Kper

Hello everyone.
About 6 or 7 years ago I sold my older Mustangs (2 65 fastbacks, one of which was a second place national winner, a 66 vert and a 66 hardtop)... it was the first time I had been without a Mustang since I purchased my first one in my sophomore year of high school in 1980. A couple months ago we purchased an 11k mile, '06 GT Premium 5 speed car. Along with some classy touches it has a cold air intake, underdrive pulleys, one piece aluminum driveshaft, Borla exhaust and 4:10 gears. I will be posting some questions as this is our first S197 car and we are considering the installation of Steeda Sport Springs and the one piece shaft has me a bit concerned in regards to pinion angle.

Pete07GT

Welcome and it's awesome to see another S197 owner registering. Have you changed your plugs yet?

Kper

Uh oh. Are they a PITA? Or is there something else attached to that question?

Pete07GT

05-mid 08 model year GT's had a multi-piece plug design that would get the spark plug seized inside of the heads. It's best to pull those plugs out ASAP and switch to a 1-piece. There are a few other nuances with these year GT's but that's the biggest one for people. My 07 is still the best car I've had the pleasure of owning even though there is some work I had to put into it from factory shortcomings. I wouldn't drive anything else to this day.

Kper

Is this a similar issue to what the 5.4 trucks had with the carbon seizing the plugs into the head? If I attempt to take these out in my garage am I at risk of ultimately towing my car to the dealer after a major spark plug failure? I'm a 27 yr heavy equipment mechanic in the military so I'm not totally stupid when it comes to spark plugs but I'm not up on the latest poor designs, either. What am I up against here?

Pete07GT

Run a search for spark plug removal tool in google and yes, this is the EXACT same problem with the 5.4L F150 heads. It was an issue with the plug design and thread pattern. You can do it in your garage without issue. Spray some carb cleaner around the plugs while still in the heads and let them sit overnight, loosen the plugs and when you begin to hear the "squeeeek", stop, rinse, and repeat.

There are a plethora of walk throughs on how to do this online and probably on here.

lalayla

Welcome

Kper

Great. We had issues with the 5.4's and learned that heartache the hard way. I had no idea the 4.6's were the same design. Hopefully my 4.6 will be a piece of cake with only 11k miles.

What plugs does everyone recommend?

Thanks, Pete and Amie, for the welcomes!

Pete07GT

Your options are limited to about 3 different manufacturers that I recall. The big hitter most people ranted and raved about was BRISK plugs. There are 2 different designs. The ones you want are clearly labeled 05-mid 08 GT Mustangs whereas the other is for 08-09. You also have 2 different heat ranges for forced induction and NA so for now you definitely want the NA plugs. If you solved the F150 Plug Fiasco, this should be a piece of cake for you.

What future plans do you have for the S197?

11SHELBYGT500

Welcome

Kper

Thanks for the plug info.
You might find this a bit funny but the Mustang is actually my wife's, she's more of a gearhead than she cares to admit. I have to hand it to her, though, she did state it HAD to be a 5spd. Anyway, our friend purchased it new and started throwing nice upgrades at it. A couple years back we told him if he were ever going to sell, let us know. This was shortly after we sold our older mustangs and figured he'd forget all about it. Well, he called about 2 months ago.

But I digress..... since it's my wife's car my choices are limited. A set of Steeda Sport Springs came with it and it took me a couple weeks to get her to agree to the installation - now I'm researching to see if the one piece driveshaft is going to work with the sport springs in regards to pinion angle.

A super charger was on my dream sheet but at a few thousand bucks I can't justify it right now (or ever). A new hood would be nice but I went through that fiasco with poorly fitting fiberglass on one of my 65's and don't want to revisit that again. We'd like to install the flush mounted side vents that take the place of the quarter glass. Beyond those ideas/plans I haven't given much thought.

Thanks, Shelby, for the welcome!

rechner843

Welcome

1 Alibi 2

Welcome to TMS, nice ride.

Pete07GT

The aftermarket hoods are generally heavier and are more for "lipstick" than anything else. Forced induction is going to remain expensive for three model years because of how new they still are but give it time, the cost will decrease. If you threw springs in then I would suggest adj LCA's, adj UCA, adj C&C plates, and an adj panhard. The only time I would step up to a 1 piece is if I added 100+HP above factory specs. The two-piece you have in there now may be your saving grace after having lowered the car but not put much of anything else into the factory suspension. The suspension has been my price and joy at this stage of owning my S197 for a full year now. That to me I'd a huge achilles tendon of the car overall. =)

Boss 1409

Welcome, great avatar!

Kper

Well, the 1 piece driveshaft was installed by the PO and the only factory part that he replaced that he didn't keep to pass on to me was the original driveshaft. Go figure. So I'll be digging deeper into the lowering issue.

Thanks everyone for the welcomes! As far as the avatar, that was my 65 Dynasty Green fastback. I organized a car show on base and was able to approve a photo with an F-16 for every vehicle entered. Talk about a logistical nightmare! Took a couple years but I got it done!

I know my 65 is now with a friend in New Zealand but I still like to talk about it. It was an original A code car with Pony Interior, P/S and A/C. I added Power front discs. The paint was unchanged but I restored the interior and the eng comp. It was an Arizona car with no rust whatsoever.

Shifterboy45

Kper

SteedaBrandon

Welcome to the forum! Nice intake. Please let me know if I can help you with any mods. (I see you are asking about Steeda springs, anything I can help you with?)

Kper

Actually, yes! I haven't been very successful getting answers to my question anywhere on line. I have the MAAT412ST 1 piece driveshaft from Steeda (original owner installed and the original 2 piece is long gone) and I have a new set of Steeda Sport Springs waiting to be installed. I have heard that lowering with a 1 piece requires adjustable CA's but when investigating that claim I get conflicting information. What I need to know is whether or not I need to invest in more parts before installing the springs?

Thanks!