State Your Opinions About My List of Possible Upgrades! Are they worth the money?

JacKniK

New Member
Jun 19, 2007
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Virgina
So I'm about to place a big order on AmericanMuscle.com, but before i do i just wanted to know if anyone has any comments about the products I'm about to buy. Price, performance and ease of instillation are the things I'm worried most about. But all comments are welcome.

Secondly i need to know if the Caster Camber plates on my list are compatible with the strut tower brace also on my list.

Thanks for any advice. See list below.

Sumitomo High Performance HTR Z II Tire (285/35-18)
$182.00 x 2 = $364.00

Sumitomo High Performance HTR Z II Tire (275/35-18)
$159.00 x 2 = $318.00

Ford Racing Springs (Mustang C-Springs 1979-2004)
$158.99

BBK Cold Air Intake (96-04 GT)
$189.99

Tri-ax TR-3650 and Ford Racing Shift Knob Combo Pack
$189.99

Clear Fog Light Set (99-04 Models)
$79.99

Anthracite Deep Dish FR500 Wheel 94-04 (18x10)
$164.99 x 2 = $329.98

Anthracite FR500 Wheel 94-04 (18x9)
$144.99 x 2 = $289.98

J&M Mustang 4-Bolt Caster Camber Plates (94-04)
$164.99

Swarr Bar Mustang 8.8in Rear Support (86-04)
$159.99

Steeda Strut Tower Brace (99-04 GT/V6)
$149.95

see image below also:

n8906232_32411388_575.jpg
 
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Tires no... You can get Nittos from American Muscle for around that price and they will handle better without the common side wall bubble that Sumi's have

Strut brace, no unless you will be autocrossing or road racing

CC Plates yes, but for that price you might as well go with UPR, Steeda, or Maximum MotorSports (I have UPRs and they are great)

Clear Fogs, no.. Make your own, sand down the stockers and when smooth they will be clear.

Tri-Ax, depends... if drag racing then Tri-Ax or UPR Blu Thunder, if daily driving or road racing then MGW... MGW is smooth, IMO TOO smooth for drag racing. I miss my UPR alot at the track, but I love the MGW on the street.

As to the CAI, unless you want it for looks you are better off spending that money on a plenum or throttle body

Springs, I dunno so I can't comment.

The Swar bar or whatever... I have no clue, but I think there are more important things to upgrade in the rear first. IMO I'd spend that money on sub-frames.
 
Tires no... You can get Nittos from American Muscle for around that price and they will handle better without the common side wall bubble that Sumi's have

Strut brace, no unless you will be autocrossing or road racing

CC Plates yes, but for that price you might as well go with UPR, Steeda, or Maximum MotorSports (I have UPRs and they are great)

Clear Fogs, no.. Make your own, sand down the stockers and when smooth they will be clear.

Tri-Ax, depends... if drag racing then Tri-Ax or UPR Blu Thunder, if daily driving or road racing then MGW... MGW is smooth, IMO TOO smooth for drag racing. I miss my UPR alot at the track, but I love the MGW on the street.

As to the CAI, unless you want it for looks you are better off spending that money on a plenum or throttle body

Springs, I dunno so I can't comment.

The Swar bar or whatever... I have no clue, but I think there are more important things to upgrade in the rear first. IMO I'd spend that money on sub-frames.
I agree with this except for the CC plates which you won't for sure require with C-springs. Spend the money of the CC plates and the rear brace on shocks. I got shocks/struts C springs and only have -1 degree camber driver side, -2 degree passenger - which is fine as far as tolerances go. If you want to do rear suspension, consider MM LCA's or look in Full length subframes for suspension in general.

Also, the nitto's arn't around the same price, they are like $45 more a tire
 
Following every1s advice, are these good parts to buy? What set of gears should i buy for daily driving and how much should i expect to pay some1 to put them in?

Bilstein HD Shock & Strut Package (94-04)
$599.99

Accufab 4.6L 2v 75mm Throttle Body & Plenum Combo
$399.99

Maximum Motorsports Caster/Camber Plates (94-04)
$199.95

Thanks
 
Following every1s advice, are these good parts to buy? What set of gears should i buy for daily driving and how much should i expect to pay some1 to put them in?

Bilstein HD Shock & Strut Package (94-04)
$599.99

Accufab 4.6L 2v 75mm Throttle Body & Plenum Combo
$399.99

Maximum Motorsports Caster/Camber Plates (94-04)
$199.95

Thanks

To save coin IMO get a Dragon Plenum with an Accufab Throttle Body. If the combo price doesn't bother you, it's a great set, that's what I have. You can install that yourself in like 10 minutes.... 20 if the TPS screws are stuck.

Shocks you can install yourself without any special tools. Struts you might want to pay for install... Figure 1 hour labor. Check your local shop labor rates.

CC plates... if installed at the same time as the Struts, figure 1.5 hours labor, 2 to be safe.
 
Sumitomo High Performance HTR Z II Tire (285/35-18)
$182.00 x 2 = $364.00

Sumitomo High Performance HTR Z II Tire (275/35-18)
$159.00 x 2 = $318.00

Ford Racing Springs (Mustang C-Springs 1979-2004)
$158.99

BBK Cold Air Intake (96-04 GT)
$189.99

Tri-ax TR-3650 and Ford Racing Shift Knob Combo Pack
$189.99

Clear Fog Light Set (99-04 Models)
$79.99

Anthracite Deep Dish FR500 Wheel 94-04 (18x10)
$164.99 x 2 = $329.98

Anthracite FR500 Wheel 94-04 (18x9)
$144.99 x 2 = $289.98

J&M Mustang 4-Bolt Caster Camber Plates (94-04)
$164.99

Swarr Bar Mustang 8.8in Rear Support (86-04)
$159.99

Steeda Strut Tower Brace (99-04 GT/V6)
$149.95

see image below also:

n8906232_32411388_575.jpg



I wouldnt do Sumis. There just not that great. I'd spend the extra to buy BFG KDW2s.

I wouldnt waste cash on the cold air intake. Save for a handheld tuner or get Steeda pulleys instead (and save some gas money).

I'd skip the rear support and strut brace and buy shocks/struts to go with your lowering springs instead.

If you dont have gears, they should be higher on the list than any of the above IMO.
 
Thanks for all the info, you all are really helping me out. After reading the responses and doing some research my order has definitely changed into a wish list, but I'm glad i have a direction... Its going to be a street car with a little extra power and the suspension to put it down...

Anyways this is the new list I'm thinking about but i still have two questions. 1 Can i install headers myself? and 2 wouldn't a k&n CAI benefit the td and plenum?


The list, tell me what you think

Ford Racing Springs (Mustang C-Springs 1979-2004)
$158.99

Bilstein HD Shock & Strut Package (94-04)
$599.99

Maximum Motorsports Caster/Camber Plates (94-04)
$199.95

Anthracite Deep Dish FR500 Wheel 94-04 (18x10)
$164.99 x 2 = $329.98

Anthracite FR500 Wheel 94-04 (18x9)
$144.99 x 2 = $289.98

NITTO Extreme Performance NT555 Tire (285/35-18)
$231.00 x 2 = $462.00

NITTO Extreme Performance NT555 Tire (275/35-18)
$205.00 x 2 = $410.00

Motive Performance Plus 3.73 Mustang Gears
Add Kit : 21201; Add Master Bearing Kit (+$74.99)
$234.98

BBK Shorty Headers (96-04 GT)
$299.99

Accufab 4.6L 2v 70mm Throttle Body & Plenum Combo
$399.99

Steeda 4.6L Underdrive Pulleys (Mid 2001-2004 GT)
$189.95

Also add a MGW shifter for about 180 and possibly a k&n CAI.
 
you're not going to pick up as much power with shorty headers than you would with LTs, although they are quite a pain to put on i think you'd be alot happier with the LTs. Reason being is the k member will have to be dropped in order to get them on.
 
First I can tell you now that most everyone on here is going to tell you that shorty's will be a waste of money...your not gonna gain any power,might sound better.I would go with lt's or at least mid length headers,but then you will need a new mid pipe.Jba and Bassani are the only ones that make the mid length headers and you have to buy their midpipes.You can install them yourself but takes alot of time from what I hear.You have to either drop the K member or unbolt the motor mounts and use a floor jack with a block of wood under the oil pan and raise the motor to get the old manifolds out and the headers in,I havnt installed headers on a stang but you can do a web search on mustang headers install to find out how involved it is.

The gears I would go with FRPP 3.73 complete install kit,i think it will cost a lil more for it but thats pretty much what most on here use.I know late model resto sells it.

And on the shifter if you watch ebay you could get it cheaper,I got my tri ax pretty much new for my 3650 off ebay for $85 shipped best I remember.

On the CAI most here say there are no power gains from it,i never used one...but to be honest I just dont see how they could really make a difference,I mean yea the stocker may have a sharperbend to it....but think about it how much can you really gain from a CAI,for the price vs. power I would spend the cash on something better...honestly I would take that money put it towards a new mid pipe and go long tube headers at least,you would feel more of power increase/difference than the CAI.But these are just my opinions, and someone please correct me if Im wrong on anything.
 
Ok first of all you dont need cc plates

Secondly SUMITOMOS SUCK! and you can get them for 100$ a piece off tire-rack save yourself some money and buy your tires from tire-rack! american muscle is going to jack up prices on tires like that

Third ive said it many times and ill say it again shorties are a waste of money plain and simple

Fourth accufab plenum/tb although the best quality really is not worth the money, again save some money and just get a professional products tb and plenum...
 
The fogs.. the outside of the factory fogs are ridged. Sand the ridges down smooth then use a high grade sand paper to get them glassy clear. Shouldn't cost more than 15 bucks in sandpaper.

To the OP, the BBK shorties are actually pretty good quality. But IMO I'd pass on a header. The SotP gains are in the midpipe. The grin factor is in the cat back.

Still with the wheels, I think you might be happier with 17's but since you are just looking for power on the street then 18's will be ok.

I think you'll be really happy with the suspension stuff you have listed.

But one thing to think about... while Suspension mods are great, you said you wanted the suspension to put the power down... the stock suspension will easily handle 300 rwhp on the street. With your mods list you will be around 245 rwhp 250 with the shorties.

You can install headers yourself, it will be an all day affair and MAKE SURE YOU USE THE PROPER Torque Wrench... Aluminum heads and over tq. will cost alot in the long run.

I'd put a midpipe on there instead of the headers if it was me.
 
My thought was what brakes do you have on this. I always think in logical order if you want it to go fast make sure it will stop fast first. Stick with the Accufab it "IS" worth the extra money dump the headers and go with the rest. I also am running 4.10's in my car and drive 140 miles a day for work.
 
Getting better. Skip the shortys (i have them) because install is a bitch and LTs are better. Skip the plenum and TB. Get a tuner instead (much more power than TB) and a shifter.

WTF is the 75 dollar master bearing kit?
 
I really just want my car to handle like a dream, so i'm keeping all the suspension upgrades including the cc plates. I know i don't need them but they do help.

I'm going to go with the FRPP 3.73 since everyone says they're the best, but wat else do i need with that? Oil, gaskets, anything? Lastly is their a difference in the Cobra FRPP 3.73 and the GT? I found 1 on ebay but it says cobra...

What kind of tuner should i get? I was looking at the SCT Mustang LiveWire Tuner since it does so much...

Thanks again.