hey, i have a 2000 mustang gt that i want to begin modifying. It currently is completely stock except for a flowmaster amercian thunder catback system that i self installed, stainless steel letters, a grill delete and a hood scoop. I dont know too much about what parts are compatible and what arent, but my father and I are rather skilled at putting mechanical things together and what not. I was looking to put a new throttle body and cold air system in to start, just simple bolt on hp...are they complatible, or are they in the same area of the intake that requires me to pick one or the other? what about mass air meters? any educational info would be grrreaatly appreciated...any suggestions on this or other relatively easy bolt ons that will allow me to pick up some hp? thanks a lot for your time... Mike

 

yep theyre compatiable, and you will see a little gain you only need a new mass air meter if you have a supercharger

and you should get some gears, you wont see any numbers, but they make your car feel like it gained 100 hp

 

Yes i recommend running some 4.56 gears..

 

by the way dont listen to Bob, he's a hick

go with 3.73s or 4.10s

 

Yea those parts are compatable. The best thing you can do is put some rear end gears on it. Go with 3:73's or 4:10's. 4:10's will get you about a half second drop in your e.t.. Thats equal to 50 hp.

Next best thing you can do is get some wider tires or just some stickier tires. BFG makes some of the best tires for mustangs. When you add those gears the car will accelerate like crazy and will probably spin the tires alot of the times. So wider ones will probably get you better traction than you had before. They look bada$$ on mustangs too.

An X pipe would make a great combo with the tires. Make it sound alot meaner and give some more midrange and topend power.

 

forget 4.10s or 3.73s, go 3.90s gears.

 

Speaking from the kid who doesnt even have gears yet, get gears.

I would also really consider what you want to do as far as power goes. If you are serious about supercharging, then wait on some bolt on's. Reason being that if you get a centri blower than you're not goin to need a CAI. If you get a twin screw, like kenne bell then wait on something like a plenum, becaus this is included in the supercharging. Just trying to help you save some money and time.

If I would of done everything over, I would of bought a supercharger FIRST. A lot easier to work off of that mod. Just my $.02

 

thanx for all your help, its greatly apprciated, so it looks like the gears is the way to go first....whats the major difference between the 3.73 which seems to be the most popular, and the also common 4.10 ratios? whats the running rate to get them installed and how long does it take? In the long run id like to look into a turbo or supercharger, but i really dont think thats an option right now, being a college student and not having the money for it now...i dont really look into running at the track or anything at the moment... so perhaps ill wait until i do have the money to make any engine changes...what are the corequesites for getting a turbo or super charger so that ur stang is prepared for it, jus out of curioiusity for the future... thanx again Mike

 

A base supercharger you really don't have to do much with you engine, litterally just add it on or bolt it on however you want to word it. We all would recommend a dyno tune with any Power Adder however. Basically after a supercharger, all your bolt on's will make even more power. Example, a 75mm Throttle body before supercharger might increas 10RWHP. but if you add it after a supercharger was installed, that same throttle body might make 20RWHP.

If your car is manual I would say 3.73's especially if your getting a supercharger eventually and maybe even the same for an auto. Most N/A auto's have 4.10's. Personally it seems like 3.90's have become a more increasing popular choice.

 

If you want to do the gears, decide like they said what you want to do in the future. If you think there is even a remote possibility with you getting a supercharger, get the 3.73's or the 3.90s like Mattj said. Those are both great gears, and the 3.90s will give you a little more oomph than the 3.73s. Installers usually charge about 200-250 for installing the gears, give them about 4-5 hours or so to do it right. Also, if you get gears, youll need some way to fix the speedometer, such as a chip/tuner or speedcal. The speedcal is the cheapest, which is what I did. Also, I would skip the throttle body and cold air intake for now. There are MUCH more important things that you should do to the car first. IMO, the first thing should be a new shifter, such as MGW, then get the gears, then get some subframe connectors. Then go from there to things such as superchargers/cams etc. Oh, and welcome to the addiction. Stay a while...

 

3.55 or 3.73 gears will wake it up but not increase power at all. They just change mechanical advantage.

A blower is a great bolt on. Keep it mild, stick with 8pounds from a good kit like vortech makes.

X-Pipe (bassani is killer) and your cat back will free up a bit of power. A CAI is usefull later so you might as well. Don't bother changing a MAF till you run out of MAF. Your tuner will tell you when that is a problem.

hotter Cams and springs are really nice ways of gaining some top end pull and make good use of the higher gear ratio.

Before you do anything. Get cobra brakes. Seriously... the mustang has always had horrid brakes for a powerful car. Then, work on the suspension. A better suspension makes a fast car out of a strong car. There's a difference.

Then go take a performance driving course. You'd be surprised what most people don't know about driving their own cars.

 

got it...thanx for all the info guys, its much appreciated...not that im inot to buyign one at the moment, but i was wondering what you recommend as far as a chip/tuner and how hard are they to hook up and to use when you start changing things around? brakes sound like a good idea to start with lol what should i do for the suspension? lowering springs?...i think i have a good idea of what ill start doing as the money comes in, thank you all!

 

Get nothing but something from SCT, they are the best. Either get one of the tuned xcal2's or get it on a dyno for a tune.

 

the X-Calibrator2 from SCT is the only handheld I'd bother with. Repeatability of results with the Diablo Predator has been horrid. You'll want the tuner later so the XC2 is a great model that does everything you'll ever want.

With cobra front brakes and GT rears, use stock replacement pads in front and Hawk HPS or EBC Green rear pads. That should balance the braking a little.

For suspension, I went through all the major brands of lowering springs, sway bars, etc... Only when I stopped screwing around and actually improved the suspension as a whole system that it was worth the money. With just lowering springs and shocks it's an unbalanced sonofabitch on the twisties and a wheel hopper at the strip. To solve the problems with Fox and Fox4 platform cars' suspension.. MM or Griggs 3 Link and full coil-overs. 350# springs in front, 300# springs in back, stock front and rear sway bars.

There aren't any stock suspension components on my 03'. It makes M3's worry about keeping up in corners. I have cobra brakes, Maximum Motorsports Max Grip box, and a reasonably stock engine. HP increases aren't necessary... or cost effective. You want to spend money and end up with a better faster car, don't start with the power it makes, start with using the power it makes to the fullest. It's cheaper and LOTS faster.

There's no point in making any power at all if you can't manage it into the ground.

 

The best piece of advice in this thread.