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2020 Mustang GT - Curated Mods

Exploded_Muffin

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Hi everyone,

After a couple months of searching I got a Mustang GT with options I wanted at a price I was comfortable with.
It's a magnetic metallic GT with PP1, 10AT, Active Exhaust, 401A, and B&O and should be getting delivered in a week or so....feels good to finally be getting the car I've had a love affair with since 2014

The car is going to be a daily driver with 1 or 2 non-competitive road course events a year.
My goal is to noticeably improve the handling and power of the car while being financially judicious.
I've read through threads regarding general modifications done to these cars and I've put together a preliminary list of things I'd be getting for the car.
I usually prefer to have all my mods installed over a few days and not touch the car again mod-wise so purchasing all these together.
  1. LMR SVE SP2 wheels - 19x10-F, 19x11-R
  2. Michelin PSS tires - 275/35R19-F, 305/35R19-R
  3. Ford performance track-handling pack M-FR3A-M8A
  4. Either of Steeda's STH starter kit or BMR's CB005/CB762 so any help regarding which to pick will be appreciated
  5. Lund E85 tune
  6. Texas speed catted headers
  7. Some intake (undecided)
  8. Borla S-type cat-back exhaust (Using the Borla 60661 resonator in place of the X-pipe it comes with)
I welcome any suggestions on what to adjust, add, or take-out from my list. Thanks!
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BimmerDriver

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Congrats on the new car and welcome to the forum.

Apparently you have been drinking the Ford Mustang Internet Upgrade Cool-aid, and you now think that your car needs all of that stuff. Since you ask for suggestions, here are mine:

Do nothing.

Enjoy the car, learn about it, see what you like and what you don't like. Do a track event with it stock. Yes, change nothing except the air pressure in the tires and drive it like that.

The one thing you left out, if you are serious about the road course, is track brake pads. The OE setup is fine, but it comes with low temperature street pads, and you really need to upgrade that first.
 

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I'll second the "leave it alone" thoughts.

You have 0 idea what the handling and power of the car is like, so just drive it stock for awhile. THEN if you think it needs upgrades, start by asking tons of questions here first.

And FWIW, I would have suggested the Magneride, especially since you're interested in road course fun.

.........if you are serious about the road course, is track brake pads. The OE setup is fine, but it comes with low temperature street pads, and you really need to upgrade that first.
Keep in mind, it's a PP1 car. It has amazing brakes. Doubtful it needs even pads for gentle road-course work.
 
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Exploded_Muffin

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Thanks for the welcome and input guys, much appreciated.

I should have prefaced my original post by saying I have driven my close friend's GT350 quite a few times on regular roads and once at a track so I'm generally familiar with the platform. I really like the GT350 but I wanted the 10 speed for my daily driver and the GT350 cost was a bit outside my budget.

From my test drive of the PP1 GT it seemed fine but I wasn't really pushing it. However, it obviously felt different from the GT350 though I can't exactly describe what was missing.
I'm definitely not a good enough road course driver yet to extract the full potential of the GT PP1 but I'd like to get the car to handle/feel as close to the GT350 as possible.
That's possibly a fool's errand so I'm here asking the questions.....maybe I shouldn't have driven the 350 before getting the regular GT.

For the wheels, headers, e85, and borla cat-back those are just personal choices to make the car more fun to me.

TLDR: I've driven a GT350. Trying to get the GT PP1 to handle/feel as close to the GT350 as possible. Will the suspension mods in my original post get me close or should I leave as is?
 

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........TLDR: I've driven a GT350. Trying to get the GT PP1 to handle/feel as close to the GT350 as possible. Will the suspension mods in my original post get me close or should I leave as is?
Since it's your DD, definitely take a few months and drive it stock. And see if you could add Magneride to your car, that's a big thing for handling. Or hell, try to find a PP2 car somewhere and get that.

No, it's not a GT350. No, it's not going to feel like one. But I'd suggest you consider if a GT350-like experience is what you want in a DD. Since you went with an auto, I'm thinking not.
 

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Exploded_Muffin

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And FWIW, I would have suggested the Magneride, especially since you're interested in road course fun.
I wanted to get that as well but finding a used GT with the color and all the options I wanted proved very difficult (especially Magneride) so I had to let that go
 

NoVaGT

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I wanted to get that as well but finding a used GT with the color and all the options I wanted proved very difficult (especially Magneride) so I had to let that go
No...don't that. If you want it, keep looking. If you gotta fly/buy/drive home, get a PP2 or PP1 Magneride car.

Forget about the color, get Magneride, or a PP2 car.

Really, now that we're on the topic, I think you really want a PP2 car.
 

NoVaGT

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Exploded_Muffin

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No...don't that. If you want it, keep looking. If you gotta fly/buy/drive home, get a PP2 or PP1 Magneride car.

Forget about the color, get Magneride, or a PP2 car.

Really, now that we're on the topic, I think you really want a PP2 car.
Haha, too late...car is shipping out to me this week.
The color is important to me as I only wanted either magnetic or kona blue otherwise I'd have gone for a different car.
The PP2 would have been perfect but I wanted an auto as my wife can only drive auto cars and we have quite a bit of traffic down here in Houston.
 

NoVaGT

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Haha, too late...car is shipping out to me this week.
The color is important to me as I only wanted either magnetic or kona blue otherwise I'd have gone for a different car.
The PP2 would have been perfect but I wanted an auto as my wife can only drive auto cars and we have quite a bit of traffic down here in Houston.
Screw that car. Check the link above. They'll ship the car to you if you want.
 

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I think you've just realized that we can all spec you a car the way "we" like it :)
 
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Exploded_Muffin

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I do appreciate the help but that would have been outside my budget which was $40k. I was looking at used vehicles where the selection is much smaller especially with my color constraint.
I was able to find a 2020 with all the options I listed in the original post and 2k miles for under $40k OTD so I took that instead

I'll take the general advice and leave the suspension of the car as is and see how I feel after some months of driving but go ahead with my other mods
 

NoVaGT

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I do appreciate the help but that would have been outside my budget which was $40k. I was looking at used vehicles where the selection is much smaller especially with my color constraint.
I was able to find a 2020 with all the options I listed in the original post and 2k miles for under $40k OTD so I took that instead

I'll take the general advice and leave the suspension of the car as is and see how I feel after some months of driving but go ahead with my other mods
You're not worried about warranty coverage on the motor?
 
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Exploded_Muffin

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You're not worried about warranty coverage on the motor?
Not really, no. Which, excluding the cost saving, was the main reason I wanted a used 18+. There's a pretty low probability of just an E85 tune grenading the motor and/or transmission but if that happens rebuilding or swapping either of those for a used one can be done not easily but doable for me. The only issue I would have is the diminished value of the car when resale time comes but it's a risk I'm ok with
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