1960apache

I just found a used, low milage 07 GT, it is great to have an american V8 again. I want to do some mods to the engine, but for now, I dont want to do a supercharger. I would like to do some old school type of mods and am just thinking about a performance cam, to give a slightly rough idle, long tube/short tube headers! I am actually curious to how much more power I am really going to gain from cam, headers, larger intake, 3.73's etc. Any ideas and input would be great, also what kind of HP and 1/4 mile times should I expect.
Thanks

THebb22

A lot of people will tell you to go for a cold air intake and a tune, because it's the best bang for the buck. Mine should be comin in tomorrow so I'll let you know how it works out for me. Steeda claims theirs can add 30+ hp with a tune. JLT and C&L have gotten good reviews around here as well.

SONICBOOST

cai/tune, longtube headers, cams

Five Oh Brian

Welcome back to the V8 family! These cars really wake up with proper gearing. If you don't plan on any forced induction (super/turbo chargers or nitrous), then 4.10 gears seem to be ideal. The vast majority of us here who've changed gears go with the 4.10's. With a totally bone stock '07 Mustang GT coupe automatic, I added just 4.10 gears & a performance tuner, but left the stock airbox, stock exhaust, etc. and went 13.40's @ 102 + mph in the 1/4 mile.

I've subsequently added a JLT II cold air kit and big stall converter. Other worthwhile mods are long tube headers, x-pipe, and less restrictive mufflers. Shorty headers don't seem to add much hp. Cams can be an expensive mod if you buy a grind that requires changing the springs, but Comp Cams and FRPP have cams that do not require changing springs, vastly reducing the labor expense involved.

So, for starters, I believe many will agree that a good tune & gears should be two of your earliest mods - if not your first mods.

Faber

I would get the most effective mods done first. definately an intake (C&L, or JLT) and tune (bamachips ftw). then 4.10 gears. this will change the feel of the car dramatically. a good short throw shifter (mgw i hear makes a great unit). long tube headers are the only way to go as far as headers go if you want power. I have found OBX long tubes to be the best value as they are well made and very affordable. they also come with 2 different h-pipes and for under $500 to your door they can't be beat in my opinion. after that i would look for some good tires you can fit 305 40's out back easily and some have even gone 315. if you decide to lower your car you will want a to at the very least get an adjustable panhard bar to re-center the rear end. also camber plates may be needed to correct the front end alignment. rear lower control arm relocation brackets and an adjustable upper control arm will help you launch better.

that is my 2 cents anyway...

blkstang06

Don't....mods bad !....

THebb22

In regards to my long awaited Steeda CAI and Xcal2 from Brenspeed, all I can say is holy crap. The car has torque like nobody's business, it looks good, and it sounds amazing.

Mach

LOL..what took you so long?

THebb22

Lol, good question. The worst part was waiting for it after I ordered it. Like an idiot I ordered it over the weekend, so it didn't actually get shipped til the following Friday so they could do the tuning, and then had to wait that whole weekend for it to get here. Here's the thread about it if you want to see how it looks.
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showthread.php?t=467241

Zip34

Are you auto or manual trans? IMO, If you are auto, I would go for a torque converter before gears or both at the same time. A buddy of mine went from 2.1 sec in the 60ft mark to 1.7 with a torque converter. He added 4.10 gears and went from 1.7 to 1.6 in the 60ft. Rest of your mods sound good too.

2kanchoo

Cai/tuner/tune + 4:10's, and a set of sticky tires are your best bang for the buck mods. Then if you have wheel hop a set of lower control arms will rid that. Then an aluminum d/s and adjustable upper third link. Cams/heads are way overpriced for the power you get out of them and the low end torque that you lose IMO. Also if you have a 5 spd an mgw shifter is an amazing mod for the increased feel and adjustability + lowered binding when speed shifting. If you have an auto I'd look into stall converters.

WuTimeUT

Skip it all and throw a Whipple on there!

Zip34

I should have mentioned in my previous post that converters are significantly more expensive then gears (about 3x as much for the cheaper converters, but if you stay NA it will be all you need). If you are auto you'll get much more out of a converter then gears... but you'll pay for it. Don't get me wrong, I love 4.10's when combined with other mods (even though many people love them for how it makes your car feel, they just don't increase your times as well when you apply them without other mods to take advantage of them) - just looking at strict performance given the 60ft times I've seen at the track. Bang for your buck is another story. Cia/tuner/tune/sticky tires is definitely the best way to go in that regard.

Five Oh Brian

I have both. I never ran my 07 GT automatic stock, but assume that bone stock they would run the 1/4 mile in the high 13's to low 14's from I see many people post (and what the automobile mags say). A lot of guys run 2.1 to 2.3 for 60' times all stock.

I did the 4.10's & tune first. 60' times averaged 2.1 and 1/4 miles averaged in the 13.50's on drag radials. This was with the stock airbox & exhaust and no other mods.

Did the stall converter next. It was then flashing to 3,800 rpm's. 60's times dropped dramatically, averaging in the 1.8's, while the 1/4 miles dropped to averages in the 13.30's on drag radials. Still stock otherwise with the stock airbox & exhaust!

Haven't been back to the track after adding the JLT CAI, but I can feel a difference (which I didn't expect to), so the car is probably capable of 13.00's or 13.10's now. I'll never know, though, as I recently ordered a Vortech supercharger that will hopefully be installed before the next trip to the track.

Worth mentioning about the converter, though, is that it was money very well spent, IMO. $560 through Fuddle Racing for a nice, lock-up converter (several stall speeds to choose from for the same price). $250 for installation. Gears had the opposite cost; about $250 for the gears & install kit and typically $400 to $500 for installation (although I got a deal and only paid about $200 for labor). The converter makes the much, much more entertaining on the street, offered definite improvements at the track (mostly 60' and 1/8 mile #'s, with a little benefit in the 1/4 mile ET), and fuel economy on the highway was unchanged (lock-up style is the only way to go!), even though I did sacrifice about 2 mpg in town (converter flash keeps the revs up around town).

Now, if the car in question is a stick shift car, all the other mods we're all suggesting are good, and spend the converter money on a better clutch instead!