New GT owner

[Quint57]

I just bought my wife an 06 GT Convertible for her 40th birthday and I have a couple of questions and a few observations.

First, it was very hard to find a GT 5 speed. Even harder in a convertible. Why is this? Is the 5 speed vert less desirable for some reason? There seems to be a never ending supply of V6 auto converts but the GT 5 speed was rare. We had to go to a dealer 2 hours away to find the one she wanted in her color.

Second, the Shaker 500 stereo is way over priced! Maybe I'm missing something here but it doesn't seem worth the cost.

Third, the car lacks what should be basic amenities like auto headlights, remote trunk release, and rear floor mats. Was this done to keep the cost down or keep it close to it's retro roots? The carpet and mats seem low grade and very thin.

With that being said.... I could care less! This is the most fun I have ever had driving a car!

Now the questions....

If you had to pick a list of performance mods what would they be and in what order? I am not looking to go to the drag strip but would like to have more HP on tap. Can this car be chipped?

My wife found the N.A.S.A Racing web site and wants to participate in the HPDE. The only trouble is that the rules state convertibles must have a roll bar. Is this something that the owner can install or does it have to be welded/bolted to the frame by a cage builder?

Thanks in advance,

Steve

 

[srothfuss]

I just bought my wife an 06 GT Convertible for her 40th birthday and I have a couple of questions and a few observations.

First, it was very hard to find a GT 5 speed. Even harder in a convertible. Why is this? Is the 5 speed vert less desirable for some reason? There seems to be a never ending supply of V6 auto converts but the GT 5 speed was rare. We had to go to a dealer 2 hours away to find the one she wanted in her color.

Second, the Shaker 500 stereo is way over priced! Maybe I'm missing something here but it doesn't seem worth the cost.

Third, the car lacks what should be basic amenities like auto headlights, remote trunk release, and rear floor mats. Was this done to keep the cost down or keep it close to it's retro roots? The carpet and mats seem low grade and very thin.

With that being said.... I could care less! This is the most fun I have ever had driving a car!

Now the questions....

If you had to pick a list of performance mods what would they be and in what order? I am not looking to go to the drag strip but would like to have more HP on tap. Can this car be chipped?

My wife found the N.A.S.A Racing web site and wants to participate in the HPDE. The only trouble is that the rules state convertibles must have a roll bar. Is this something that the owner can install or does it have to be welded/bolted to the frame by a cage builder?

First, congratulations on the purchase. You'll probably never look at cars the same. Mustangs are sort of like an addiction.

1.) The cars are hard to come by - The dealers choose to keep fewer GT's on the lots to drive up price on the car. (Bad idea on their part IMHO)

2.) The Shaker 1000 is very overpriced! It cost's more than the automatic transmission!

3.) The lack of amenities was intended to keep the MSRP down. However, Ford keeps raising the price. Maybe in a couple years they will add in AHL, ATC, 4 floormats, etc... But don't count on it. Although in 2007 TPM will be standard and side air bags might become standard with NHSTA starts testing offset angular crashes and reporting the results to the consumer

4.) Performance wise the best thing to do is buy a Tuner. The tuner will eliminate the hesitation in the stock computer program. You don't want to buy a "chip" becuase it will not allow you to re-calibrate as you add mods.
Buy your upgrades in this order (I would do it this way)
a.) Remove Hydrocarbon trap in the air intake track
b.) Purchase tuner to reprogram for higher octane fuel
c.) [In the future] Buy a CAI and new mufflers for added sound (if you like)

5.) Roll bars must be welded in. If you are good with a welder you can buy the roll cage and do the work yourself. If not, you can probably find a local shop to do the work for you as long as you supply the parts.


Now how about some photos of the car for us people that still don't have a new mustang to drool over.!

 

[Quint57]

Thanks for the information. I have been doing some reading on the tuners and it looks like I know just enough to really screw the car up!

I will start with a CAI and maybe an Eibach spring kit. I can see this is going to cost me more money.

Steve

 

[bigcat]

 

[Quint57]

Yeah Yeah I know..... The wife took the car to Disney this weekend. I'll get some pics up when she gets back..... in the meantime, here she is with her other toy.

 

[stlwagon]

Welcome... Need to be careful adding a CAI without a tuning the ECM. The added air can really lean out the AF mixture. Not a huge problem, but the car could throw a code and long term you could risk engine damage. Best to do the CAI and tune at the same time. There are lots of tuners out there who offer CAI/tuning packages.

Enjoy!

 

[Quint57]

After doing some more reading and knowing that my wife wants to race, it looks like we may start in SCCA Solo 2 so I am going to keep the car stock for now. Maybe a K&N drop-in filter and see how she likes it (the racing) before doing any other mods on the car.