[03FstStngKB]

Hello to all you stangers out there. I created an account here a few months back but just started modding the stang so I decided to post a couple pics of my baby

I just had some tint put on a week ago and took a few shots and these are the results. It rained early in the morning of the day that I had my tint put on and I had to drive it to the tint shop while the roads were wet so it is not the cleanest picture I have of my stang but it is the only ones I have of my car for the time being. I live in Illinois and it is illegal like it is in most states to tint the (front)driver and passenger side windows. This is not my daily driver nor will I drive the car in the rain or snow or winter for that matter. So most of the time the windows will be down when I drive. I think the tint really makes the blue stand out even more. Always loved dark blue...my favorite color

In my signature is a list of mods already complete and ones that I'm going to be doing in the future. I am still waiting on a custom built Stall Converter for my Auto to show up anytime at my house. I also have a special custom tune for the shifting characteristics along w/the stall being made and a j-mod valve body also on order and expecting to receive these accumulation of parts any day now.

Future mods that I plan on doing are to put on a 2.5 or 3 inch cowl hood and a 03 cobra bumper which I think will make the car look siicck. Once I receive my converter I will be putting it in as soon as my dad's lift is available for use. He is putting an exhaust on a car of his own for the time being. He has a 8 car garage with one of those professional lifts. The lift made it easier...notice I said easier...lol...to install my exhaust. H-pipe was a b*tch to get out because I had to take out the starter which was no fun by any means to gain easier access to the bolts on the passenger side header. I had a friend come over to heat up the bolts to get them out easier...as he had the equipment to heat them up with. When I put the starter back in I just left the top bolt out and so far has not caused me any problems. Plus if I have to ever change the starter it will be soooo much easier to get out. It was well worth the work though as I really love the deep sound of the Flowmasters coupled with the h-pipe. I know some people might think they are too quiet and to be honest they are quieter than what I thought they would be but I would trade the loudness to have a more deeper rumble any day...just my personal opinion and preference. I can't even imagine how quiet my set up would be if I had left the cats in.

I am going to be on vacation starting the first week of September and I'm going to be doing a photoshoot of my car. I am hoping by then I have everything installed that i don't have installed yet and hoping to get a hood and bumper for my car before my vacation starts. I will have to wait for next year to do rims and maybe lowering of the car. I know lowering really makes the car look good as we all know we have that 4x4 look to our stangs from the factory but the roads in Illinois are not the best so if I do lower it it won't be much.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and hope to share some knowledge with you guys or gals

[03SonicBoom]

Welcome to owning the best color mustang out there (I'm sure you've already noticed this). How dark did you tint the windows?

[03FstStngKB]

Thanks...I am not 100% sure...I want to say 2.5% but I have read that that is almost impossible to see out of at night and if it is not that then it would be 5% for sure. I just told the guy who installed my tint to give me the darkest they had available.

[CBSTANG]

Definately love the color man. How those gears doing for ya? Not too highway friendly?

[mrbigjeep]

Originally Posted by OneqwkStang Thanks...I am not 100% sure...I want to say 2.5% but I have read that that is almost impossible to see out of at night and if it is not that then it would be 5% for sure. I just told the guy who installed my tint to give me the darkest they had available.

probably 5%...looks great. my favorite color

[sxynerd]

Looks good.

[Roos85]

I love that color. It would be my second choice to my orange

[03FstStngKB]

Originally Posted by CBSTANG Definately love the color man. How those gears doing for ya? Not too highway friendly?

Yeah this color definitely is a "head turner" going down the road. I get stares all the time at intersections and now with the exhaust...even more so. But to answer your question about highway friendly? I have yet to take it on the interstate yet since the new gear install. This car is not my daily driver so I am not too concerned about gas mileage or wear and tear on the motor. This is the main reason why I decided to go with the 4.30's because I have a 1990 Honda Accord that gets 30 mpg and drive it everyday. The Stang is more of a weekend car or a local trip to the store kind of deal or taking out my g/f to a nice restaurant or just when I am in the mood to go grab something out to eat and bring it back home. I do drive it to work maybe 3 to 4 times a month but it hardly gets driven in the winter. The only time I get it out in the winter is if we have a warm and sunny day with no snow or salt on the roads...then I get it out and drive it and other than just starting it to let it run once every two weeks...it stays in hibernation in my garage.

If I had to guess what I would be running down the highway at 70 which is usually what I am traveling by using my trusty calculation I should be turning anywhere from 2800 to 3000 rpms in 4th gear. I never want to race with my overdrive on because if I burn it up forget about any interstate driving in 3rd gear...traveling at 65 which is the speed limit would net me around 3700 rpm's and 70 would most likely be around 4000. So as you can see overdrive is crucial when you have a 4.30+ gear unless you have an ultra low overdrive ratio and I don't think you can swap any of those gears out to make it any lower than .70 for the 4th gear ratio in the 4r70w.

I know in the older AOD's...I had a 91 5.0 Mustang Automatic and you could swap out the gears in them from the standard ratio to the wide ratio set that the newer AOD's had. First gear ratio in the older AOD's had the 2.40 to 1 ratio and Second had 1.47 to 1 ratio. When I had my older mustang back in the day I had it built up with Kelvar bands and a transgo shift kit and the wide ratio gear set which worked out to be 2.84 to 1 for 1st gear and 1.55 to 1 for second. I also had 3.73's in the car and boy let me tell you what a difference. I went from having a 2.73 rear end ratio coupled with a 2.40 gear ratio in first to a 3.73 rear end ratio coupled with a 2.84 ratio. Made the car feel like it was supercharged...lol. It was a whole new animal to say the least.

The only thing I didn't have done was a higher stall torque converter. My builder talked me out of it...saying it would soften the shifts. He was not a torque converter man or a favorite of having them changed out. But one thing the 5.0's had that the 4.6's don't have is that the torque band is lower in the rpm range I am thinking peak torque was somewhere around 3200 in the 5.0's as where in the 4.6's they are right around 4000 or so...correct me if I am wrong. But I can feel the difference in these 4.6's the rpm's climb so much easier especially after 4000. I can remember in my 91 stang after 4800 it took forever for the revs to climb to get to 6000 or so and in my 03 I can hit the rev-limiter so much quicker. Don't get me wrong the 4.6 16v is not a very high winding engine as compared to it's sister or brother the 4.6 32v but seems more capable in the upper rpm band then the 5.0 ever was...stock anyway.

[03FstStngKB]

Originally Posted by mrbigjeep probably 5%...looks great. my favorite color

...yeah I am thinking the same but is plenty dark enough for me

Originally Posted by sxynerd Looks good.

Thanks!!!

Originally Posted by Roos85 I love that color. It would be my second choice to my orange

Funny you say that...because your color would be my second choice also...lol...nothing against all the other colors but black, white, grey are a dime a dozen...and it's nice to be different at least in the color department. Again I would own any color of mustang if I had the chance...it's all personal preference...it makes us who we are as owners of the finest looking muscle car out there...the only thing Ford did right in creating the styling cues for the 99-04 Stang...they could of least kept us up with the LS1's but I guess that is why ford created the Terminator...the exec's got tired of having there a**'s handed to them while they were going to work each and every day to design and build ford products

[mrbigjeep]

Originally Posted by OneqwkStang ...yeah I am thinking the same but is plenty dark enough for me

yeah i had 5% on my jeep and it was definitely dark enough!

[Modified88Dreamer]

That sonic blue mustang would go good with my sonic blue Gixxer

[yojoe600]

pretty car... i wish i had a motorcycle

[347stroker]

Nice car needs a lowering kit asap.

[superbeef1000]

sonic blue is by far awsome!!

[03FstStngKB]

Originally Posted by 347stroker Nice car needs a lowering kit asap.

Yes I know lowering the car would really complete the whole look as a package but I am going to have to wait till next year to do it because I have already dumped a few thousand into my stang this year alone. I am also going with a 03 cobra bumper and 2.5 or 3 inch cowl hood in the next few weeks to month or so and I figure I will spend another 1000 or so for the parts, and the paint and installation will rack some $$$'s on to that price also. The only reason I wanted to wait to get the car lowered is I'm going to go with some 315's out back and some aftermarket rims and just wanted to complement the lowering effect with a nice rim and tire combo set up

Originally Posted by superbeef1000 sonic blue is by far awsome!!

...yes by far one of the best...it is pretty rare in my area...I think I have only seen 2 or 3 sonic's in Peoria on the road...the city I live in has a population of over 100,000 people. There is one cobra in the area I have seen and I think it is competition orange from what I could tell if that is what they call the orange...correct me if I am wrong?

[Modified88Dreamer]

Originally Posted by OneqwkStang

Originally Posted by Modified88Dreamer That sonic blue mustang would go good with my sonic blue Gixxer

Thought I'd add to this since I didn't have a picture last time.

[03FstStngKB]

Originally Posted by Modified88Dreamer Thought I'd add to this since I didn't have a picture last time.

Nice...the bad thing about it is I love this color so much that if I ever had to get another one for some reason...god forbid...don't want to jinx myself(it's the other people on the road I worry about...so not saying much more about that but the color is so rare in my area that I would have to really hunt for it. Now that these cars are getting older from the last time they were built 4 years and counting...5 if you want to consider for the year I have...that most dealerships in my area only carry the 05+ and up. I would most likely have to go to a private seller to get one. I have mixed views buying from a private seller. I think I would be able to get a better deal that I would at a dealership...but buying from someone who is trying to pull a fast one on me to get a problem off there hand and into another is my main concern. I am pretty savvy when it comes to knowing what to look for when buying a car and know that it could even happen at a stealership but I guess that is just the way I feel when dealing with a private seller.

B/W what does your bike do in the quarter? 0-60? Never really been into bikes. I think I would love to get one because most are pretty quick but the safety factor tells me different...and again not worried how I would drive...it is the '70 yr old woman trying to change lanes that I would be worried about'.

[travis_afx]

Nice car bro!! Welcome to the site

[03FstStngKB]

Originally Posted by travis_afx Nice car bro!! Welcome to the site

Thanks!

[Zurdo03GT]

yeah bro gotta love the sonic blue!!! Welcome to the site! =)