When building a supercharged street car…

[Medusa5oh]

Well Hello!

It’s been a long 3 months up here in Maryland but I think it’s safe to say winter is essentially over and Spring is finally here! Ever since my last post in mid December it has been 12 weeks of pain and agony, not because of the car, but because it’s snowed, iced, and just been freezing cold and gloomy nearly every day…. or atleast the days I have time to bring the car out . Then on top of that I had to deal with Maryland pouring 300 pounds of salt on the roads with no rain to wash it away, which sure this is “just a Mustang”, but also something I’d love to preserve!

Regardless 12 weeks later I finally have brought the car out the last few days and over the weekend to finally get back into the car season spirit, and boy did I need it! On top of it just being the longest feeling 3 months of non driving ever, I also was very excited to try out some of my winter modifications that you all helped me with. Now that I’m not test driving on frozen summer tires, I can 100% say without a doubt all of the Steeda suspension components absolutely changed this car. Not only does it hook better and pull harder, but it also handles Maryland’s amazing back roads with ease without being a super harsh ride. I’m not paid to say this but if you want to change you driving experience with this car, the parts I purchase were 1000% worth the money, especially as I add more power down the road!

Speaking of which, since I got a late start this winter on this new stage of the build, I’m pushing boost off until end of 2025/beginning of 2026. I do plan to keep updates on this page as I make my way to the journey of my final goal, both to share progress and advice, while also receiving advice back! It seems to be the smartest route as I won’t rush anything, I can get the last few parts I need and installed in preparation for boost, and lastly I won’t have the car down during the best times to drive it. And yes I know boost isn’t some crazy long install, but JUST IN CASE, I rather wait for when the car can be down. On top of not wanting the car down, I also have a lot of life adjustments I’m making during the earlier half of this year, and realize sometimes you just have to be patient with these things for it to all work out as planned.

Outside of the annual winter storage oil change over the weekend I also did get some engine bay dress up parts back from paint. I had my OEM strut tower bar repainted in my accent color (Porsche PTS Jade Green) which is only brembos, weighted shift knob, and a few other odd ball areas. Also I had my coil covers done in Satin Black. I feel like it helps ties my black car together with a little bit of color pop, without going too overboard! Definitely love the painted coil covers rather than the ford raw plastic look.

My only other “mod” that’s I’m suppose to be getting this week is my custom steering wheel by C2Custom on Instagram. it’s a custom GT350 style wheel with a real black leather flat bottom and Alcantara around the rest of the wheel with the noon marker also being in my accent color! I’ll get some photos when I receive it and install!

Anyway how has everyone else been? Any new updates with your own builds? Hoping you’ve also had the good weather bug and can bring these cars out!

-Medusa

(excuse my blinding overhead lights for the engine bay shots, I’ll get some real photos soon. Also my strut tower plaque was just mocked in place and not installed.)

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[Medusa5oh]

Well 5 weeks of anticipation has lead to a very exciting end of week! My custom steering wheel from C2 Customs arrived late Saturday and boy is it even better than I visualized! Between the overall shape and design, to the use of real leather and Alcantara, and lastly factoring my custom accent color into the moon marker, I can’t be anymore satisfied with the outcome of this purchase! I swapped the components over from the stock wheel to the new wheel and installed it in the car, so I’ll have to get some installed pics here soon to share, but until then enjoy the side by side on the dining room table of the stock vs custom wheel! I think it’s safe to say we nailed it!

 

[HKusp]

Ballpark me on what that wheel runs, please. I like that but with a red stripe. I think it would go very well on my car.

 

[Medusa5oh]

Ballpark me on what that wheel runs, please. I like that but with a red stripe. I think it would go very well on my car.

howdy!
Sorry for the delay, but With shipping and tax it was 710$. That was for Alcantara and genuine leather with the custom marker stripe. Considering companies are charging that or more for drop shipped products from China that aren’t even made from quality materials, it’s worth supporting his small American made business! He does offer custom stitching colors to match, as well as perforate leather and carbon options as well. I wanted to matched the OEM GT350 wheel which is why I did the leather and Alcantara hybrid with just black stitching, but you can customize it as much as you want. In addition, he also does have painted bezels and custom steering wheel air bag covers to match (with associated costs) if you really wanted to get fancy. If you decide you want to order just let him know Medusa5oh sent you and I’ll make sure he takes care of you with some pricing! All stuff is handcrafted in the USA! Great guy with great customer services, I plan to work with him on future products and builds, and no I’m not sponsored!

thank you!

 

[Medusa5oh]

I have returned! Still boostless lol. 2025 was a bit of a disaster for me. Winter was long, then over the summer I enjoyed the car, expecting to tear the car apart once fall/winter hit. However, life, as life does, decided to throw me a health curveball that I have been battling (and still am) since the beginning of October. For a while there, I had to cut back at work and whatnot, so I held off on anything with the car due to so much uncertainty being on the table. 2025 was the first year I could say I went nearly an entire 12 months without getting a single mod for my car, lol, so that was weird. However, once the weather started to warm up and I began driving regularly again (I could hardly drive the last few months, let alone the Mustang), the itch came back, so let me give some updates.

This past week, I got one step closer to boosting; technically, I have one more thing to do before I can order my kit. This past weekend, we installed a Vengeance Stage 2 Clutch and Flywheel, OEM Slave, OEM Pilot, and BG Synchro trans fluid swap. Granted, I am driving the car very casually as I'm only 150 miles into my 1000-mile street driving break-in, but boy is it a world of difference. Paired with all my suspension and my MGW Shifter, this car feels way better, and the MT82 doesn't feel as sloppy as it typically did. Gear changes are like butter, clutch engagement is amazing and very traffic-friendly, and overall I am on cloud 9 with the $1800 I just spent lol. I will have full feedback once I can actually rip on the car a bit after break-in, but I am already satisfied with 1/4 throttle pulls, so I imagine it only gets better from here. I have been daily driving the car in hopes of getting everything broken in before Ford Nationals in 1 month, so wish me luck, haha.

Obviously, my last major step is OPG/Crank Sprocket before ordering my boost kit. After lots of feedback here, my tuner, and some well-known friends in the community, I think I have settled on:

• Boundary OPG & Crank Sprocket with Grip Surface and Martenwear Treatment Upgrades - $488
• FFRE COYOTE CRANKSHAFT STUD KIT- $120

Now I am not trying to go back to the argument of December 2024 about gears and whether they are necessary. I am doing them for my own peace and hopes for a successful future LOL.

With me not driving the car nearly as much over the last 12 months, I have only reached 45,000 miles. Here is my question: I only planned to do gears, sprocket, and the stud kit. However, my shop keeps asking about freshening up other timing components "while we are in there." I get it's a peace of mind thing, but is it necessary? Some have said something like Boss tensioners and 350 chains (or something along those lines), or do I just keep it all and go for it, considering my mileage (and lack of driving yearly, haha).

The original plan between my shop and me was to enjoy the car during car season, then gears and boost over the storage season to be ready for 2027. That probably will remain the case, but I am really having the itch to just throw it all together and enjoy it before the end of THIS season. I have waited this long, so a few more months really won't be the death of me; however, in the meantime, I am finalizing all selections to be ready to order when the time comes!

Also made a spreadsheet over the winter to keep track of the build... cool but also holy $$$
Build Spreadsheet

If anyone is interested in the installation video on my car, the shop also has a YouTube channel and social pages! I will link the video below!
Install Video!

Thanks again for everyones help!
Medusa5oh

 

[Medusa5oh]

Also, I forgot to note the final setup for the ESS Kit that I would be ordering (thanks to Lund Racing and a few ESS cars for the advice).

Lund expects a very high 6 to possibly a very low 700 wheel with this setup, which, down the line, I can easily increase with a fuel system and bigger injectors for more power if desired. Anything over a G3 is largely overkill for my current or any long-term goals for this specific car. No need for a G3R or G3X or anything too crazy. Also, shoutout @robvas, as I recently was able to ride in a VMP Gen 3R mt82 car, and man, that was a blast. I did consider it for a little while, but considering my friend's car has gone through 2 MT82s with that setup on street tires.... and hardly any abuse... I don't know about that. Now, surely that's just luck of the draw; it can happen to anyone with any setup or any power level, but I do know that instant power effect doesn't help our Chinese transmissions compared to the slow creep I would get with an ESS. I still will admit, though, Rob wasn't lying about the absolute blast it was to ride in.

 

[Medusa5oh]

I know I double posted but did anybody see the message above my most recent with my actual questions in them ? I know it was my fault that I posted twice rather than 1 giant message but I noticed everyone interacting with the second message and not the first LOL. My mistake for trying to fill in so much information at once

 

[EFI]

Dang 12 pages and almost 2 years later and the end is so anti-climactic. I'll check back in 2028 when you update us that you've actually ordered the kit.

Cheers.

 

[Pistol_91]

Well 5 weeks of anticipation has lead to a very exciting end of week! My custom steering wheel from C2 Customs arrived late Saturday and boy is it even better than I visualized! Between the overall shape and design, to the use of real leather and Alcantara, and lastly factoring my custom accent color into the moon marker, I can’t be anymore satisfied with the outcome of this purchase! I swapped the components over from the stock wheel to the new wheel and installed it in the car, so I’ll have to get some installed pics here soon to share, but until then enjoy the side by side on the dining room table of the stock vs custom wheel! I think it’s safe to say we nailed it!

I priced out a steering wheel... 1500 bucks haha! They're very nice and a lot of options.

 

[SheepDog]

Man, I would kill for a lift.

OP, put your questions into a bullet point format or something. No one wants to sift through all the dribble in between

 

[Medusa5oh]

Dang 12 pages and almost 2 years later and the end is so anti-climactic. I'll check back in 2028 when you update us that you've actually ordered the kit.

Cheers.

Now this was great, see you in a few years bud! 12 pages but I swear like 8 of them are forum members casting opinions, arguments, and then counter arguments with each other. Like sorry people are using the forum for what it’s meant for. It’s not like I wrote all 12 pages myself. Sorry I was in the hospital on and off the last 8 months, I’ll be sure to get on that for you sir!

 

[Medusa5oh]

Man, I would kill for a lift.

OP, put your questions into a bullet point format or something. No one wants to sift through all the dribble in between

As requested!


With me not driving the car nearly as much over the last 12 months, I have only reached 45,000 miles.

Here is my question:

• I only planned to do gears, sprocket, and the stud kit. However, my shop keeps asking about freshening up other timing components "while we are in there." I get it's a peace of mind thing, but is it necessary?

• Some have said something like Boss tensioners and 350 chains (or something along those lines), or do I just keep it all and go for it, considering my mileage (and lack of driving yearly, haha).

The original plan between my shop and I was to enjoy the car during car season, then gears and boost over the storage season to be ready for 2027. That probably will remain the case, but I am really having the itch to just throw it all together and enjoy it before the end of THIS season.

 

[Medusa5oh]

I priced out a steering wheel... 1500 bucks haha! They're very nice and a lot of options.

Yea it’s absolutely wild how quickly you can go from “that’s fair” to “wow that’s expensive lol”. I guess you want what you want and you’ll pay it if you want it that bad.

 

[SheepDog]

As requested!


With me not driving the car nearly as much over the last 12 months, I have only reached 45,000 miles.

Here is my question:

• I only planned to do gears, sprocket, and the stud kit. However, my shop keeps asking about freshening up other timing components "while we are in there." I get it's a peace of mind thing, but is it necessary?

• Some have said something like Boss tensioners and 350 chains (or something along those lines), or do I just keep it all and go for it, considering my mileage (and lack of driving yearly, haha).

The original plan between my shop and I was to enjoy the car during car season, then gears and boost over the storage season to be ready for 2027. That probably will remain the case, but I am really having the itch to just throw it all together and enjoy it before the end of THIS season.

New chains are probably not necessary in my opinion. They last a long time, but it's all about budget.

New OEM guides are cheap

the Boss 302/Predator tensioners are definitely worth it. The OEM tensioners are pressure only type tensioners, meaning that they solely rely on oil pressure to maintain tension. The Boss302/Predator tensioners also have ratchet mechanism that will keep tension even if you lose oil pressure

Definitely do the crank stud. FFRE or Kinetik motorsports

 

[Medusa5oh]

New chains are probably not necessary in my opinion. They last a long time, but it's all about budget.

New OEM guides are cheap

the Boss 302/Predator tensioners are definitely worth it. The OEM tensioners are pressure only type tensioners, meaning that they solely rely on oil pressure to maintain tension. The Boss302/Predator tensioners also have ratchet mechanism that will keep tension even if you lose oil pressure

Definitely do the crank stud. FFRE or Kinetik motorsports

Good to know thank you!!. Are the Boss and Predator tensioners the same or two different part #’s? I was told to not do MMR guides or what not as they are wishy washy in quality so going off what you said, new OEM guides, new tensioners, OPG/Sprocket upgrade, and the crank stud kit correct? Small investment to prevent a horrible expense later ideally….

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