Well folks... I am now officially part of the elite. I own a MUSTANG!

2002 Mustang V6 3.8L
Tropic Green / Medium Parchment
Automatic
BONE STOCK
36.5k miles for $10,500 (before trade-in, tax, title, liscense, ect)
Only bad part is she used to be a RENTAL CAR in Buffalo, NY...

Of course, I am looking to change that BONE STOCK part, she needs more grunt to her!

First off will either be the K&N FPIK II air intake, or a MAC CAI. Which is better? I am leaning toward K&N just because it is K&N! I won't buy one of those generic off e-bay, so please don't suggest that.

At the same time, I am getting reverse-glow gauges. They might be ricey, but I like them.

Also... sequential tail lights. Where can I find good ones?

After that... probably should get a nice pulley system. I have no idea what I am doing, or looking for, here. Any insight would be appreciated

Dual exhaust....ahhhhh the longing to make my baby growl instead of purr kills me. What would make my car sound the best she can, all while adding the most HP possible? Borlas are nice... but $900 is out of my price range.

Gears....again, no clue what I am looking for. I have heard 3.73 with a LSD (limited slip differential) is a good way to go with an automatic. It already has traction control, if that helps.

And finally...where to buy all these neat goodies. ANY help you guys give would be GREATLY appreciated. Also, suggestions on things to pep her up would be nice as well.

 

Welcome to the Club!! As for your questions......exhaust, I have a custom made single exhaust, sounds great and burbles when at low revs, shouts when you press the go pedal.. The only other mod I have is K&N, as for the rest, someone might be able to help you a bit more than me!

 

Hey How's it going? I see your in Ohio...Cleveland here.


Okay If you want Pullies you will want to get an 25% UDP, if you don't run a major power stinking stereo system.

Dual exhaust- I have a MAC 2.5 Dual exhaust. It's a Y-Y connection so I didn't have to fabricate an H pipe. I love it but so does the salt. It's a tad bit rusty looking up at the mufflers but oh well. I didn't have $1200 for my dual side exhausts that I wanted.

Gears- I have a set of 3.73's right here going into my Car. I have also upgaded the 7.5 to an 8.8. Even though you have traction control your 7.5 is still an open differential...not locked by a posi. You might want a T-lok when you put the gears in. I got my gears from http://gefracing.com as well as my 8.8".

I buy most of my goodies from:

http://classicdesignconcepts.com - My ohio chapter has a good relationship with them.

http://gefracing.com Have spent over $2k there and they have good service and reliability.

http://www.velocitymustangperformance.com/ - Awesome crew. Received my UDP from them in less than a week

http://www.speedconcepts.net/ - Have only bought one thing from them but the service was great.


-Kirk

 

For a CAI, I would highly recommend a Tunable Induction(formerly DenseCharger) cai. They make great power and have a great price as well.

 

Hey. Welcome to the club! I am a newbie myself so it feels GOOD. Best sequential tail light kits are from Web Electric Products at www.webelectricproducts.com

Better yet, he sells on ebay too and his buy it now on there with shipping is cheaper than what he sells for on his website. The kit is shipped quickly and goes in very easily (about two hours).

Will
P.S. on ebay just do this search: mustang sequential. Look for items being sold by user ID webelectric (or something close to that).

 

Welcome to your new addiction! I haven't been a member of this forum very long, but I am a member of a strictly V6 mustang forum. As you can see from my sig, I've done few things to my own stang. As far as modifications here's some good advice, ground rules:

Appearance Items - This is all very subjective, and a matter of personal taste. Just keep in mind that someday you'll want to sell your car and move onward and upward (maybe to a GT or Cobra?), and any potential buyer of your car will have to like and appreciate your appearance mods as much as you. This may sound very boring to you, but I've heard it over and over before about somebody who can't unload their half-way done, riced-out stang. Unless you're planning on spending a ton of money to make this a showpiece custom Mustang, just keep the appearance mods simple. Don't kill any potential resale value by doing it halfway or half*ssed. Sequentials are a nice, simple add-on.

CAI - You can spend a lot of money on all the well known name brands if you like, or you can order a good kit on ebay for about $60 delivered. I know you've already ground ruled out this option, but your prejudice is a mystery to me. It performs exactly the same as any of the name brands, it looks nice, but is much less expensive. If you go this route, I can direct you to a site that has some very detailed (but easy to understand) installation instructions. It's your money.....

Exhaust - Again, you can spend a lot of money on some expensive aftermarket setups (and many of them sound great), but if money is an issue, you can't beat the value of GT takeoffs. You can buy them many places for under $150. But... if you go this route, you'll need to get some new hangers, and have the system welded on (IMHP, this is the better option than bolt-on systems anyway). I can direct you to some very good sources if you need it.

UDP - I haven't done this mod yet, only because all the stuff I read about it makes me hesitant to do it myself. You'll need a couple of special tools to perform this mod on a 2001+ V6 mustang. It's not a simple swap like on the older models. I would suggest 25% UDP if you go this route.

Gears - Another mod I haven't done yet myself (waiting for the warranty to run out first). Many suggest 4.10's for autos and 3.73's for manual transmission cars, and most people install t-lok (Ford's version of posi-traction) at the same time. It wouldn't be a bad idea to go ahead and get a new performance chip at this time since you'd have to reprogram for the new gears anyway.

Suspension/Handling - Something you didn't mention, but (in my opinion) exteremely important. The stock V6 suspension is way too soft for any driving enjoyment, and the car sits way too high anyway. You'll want to stiffen up that chassis, and lower it at least a little bit. There are so many options here, I'm not even going to try to list them all.

Again, Welcome! Let me know if you need any help or advice... and enjoy!

 

Wow...great post Pony Ride...really nice job

 

Thanks for all the great feedback guys! As you can see from my signature, I have already ordered some things. Few questions once again...

How do the GT take-offs sound in relation to something like a Bassani cat-back, and what are the power gains? I would like to stay under $300 for the system, minus instillation.

I am afraid of installing the UDP myself also, eventhough I have access to a garage with whatever tools I should need available. I have never done a major under-hood component swap such as this. I don't think swapping the altinator on a 1982 Camaro Z-28 counts...

Suspension and handling.... interesting, didn't even think of this. I would like some suggestions, but keep in mind, I probably can't install this stuff myself since I am clueless (but willing to learn).

 

hello. welcome to mustang land......ride sounds nice....but......

 

Welcome!

 

Ponyride, can you tell me what you would recommend for suspension upgrades? also, i have a CAI ordered from ebay. what site do you know of that'll give good directions?

thank you

 

Here are some links to ebay auctions that I was considering. Anyone have any inputs on these? Some sound a bit too good to be true so i'm kinda skeptical. But lets have your input?

Fog Lights

how easy are these fog lights to install? any ideas?

Performance Chip

This one sounds odd, never heard of it before, so any ideas?

Body Spacer

This i want to install with my CAI. does it help much?

Chip

Lastly this one seems most fishy. What say you?

 

Regarding suspension mods - it all depends on what you want when it's all done, what your priorities are, and how much you have to spend. Some people focus on how the car looks (they want it significantly lower), with the improved handing characteristics being secondary. Others want to improve handling characteristics first and foremost, and looks are secondary. I fall into the latter group. I also didn't want to spend a fortune. It's easy to spend a lot of money on suspension mods, but you can get some good results with just a few hundred dollars too.

Here are some good ground rules: If all you want is your car to look lower then just buy some springs (but please don't go lower than a 1.5" drop with springs alone). There are so many options here, I'm not even going to start. The handling will improve some, but without new shocks/struts or a rear sway bar, it won't be too dramatic, and ride quality will suffer a little. You car will handle better just from the car being lower to the ground and with the increased spring rating. This is definitely the less expensive option. You can pick up a good set of springs for less than $200, depending on what and where you buy.

If your priority is better handling, there are also many options here. In my opinion, the best bang for the buck is a complete Bullitt suspension kit. You can find these many places for around $400. The kit includes springs, shocks, struts, and front & rear sway bars. This is the same set up installed on the 2001 GT Bullitt. It will only drop a 99+ mustang about 3/4 all around, but the improved handling characteristics are great. This is what I wanted - a modest drop, but better handling. There are other systems out there that will do the same thing, or you can mix and match spring and shocks that will give you more drop, but most will cost more than $400 for a similar set-up. I also plan on adding full length sub-frame connectors this summer to siffen up the chassis more.

CAI installation directions: CAI Install Info

Fog lights - I bought OEM Ford parts off the web. There are many places that sell fog light kits, but make sure they are Ford OEM parts. They will fit better, and be easier to install. I personally had my kit installed by my local Ford dealer. It cost me 2 hours labor, but many places will charge 4 hours.

Chips - I haven't done this mod, and haven't researched it much yet because I won't be doing this mod until my warranty runs out, but I know that there are many bogus products being sold on ebay right now. I can't comment on the specific ones you referenced. Be careful! I do know that if you plan on getting gears in the future, do the chip at the same time since you'll have to reprogram your chip anyway to accommodate the new gears.

Throttle Body Spacer - Don't bother spending the time or money on a TB spacer unless you have plans for some serious power adding mods down the road (supercharger, turbo, nitros). By itself, you won't feel any gains from this mod (1-2 hp).

I hope this helps!

 

Welcome, and dont be shy to show us some photos!