Modification Survey Thread

BBK U/D Pullies- didnt feel much but i raced my buddy and got a
car length closer. Had to remove alternator pully
killed my charge and squeeled.

Densecharger- worked good i guess better than stock had some
bad luck. definately a little hp gain

Flowmaster American thunder catback- Sounds absolutely mean
with O/R h maybe a little
power gain.

BBk off road h-pipe- Good mod definately hp gain awesome
sound with the flows.

3:55 gears- should have went higher but a lot better than stock
2:73 Good mod should have went higher mybe 4:10

FMS wires- still on back order. i dont imagine they will do much.

NX 100 shot- HELL YEAH!!! AWESOME MOD
 
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Re: Re: 2001 Cobra 'vert

quote:
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Originally posted by whitesnake
FR500 Cat Back exhaust: Overall I'm happy with it. It was a bit pricey, but I like the fact it's from Ford Racing. I had someone do the install, but it lookes super easy, only took about 20 minutes. Understated sound just cruising around, but wakes up when you get on it.

Steeda U/D pullies: As above, I'm not sure if I got much from this, can't feel it much. I haven't had the car dyno'd since it was stock. Good directions with them, had my brother-in-law help me out with the install.

Steeda tri-ax shifter: Highly recommended. Shifting feels much more solid now. I haven' missed a shift since I put this on. Easy install & I don't even change my own oil.

C&L Mass air meter: Another very easy install, got a little different sound from it, but I guess it might have just been from the K&N filter. Seems to accelerate a little quicker now. Overall I am pleased with it, it was a bit cheaper than the pro-m.

The rest of the stuff I have done has been cosmetic so I won't mention them here, but they are all in my sig & I would recommend them.
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Originally posted by whitesnake
I thought I would give a update:
Magnaflow X-pipe with cats: Looked like a easy install (with a lift & the right tools) and it really woke up the car!! I love them. The car is not real loud with this exhaust combo, but I didn't want a real loud one. Smooth at idle, little louder than stock, but jump on the throttle & it wakes up then. There is louder set ups to get, but I am very happy with this setup.

Another update:

FRPP 4.10 gears: really wakes up the 32V, just get some gears, 'nuff said.

Brother's speedcal: Same as the dallas one, only cheaper. So far, so good. No problems.

Kenny Brown super subframe connectors, strut tower brace, extreme matrix brace, jacking rails: The car feels like it is solid, can't believe how much better it feels, I had it all finished along with the following.

Kenny Brown club sport springs for 99,01 Cobra 'vert's with IRS: I got about 1 1/2 inch drop in the front & about 7/8 inch in the back. This was measured right after install, they might settle more. The car handles great & ride quality is great also. Very happy with these springs so far. I paired them up with......

'03 Cobra struts (bilstiens): I got the coupe struts because thier rate was closer than the 'verts for my KB springs. The price was great, but Ford has raised the price since then.

HAL adjustable shocks: Very nice shocks, 12 settings, gonna have fun seeing which setting is the best.

My car feels like it is on rails now & I dyno'd at 298hp & 297tq with my above performance mods. This is up from a stock reading of 266hp & 278tq.
 
Magnaflow Cat-back Install difficulty: 4-5 out of 10 Makes for a nice deep sound. Part number 15677. Install is a cinch. 15mm wrench and a sawzaw, to uninstall. 15mm and 9/16" to put new cat-back on. Takes me roughly 20 minutes to re-install cat-back. Just make sure you support the body and let the axle hang low to have enough room to manuver pipes. Buy from www.fulllineexhaust.com

Flowtech X-pipe Install difficulty: 6-7 out of 10 Install very big pain. Nice sound after install. Not only did this pipe not fit it didn't make any HP. No dynos but after 3 trips to the strip my MPH did not change. Different temps and different tracks, still same MPH.

King Cobra/Centerforce Clutch Install difficulty 4-5 out of 10. Performed with motor out of car. This setup is a King Cobra pressure plate and a Centerforce Dual Friction Disk. Advice from a local Mustang guru with a 400 HP 347. The clutch performs very well. It is a very streetable clutch, somewhat stiffer than stock but for the grabbing advantage it is worth it. Make sure to have the flywheel surfaced before installing new clutch parts. This is along the same lines of not having your rotors turned or a new brake rotor when putting on new pads. Mating surfaces must do just that.

Headswap Very intensive project. First time I was this deep into the car. With help it took 48 hours to complete. Very long list of opinions and parts to go along with this. I will try to fill this in at a later date.

MAC Longtubes and matching ProChamber Install Difficulty: 6-7 out of 10. Performed with motor out of the car. This was the icing on the cake for the headswap. Never experienced them alone but it was definatly an extra kick in the pants. Re-use the stock hardware for the headers as well as the stock gaskets. I currently have 1200 miles on my car and no leaks. It is possible to install these headers with the motor on the ground and then install the motor, tranny, and headers as an assembly. You scratch them up but they go in.
o2 sensors that fit longtube applications without modification:
Ford part number: F88Z-9F472-EA
NAPA part number: OS236
Ford part is 96 bucks and the NAPA is 52.

Steeda Sport Springs Install difficulty: 5-6 out of 10. The hardest part of my install with 65k on the clock was getting the bolts out of the lower control arms. I used Scotty's install guide from stangnet here. Only thing I would modify is that you do not have to remove the strut from the strut tower, only from the spindle, 2 large bolts.

Steeda Tubular Front Swaybar Install difficulty: 3-4 out of 10. Performed with spring install. Very straight forward install. Complimented the other suspension and wheel and tire mods. Roads not conducive to seeing how great this part is yet ;)

01 GT motor Install Difficulty: 7-8 out of 10. With longtubes and tranny included, this was a pain staking process. As for the wiring and fuel, I reused my stock 98 setup. Nothing that couldn't be tackled for compatablity. Pretty much a plug and run setup. This in and out process was only 19 hours and that included fabrication of a catted H pipe to pass smog. I can definatly tell that the headswapped motor ran better, but this one doesn't smoke ;).

03 Cobra Wheels and BFG g-Force KD's Install Difficulty 1-2 out of 10. Its just like rotating only you put different wheels on ;). Get many compliments. And the dry traction is about 7 out of 10. I was expecting more but the roads, as I said above, not conducive to being tested to the max. Currently running 33 psi front and 25 rear.

Please check back I will be updating this post as I make new modifications.

Please do not post in this thread if you don't have something to add. If you have a comment about my postings here either PM me or post in the main forum.

Thanks
Jason
 
2002 Mustang GT 5 spd.

Steeda underdrive pullies - Install was easy once I stopped being a retard (long story). Many people have screwed the install up quite badly though, and if you're not confident it may be best to take it to a fellow Mustanger who has done it before. Maybe a SOTP difference, but I'm sure I freed up some power. Most noticeable was the change in the sound of the engine (from switching harmonic balancers).

Steeda timing adjuster - Seemed like there was a little more pep off the bottom. Install was easy. I have mine advanced 6* from the stock setting and I have very slight bucking at low speeds in high gear, but nothing major. I also have been able to run 87 octane without detonation.

FRPP 70mm TB - Didn't notice much of a difference except it seemed to change the sound. I'm planning on a blower, so it will shine behind the Vortech. Don't waste your money if you are staying n/a.

Steeda Tri-Ax shifter for TR-3650 - GREAT mod. Was kinda noisy with my metal MGW knob, so I put rubber washers between the base and the handle, and re-attached the stock inner shift boot. Quiet as stock or quieter. The 'silencing' mod was almost as pleasing as the shifter, and was free. With the shifter, I can hit 3rd much more easily.

Magnaflow 'Magnapack' cat-back - Simply awesome. Don't waste your money on Bassani products. Magnaflow products put out the power, are just as good in materials and construction, and cost WAY less. All stainless steel with 3.5" polished tips. I got the cat-back for $330 to my door. Can't beat that. Sound is great, really turns heads.

Magnaflow O/R X pipe - If you like to make power and do it LOUD, this is the ticket. I would put the Magnaflow X design against any other pipe and I bet it would win, save *maybe* for Dr. Gas. Price is good, installation was typical, sound at WOT is UNBELIEVEABLE. Sounds kinda rattly and tingy just putting around town, but the sound at full throttle makes up for all that.
 
-vortech v2 sq/42#injectors/255lph fuel pump/tune- done by lidio at alternative auto. love this combo, perfect for growing into future mods. safe tune with awesome power

-steeda tri-ax- install was a breeze and i love the feel.

-3.90 rear gear, install done by lidio. great mod. have had 4.10's in the past on previous stangs. thought i would give it a shot and was extremely happy with decision

-autometer boost gauge- relative easy install, but a PITA to find wires that power the headlight for illumination of the gauges.

-pro3i x-pipe- relativly easy, but got tedious with the passenger side gasket and manifold bolts.

-flowmaster 2 chamber- had these professionally welded by a local muffler shop. excellant combo in my opinio with the x-pipe.

-hp megabite jr lca's- still installing, pain when you dont have an impact wrench/air rachet.

-tokico adjustable drag struts- installed relatively easy. have not had a chance to test out yet. car still on jack stands

-eibach drag springs- front done, easy install (get a spring compressor). buttoning up the rear with the LCA.

-anderson power pipe- easy install, but requires cutting of your hood (have not cut yet, ran out of dremel bits).

-3.33 pulley for v2- real easy install

shooting for 11.50-11.80's
 
3.73's - definately noticed an increase with these. RPM's build alot quicker.

Steeda LCA's and adjustable UCA's - noticed less wheel spin with these.

Accufab 70mm - didn't really notice any power increase

Bullitt suspension with Ford "C" springs - definately noticed a major increase of handling over the stock suspension

Steeda Trix - Major improvement over stock

Steeda Strut tower brace - seemed to tightne up the vehicle some

Maximum Motorsports Full length subframes - made the car feel tighter also.

Ford alum. driveshaft - didn't really notice anything, lighter though

Magnaflow x-pipe - definately noticed some power form this

Magnaflow catback - sounds nice

Vortech SQ - oh yeah, major power increase!
 
1997 Mustang GT 4.6L 2V w/ T45 5speed tranny


Steeda G Trac Bar Very easy to install. felt a little better in the corners up front. cheap price. only draw back is it scraps on everything with a lowered car

Steeda Tr-ax shifter EXCELLENT shifter. Absolutely LOVE this thing. Only drawback i had, was when the first gen. handle (blue in color) broke while powershifting

Flowmaster 2 chambers mufflers Felt no increase in power

Custom Turn Downs by local muffler shop saw a gain of .3 seconds in the 1.8 mile by adding these and getting rid of the stock tail pipes

Nitrous Works Nitrous Kit DON"T FEAR THE SPRAY. Dropped my 1/8 mile ET to 9.0 on motor to 8.0 w/ a 100 shot. Decided to sell due to headswap

PI Headswap No increase felt because i haven't finished yet :D :rolleyes:

Custom Lowering Springs Ride quality just as good. handles turns better, looks better, easy to install (about an hour)

Mac O/R H pipe No longer have. very little power increase felt. Easy to install. Made the car sound REAL deep

BBK O/R X pipe Bought because of price (FREE) Easy to install (even though its designed for 99+ cars). Makes the car some aggressive and not as deep and mellow as the O/R H pipe

Ford Racing Shorty Headers NO increase in power felt. Waste of money in my opinion. look identical to factory manifold except that there made of tubes instead of cast iron. Easy to install. Should have gone with long tubes.

Moser 4.10 gears DON't FEAR the GEAR!!! Loved them for driving around town. Gas mileage sucked on the highway. WAYYYY to much gear for the 1/4 mile while spraying. Ran at 11.68 in the 1000' foot and in the 1/4 ran a 16.10... install was a PITA, absolutely no backlash in the setup.

Thomas
 
1997 Convertable GT Automatic

premod dyno baseline: 172.5 HP/226.2 Torque

Then I did:

Steeda Underdrive Pullys and a
Steeda Timing Adjustor
C and L Mass Air Kit
FRRP Throttlebody
9mm FRRP spark plug wires

went back to the dyno....
and acheived 194.6 HP/242.4 Torque, 22.1 HP increase

this was done prior to my headswap

I now have added an Hedaman off road x pipe and Magna Flow Cat backs, FRRP shorties, ported and polished PI heads and matching intake manifold, and an adjustable fuel regulator.
Will be back with dyno numbers soon.

For appearance, I added Steeda Sportline springs and KYB shocks, I also painted my disk brake calipers, valve covers, and intake manifold.
For functionality, a Steeda Castor and Camber Plate kit was installed!
 
1996 5 speed GT Coupe

Steeda Timing Adjuster (T/A) - Set at 14 degrees base timing, +-1 degree, for the time being. I installed this at the same time as the PI cams so I'll review their power increases together. I may go back and set the timing back to stock and see if I can seperate the effects of the increased timing from the cams. I would suppose that most of the low end power is from the T/A and most of the top end gain is from the cams.

Very easy to install, especially since I already had the front of the motor torn down for the cam swap :D

Quality seems good. Parts look great with their anodized blue finish.

I think this is a must-have first modification. I don't know why you wouldn't want one of these - even if you have a dyno tune, the ability to make adjustments to the overall timing is just too handy. The only downside is the necessary use of premium gasoline with the advanced timing.




PI Camshafts - Used set of PI cams out of, I believe, a set of 1999 GT heads. Owner of the heads is going to use them on his 1998 GT but is awaiting aftermarket cams so I grabbed up the stock PI cams when offered. Again, since I installed these along with the T/A, I'll review them together.

For anyone thinking about installing cams, plan on at least a very looooong day or a good weekend to install them. Installation is fairly straightforward but very time consuming. Many, many thanks to UA2K1GT, 95GTMAN, Sendero, WALL96COBRA, scothew_gt, and especially LEE93COBRA and ItalianLX for sticking with me and helping me finish up and making sure I got everything back together and in good running order. You guys are the best!

These were used cams, but as far as quality goes, they were in good shape with no pronounced wear and they dropped right in as expected. For the price, they can't be beat for pre-PI motors, however, if you're paying a shop to do the work then they may not be as much of a bargain.




Cams & T/A Driving Impressions - I am very pleased with the results of these two modifications. Low RPM power is way up and high RPM power is up too, with more useable RPMs. As a bonus, the car is now noticeably louder and much more agressive sounding - I was not expecting that at all. All my StangNet/Bama Mafia buddies noticed it right away.

High end power is definitely improved. The motor pulls strongly past 5000 RPMs. Hard to say exactly how much more HP is on tap until I get a chance to take it to the strip.

What's really impressive though is the improvement down low. Power all the way from idle to 3500 RPMs is vastly improved. 2000 - 3500 RPM is very strong and very crisp, no longer soggy like it was before, no more waiting for the torque curve to wake up at 3500 RPM, no more feeling of being in the wrong gear when putzing around in traffic and needing to accelerate - much more fun to drive around town now.

The car will also pull effortlessly from 1200 RPM in 4th gear now and even in 5th gear at 1800 RPM, the car accelerates with more urgency when you ease down on the accelerator.

Overall, it feels like I've got a bigger engine under the hood.

After a 100 mile interstate cruise and several trips around town and on a windy country road, I have noticed no pinging or driveability problems (knock on wood). So far I am very happy.
 
2003 GT 5-speed

Pro 5.0 Shifter: the throw is way shorter with the pro 5.0. i love it. was very easy to install and had no problems at all. it's worth every penny. highly recommended. http://www.pro-50.com/

Bullitt Fuel Door

Steeda T/A: not too hard to install. really nice mod for the money. i can tell there was some gain in power, but not sure how much...gonna get a dyno. definitely get this and the steeda underdrive pulley set. i'm getting the pulley set soon. http://www.steeda.com/

Steeda UD Pulleys: easy to install. now that i have the t/a pulley combo i am getting the dyno. i suggest the t/a pulley combo!! it's great.
http://www.steeda.com/

Sil8nt.com Painted Door Bezels

Stainless Steel Bumper Inserts

X2CMotorsports.com Rear Seat Delete Kit
 
MAC Longtube headers :
I love them to death!nice gains, sounds great, revs quicker, feels more powerfull in all gears with my auto.got them for $350 install sucked took 5 hours with an experienced wrench turner.Extended my own O2 sensors with some wire and a sodering iron.
MAC O/R H :
Tops off the LT's, nice sound.about$150 I think with shipping from Nelson's performance, theyre good people
Magnaflow Magnapacks :
Very loud compared to stock, and lt's and o/r H.I thought it was loud with just the Lt's, no way, these things are loud!got them welded up for $100.got them from fulllineexhaust.com for about $145 with shipping.
Laurell Mountain MIL's
about $60 bucks, plug in play, shaved some off the passenger side, NO SES LIGHT NE MORE!!!
K&N air filter
good for the money, might have reved a little quicker when i put it in, don't remember too long ago, first mod
 
MAC Longtube headers :
I love them to death!nice gains, sounds great, revs quicker, feels more powerfull in all gears with my auto.got them for $350 install sucked took 5 hours with an experienced wrench turner.Extended my own O2 sensors with some wire and a sodering iron.
MAC O/R H :
Tops off the LT's, nice sound.about$150 I think with shipping from Nelson's performance, theyre good people
Magnaflow Magnapacks :
Very loud compared to stock, and lt's and o/r H.I thought it was loud with just the Lt's, no way, these things are loud!got them welded up for $100.got them from fulllineexhaust.com for about $145 with shipping.
Laurell Mountain MIL's
about $60 bucks, plug in play, shaved some off the passenger side, NO SES LIGHT NE MORE!!!
K&N air filter
good for the money, might have reved a little quicker when i put it in, don't remember too long ago, first mod
 
MAC long tubes & ProChamber
I have posted before how much the install sucked on the long tubes and I am not please with the junky ceramic coating on them. also it rubs on my starter. Other than that:p I like the sound minuse the empty tin can from the rubbing. I havent dyno'd yet since installing it.

STEEDA MIL eliminators
Check engine light still burps on every now and again. they work great except they gave me two driver side MIL's :notnice: so I had to shave the tabs off.

K&N cold air kit
This was my first mod to my car I bought it at the dealers. nicer sound I think "maybe" better MPG.

Moser 8.8 axles
ehh funny thing about those... last summer I got a little out of hand teasing an 89 tbird and took a ramp at 90mph. Keep in mind this was 1st month driving my 1st stang and manual T. I hit the curb and fubared my axle. My good friend and I replaced them with cheaper&better moser axles. I noticed a HUGE difference in power being transfered to the RW's. not kidding at all. But I might be retarded too..... I hope not

70mm TB MAC
I have no clue if it helped but it was cheap;) and if I ever get a SC it should help.

C&L 80MM MAF
Not installed yet. I know this is more a SC mod and i don't have a normal sample tube for them:confused:
 
2003 GT

BBK Cold Air Intake Looks good in the engine bay, but I couldnt really feel much of a difference. Definately need two people to install with relocating the air filter in the fender well. I did notice a night WHOOSHING sound after the kit was installed :)

Flowmaster 40 Series Mufflers Great sound from these. Had a bit more SOTP feel to it. Yeah theres a drone, but my g/f and I love it :). For some reason though they really seem to draw all the ricers to my car, and I have to hear their little 2 cycle engines rev up before they eat smoke :).

Steeda Tri Ax Definate improvement in shifting, but a lot more noise which is to be expected. I am also able to feel the "notching" in my tranny more with it :(. Kinda tough to shift for now though, its only been in a week. G/f really likes it as well even though she has to work a lot harder to shift it. Cant wait till its broken in good :).

Ill keep ya posted on everything else I put on it, especially the FMS Throttle Body, Cat X Pipe, and a new Mass Air Meter.
 
Magnaflow Catback Exhaust - Deeper and louder sound over stock, definitely felt a kick after 3k RPM.

C&L MAF System - Felt a difference in the entire RPM range, but not as much as the exhaust. Still very nice mod!

Pro 5.0 Shifter - After driving it for a while and gettin used to 2-3 bein as easy as 1-2, I switched back to stock for comparison. I was just laughin on how the stock shifter operated compared to Pro 5.0. Pro 5.0 all the way!!
 
I guess it's time to update some mods:

03 Cobra wheels and 275/35-17 Kumho 712's- Very cool looking mod. Also helped handling in that I've got more rubber hitting the road and it takes turns a lot faster. Did I mention they look cool?

Magnaflow catted X and Magnapacks- I've posted about this on here before, basically, loud and legal and loving it. Car sounds SO pissed off. :D Click on sig for clips.

Update to MAC white faced gauges- I removed them and put stock gauges back in. I didn't like the way the MAC's lit up. I really liked the stock illumination in that it was more of a blue color. Plus when it comes time to sc the car, I'll put in Sport Comp gauges and it'll look very clean. :D