I currently have a bone-stock '04 GT. Have been wanting to modify it for some time. Now i have the money and i am looking for recommendations. I am thinking about lowering it, putting on a catback exhaust, etc. Looking to improve the stance and the handling. Any advice is good advice.
I asked the same question a few months ago. Here is what I did, in this order: MGW shifter Mach 1 grille delete (and a few other interior things) Magnapack catback Mac o/r h-pipe eibach pro-kit and next.......2.1 intercooled KB, can't wait
first off id say either jump right into a supercharger off the bat and screw every other mod out there, or do some gears 3.73s minimum(4.10s recommended) 2. exhaust work 3. MGW shifter 4. TB/Plenum
Here's how I did it in order. 4.30's (yeah baby!) Cold Air (much later...College is expensive) Eibach Sportlines w/frpp Caster camber plates Weld in IMCO Mufflers (much cheaper than full catback) I just bought a off road bassani x tonight to put on this weekend. Out of the box the 04's tend to run just a little better. The best bang for the buck was the gears. Try to stay away from pulleys and other "cheap mods". They just waste money. If u want performance, save for a blower. BTW... But a tuner as well. Will come in handy. I have a hypertec that was FREE but it is no where near a sct or Diablo in features or overall performance.
gears will be the best first mod. you need to see what your goals for the car are and work from there. i would have saved a lot if i had decided what i wanted in the beginning. my fav mods have been the blower and the viper transmission. but then again you are looking at almost 10K on just those 2 items
I dont have gears like most on here, just dont have the money yet. Performance wise, the mid-pipe is a no-brainer. Maybe its because they cant drive, but I've pulled hard on many stock GT's just because of this. Not trying to tell you what brand to get, but my Tri-Ax has given a much better feel to driving around provided you have a 5spd. I'd say for mufflers just get some welded in. Much cheaper, and there was absolutely no improvement (performance wise) that I could tell from my catback.
I would say get rid of the 4x4 look first. Get some h&r supersport springs, Bilstien HD shocks & struts, and maximum motorsports caster camber plates to start off with. Thats what I run, but Im biased. The 4x4 look is the worst thing about a stock mustang, not to mention the poor handling it gives you. Of course exhaust would be great, but from my experience it didnt gimme any noticeable performance gains. It just made it sound better, which is also a must. Also I can't stand the hideous honeycomb grille's on the 99-04 GT's. Get a mach 1 grille delete, and chin spoiler to give it a meaner look. Gears would be good also. 4.10's are next on the mod list for my ride. I also would like a supercharger soon, but what good is it if you have a crappy stock suspension. Getting the power you have to the ground is key IMO.
mid pipe for the power and to wake up the stock mufflers(they dont sound shabby...just a catback nets you 1 hp and sounds like ass without a midpipe) gears if you want a quicker launch, wont gain you hp but will make your 1/4 mi times faster by about .3-.5 tenths of a second NOS, if you want quick HP gains with all the new found power you will want to invest in a short throw shifter DONT invest in a CAI for HP gains. it isnt cost effective shocks and struts and springs. if you want ONE OF the best go with a set of HD Bilsteins(~$600), i will be picking up some in a few weeks. springs, its up to you how far you want to drop it. H&R super sports look AWESOME on our cars but i went with steeda sports which is half the drop only because im not just after looks tb/plenum is another nice mod that will give you a quick 10hp for a 20 min install. there are many companies that make these but top of the line right now is accufab for performance handheld tuner great for code reading and much more like adjusting speedo for bigger wheels and gears etc....if i were to be getting one id go all out and get SCTs LiveWire more to come as i think of them
Up to this point, i've been happiest with my exhaust mod, just cuz its what turns heads. Actually, tonight, I set off my first car alarm in a parking lot. The best part is that it was a riced out geo metro. I'm also happy with my springs. However, I think i'll be even happier with the KB i'm getting in about 2 weeks. It depends on whether you're going for looks, performance, or both. If I were you, I'd save up and get nice, worthwhile mods, rather than lots of cheaper ones.
