[ben1380]

Hey everyone! A little background first....

I had a 2003 GT 5-speed. Had several mods - 3.73s, Tri-Ax, Tuner, CAI, MAC Off-Road Prochamber, Original 40s...I think that's it. Anyway I traded it in for an F-150 5.4L which is modded(I also had a 4.2L F150 which was really modded). I bought a house and needed a truck...well, now I'm looking to get rid of the truck. My wife has a 2000 V6 5-speed. This will most likely become my car and we are probably getting a small SUV for her to drive. SOOOOO>.....I'm not new to mustangs or mods, but I am new to V6 Mustangs.

I know these cars aren't the fastest. >>> I AM IN NO WAY KNOCKING V6s <<< Dont flame me just because I owned a GT before . So I am trying to plan my mods. I was thinking...should I upgrade the suspension first, knowing that any power adders really won't add that much power. Note: this will NEVER be blown or sprayed.

A Tri-Ax or some sort of shifter is NUMBER 1 on my list of mods. But after that I'm not sure if I want to go the power route(Exhaust, Intake, UDP, Tune, Gears) or suspension(Subframes, Lowering) route first.

PS...I already have an XCAL2 for my F-150. If I return that to stock, I can get new tunes to use on the V6, right? Anyone have an idea of how much a couple tunes cost(87 performance, 93 performance)

What is everyone's suggestions/advice....THANKS!

EDIT: The Mustang has 50K miles if that makes a difference

[artisan00]

you can make the v6 plenty faster than stock without a blower. at least enough that it will be a lot of fun to drive.
for a nice bang for the buck, gears will start you off nicely.
you can also get a catback system, or better yet full exhaust.
the xcal2 from what i understand you should be able to reuse- though ive never done that so i dunno how it works with swithinc cars.

if you want to spend some money you can get a nice boost from some new heads, intake, cam etc..
supersixmotorsports, among other places, have these things bundled together as a "powerpak"s that you can look into (they claim gains of 70-90 hp - so the lowest powerpack would put you upthere with a GT, at least in terms of HP (dunno about torque))

*waiting for atlanticblue to show up...*


edit: just realized i didnt even come close to answering your question since you probably already know most of what i said -
for tunes, my xcal2 came from justin at VMPTuning.com . not sure how much he charges just for the tunes (without the actual unit) though.

[00SoSlow]

basically along the lines of purchasing

Mac Longtube Headers
Mac O/R H pipe
Magnaflow Duals
Intake
UDP
Tune
Gears with trac-lok
Cam
Heads
coil pack and wires

with those mods ud be running faster then stock GT's

99+ GT's that is

[ben1380]

Haha, yeah I know mostly what does what, but thanks for all the info.

I'm really just wondering if I should hit up the suspension first to make it more fun to drive around corners and stuff. I probably won't do much engine work...not for a while any way. The power mods that I will do will probably just be -> Gears(3.73,3.90,4.10), UDP, Tunes, CAI, Exhaust.

I'm leaning towards the power mods first because I'm coming from a 4x4 Offroad Truck so the suspension already feels tight to me

Thanks for any info.

[Fergie_Racer]

The first thing I would do is suspenssion. Lowering springs (1.75"), and then 2 way adjustable shocks. Then new shoes and rims. Once you can hold a .8G+ in the corner, then you should open up the motor.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by ben1380 knowing that any power adders really won't add that much power

Yea, tell that to Joshua Childs, and his turbo new edge sixer.



Anyways back to a n/a sixer. Ab99 stang has almost all the bolt ons you can do to a sixer, and also has a nice little suspension as well. I really don't know much about suspension so just wait till he chimes in.

[ben1380]

Originally Posted by Cricket Originally Posted by ben1380 knowing that any power adders really won't add that much power Yea, tell that to Joshua Childs, and his turbo new edge sixer. Anyways back to a n/a sixer. Ab99 stang has almost all the bolt ons you can do to a sixer, and also has a nice little suspension as well. I really don't know much about suspension so just wait till he chimes in.

Yo, fix that link!! EDIT: Nevermind, you did

I am not trying to say that you can't make a V6 powerful...I know you can. I meant that what I am going to do to it won't make it very powerful. Not trying to knock it or anyone that has a fast v6.

[AtlanticBlue99]

Welcome!

For the Q on 3.8L tunes for you used XCal2: Justin @ VMPTuning.com charges about 100 bucks for 3 all new tunes to be emailed to you and you download through your usb port to the XCal2.

If you won't go all out or power-adder route, here is my suggestion of mods:

Mac long tube headers
Mac short ProChamber
Mac cat back
FRPP 4.10:1 ring and pinion set
FRPP track lok
CAI
FRPP C springs or other 1.25-1.5" lower spring
Wheels/tires of your choice
New tunes.

With those mods, you will run the stock 99-04 GTs all day with the less weight of the V6. Don't fear the gear man. You will love the locked rear with a t-lok and the 4.10s will put you in your seat for sure. The biggest difference any mod has made is the 4.10s/t-lok: shaved 6 tenths off my 1/4 time.

If you don't want to go the power route but want a great handling V6, get Mach 1 shocks/struts, Eibach Pro Kit springs, Maximum Motorsports Caster/Camber plates for suspension. You may want to remove the front sway bar or add a GT rear sway bar as well. This will make your car oversteer as opposed to understeer.

I don't quite understand why you are against supercharging though. You can safely run 8psi through a ProCharger s/c and make over 300rwhp and couple that with the bolt ons and good suspension and this will be more fun than your GT was

Let us know if you have anymore Q's and we will be glad to answer.

[ben1380]

Cool man, thanks for the info.

I'm not against FI, I'm just married and can't spend $$$$$

Thanks for the info. I think I will go the power route for now and upgrade the suspension aferwards.

Another question...If I do a complete exhaust like that, is that overkill if I'm not FI? I'm not familiar with the V6 engines, and I don't want to kill my low end power.

Also, I found the C Springs at gefracing http://www.gefracing.com/Merchant2/m...egory_Code=38L

Is that for 4 springs? Is anything else needed...I gues I would need new shocks...

Thanks!

[AtlanticBlue99]

That's cheap for the springs. I got my set of FRPP C Springs from MustangTuning.com for 139.99 shipped. No, it isn't overkill to have a bolt-on naturally aspirated V6. You won't lose low-end power, just gain a lot more in the top end. Plus, a full bolt on setup is a fesh slate for forced induction and a cam in the future. You can change your car from a high 15-low 16 second car to a mid-high 14 second car by doing what I've done. Slap 8psi supercharger on and run mid 13s; 11psi, run mid 12s with nearly 400rwhp cammed.

So anyways, you only need springs if you get C springs, but if you drop any lower, you will need shocks/ struts/ c/c plates. C Springs really drop the front end down and drop the rear a little. Here is a pic of my car with C springs: