programmer for MT car??
 

anybody that can suggest a good programmer for an 02 Mustang GT? 4.6l bone stock, just starting to toss money at it. i hear good things about the Xcal-3, but mostly for automatics wanting to change shift points, rev limiter, and recalibrate speedometer. i know the tuner is good for adjusting fuel and ignition curves as well, but my car being a manual 5spd is there any better options available? basically looking for best bang for the bucks. do i really want to spend 300 bucks on a tuner, when i can spend 300 on gears or a set of cams.....

as always, any constructive input welcome!!

If you get gears, then youll need some kind of tuner, if you get cams, then the car will need to be tuned also. However, it would be stupid to get cams as one of your first mods. A tuner for a bone stock 02 GT doesnt make sense either. Start with exhaust mods.

ok, well i got my mufflers replaced, and x-pipe on order. not gonna be able to do headers for a while though, thus the reason i was leaning towards the programmer next. i basically just want to do the biggest bang for your buck upgrades first and wanted to make sure getting the tuner was the next most viable upgrade.

so then, tuner, then gears, then cams. hopefully by then ill be able to order my headers. ive got a 125hp NoS kit as well, but dont want to put that on untill all the other mods are done.

If you want to actully go faster I would get a K&N drop in filter which can be had used on ebay for cheap. Then pull the intake silencer and install that nitrous kit. Assuming your running a wet kit all I would do is upgrade the fuel pump to the SVT focus pump which our ford parts guy randy can get you for cheap. Then spray away. I have been on a 125shot for 4 years almost now. The other shit wont make it nearly as fast as the spray will.

you won't need the tuner until you do cams, headers, gears, or nitrous. whichever one of those you choose to do first, you will need to buy a tuner at the same time. things you can do now that don't require a tuner would be plenum/ throttle body, induction, underdrive pulleys. if you want to go fast now, your best best is to get the nitrous. you're not going to feel anything from the x pipe, induction, plenum, pulleys. If you do them all together, then you may feel a difference, but if you add one at a time you really wont feel anything. With headers you will feel a slight difference. With cams you will feel a difference. With gears you will feel a difference. All these parts combined will not make you as fast as the 125 shot of juice will. If you're sure that you will use nitrous, then get it now.

125 shot? wouldnt that be a bit much for stock internals