Necessary mods?

[Red03Mustang]

I may be getting an '05 black GT this weekend. It's used with just over 10k miles on it.

Are there any mods you guys would deem as necessary to make the car perform better, or is it great stock? To me it looks like Ford listened to folks and gave it the short throw shifter, mandrel bent exhaust, and decent air filter system in stock form. On my '03 GT I modified all these things and had a great improvement.

I was thinking a catted X pipe would be the one mod I might do. The car's suspension seems much stiffer and perfect already as well.

I realize everyone's opinion is different and I'll get widely varying answers, so everyone go for it!

 

[PDXStangDude]

Having my new 06 for just under two weeks I think the car is fine the way it is. It is to quiet for me so I will be adding an axleback exhaust system when I get the money to do so. I'll be adding mods as I go but none of them are necessary for you to enjoy owning the new stangs!!

my .02.

 

[Red03Mustang]

Having my new 06 for just under two weeks I think the car is fine the way it is. It is to quiet for me so I will be adding an axleback exhaust system when I get the money to do so. I'll be adding mods as I go but none of them are necessary for you to enjoy owning the new stangs!!

my .02.

Sweet. I feel the same way so far, but I've only had it for a day so things can change. I really loved my '03 GT stock too, until I heard the MAC cat back on it. I don't want to go that loud again though.

My original thoughts are a catted X pipe, as that'll free up flow but not make it louder really. I think an X on my '03 sounded great with the stock mufflers.

Magnaflow is great too (not Packs, though they aren't bad).

 

[NorthwestGT]

I think a lot of folks have gone this route, including me, and that is to install a CAI and use a tune in either a Predator of SCT X-calibrator. It'll cost a few bucks (like $6-700) but the result is well worth it. I don't know what the actual gain has been in my '05, but I think most dyno results have shown anywhere from 25-35 HP. It is very noticeable on the SOTP dyno.

Most of the CAIs out there (Steeda, C&L, K&N, etc.) are about equal. There was a shootout in one of the mags a while back (MM&FF or 5.0) and they all showed just about the same gains. And, the handheld tuners are probably equal as well. Everybody has their favorite. But, you need to get a good tune from a place that knows what they are doing. Check the posts for people's favorites. I'm happy with the tune I got from Paul's High Performance in Michigan. Of course, if you've got someone who can do a dyno tune nearby, that would be about the best you can do.

 

[V8JamesGT]

upgrade the stock suspention to get rid of the annoying wheel hop and then an intake/tuner

 

[LuS1fer]

The springs are way too soft. The car lifts and dips like a speedboat and that may be good for weight transfer but it's terrible for brake fade.

One mod I wasn't expecting great things of is the Hurst manual shifter because the stock stubby shifter on the 5 speed is pretty good and I'd been used to GM clonkboxes. Needless to say, I was blown away by the Hurst which removes all the rubberiness from the shift and makes it way better with no selection or noise issues at all.