[AM1AW]

Hello,

I'm new to these boards and just recently bought an 06 GT. I have done a few mods to mine already: axle back Flowmasters, new throttle body, and instead of the CAI I went with the Shaker hood scoop(personal preference I have always loved the look) I have a set of UD pulleys on the way along with a throttle body spacer, and a Tri-ax short shifter.
I have not really had the time or money to work on cars since the early 90's when I had a 72 Comet with a 289 Hi-Po and I am a little lost on the 06 compared to the 72. there is so much electrical stuff and computerized stuff that just was not there.
Q 1. I keep hearing everybody talk about chips and tuners and was wondering if somebody could explain these to me? also is it better to have somebody do it for you or get the hand held and do it yourself?
Q 2. I was looking into getting some headers and have not found anybody that sells exhaust manifold gaskets for the 06. one company told me the ones on the car might be reusable. are there new gaskets for the 06 since is a 3V or are they the same as the older 4.6?
Q 3. I have the T-3650 5 speed and was looking into getting new gears for the rear-end. I've heard alot of people talk about the 4.10 and say they are the best bang for the buck. since I'm not looking to make my car into a drag car I'm just looking for that extra power should I need it, would it be better to get the 3.73 or the 4.10? I have also noticed that if I'm not paying attention to the tach when I floor it in 1st it gets to the red line very quick, and not having driven a manual in 10+ years I am a little rusty and don't want to do any damage to the trans or rear end.
Any help in answering these questions will be greatly appreciated.

Chris

[orangeRcode]

I have a buddy with an 05 GT with 5 speed and he has thrown the FRPP packs at it (Drag pack and handling pack). The drag pack has 4.10s and it really seemed to wake up the car. We have raced a couple times at the track and was pretty close to me. Although I beat him due to my superior driving and car. haha, it actually was closer than I thought it was going to be. It is his daily driver and he loves the gears. He has FRPP shorie headers and I believe they just used the stock gaskets already on the car. Good luck and post up some pics.

[topflitecop21]

In response to all of your questions:

1.) Yes a tune is necessary. With the modular motors, a tune is definately something that you want to get done in order to have everything top notch for the safest driving. Without it you risk having an off air/fuel mixture or aggressive timing that could damage your motor. Usually, places will tune your car and then offer you an option to buy a self tuner that has your specific tune programmed in.

2.) When looking for headers, you don't want to chance using the old gaskets just in case they are damaged and you'll get a leak. There is a chance that they are reusable but you shouldn't assume anything. Look for a gasket for a 2005 or even go to a dealership and try and get one. If anyone has them, it would be the dealership because if there is a problem they have to have access to the peices to fix it.

3.) On your gear situtation, it depends on what you will doing with your car. The lower the gear (higher the number) the more acceleration you will have but it will cause you to have higher RPM and your fuel mileage will suffer. If it is a daily driver or you will be doing alot of higway driving, you may want to think about getting 3.73's. It will still offer great acceleration but the RPM's will not be quite as high as the 4.10's and the fuel mileage won't suffer as much either. It is one thing to keep in mind that with some header and cat back systems there will be the infamous drone. If you are revving higher RPMs, the drone will be a little worse lower in the power curve.

Hope this helps.

Chris

[GTNorm]

Congrats on the new mustang. I'd like to see pictures too, especially the shaker hood since I have one ordered for my 06 too.

[99mustang232]

welcome to moddedmustangs! be sure to join our member's map!

congrats on the new stang, looks like you already have gotten bitten by the mod bug... gears are an excellent choice, I would say go for the 4.10's those 3v's love the higher RPM's.

which throttle body did you install, I have heard of others running into all sorts of TB issues and sending their car into the imfamous "limp mode".

well your right about the electronic differences, there are all sorts of new features from the drive by wire to the VCT (varible cam timing)...

The XCAL2 is a great tuning option, basically it is an hand held device that you can preload with a few tunes to re-flash your car's PCM (computer) with. You have the option of a mail ordered pre-loaded XCAL2 or going to your local tuning/performance shop to get a dyno tune, also the best of both worlds the XCAL2 loaded with your own dyno tune. The XCAL2 will give you the ability to change several options in the computer from different wheel sizes to correct the speedo to gear options.

Also the shifter is a little different from previous versions, it is a remote mounted setup... when helping install a pro5.0 shifter on an 05gt we found it much easier if we dropped the shifter into place from the inside of the car... also the shifter boot removes pretty easy by squeezing together the sides of the shifter boot frame.