Fast Mustang 101?

[]\/[]uffin

New Member
Dec 22, 2013
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Hi All,

New to the forums and am hoping to pick your brains. I've never owned a mustang but am starting to give it more and more thought. I currently own a 2000 2.7 twin turbo stage 2 A6 that dynoed at 276whp. I like it, it's a fun car that does great in the Minnesota winters and has just enough git-up to put a smile on my face. Unfortunately, you can't even ponder working on it without shelling out thousands of dollars. The Germans have a tendency to over engineer things and I can live without headlight washers, hidden cup holders, and heated rear seats. So, long story short: I'm thinking instead of shelling out $8-10k to bring it up too a 400whp car, I'll keep it as is and pick up something American and keep the Audi as a winter car.

I'd like to get into this car for +/- $15k and not shell out more than probably $3-5k in upgrades. From what I can tell, an '05+ GT is the way to go? Are there any golden years from '05 - '14 where they're all of a sudden considerably better ?(e.g. traction control, stability control, etc). What do I need to look out for? For example, I know which Audis to never touch unless they've had their timing belt done. This will not be tracked or trapped. It's just a clover leaf car to have fun with on the interstate.

Is my goal of 400whp for <$20k realistic wit? Can I do more for that? Or can I hit 400whp for less? I could do it with an Audi no problem but I'd be plagued by expensive maintenance, high miles, and aging body styles/creature features; so I'm trying to avoid that with the mustang. If this is possible...what is the upgrade route? I'm hoping forced induction isn't necessary; will exhaust, intake, and a tune do it?

Anything information you can throw at me would be great. If you haven't been apart of this sort of build before I appreciate your consideration but am only looking for folks that have done this before.'

Thanks,

Muffin
 
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I think all GT's come with traction control from 05-14 (someone correct me if i'm wrong) as it's part of the ABS system too.

They are all about the same; as far any particular year you would want to stay away from, there really isn't one that i know of.

Just keep in mind, 05-09 is 300hp, the 2010 is 315hp (due to CAI), and the 2011 is 412hp. Somewhere around '12 or '13 they are rated at 420hp. Al flywheel horsepower of course.

Anyone correct me if i'm wrong, i'm just going off memory at the moment.

SO, your best bet is probably an '11, to get you into a nice 4V 5.0. 2010 and lower are the 3V 4.6's. A CAI and re-tune would probably get you into 430-440hp range at best. And that might be around $1000, give or take a few hundred at my guess.
 
Also, the '11 GT's are probably going to run you around 20k too though. So you will have to play with some forced induction on an 05-09 if you want to get 400rwhp. I would get the '11 now, not mod it at all for a year or two until i saved up your 3-5k mod range, then mod the '11 for even more umph then. :)