mechanics said that they really liked the kit and would now be carrying that for any future Mustang work that they do.

Trans-Go Shift Kit - Worked great for about 1/2 a day. Then I lost all forward gears as all the clutch packs burnt out in the transmission! Needless to say I had a complete re-build done at Ford. I also had to get a new valve body. After that fiasco I contacted Jerry W. of Inject-Tech. They are now know as www.fordchip.com>

Inject-Tech Custom mail order tune from Jerry W. - The supplied super chip from Vortech that came with the supercharger was a joke. I had nothing but problems with the transmission shifting to soon, my 2800 rpm torque converter was locking and unlocking constantly, and the Mustang would just shut off on me. The super-chip was also making the mustang burn so rich that your eyes would water from it. Jerry was able to tune my car perfectly for me. He worked with me untill I was happy with the way it was running. I only had to send the chip back twice for minor tweaking. The engine purrs and the transmission shifts nice and firm. I can also bark the tires on the 2-3 shift under WOT.

Auto-Meter Electric Fuel Pressure and man. Boost pressure Gauges. Its nice to be able to monitor what kind of fuel pressure your pump is putting out under boost. The boost/vac gauge lets you see what kind of boost your supercharger is putting out. It helps you diagnose if you have a loose hose if your not reading any type of boost.

Steeda Strut tower brace. - I followed the online instructions and the install went smoothly. I tapped my towers with a die set and was able to bolt the brace right in. Hardest part was the nuts on backside of firewall for the other end of the brace. All went smoothly though. The brace seemed to quiet down some rattles and tighten up the front a little. Really nothing majorly noticable though.

Maximum Motorsports K-Member brace - They brace installed underneath the car on the K member. This closed the the horseshoe shape of the k-member helping to increase its stiffness. Quite noticable difference after driving it on some rough roads.

Maximum Motorsports Rear Lower control arms. - Wow! the car tracks straight now instead of kicking out to the side under Full throttle. Road noise slightly increased but nothing major. Really plants the rear end.

Maximum Motorsports Panhard bar - This really makes the car stick like glue in the turns. Its a totally different handling car now. I hammered it in some turns that would normally kick the rear end out and it didn't budge and the tires didn't even squeal.

Bullitt Springs, Shocks, And struts. - Best bang for the buck Very happy with the results from them. The car is lowered perfectly in my opinion. Not slammed. They give a nice firm ride without being overly harsh. I had these installed the same time I had the Maximum Motorsports equipment installed. I also had new Maximum motorsports rubber spring isolators installed on the bullitt springs.

2003 Cobra Gas tank and 2003 Cobra Dual Fuel pumps - Not yet installed but I have the parts. This is going to replace the Walbro pump that is currently installed. No more worrys about going past a 1/4 tank of fuel on Cobra pump setup. Also the pumps should last a long time since they are varible voltage unlike the Walbro pumps.

Denso Iridium Spark Plugs - 2 heat ranges colder. IT-20 is the plug I'm using if I remember right. Nice Smooth Idle. I can feel a slight horsepower increase with them.

B&M Hammer shifter - I did this mod out of a concern of how easy it was to bump the shifter by accident. I wanted something that would have a safety lockout for Reverse and park. I had problems with it being VERY noisy. It seems to transmit every sound from the transmission into the cabin of the car. I also had problems with it squeaking like crazy. It seems that the bottom of the shifter assembly was resting on top of the transmission. I helped fixed the problem by laying some rubber between the bottom of the shifter and top of the transmission. Now I'm begining to wonder if my tranmission is sitting to high? Motor mounts or trans mount maybe?

Bullitt Mustang 13" Front brake upgrade - You know its nice to beable to stop! My kit came with 13" Ford cross drilled and slotted rotors. I would have rather had plain rotors but the price couldn't be beat at the time I got them through a group purchase.

Pro-3 I Front Steel Braided Brake lines - I installed these at the same time I did the front brakes. Gives the Brakes a nice Firm Pedal, not mushy. I did have a minor leak with the front left line at the fitting where it attached to the cars brake line. I was able to fix it by making a small washer shaped sealout of lead as thick as a finger nail. I placed this washer of lead on top of the cone shape inside the pro-3 line. This in effect sealed it up quite nicely. I've had no problems with that side since I did the install last summer.

I've done some other little mods mostly for show like White face gauges that are indiglow at night that are surrounded by a 35th aniversary gauge surround. I also have a white face heater control plate to install yet.

I'm sure theres other mods I've done but its getting late and I can't seem to recall at the moment.

Later
John

1997 GT 4R70W <- Auto

In order of install

This list is long but detailed.

Flowmaster 40 Series
Cost about $180 for mufflers and install. Car got loud but the 8 cats that were on the factory pipe were prohibiting any performance benefits from their more free flowing design.

BBK O/R H Pipe
Cost about $120 from www.SummitRacing.com did the install myself. Stock H pipe was a super bitch to get off. I used liquid wrench and let the bolts soak for a few hours before trying anything. Be sure you have a 12" extension, a swivel piece and lots of patience before you get under your car. It WILL come off I promise! Performance Gained a TON of power from this one and the car got REALLY loud. ET dropped from 15.5 with just the flows to 15.1 with 2.45 r/t's. I know it's bad but I had bald tires

Home made PVC cold air I did this mod according to the article at www.mustangworld.com I didn't really notice much of a performance gain from this one. Times at the track didn't change but the throttle response was slightly better around 3200 and up.

Transgo Shift Kit Holy hell this mod made a night and day difference in my car's shifting!!! Anyone out there who has an auto tranny, do yourself a favor and put one of these kits in your car. You'll thank me. I got it for $100 from www.summitracing.com Don't skimp out with Jerry's mod. It only does 1/2 the job. The Jerry's mod just firms up your shifts. The Transgo Kit makes the transmission downshift when you pull it down to a lower gear regardless of your speed (This could be a potential problem to morons though) and with the transgo kit, you can hold any gear up to the rev limiter instead of the tranny automattically shifting at redline. I put mine in myself. The install video is awesome. It makes it easy enough for a child to install the kit. My times dropped about .2 sec and 2nd gear chirped every time I got on it. I've put this kit in 2 other mustangs and their owners were just as amazed as I was.

FRPP 3.73 Gears Cost $75 BRAND NEW on EBAY MWAHAHAHA! Another BIG gain in performance. These work well with the shift kit. 2nd gear now gives a nice healthy 1~2 sec. bark and the occasional 3rd gear chirp. Interstate RPM's didn't suffer too much. They stay right around 3100 @ 90~95 and pulls harder in 3rd and 4th than the factory gears did. ET's dropped about .1~.2 on average. Cost about $150 for install. Make sure you get a new Pinion bearing if your car is older than 2000 and also get synthetic gear lube and a new seal for the axle cover. Another great mod if you can find someone who won't screw you over with the install. If you live anywhere near Birmingham, AL, My guy did an awesome job for less than HALF the price the other guys were asking.

Basanni O/R X pipe Paid about $250 + shipping from www.houstonperformance.com Let me just say this now before I go on: The noise from this pipe is UNREAL!! With the 2 chamber flows on my car, the noise was just...insane. Around 2000 RPM the sound was horrible and rhaspy but at 3000 RPM, all hell starts to break loose and it sounds freakin AWESOME. I noticed a difference in high end pulling power over the H pipe. A lot of the deep sound from the exhaust was missing though. Not a real difference in the 1/4 mile though. I was dissapointed. Eventually the sheer volume of the exhaust got on my nerves. I got tired of hollering to talk to people. That would soon change though...

Magnaflow Catback Exhaust This was a nice change over the boring old flowmasters. The deep exhaust sound came back with these mufflers, the annoying 2000 RPM harshness dissappeared and the high rpm scream seemed a bit more refined and smooth. Very nice indeed. I didn't get the catback system from anywhere. I got my exhaust guy to make it himself. He used the stainless steel mufflers instead of the mirror finished ones. That saved me almost $50 right there. He also used mandrel bent stainless steel tubing and finished it off with a pair of 3.5" chrome tips. Cost me just over $300 for parts and labor and after 5 months, I'm still in love with the sound and power gains from the system. I picked up .2 in the 1/4. Definately worth evey penny.

Home Made Descharger, 80mm C&L MAF and MAC U/D Pulleys I'm doing these together cause I put them on at the same time. I got the MAC pulleys from Chuck at the Pro3I office and saved about $10 on shipping. I got the parts for my denscharger at Lowes for about $25 and a little breather valve from the Rice section in AutoZone for about $7. I picked up the C&L MAF on parts trader for $100. The denscharger and MAF combo surprised me. The throttle response is much better and the car pulls harder past 3000 rpm. I should go ahead and mention that at this point, my exhaust is just straight free flow and the car is sucking hella amounts of air. I know the A/F ratio is probably in the toilet and I'm not getting the ideal power here but the car pulls like a son hava beech at 3000 RPM's all the way to redline. It reminds me a LOT of my prelude with the DOHC VTEC engine. There's really not a lot there as far as the low end power goes but at 3000K, all hell breaks loose. Anyways, the pullies were an absolute BASTARD to put on. The crank pulley took a week soaking with liquid wrench, a 3 foot breaker bar and 3 vice grips locked down on the belt at various places and a guy with a crowbar between the crank pulley and the engine block preventing the crank pulley from turning. After that I had to disconnect all the wiring from the radiator fan and remove it to give me room to put the crank pulley back on. Not a lot as far as performance gains go would be my guess. Also I'm not sure if my alternator is going bad or if it's just due to the larger pulley on it but at idle, the voltage meter drops in the toilet and the car dies if I put 87 octane in it. Wierd PM or E-mail or IM me if you're interested in saving $80 by making your own denscharger.

Intrax Lowering Springs Snagged these for just over $100 from www.summitracing.com (Most stuff I want that they have I get from them cause of the free shipping btw) I put these in myself in about an hour. Would have gone quicker if the caliper bolts didn't have to soak in WD-40. The car rides like crap hole but looks a hell of a lot better. Lowered about 2" all around. Hopefully I'll have some Illuminas under the tree on the 25th to ease the pain on my spine.

Griggs Racing Sub Frame Connectors and Bulk Head Stiffener WOW WOW WOW WOW. This made a really big difference in my car's handeling. It's rock solid in corners and the elusive creaking and moaning from the chassis is no more! I broke down and went all out with the full length connectors b/c they weren't that much more than the standard ones and the bulkhead stiffener helped that much more. Got both of them from www.griggsracing.com for about $210 and $50 for install. K-Member and control arms are next on the list. I'm gettin geared up for next year's SCCA Auto X action! F-stock LOOK OUT

My OD band burned out this weekend I'm going by Jerry's how to bulletproof your tranny article from www.tccoa.com and hopefully I can have some new et's here for you guys before the end of the month. I got my fingers crossed trying to break into the 13's.

99 Yellow GT Coupe, 5spd

Mac Catback 3" tips - Very nice deep tone. (deeper than Flowmasters) Installation was done by myself in my garage on ramps. Had to cut off stock exhaust due to clearance getting it off. Love the sound. The pipes fit perfectly out the back with a little bit of adjusting at the connections. No problems to date and get lotsa compliments on the sound.

Flowmaster 2 chamber mufflers - Had them welded in. (Why waste perfectly good stainless steel catback pipes?) Awesome sound!! Very traditional Mustang muscle sound. Under $200 installed.

Mac Prochamber - Installed this with my Flowmasters and wow, is this thing loud!! It's not for the weak at heart. It's bold, and sounds and runs like a raped ape at wide open throttle. Only bad note is the "hollow" sound that comes from the connection at the headers. Sounds like a leak but it's not. From the rear it's awesome sounding, but when against a bldg, sometimes sounds like a leak. Still love it and it intimidates the hell out of people on the street.

Steeda Pullies - Easy install if you know what you're doing. We made a few mistakes at first but 2nd time around would be less than an hour. Very noticeable HP gain by seat of the pants meter.

Nitrous 100 shot wet kit - What can I say? It's nitrous. It's one of the best bang for the buck thrill rides you can put on the car. 100 HP at the flip of a switch. I recommend getting all the safety components that go with this (RPM window switch, throttle microswitch, fuel pressure cutoff switch, bottle pressure guage, etc)

Pro50 shifter - Liked this a little better than the Steeda shifter except for the handle. I now have the pro 50 shifter and a steeda handle for better reach. Pro50 doesn't whine like the Tri-ax does but their shifter handle is too short. Either shifter will save your tranny from potential damage during hard shifts. This combo is perfect.

Will post more later. Too much typing!