Just picked up a black low mileage (45km) 2007 Mustang GT DELUXE V8 Manual, completely stock.

It looks like this:



Please let me know some must-have performance mods you find mandatory for someone looking for helping my Mustang stay 100% all year round being parked outside (I live in a city that never snows, sometimes rain and the temperature is between 5 degrees to 25 degrees year round).

I currently have these in mind after some quick research:
- Pro 5.0, Steeda, Hurst & B&M Shifter
- 18inch+ Tire/Rims/Wheels (debating on how it will affect performance, I only take my car out a few times a month in both heavy traffic and some small hills/highways, roads are usually clean/flat)
- Tail Lights Blacked Out (suggestions?)
- Lowering Springs
- All-Weather Car Mats
- Rain Guards
- Dashboard Mods?
- Paint cover or car cover (I'm parked outside ugh but the weather is mild so no extreme winters or summers, but there is rain)

Aiming to spend on a $5000 or lower budget!

I'm hoping to make it look and/or sound similar to this:







Love the wheels and how it's lowered. Not sure how much this would cost.



Love the wheels and how it's lowered. Not sure how much this would cost.

Love the lights and the entire rear as well as the wheels.

 

Welcome to TMS I like the first set of wheels you posted .... that is if your not going with chrome wheels. Look into getting a tune. That should add a bit to the fun factor. Clay bar and a good wax should bring out more shine. Have fun

 

Be careful with lowering. This is a fundamental suspension geometry change, and can create many different issues, if not done "completely". Lowering S197 Mustangs will also probably require replacement of the panhard rod in the rear with an adjustable unit, or the entire rear axle will shift laterally (towards the drivers side, I think).

It'll also produce alignment changes that might get expensive, with more frequent tire replacement.

I am not suggesting that you don't lower - just noting there's more to it than springs.

If the car currently has 17" wheels, going to 18" wheels with different tires will throw off your speedometer. That can be changed in the computer, but you'll need someone with the gear to get into the brain and do that.

Just a couple of things to be watchful for.

 

Congrats ... nice looking car.

I have a Covercraft custom fit cover made with their evolution fabric, that I purchased a couple of years ago and used for one winter while my car was temporarily outside.

I found the cover was more of a pain than anything. In the heavy rain we get, the rain eventually bleeds through. It was good at keeping frost off though and it's pretty thick so it does act as a decent barrier from car doors and such.

 

Intake and tune are the gateway drug to more modding Huge difference in the way the 4.6 drives (Most of it comes from the tune) with only spending a few hundred bucks on it.

Urethane shifter bushings make a pretty nice difference in the crispness of the shifter.

http://www.cjponyparts.com/prothane-...2010/p/HW2818/

As far as wheels go, if you go w/ 18's you can get pretty close with the right tire size.

For instance, if your stock tire size is 235/55 R 17, if you go with 255/45 R18, you're only off by 3 revs per mile (742 vs 745), which would be off by less than half a mile per hour at 60.

If you picked 285/40 R18 for the rear, (747 revs/mi) then your speedometer is only off by 1/2 a mile an hour at 70.

Thats all using formulas though. Actual dimensions are going to vary. For instance, Tire Rack lists the PZero Nero's actual revs/mi (235/55R17) as being 768. So you could look up 18" tires that are as close as possible to that. For instance, here are a few tires that are almost exactly the same circumference as stock 17's:


Tire...............................Size........... .Revs/Mi
PZero Nero........................ 235/50 R18 .......765
Continental Extreme Contact DWS....235/50 R18........764
BF Goodrich G-Force COMP-2A/S......255/45 R18........769


If you get the tune, then the SCT or Diablo Tuner will be able to change the tire size in the computer (whoever builds your tune has to allow that option when they program it)

 

Just a couple of things popped into my head as I read the title.

First off, develop a good plan of mods that will attain your goal. Very important to do this and stick to the plan.

Second, build from the ground up

Third, these cars are expensive to mod. Budget friendly does not usually equate to reliable or fast.

 

Unless you buy practically new take-off parts from Craig's List at a fraction of the original cost. That is one of the great things about these cars -- people are upgrading them all the time; and one man's old stuff is another man's upgrade.

Lacking a theme or plan, buying whatever you can find cheap on Craig's List (as long as it is good stuff) is a pretty good strategy.