Perhaps it's a good thing that the days of easy power are gone...but if you're looking to improve the acceleration performance of your Coyote powered Mustang, disappointments abound. Some of you guys who have already dropped money on these mods will likely disagree...but without hard numbers, don't bother. Butt dynos don't count.

If you do have hard numbers, your results are most welcome... but the following is what I have gathered over the past few years with my 5.0 Mustang.

I'd welcome being proven wrong on any of this.

CAI- total waste of money, almost no improvement over stock, 95% of benefit comes from associated custom tune profile

Tune- some ganis to be had, some will apparently STILL wreck your engine (#8) and there's no way to tell which are good and which are bad. Too many variables, small sample size, people defending their purchases, brand loyalists, and interruptions from the vendors/forum sponsors themselves.

Throttle body- waste of money (unless you're going FI?)

Headers- minimal gains, expensive

Boss intake- loss of torque, only benefits if you change redline- probably not wise if you plan to keep your car past 50k miles

Off road X/H pipes- small gains- illegal, tickets are expensive, irresponsible. Everyone driving behind you can smell the fuel

Other exhaust mods- noise only

Driveshaft- some weight savings but the benefits to reduction in rotational mass is overstated, expensive for minimal performance gains

If you want to go faster in a Coyote powered Mustang, it seems like you should just save your money for FI and not bother with anything else.

 

I have to agree. I think the drive shaft is probably one of the best mods. I have actually seen MPG's increase with this mod as well as a little quicker acceleration. yes it will take time to pay for itself but in time it will.

 

A tune is definitely worth it. You just have to choose the right one. For the money an off road x-pipe is also a good choice.

 

Hard to disagree

 

This makes me feel good in my choice to not touch the engine. I'm all in for suspension though.

 

Possibly suspension should be the first performance mod on an already reasonably high performance machine. Need to get power to the ground to make it happen. Just my uneducated opinion.

 

Have to agree with this. When we have enthusiasts coming in looking for performance mods and a little go fast I always take the time to talk suspension. In my opinion - best bang for the buck performance improvement you can make to these cars. In many cases it's an improvement most can immediately feel.

 

Pretty much why I went with the Roush Stage 3 car. (Originally going for the Shelby, but needed more coin. lol)
Comes with great power/torque, muscle car sound and a 3 year warranty.

 

this

 

I have to also agree. I did a suspension set up on my car and it transformed my car. I've been enticed by all the mods the op listed but I've decided supercharger or stock as far as engine mods. In truth, I don't fully utilize the power I have.

 

Totally agree.

 

GT500 over axles (no resonators) GT 500 muffs, K & N filter in the stock air box, and a Ford Racing computer download works well for me. Is it the quickest tune I could buy - NO. But it sounds good and I have the comfort knowing the tune will not harm the engine. I have not taken this car to the drag strip, but have plenty of experience there. These mods along with 3:73's made a significant improvement over stock.

 

Going from a sluggish shifting 12.86, to an intense shifting 12.18 1/4, as well as dramatically improving the street fun factor was well worth the tune & cai for me (and that was 22,000 miles ago).

 

While i agree, i also have to disagree on some aspects mainly the tune. If you do get all those other mods (bolt-ons, no FI) you wont see much gain with those parts alone. However, if you get a tune tailored to your mods you can utilize much more of the power gain possibilities and really unlock the hidden potential of everything.

Suspension mods would be the first thing to do though IMO. I mean what good is having all that power, even on a stock motor if you cant put it to the ground well? Suspension and tires will let you actually use the power more effectively by decreasing pitch/dive, body roll, firming up the ride and lowering ride height which lowers center of gravity. These kinds of mods will be the best bang for your buck. Who uses all 412-420hp on a daily basis anyway?

 

Mike, I agree with your overall, that is to go FI, which is why my car is what it is.

However, there are still 2 other "types" of mods that are "worth it", IMO. Both are purely either aesthetic or aural. Exhaust and suspension/lowering.

In other words, I have all 3... An SC, borla catback, and lowering mods. All are a must for any coyote powered mustang, IMO. All are worth every single penny. I absolutely love my mustang...best vehicle Viagra out there ... Hehe. Just my 2 cents.

 

what tune

 

The same could be said about most N/A cars available these days so I believe it's par for the course. However, the process of lusting, researching, hunting, pulling the trigger, waiting and finally installing hasn't changed and that is the best part for me and I suppose a few others. If the parts magically installed themselves OR I had to pay a shop for all my installs then things would be different, for me anyhow. I doubt I'd have half the gear I have haha.

Some of your other points seem a little obvious and/or irrelevant. For instance who buys a CAI without a tune and who actually thinks adding a TB to an otherwise stock car provides any gains? "Other exhaust mods" leaves a cat-back and of course the installed result is primarily noise related only. Who says "wow, I just installed my cat-back exhaust and the power increase is immense, this thing is a beast now!".

Is anyone actually claiming big gains from any of the parts you mentioned?

 

I agree with some of it. Gears are not on the list and probably the best bang for your buck out there. Also I agree with the others as far as suspension goes. What is on the list that I would say are good mods are a tune & 1 piece driveshaft. The tune adds a good amount of hp/tq for the money and a 1 piece helps free up the power that's already there not to mention it improves the drivability (clunk clunk lol). The rest even tho I have a lot of it is arguably a waste! My problem is I have the mod bug and love turning wrenches on my stang every chance I get. Oh let's not forget a MGW shifter. Drove a Boss today with a MGW in it and besides the copious amounts of power it was smooth as butter shifting.

 

Isn't it funny that you're almost disappointed that Ford did such a great job developing this car? Not too many hidden horses. My best mod to date was the Whiteline Trans Mount Insert. After that follow all of the other mods in my sig. While not required, they really enhance the experience.

 

Oh, yes. These mods are purchased with the intention of gaining horsepower and many people think they work and that they're worth the money. Not everyone is expecting gains but I'd wager that the majority of people who buy a "tuneless" CAI expect that they will have more power on tap... Likewise, many of the people who buy an unrestricted CAI think that they're getting a lot more power than if they ran a tune with the stock box.

The thing I see consistently from the world of Mustang fans is that folks want to apply the same mods to their new car that they applied to their previous Mustangs...and yes, at one time, adding a cold air intake would provide an improvement over stock. Swapping out restrictive factory mufflers would unlock power, etc. Many people never got the "update" that these things aren't necessary any longer and the vendors just keep pumping out the same mods.

I thought about putting gears on that list. They're not expensive (though getting your gear mesh just right is sometimes a bit tricky) but unless you're looking for a very specific set of conditions and know what you're shopping for, they don't necessarily improve overall performance. 3.73s will feel quicker stop light to stop light than 3.31s...but they're not necessarily faster in all conditions...like when they'll require an extra shift.

But yes- I would agree that swapping axle ratios is a mod worth the money IF you know exactly what you need for your application.

The 1 piece drive shaft again, a poor improvement for the money in my opinion.

I'm thrilled that Ford has done their homework. It has saved me a ton of money. No argument that some mods just improve the experience even if they don't make the car faster (which is why I swapped out my exhaust with no regrets) but it just stinks to see good people throw their money away.