New owner - a few questions

[ndhoffma]

Hey all - I just traded in my RX8 for an 05 GT this past weekend an am definitely excited about the new car -now Ive finally got some torque

I took it autocrossing the next day & was not disappointed. The car is still stock though, so I was looking to see what people recommend for tuning the suspension a little. I don't quite have the budget to go & replace all the parts on it (at least not all at once), but wanted to get it a little stiffer & keep the body roll down a bit.

Any suggestions? Right now Im thinking sway bars, brake pads & strut tower bar

Also, I have the stock 17" rims on it with the OE size tires. Does anyone ever run lower profile tires on those size wheels, or does it just look silly on the car? I don't really want to drop the $ for new rims, but would like to upgrade the tires performance wise when the current ones wear out

Thanks!

 

['08GTcaRED]

Congrats on the car! The best looking retro muscle car in my opinion!

I don't know how much you have autox so I am just going to make some general statements and there are some way more experienced xers here that will chime in their thoughts as well.

Right now I would suggest seat time for your first mod if you are going to continue to autox. Get used to the car in it's stock configuration. Know how hard you can push and how hard not to. How to recover etc. This is the first mod that I reccommend to everyone for every type of event. Drag, autox, tracks, etc. Driver mod for the win!

After the driver mod, I would say upgrade your brakes. However you want to do so is up to you. If you are on a tigher budget then probably some better heat resistant pads and better fluid that can withstand high heat temperatures.

Again all of this is with autox and track racing in mind, if you want to do something else then let us know so we can steer you in the right direction...

 

[ndhoffma]

Thanks for the advice.... I agree on the seat time. The mustang is a lot different than the mazda Im used to.

Ive only done about half a dozen events per summer in the past but hopefully can do more this year. Im not super competitive, more or less just out to have a good time

Ive got some new fluid left over for the brakes that I will do soon & need to find some more fade resistant pads for the car (not sure what is on it now)

 

[FreeRider]

If you want something quick and easy but definitely makes the driving experience a lot different, grab a short throw shifter if you have the manual transmission. Otherwise, do keep it stock for a while.

 

[ruffy]

Congrats on your new car. I agree that better brakes should be the first thing you buy, but keep in mind 17" wheels won't work with most big brake kits. I suggest while you are working on the "driver mod" look around at what vendors have to offer and compare prices, quality, replacement parts, etc, and of course word of mouth from others who have tried a particular product would be a big help as well. Good Luck

 

[Ken04]

save your money on the strut tower brace, you don't need it. Some good track pads will help your brakes immensely until you decide you want a big brake kit. When you start going more than 1 1/2" of drop you'll need to think about an adj panhard bar and adj upper, or lower control arms in the rear. The front will need either adj camber bolts or camber plates. Best bang for the buck for rear suspension is lower control arms. They really help lose some of the squiggle in the rear end. You can buy them from about $100+. I'd recommend factory rate springs if you lower it and go up in size on the sway bars. If you're auto-xing on big courses a shifter will really help in the 2-3 shift, the stocker is a little hard to shift fast.

 

[ndhoffma]

Congrats on your new car. I agree that better brakes should be the first thing you buy, but keep in mind 17" wheels won't work with most big brake kits. I suggest while you are working on the "driver mod" look around at what vendors have to offer and compare prices, quality, replacement parts, etc, and of course word of mouth from others who have tried a particular product would be a big help as well. Good Luck

Any suggestions on brake pads? Ive used Axxis ultimates & HPS before on my Mazda & they seemed to work well for street & auto-x use, but wondered what is a good one for on the mustang