ledsled

This is going to be an ongoing account of my current project. I will post pictures and video of modifications and changes I am making to my 2012 Mustang MCA. Future plans include a Drive shaft swap, 3.73 rear gears, full suspension change (parts purchased and getting installed in the next 2 weeks), exhaust change, rear brakes, rear spoiler and a Procharger Super Charger. I will also list part numbers and links if anyone wants them.

Yes, she is a V6 but not all of these mods are specific to that model. Everything to date can be done to either model regardless of engine. I will be doing future mods to the engine itself, but right now I am focusing on making this car drive and handle before real power is laid down.

On September 15, 2011 I decided to go and see a man about a horse. I ended up at a local dealer and took a '12 Grabber Blue 5.0 stick for a small jog. I had not driven a stick since my last Mustang, back in 2001, but it was smooth on power and being rush hour, I really didn't get to do much with it. After some negotiation and a little insulting behavior on the dealer's part we did not come to terms and I walked out.

I headed to another dealer near by and took the V6 for a spin and I thought, this is better than my '85 GT for power and not a pig on gas. That settled a deal was soon struck and I placed my order for Robyn, a beautiful 2012 MCA edition in Grabber Blue.

The drug addiction had begun. I started researching the car and immediately came across the pure hatred of the MT-82 and began digging. Wow, was all i could think. I did a ton of research and found that a shifter and transmission bracket should do the trick.

Steeda Canada is in my backyard, literally, and I grabbed the Tri-Ax short throw shifter and transmission mount, Cue ball shift ****, SCT tuner and a strut tower brace.

I waited impatiently for my car to arrive and on December 8, 2012 my dreams came true. I did the paperwork, grabbed the keys and proceeded to put about 350 km on her to burn off the crap fuel Ford dumped in. I then truly appreciated the new 308HP rating and that piece of garbage they pass off as a shifter. Nothing ruins a first time like missed shifts and jamming on the gates. I went straight home and busted out the tools.

I bolted up the strut brace and set to work on the shifter.

This video explained everything about the installation.


You can see by the pictures that I notched out a small piece of the floor to install the shifter itself, but the rubber boot covers it and I also laid down a fair bit of Dynamat around the bare steel to deaden noise. Once the shifter was installed I took her for a spin and that was a whole new experience. Shifts are crisp, precise and not a hint of lock out. A quick tune adjustment and she was ready to go. I took it across to Steeda and they popped in the bracket and that changed things again! It now feels like a race car. I installed the firmer bushing and that allows for almost no movement in the stick. I mean none. Shifting is smooth as silk and locks right into gear. Even gives a good noise as it slots in.

After a few weeks the bug bit again and I started sourcing a new front fascia and GT/CS lower valence. Steeda to the rescue again and within 4 weeks I had received a front bumper from Late Model and the valence with fog lights and a Saleen grille to complete the blacked out look. There is a fantastic writeup on Late Model's site on replacing your entire from assembly and my father and I did it about 2 hours. I only got a couple pictures of the front open as the online tutorial is very good.

That also gave me a chance to replace my front speakers and toss a little Dynamat in the doors. It helps keep the small rattles down and it's a cheap mod.

I did not want to drill into the fascia for my plate, so I picked up the flip down plate from AM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKPHp...ature=youtu.be

Not soon after the front swap my right front brake started to stick and I decided to just change everything up front. I grabbed EBC slotted front rotors and Hawk Blue pads. This will pull my face off now. I'm more concerned about getting rear ended than whatever it is up front I am stopping for.

Now I am happy. Until I took an on-ramp a little quicker than normal and she leaned over onto her door handles. Oh my, 308+ ponies and nothing to coral them. I know, Steeda suspension! I got my dirty little hands on Steeda Sport springs, Steeda shocks and struts, panhard bar, rear lower links, GT500 strut mounts and Steeda bump steer kit. This is getting installed very soon and I will post pics and information about the ride changes.

This weekend past gave me a chance to install the cold air kit from Steeda and tune upgrade. The install was a breeze and the pics should help explain things better then the instructions provided if you are planning on doing this yourself.

This is a wicked upgrade to do to your car. First thing you notice is the "tssiuuuu" noise coming from the engine when you pop the throttle, then the whistle as it winds up sucking in air. Really makes the car want to come alive. Keep your foot in it and it sings! Makes me giddy! But the most noticeable change is the exhaust note. Let me say that if you are considering changing your exhaust and doing this, wait on the pipes and get a CAI, then decide.

I picked up a small dash cam and recorded a nice run across a small road I like so you can hear the changes in the tone. I wish I had a video before the CAI but I never thought it would be this much more grunt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDzIOHWEsq0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0pUo...ature=youtu.be

Sorry about the video quality, it plays fine on my PC but YouTube changed it. I'm getting a proper HD cam soon.

I plan on going to Cayuga to test the 1/4 mile and Mosport for track days and I will keep track of the times and mod changes to help anyone doing the same.

I am going to continue posting and updating this thread until I am finished.

ledsled

More pictures.

Before and after shots of the front end and the nose off. There are no modifications that need to be done. Just swap the parts.

I also put in Steeda hood struts recently.

ledsled

Steeda Cold Air Intake

SilverSkoundrel

Nice car love the updates so far

max5ive0

Subscribed! I am real curious about your power gains on that already potent 6.

Thomas S

Nice ride man, can't wait to see the rest of the mods.

06blackvertstang

This is a great thread!! And great car by the way. Love what you're doing and I'm kind of jealous of you having steeda so close. But then again if they were that close I would be broke. Can't wait to see more

ledsled

Here is a complete list of parts I have purchased to date. All were ordered through Steeda Canada, but I will list the part numbers from Steeda USA and American Muscle because that is where I got most of my information.

SCT tuner
http://www.americanmuscle.com/x3-cus...er-2011gt.html

Strut tower brace
http://www.steeda.com/store/2011-for...wer-brace.html

Tri-Ax Short throw shifter
http://www.americanmuscle.com/steeda...fter-mt82.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=An5KgOll7cs

Shifter Cue Ball ****
http://www.steeda.com/store/steeda-2...hift-****.html

Steeda Shifter Base Bushing
http://www.steeda.com/store/mustang-...t-page-reviews

Steeda Billet Throttle Body Spacer
http://www.steeda.com/store/index.ph...ch_id=&x=0&y=0

Steeda Billet Tensioner Pulley
http://www.steeda.com/store/index.ph...ch_id=&x=0&y=0

2010+ S281 Front Grille Saleen
http://www.americanmuscle.com/saleen...ille-1012.html

California Special Front Valance Kit
http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/...nt-Valance-Kit

Grabber Blue Take Off Bumper
http://www.surplustraders.net/specs/gd053.php

Steeda Billet Hood Strut Kit
http://www.steeda.com/store/steeda-b...d-mustang.html

Steeda Adjustable Street Panhard Bar
http://www.steeda.com/store/steeda-a...d-mustang.html

Steeda Sport Springs
http://www.steeda.com/store/steeda-a...d-mustang.html

Steeda Bumpsteer Kit
http://www.steeda.com/store/steeda-b...d-mustang.html

Ford Racing Front Strut Mount Upgrade
http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/...rut-Mount-Pair

Steeda Pro Action Shocks and Struts
http://www.steeda.com/store/steeda-m...nd-struts.html

Steeda Chrome Moly Lower Control Arms
http://www.steeda.com/store/steeda-m...trol-arms.html

Steeda Pro Flow Cold Air Intake
http://www.steeda.com/store/v6-musta...ir-intake.html

Hawk Front Pads
http://www.americanmuscle.com/hawk-2...rake-pads.html

ebc 3gd front rotors
http://www.ebcbrakes.com/rotorinfo.html

laserred38

Nice chronicle of everything. It's dynamat though, no o haha. And I would remove the speakers and brackets, put a nice good square of dynamat underneath (cutting out the oval for the speaker of course), then reinstall the bracket, cover IT with dynamat, then put the speaker back on. It will help seal the speaker to the door and provide a much stronger mounting point. Other than that, everything looks good. I'd paint your roof black and paint the brake calipers black, then call it a day! Or maybe the GT500 rear valance too...

airoscar

thats alot of money. i would've just bought a GT/CS

Flagstang

newpony

Problem is he would have made similar modification to the GT/CS so now you are talking the cost of GT/CS plus the mods which is more than the V6 + mods. Some people have a budget and stick to it.

ledsled

The reason this build is happening is because I priced a GT and it was $14,000 more than this one. This car is my daily driver and I've already put 36,000 km on it. The idea is to use that buffer space to build a better car than Ford sells.

And seeing as how we are all being honest here, the GT suspension and upgrades the V6 gets are a true rip off from Ford. This will be a superior machine to any stock GT and still under the cost.

tj@steeda

Glad to see your enjoying your Steeda parts!

That is a very nice upgrade package you did to your Mustang and we appreciate your support.

Keep us updated on your 1/4 mile time.

Best Regards,

TJ

xtc.inc

What is that Steeda piece above the driveshaft?

ledsled

That is the Shifter Base Bushing that keeps the remote part of the gearbox steady as you slot it into different gears. The factory stock piece is thin and moves around. The two pieces on the table are Ford's and Steeda's replacement.

ledsled

The numbers are in! I went to Cayuga Drag Park last night and did my first runs ever!

Here is the basic information for the track conditions:

It was 32 Celsius at 8 pm and the air was think enough to chew.
Tires were stock Pirelli Nero A/S
Stock suspension.
91 Octane Fuel from Huskey with up to 10% ethanol. Crap gas.

Started at 35 psi for the first run and dropped it to 30 psi for the rest of the night.

My first pass was a 14.660 @ 96.16 mph with a 2.192 60'.

After dropping tire pressure I got a 14.526 @ 97.5 mph with a 2.229 60'

The best run of the night was a 14.447 @ 97.88 mph with a 2.218 60'
(slip posted Right Lane)

My best launch came after some advice about the tree and I achieved a .077 r/t by the end of the night. Top speed was a 99.94 mph for a 14.619
with a 2.103 60'. By this time the humidity was going away and temps were around 26 Celsius.

The upgrades to the shifter shined! Shifts were precise, only on one run did I jam a gate and that's it! ONCE! All runs otherwise were perfect. No missing 3rd anymore. Also, the car wanted to walk all over the track after shifting and I think that came down to the stock suspension waving a white flag. I'm going to pop in the lower control arms this week and head back.

There was a 2013 GT there turning 13.8's so I know with tires and suspension and 94 Octane I could make him sweat.

Video will be posted asap. I am working on editing out the waiting. Had a couple down times for track cleaning as I was approaching the line.

For those of you that have not done this before...DO IT! You will not regret it.

ledsled

Here is a video of me vs. another Mustang.


Left Lane: 14.418 @ 102.00 mph
Right Lane: 14.53 @ 97.46 mph

CCTking

Subbed! Sweet car man, definitely interested in how that procharger install goes once it gets goin. I love my sixxer, enough power to get in trouble but its easy on the gas. Love how its turning out so far and keep us posted!!

ledsled

In-car of video above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvdY2...ature=youtu.be