Clark Kent

I'm looking to do my very first mod, and am trying to decide between an exhaust or cold air with tune. What do you guys think. Will the tune and cold air give me a noticeable diff in performance?

281GT

If you are talking strictly performace the first thing you should do is get a good cold air intake and tune. Bamachips or Brenspeed for the tune. Probably the best choice there.
The tune not only will increase overall power output but fixes some driveability issues such as the crappy throttle response and having the revs "hang" during a shift. HUGE difference
In my opinion the best cold air intake out there is the WMS (Western Motorsports) cold air intake.
http://www.wmsracing.com
The install is a little more involved than other CAIs but it does the best job of isolating the air intake from the engine compartment and draws all the air from the grille. It also cleans up your engine bay and makes it look much better.
As for exhaust the stock exhaust is very good on these cars and the only significant peformance gains for the exhaust will come from long tube headers and high flow cats. LTH's for these cars are not particularly cheap though but they are MUCH easier to install than on the SN95 cars.

Also, I have an AFE cold air intake for sale. Complete kit used only 3000 miles. PM me if you are interested.

touring

Tune,if you have a stick i would go with the steeda tri-ax shifter first

i know you are probably saying "why a shifter" it will make your daily ride that much better

DoctorQ

depends on your priorities:

1. Sound or Performance? (sound= exhaust; performance= CAI+tune)
2. Budget (exhaust less than CAI+tune...(if swapping out axle-backs only)

281GT

+ one on the shifter. The stock shifter really sux. Part of the problem is the stock engine mounts. They allow a LOT of movement under full power.
Since the shifter is mounted to the body all this engine movement will cause the shifter to bind under WOT.
I have the MGW shifter, the best one on the market in my opinion, but I haven't installed it yet. I do have LTHs and prothane engine mounts in and the stock shifter does work much better now that the engine stays put but I am still not completely happy with it. Once I have the MGW shifter installed I think I will have a much better setup.

RadBOSS

IMO you will get more cluck for your buck with the CAI and tune.

n00bstang

for me i wanted a CAI + tune first, but I found a great deal on axle-backs so that was first.

I'm very happy with it.

Clark Kent

well there is really no one priority that is why i was conflicted. However, it doe smake sense to go for performance first. It is an auto so the shifter is not of concern. What filter and tune do u guys suggest. How is the steeda filter? Also a question about the tune I have heard alot abou the 87 octane tune doing alot for the car, would I not be able to use that tune if I add a filter since I would have to us eone specific for the filter or am i just a moron

SteelTownStang

BOTH!!! But, it I had to pick one first... I guess the axle-backs. It may not be any faster, but it'll sound faster... Then, when you install the CAI... it'll get a little louder...AND will be faster

Northwest GT

Ravi, you are definitely not a moron. You are just like all the rest of us, trying to get the best for (and out of) your car.

Maybe my experience will help. I started with just a CAI (made by aFe, not a big seller, but nice quality piece). It helped and it ran without a tune. Noticeable increase. But soon afterward, I got an SCT Xcalibrator II with a tune set up by Paul's High Performance in Michigan. It was for 87 octane, since gas prices were already on the rise. The tune made a world of difference in the car. I would say I got about a 25-30 HP boost. I have an auto, and the shifts were much firmer, and the throttle lag that is built in to these cars just about disappeared. I've been running with this combo and a couple of other bolt-ons (underdrive pulleys, aluminum driveshaft and FRPP axle backs) for over a year now (for most of the mods). The car really performs well, and still gets 18-19 mpg around town and 26 on all-highway drives. The CAI and tune cost me about $600, but I think they were definitely worth the price.

The Steeda CAI is fine and lots of folks have them. Lots of folks also have the SCT tuner set up by guys like Doug of Bamachips. You can do just as well, or better than, I did.

Clark Kent

SO i've heard mixed things does the tune and CAI make gas mileage better or worse.

shaun_beauchamp

CAI and Tune will give you a better exhaust note as more air in = more air out. It was noticeable on both my 06 Gts. As for mileage, it goes up if you don't drive it any harder...so it will surely go down.

harrison

The CAI will give you the best noticable difference, period. Exhaust may sound better but the fun will come from the difference you notice driving. It is like a new car (Brenspeed/Bama, I had them both, both are great, I prefer Brenspeed for personal preference).

Catback/axleback will make a difference in sound and maybe 5 ponies (the stock system is pretty good according to a couple mag articles I read). I don't dyno the stuff because I don't care about the exact numbers. If you troll enough, you will see numbers from low 20's to high 20's for CAI/exhaust. You will certainly notice a seat of the pants difference.

For a rough guide, here are some dyno numbers from a Mustang video I have (don't use the numbers as though they are real, use them to judge roughly what mod will give you what HP gain ROUGHLY)

Stock
Stock HP: 279 THIS IS PRETTY HIGH, OTHERS HAVE DYNOD AT 265 OR SO
Stock Tq

C&L CAI with CANNED DIABLO TUNE
C&L: 293
C&L: 312

BBK Throttle Body
BBK TB HP: 300
BBK TB TQ: 318

Underdrive Pully
HP: 308
TQ: 322

Complete exhaust, long tube headers, new cats, xpipe, all new tubes
HP: 317
TQ: 332

Vortex Supercharger with SCT Tune (JDM Eng.)
460
407

As was mentioned, a short sifter is a nice touch too. I've had mine for a couple weeks and it is lots more fun.

If you want performance, CAI.

If it is strictly sound, exhaust.

The only reason fuel mileage would be less is if you are on the throttle more than if you were before. I dare you to stay off the throttle....

mister

+1 to what he said!!!!

kevinb120

Ditto here, the GTA's are drying up, had to grab some for summer. Still waiting on a few miles anyway to do CAI/delete plates/tune to make sure all is well with the car stock. Need to get to the strip for some base runs too, I hate not being able to truly measure mods.

Clark Kent

Ok so I have decided to go with the CAI and tune. which brands to you guys reccommend

cmplxlgc

Once funds are plentiful - http://www.bamachips.com/store/index...products_id=16

That's what I'm getting. 87perf, 93tq and 93race.

hey, for an extra 25-30hp and a tighter AT....worth it for me....and you...

bp31

I have a 2007 gt/cs ,I went with the gta axle backs and C&L racer with the sctx-2 tuner . I got 3 tunes 87 perf,91 perf, 93 race ,wow you wont be sorry. I got mine from tillmanspeed,ask for C.R. this guy knows mustangs. tillman speed 610-497-3711

NJ3

Off topic, but why a 91 perf and a 93 race tune? Why not a 93 perf tune instead?

Clark Kent

does the type of tuner really matter ro just the CAI. and how is steeda vs jlt vs cla