stang noob seeking advice

[AZnoob]

I just got a 5 speed 2004 v6. Love it. I'm looking for a hobby and it seems like making something I already love even better would be a great one.

I know jack about cars. I can put in oil and change a tire/battery... that's about it.

I've read through the forums and looked at the advice given to others but my lack of knowledge just confuses me more when I try to figure out what some of the stuff is.

My questions are:
1. What are some things I can do to improve the speed/performance of my car? I am a total noob so any details help ("toys! Must have new toys!").
2. Are there any places in Arizona that are good at "tune" jobs on stangs (I'm assuming when I read about getting a "good tune" that it just means a "tune-up" specifically for high performance?)
3. I've been thinking about taking some automotive repair classes so I can someday work on/improve my car myself. Dumb idea?
4. If I lowered my car an inch in the front (or maybe front and back) would that negatively impact the speed/performance?

Thanks in advance for any help!!

 

[mjaggy]

Well I'm pretty much a n00b myself, but I'll see what I can do to help you.

I'm not sure if this is made for '04 Mustangs yet, but I've heard so many people say this is practically a requirement when you get a manual mustang. Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter

Also for #1, if you were to get a Cold Air Induction kit, that would improve your horsepower by about 10 HP or so. I know getting a new exhaust system helps HP as well, but I'm not experienced in that enough yet.

For #2. and #3., I couldn't tell you...

But as for #4, Lowering Springs would help your car's feel and performance.

"The Eibach Pro-Kit spring system is the first choice for enthusiasts when upgrading their vehicle's suspension, improving both the vehicle's performance and appearance. Theses kits are designed to properly and safely lower your vehicle's center of gravity through the use of proprietary progressive spring rates; reducing squat during acceleration, body roll in the turns, and nose dive under braking. Excellent ride quality - comfortable in cruising Sportive handling in cornering, resulting in improved performance Lowered center of gravity, increased stability!"

Hope this helps you out.

 

[GREENBIOCH]

First off welcome to the boards, your like a lot of us here, I knew jack about cars in general when I started reading this stuff and now I want to tear my whole friggin engine apart and put it back together, so stick around long enough and you'll learn a few things.

Now to answer your questions.

1. alot of people start off with a Cold air intake and an underdrive pulley, both are good first mods, easy to install and will give you a good noticable difference. combined I would say most 15HP. Next get a set of mufflers, they are all generally good, some examples are bassani, borla, flowmaster 40 series, magnaflow, spintech, MAC, warlocks, dynomax, etc. take them to a muffler shop tell them to chop the y pipe and make you a dual exhaust setup, or you can just buy a catback system, like GT Takeoffs or magnaflow, or MAC sell these type of kits although it looks a little cleaner, it is a bit more expensive I think this route. The exhaust will give you some nice noticable top end speed, but decrease bottom end torque slightly, probably not noticably though, unless you increase the exhaust pipe diameter to 2.5" from your stock 2.25" pipe, you would only want to go bigger in size with a power adder like nitrous, turbos, or superchargers. you may gain another 5 to 10 HP and a nice sounding exhaust over stock, but it won't sound like a V8! After this come back we'll give you some more ideas, such as the short throw shifter that was mentioned already.

2.
I don't know anything about arizona, but untill you change your heads and camshaft or do any port work to your engine or add any type of power adder, you really don't need to get your car tuned. When the airflow/fuel is needed to be increased because of the added parts, a tune is like reprogramming your cars computer to tell it to deliver the right air/fuel mixture. If you get gears and you have an auto, you may want a chip to recalibrate your speedo and change the computers stock shift points, but I wouldn't worry about all this now.

3. I wouldn't, just read these forums, get a chiltons or haynes manual from local auto parts store as well and familiarize yourself with the part of the car your working on and ask questions on here. Unless you want to work in the industry i wouldn't bother, just learn as you go as a hobby. get one of those manuals though, they are very helpful.

4. most people do a drop on all 4 corners, you could drop just the front but why, it isn't worth the inch??

 

[75player]

Yeah, what they said..... Welcome to the board. I too know very little about cars outside of the normal maintenance. However, with the advice and knowledge I've gained here I just replaced the clutch in my 98, so an auto repair class isn't required. Granted, I was cursed on that job by a bad throwout bearing that came with the new clutch, but hey, it happens. It even caused the guy I took it to when I thought I messed something up to scratch his head, he even missed the bearing issue when he changed the clutch, so don't be afraid to try something yourself. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time to do the job. Get a book, take your time, and be patient while working on it. You can always come here yelling for help and someone will answer up. Good luck.

 

[97v6Silver]

Welcome new stanger. First i would say cold air, then exhaust, then pullies, then save for the super charger. Maybe stick some new rims in there some where, whenever you have enough money.

 

[decoy562]

Welcome

Here's a few things you can do:

Gears: 3.73's or 4.10's
Air intake
MAF
Throttle Body
Midpipe
Catback