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17 GT Manual PP...How would you mod it with $5k?

ionpig

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Howdy all, this is my first post on this forum (longtime member on SVTP, and others). Been posting over there for a while and it seems like there is a little more focused attention on the S550 here, wonder why? Anyways...

So I have 2017 GT Manual with Performance Pack. I bought the car about 18 months ago with 6500 miles on it, now has 7700. Since I've owned it I was under the impression that it just had a Roush Axle-Back, but I always thought it was awful loud for that so I got under it recently and discovered it's the full Cat-Back (w/xpipe), now the volume makes sense. Otherwise, no performance mods beside a shifter.

All that said I've been saving up some cash in anticipation of the Black Friday sales this year for some mods. So the question is, how would you mod this car with a budget of 5k or less? The car is NOT a DD and never sees the dragstrip. However, I cannot rule it out on occasion, as well as perhaps an autocross session.

Below are the options I'm considering (car is out of warranty)...
  • Bolt Ons (will these make a substantial difference?)
    • Headers
    • CAI, Tune (93 octane, no E85)
    • Unsure about 18 mani...everything I've seen says the stock mani outperforms the 18 mani below 6500 rpm, especially torque. Since this is a street car.....
  • Forced Induction (I know this will...lol)
    • Used S/C kit (obvious choice)
      • PD Blower - Prefer VMP or Roush due to price
      • Centri - Car has 3.73 gears (not changing) so would a centri be a better choice?
    • Used Turbo kit (very enticing...)
      • Most likely the Hellion Street Sleeper kit (may even splurge for a new one), what about the On3 kit?
My ideal power level is 500-550whp, which the Bolt Ons won't reach, and the FI options way exceed. I just can't justify spending 7k for a FI setup, with me installing it, thus why I'm looking into a nice used kit. I've bought a used S/C before and it worked out well, Novi2000 on a 2V car. On the FI option, I'm just concerned about reliability. My wife drives the car quite often and I don't want it so crazy that I'm worried about her getting stranded somewhere. Not to mention also concerned about that MT82, the clutch, the halfshafts, etc. Probably safe there as long as I don't put on sticky tires. What about the OPGs, I see folks replacing them, is that mandatory at a certain power level? Been down that road twice with my 2V...

Any input you can provide would be super helpful. Just not sure what's safe and what's not on these Gen2 Coyotes.
If you're going FI, by the time you've upgraded the running gear and other engine parts to take the strain of all that output, you may as well sell her and buy a used GT350 or an already pro modded car. There are engine tunes that can be plugged into the ODC for around $400 that will get you an extra 10% (50ish) bhp and 20lb ft torque and that's with-out the CAI. That get's you to 500 ponies at the flywheel. The rest you can spend on a Renault ZOE that's 100% electric and your missus can drive that! :-) Get some hub centric wheel spacers to get those wheels flush with the fenders.
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if your not doing the work your not going far with 5k. if your doing the work you can do quite a bit with 5k. Id bolt in a paxton or vortech centri and send it.
 

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My two cents: $5k doesn't go as far as you think it will. I spent almost $3k just on wheels and tires. I just spent $1600 on struts/shocks/springs. And there are still a bunch of things I want to do like the stop the hop kit, subframe bushings, etc. Exhaust is another grand. Tune is another $500... it adds up fast!

I have always questioned the need for headers... they are not cheap, they are loud, you guys talk about going cat-less but that is just so bad for the environment and stinks to high heaven when you are following someone with no cats.And what are you getting for that? 15hp? 20hp? You aren't feeling that, its just the extra noise makes you think its faster. :) This car is fast as it is... trying to use your butt dyno to compare it to some car you had before with 550hp really doesn't mean anything. It is going to feel different just because of the way the car is designed, the stiffer chassis, IRS, weight, etc. If you are comparing to older Mustangs, this car is going to feel slower just because it is way more refined than they used to be.

If you want the car to be faster, or feel faster, then I guess go FI. But you are starting from a lot more HP than older Mustangs, so its easy to get to 650-700hp. But can you do it for $5k? I doubt it. The kits alone are $7k, and that still doesn't include everything you need or want. And if you aren't drag racing, or even driving to the limits of the car now, then why? Save your money and just get some really good tires.
 

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stinks to high heaven when you are following someone with no cats.
Long tubes running e85 smells quite nice actually. But ya running normal pump the smell takes some getting used to.
 

mnm4ever

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Long tubes running e85 smells quite nice actually. But ya running normal pump the smell takes some getting used to.
True E85 isn't as bad as regular gas. So I guess if you are running catless then you should also get the E85 tune!
 

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Tires will do WAY WAY WAY more than any other suspension mod you can think of. 10% improvement in tire grip is worth more than doubling the engine horsepower (according to Jason Fenske from engineering explained an actual engineer, with the math/testing to back it up) on a track car. So that's your biggest expense. Everything else just compliments the tires.
 

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I agree with the suspension modes first, and probably leave the engine alone: Vorshlag Camber Plates, ForgeStar 11" x 19" custom Vorshlag Offsets with 305-30-19 at all four corners, also their larger front brake deflector plates and a set of stiffer springs, progressive rate, dual rate or GT 350 R units to top it off. If you're going to track the car, consider a rear differential cooler from Fulltiltboogieracing. It's a nice unit and is thermostatically controlled.
 

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Is the 5K only for power modifications ... or all around?
I have dropped a lot on the car over the years, and just purchased a procharger. If that money is only for power mods, you are close to buying a supercharger system. I would take the plunge. I had a ford power pack 2 for the last 3 years, and it has served me well, but to keep me interested in the car and to take it to the next level, I took the plunge for a supercharger. In my opinion, I would avoid getting an 18 Intake manifold and a custom tune, and then on top of that an intake and the whole 9 yards full bolt on...on a gen 2, it might get you 30-40 whp, but it's going to be at least half if not more of that 3K budget, with limited room to grow beyond that. I would get the power pack 2, and leave it at that, or just go for a supercharger.

If that 5K is for more then just power, I would get a Ford power pack 2, suspension/chassis upgrades, better tires/wheels, and some IRS upgrades. That will transform the car beyond the stock.
 
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chagan02

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If you're going FI, by the time you've upgraded the running gear and other engine parts to take the strain of all that output, you may as well sell her and buy a used GT350 or an already pro modded car. There are engine tunes that can be plugged into the ODC for around $400 that will get you an extra 10% (50ish) bhp and 20lb ft torque and that's with-out the CAI. That get's you to 500 ponies at the flywheel. The rest you can spend on a Renault ZOE that's 100% electric and your missus can drive that! :-) Get some hub centric wheel spacers to get those wheels flush with the fenders.
Yeah I don’t see how any of that is relatively in the same ballpark money wise (as much as I’d like to have a GT350). A used GT350 is still 50k plus, with a Supercharger and wheels I’ll be all in at 35k-ish. As for the wife, she’d never own anything electric, neither would I.
 
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if your not doing the work your not going far with 5k. if your doing the work you can do quite a bit with 5k. Id bolt in a paxton or vortech centri and send it.
I’ll be doing all the work, always have, except tuning.
 

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My two cents: $5k doesn't go as far as you think it will. I spent almost $3k just on wheels and tires. I just spent $1600 on struts/shocks/springs. And there are still a bunch of things I want to do like the stop the hop kit, subframe bushings, etc. Exhaust is another grand. Tune is another $500... it adds up fast!

I have always questioned the need for headers... they are not cheap, they are loud, you guys talk about going cat-less but that is just so bad for the environment and stinks to high heaven when you are following someone with no cats.And what are you getting for that? 15hp? 20hp? You aren't feeling that, its just the extra noise makes you think its faster. :) This car is fast as it is... trying to use your butt dyno to compare it to some car you had before with 550hp really doesn't mean anything. It is going to feel different just because of the way the car is designed, the stiffer chassis, IRS, weight, etc. If you are comparing to older Mustangs, this car is going to feel slower just because it is way more refined than they used to be.

If you want the car to be faster, or feel faster, then I guess go FI. But you are starting from a lot more HP than older Mustangs, so its easy to get to 650-700hp. But can you do it for $5k? I doubt it. The kits alone are $7k, and that still doesn't include everything you need or want. And if you aren't drag racing, or even driving to the limits of the car now, then why? Save your money and just get some really good tires.
Thanks for all the input sir. Many things here I agree with, the NewEdge will undoubtedly feel faster due to the nature of the car. As for the limits of the car, I just want more pull. I don’t take the car hard into the curves, I’m happy with the way it handles for how I drive it, however I’m sure it can be improved. Call me old school I guess.
 
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chagan02

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Tires will do WAY WAY WAY more than any other suspension mod you can think of. 10% improvement in tire grip is worth more than doubling the engine horsepower (according to Jason Fenske from engineering explained an actual engineer, with the math/testing to back it up) on a track car. So that's your biggest expense. Everything else just compliments the tires.
I totally agree here, once the car has substantial power to need the traction. Other than dropping the clutch from 5k, the car hooks as is at WOT. That said, I do want larger and better tires.
 
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chagan02

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Is the 5K only for power modifications ... or all around?
I have dropped a lot on the car over the years, and just purchased a procharger. If that money is only for power mods, you are close to buying a supercharger system. I would take the plunge. I had a ford power pack 2 for the last 3 years, and it has served me well, but to keep me interested in the car and to take it to the next level, I took the plunge for a supercharger. In my opinion, I would avoid getting an 18 Intake manifold and a custom tune, and then on top of that an intake and the whole 9 yards full bolt on...on a gen 2, it might get you 30-40 whp, but it's going to be at least half if not more of that 3K budget, with limited room to grow beyond that. I would get the power pack 2, and leave it at that, or just go for a supercharger.

If that 5K is for more then just power, I would get a Ford power pack 2, suspension/chassis upgrades, better tires/wheels, and some IRS upgrades. That will transform the car beyond the stock.
This is exactly where I’m leaning. That 5k number was just for an initial plunge into modding, with further mods to come down the road. My feeling is that a S.C. kit is the largest one mod investment, which requires the most amount of money at once. All the other mods that many of the wonderful posts in this thread have mentioned can be bought piecemeal.

My intent with this thread was to try and decide which road to go down, NA FBO, or FI, because I wanna do it once, and would I be happy capped off at FBO.
 

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This is exactly where I’m leaning. That 5k number was just for an initial plunge into modding, with further mods to come down the road. My feeling is that a S.C. kit is the largest one mod investment, which requires the most amount of money at once. All the other mods that many of the wonderful posts in this thread have mentioned can be bought piecemeal.

My intent with this thread was to try and decide which road to go down, NA FBO, or FI, because I wanna do it once, and would I be happy capped off at FBO.
Howdy all, this is my first post on this forum (longtime member on SVTP, and others). Been posting over there for a while and it seems like there is a little more focused attention on the S550 here, wonder why? Anyways...

So I have 2017 GT Manual with Performance Pack. I bought the car about 18 months ago with 6500 miles on it, now has 7700. Since I've owned it I was under the impression that it just had a Roush Axle-Back, but I always thought it was awful loud for that so I got under it recently and discovered it's the full Cat-Back (w/xpipe), now the volume makes sense. Otherwise, no performance mods beside a shifter.

All that said I've been saving up some cash in anticipation of the Black Friday sales this year for some mods. So the question is, how would you mod this car with a budget of 5k or less? The car is NOT a DD and never sees the dragstrip. However, I cannot rule it out on occasion, as well as perhaps an autocross session.

Below are the options I'm considering (car is out of warranty)...
  • Bolt Ons (will these make a substantial difference?)
    • Headers
    • CAI, Tune (93 octane, no E85)
    • Unsure about 18 mani...everything I've seen says the stock mani outperforms the 18 mani below 6500 rpm, especially torque. Since this is a street car.....
  • Forced Induction (I know this will...lol)
    • Used S/C kit (obvious choice)
      • PD Blower - Prefer VMP or Roush due to price
      • Centri - Car has 3.73 gears (not changing) so would a centri be a better choice?
    • Used Turbo kit (very enticing...)
      • Most likely the Hellion Street Sleeper kit (may even splurge for a new one), what about the On3 kit?
My ideal power level is 500-550whp, which the Bolt Ons won't reach, and the FI options way exceed. I just can't justify spending 7k for a FI setup, with me installing it, thus why I'm looking into a nice used kit. I've bought a used S/C before and it worked out well, Novi2000 on a 2V car. On the FI option, I'm just concerned about reliability. My wife drives the car quite often and I don't want it so crazy that I'm worried about her getting stranded somewhere. Not to mention also concerned about that MT82, the clutch, the halfshafts, etc. Probably safe there as long as I don't put on sticky tires. What about the OPGs, I see folks replacing them, is that mandatory at a certain power level? Been down that road twice with my 2V...

Any input you can provide would be super helpful. Just not sure what's safe and what's not on these Gen2 Coyotes.
I have a 17 pp1. The first mod would be a MGW shifter...I love it.
 

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I'd do some springs, a few things to stiffen the chassis (BMR or Steeda), a nice set of 19 or 20" wheels in a 10" f / 11" r and get a 275/285 and 305 tire setup. Now it handles better, looks much better.

I'd skip the headers, do a MY18 mani/intake, a good tune (E if possible), and a catback, maybe a Solo Street. Now it sounds way better, goes quicker (depending on the tune and fuel type).

Then I'd add a GT350, MMD, some kind of rear wing, these cars balance out better visually with something on the trunk.

If you shopped around, scored sales/deals, DIY'ed everything (minus the tune), that would fit into $5K (I think, it would be close, obv. very dependent on some specific parts like wheels).
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