2004 Mustang GT looking 4 1st upgrades

[Iyzak]

Friend bought a 2004 Ford Mustang GT convertable; looking to do his 1st upgrades
i'm a fox body guy so i'm telling him gears, headers, and sub frame connectors for really cheap and effective upgrades

however, he wants cut out his cats do an exhaust which is fine
but then he saw in a magazine a advertisement for a
Cold Air Intake; Throttle Body; Upper Plenium for $250 and claims to add 40hp
personally i can't see 40hp out of that

whats yall suggestions on building up a 2004 GT 2v 4.6 motor?

 

[LarsD]

I would also recommend gears, exhaust, and sub frames (still new to the mod motors myself though). Not sure that a CAI, TB, and plenum are going to make a real big difference on a stock stang. If he wants to feel a difference for that price range, I've read that hand held tuners can be a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[Iyzak]

ty LarsD, nice to know someone is on my side
and you need to take that 67 from your wife its beautiful I'd never get out of it if it were mine

 

[Deleted member 38176]

magazine a advertisement for a
Cold Air Intake; Throttle Body; Upper Plenium for $250 and claims to add 40hp
personally i can't see 40hp out of that

Tell your friend that he is an idiot if he actually believes that garbage.

Best bang for the buck = gears!

 

[Dark04GT]

If he wants to stay NA than full exhaust is where you are going to get the most gains with bolt ons. In the sn95 cars headers are not the easiest to put in so take that in mind (removing the k member etc etc.). Subframes are a must in our cars.

Other than that you are on the right track- other great first mods that haven't been mentioned:
1) Shifter
2) Springs (no more 4x4 look yay!)

 

[FordTaurusSHO94]

4.30's, MM SFC's, springs, and a shifter made my 03 a fun car.

 

[LarsD]

ty LarsD, nice to know someone is on my side
and you need to take that 67 from your wife its beautiful I'd never get out of it if it were mine

Nah I have enough cars, I bought that one for her. Though I still have to turn the wrenches on it. lol

 

[txredgt]

Convertible= first mod should be without a doubt subframes. To really 'build up' a 2v bolt ons won't do it. I have every bolt on minus underdrive pullies and if I were to go back it would be as simple as supercharger and exhaust simply to let the sc breathe better.

Subframes and short throw shifter are the 2 mods I would do no questions asked and should have been factory.

 

[johnnyt03gt]

1st. exhaust
2nd. gears
3rd. heads & cams

JMHO

 

[flstang65]

1: Lower it!
2: Exhaust
3: Shifter
4: Subframe connectors
5: Rear control arms
6: Good tuner

After that, decide if you want to stay N/A or forced induction. Then, build the car around your decision.

That's my .02

 

[fiveoho]

Tell your friend that he is an idiot if he actually believes that garbage.

Best bang for the buck = gears!

being an idiot is not the same as ignorant. EVERYONE has some ignorance, nothing wrong with that. so, perhaps he just doesn't know.

 

[cronin49]

Look at my sig. I have an 03 Vert. With the blower she runs like a raped ape. In the beginning I went for 373 gears, Magnaflow X pipe and catback, subs, springs, throttle body, intake..... They I got her blown in 2008.

 

[007]

GEARS AND SF3 TUNER

 

[mustang_matt]

4.10s, a shifter (steeda or 5.0), subframes, and a BBK 78mm t-body inlet. damn good starting point.

 

[01GT eibach]

Definitely sub-frame connectors, and -- if the car is all stock -- new shocks, struts, springs, and sways. Those changes will completely transform the car. Also, I absolutely LOVE my FR500 steering wheel -- as it is something you use all the time, it makes a huge difference in the driving experience. As for horsepower, the low-lying fruit here is the CAI, a Magnaflow catback, and under-drive pullies. IMO, beyond these three, you will have to spend quite a bit of money (unless doing the labor yourself in the case of headers) for only marginal gains. Also, I would stay away from gears unless you will be racing it quite a bit (I know that it is a not a popular paradigm in these forums, but it is my opinion ...).

Oh, and a new shifter if it is a manual. No question about that ...

 

[007]

Also, I would stay away from gears unless you will be racing it quite a bit.

Wow.
oodance:oodance:oodance:oodance:

If you still have the stock 3.27s in your auto, you dont know what you are missing.

 

[01GT eibach]

... If you still have the stock 3.27s in your auto, you dont know what you are missing ...

I do agree with what you are saying, and I now think my reply was not optimally written. But for me, my car is (1) not raced and (2) it is a part-time commuter, so gears are not a good fit for me. Regardless, point taken ...

 

[FordTaurusSHO94]

Gears are a blast and, if you stay out of it, they don't change your gas mileage much. In my 03 and 07 GT's, 4.30's still got me between 27 and 30 mpg on the highway. That's for a stick, I don't know about an auto.

 

[hotdog71]

So help me out here, I thought the vert already had sub-frame connectors?

Do Gears and shifter first, then tune, exhaust, blower if your mad for it

 

[007]

So help me out here, I thought the vert already had sub-frame connectors?

The stock subs are crappy little things. You want MM full length subs welded in with the car on a lift supported by the tires, not the frame. Makes a big improvement to the stiffness of a vert.