'17 V6 Build - I bought a Mustang?!?!?!

[ctandc72]

Congrats on the car and the fury of mods. Lots of progress. Where in VA are you located?

What tracks are you finding still open? The only DC area one that mentions being open is Cecil which says weather permitting but last weekend it was 60s and they were closed. I ask because I'm also trying to squeeze in one last day before everything closes.

I have a new GT upper grille still in the box if you're interested. Also have a spare set of GT half shafts if you wanted to take a look at them.

I'm located South of Richmond. VA Motorsports Park (Dinwiddie, VA) is 20 minutes from me and they are having an open Test and Tune ($20) 12/2 and 12/9.

http://www.virginiamotorsports.com/drag/schedule/

How much for the grille? I was getting ready to order one shortly. $50 shipped for OEM upper Black.

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[ctandc72]

Picked the headers up from the coater today. Love 'em. I like subdued colors under the hood.

Hope to install them Saturday after getting done with test and tune. First oil change tonight. Bit under 3k. Engine got smoother and quieter after a fresh fill of oil and a filter.

Hope to hit the last test and tune the following week to see if the headers help.

 

[ctandc72]

Made it to test and tune today. Cold at the track (50's) and no one was able to get traction. Made 4 passes. Best run was a 13.8 at 103mph and that's with a 2.19 60 ft time. Even with drag radials and peddling off the launch - the car still wants to spin not only off the line, but on the 1-2 shift and the 2-3 shift. In fact the best run of 13.8 included me letting off a bit on the 2-3 shift because of how loose it got.

I have no doubt if I can get the 60ft down to around 1.9, the car is capable of a 13.4-13.5.

That's 93 PRX tune, drop in filter and drag radials.

Bad news - apparently next week's test and tune is cancelled, so that's it for the year.

However my G2 caliper paint kit came in and my rear GT brake upgrade came in as well. Will try to get the headers in tomorrow and work on getting the calipers painted / detailed and hopefully install the GT brakes front and rear next weekend.

 

[jperls]

Made it to test and tune today. Cold at the track (50's) and no one was able to get traction. Made 4 passes. Best run was a 13.8 at 103mph and that's with a 2.19 60 ft time. Even with drag radials and peddling off the launch - the car still wants to spin not only off the line, but on the 1-2 shift and the 2-3 shift. In fact the best run of 13.8 included me letting off a bit on the 2-3 shift because of how loose it got.

I have no doubt if I can get the 60ft down to around 1.9, the car is capable of a 13.4-13.5.

That's 93 PRX tune, drop in filter and drag radials.

Bad news - apparently next week's test and tune is cancelled, so that's it for the year.

However my G2 caliper paint kit came in and my rear GT brake upgrade came in as well. Will try to get the headers in tomorrow and work on getting the calipers painted / detailed and hopefully install the GT brakes front and rear next weekend.

You are going to love the GT brake upgrade. While it will look like the calipers won't fit at first, they will. It is just very tight.

 

[ctandc72]

You are going to love the GT brake upgrade. While it will look like the calipers won't fit at first, they will. It is just very tight.

I'm looking forward to it actually. I only got the rear upgrade because it was cheap and basically brand new, and I wanted to paint all four calipers without a day or more of downtime on the car.

Got the BBK knock off headers installed today. Fit is good. That one bolt everyone complains about on the passenger header? Two 13mm bolts, drop starter, and that bolt is cake. Not even the hardest bolt in my opinion. Did run into a couple of snags. One of the collector holes was not threaded. No biggie, broke out the 10x1.5 tap and took care of that. The included studs were too short. So I simply removed the studs from the exhaust manifolds and used them.

I did struggle with the driver's side header - mounting it up to the exhaust. Apparently my catback was putting it in some kind of bind where it wouldn't meet up. Had to remove the driver's side cat pipe from the cat back, loosen the header, then install all the bolts loosely. After that good to go.

I like the color of the ceramic coating - 'titanium' - and it definitely works...was able to grab the headers after the test drive. That should definitely help with underhood temps.

Will try to work on getting the calipers detailed and painted and the GT brake upgrade hopefully done by next weekend.

 

[ctandc72]

Well I couldn't help myself. Placed another order today.

Ford PP front swaybar
Ford PP rear swaybar + bushings
Bare Upper GT grille (will be used in conjunction with Velossa big mouth)
Front splash shields for the brake upgrade

$167 SHIPPED for all that.

I'm hoping the swaybar upgrade will stiffen the current spring / strut / shock combo enough for now - so I can concentrate on getting this thing to hook up at the track.

Likely going with BMR Lockout kit and Steeda Subframe alignment kit next month. Might even go with PP toe links as well.

Only other thing I really want to do is get the windows tinted.

Also, last night, finally had a chance to mess with FORScan. Got the 3.55 gear change programmed and got rid of that stupid double honk when the key FOB is out of the car and the engine is running.

 

[ctandc72]

Haven't really done much - the cold weather plus maintaining two other vehicles has limited my Mustang garage time. I did receive the PP sway bars and went ahead and ordered a light weight water pump pulley - why not - and I need to put together the stand I used for all my motorcycle work so I can hang the GT front and rear calipers and get those painted.

I need to find the time to go ahead and get the windows tinted. I keep getting busy with other stuff and I know I'll regret not doing it come Spring.

I did however end up scoring a new Redline leather steering wheel cover (black w/ black stitching) here on the forum - including the extra padding. Went ahead and bought an extra OEM steering wheel for cheap on Ebay. When both come in, I'll likely drop it off to get covered at a local shop. I'm not good with needle and thread beyond my old medic skills. Even with paying for install I'll come out ahead of paying close to $300 for a new wheel. Not to mention none of the wheels I could find suited exactly what I wanted. Not to mention I'll just sell my wheel when it's done to offset even more of the cost.

 

[ctandc72]

Went ahead and ordered the LMR SVE S350 19x10 Wheel setup today. Going with 275/40/19 BFG Gforce Comp 2 A/S. Hopefully get it all in and get it installed next Saturday.

My foglights / bezels / parking light assemblies came in and they are MINT. Just ordered the Starkey Wiring harness for adding foglights with the OEM headlight switch.

Hopefully FINALLY getting time to install the PP sway bars tomorrow. Might just go ahead and order the Velossa Big Mouth so I can install that along with fog lights when I yank the bumper.

 

[ctandc72]

Got the 19x10 SVE S350 gloss black wheels installed last week along with 275/40/19 BFG Comp Force 2 A/S tires. Love the look, the handling - combined with the added PP front and rear swaybars - is GREATLY improved. The car corners FLAT and ride quality is better than OEM.

The only picture I have. Car is dirty and it's way too cold to worry about a better picture right now

GT front and rear brake setups are ready to go. Just waiting on new front brake hoses, since the ones I ordered a while back were not the parts I ordered. Already painted the front and rear calipers with G2 black and also painted the rotor hats / back surrounds with high heat black paint (brush on). Just waiting on hoses and hopefully a day above 30 degrees to get in the garage and get it done.

 

[Stam616]

Got the 19x10 SVE S350 gloss black wheels installed last week along with 275/40/19 BFG Comp Force 2 A/S tires. Love the look, the handling - combined with the added PP front and rear swaybars - is GREATLY improved. The car corners FLAT and ride quality is better than OEM.

The only picture I have. Car is dirty and it's way too cold to worry about a better picture right now

GT front and rear brake setups are ready to go. Just waiting on new front brake hoses, since the ones I ordered a while back were not the parts I ordered. Already painted the front and rear calipers with G2 black and also painted the rotor hats / back surrounds with high heat black paint (brush on). Just waiting on hoses and hopefully a day above 30 degrees to get in the garage and get it done.

This is the setup I’d like to do with my V6 as well. So the ride quality is good? How much do the front and rear sway bars cost and does installing them without the rest of the PErformance package do anything negative in your opinion?

 

[D24112]

And why new brake hoses. Are the GT brakes different than the stock V6?

 

[ctandc72]

This is the setup I’d like to do with my V6 as well. So the ride quality is good? How much do the front and rear sway bars cost and does installing them without the rest of the PErformance package do anything negative in your opinion?

Ride quality is great.
Go to www.Fairwayfordparts.net or find another Ford Parts dealer online - I always look for low price + being close to my location so shipping is quick and cheap.

The BRAND NEW PP front and rear sway bars are cheap. The front bar (which includes the brackets and the bushings) is @ $60 + shipping.

The rear bar is @ $37 + shipping.

You'll also need new rear sway bar bushings at @ $5 each.

Installing these without the other PP components is still beneficial. Bigger / stiffer bars are bigger / stiffer bars regardless.

 

[ctandc72]

And why new brake hoses. Are the GT brakes different than the stock V6?

In the front, Base V6 and Ecoboost cars got 2 piston calipers.
Base GT cars got 4 piston calipers and bigger rotors.

In the rear, the base GT brakes have slightly bigger rotors and they are vented.

My car is my daily driver. It will hit the 1/4 mile track a good bit (already has) and the odds of doing some autocross / SCCA stuff is good as well. But that's not the MAIN reason for ME upgrading the brakes. A 10 foot reduction in stopping distance would have prevented my last car from being totaled when an idiot turned left in front of me on a 45 mph road.

The base GT caliper and rotor upgrade is a BIG upgrade over stock V6 / EB base brakes and if you shop around it can be done pretty cheaply. I have less than $300 in my setup with high quality aftermarket pads, new quality rotors, and painted GT calipers + brakes hoses.

And yes the GT brake hoses are different than the base EB / V6 hoses.

 

[D24112]

Whats different about them? Seems like all the aftermarket ones list them for all 3 variations. Ask because I have GT takeoffs on the way.

 

[ctandc72]

Whats different about them? Seems like all the aftermarket ones list them for all 3 variations. Ask because I have GT takeoffs on the way.

The metal formed part of the flexible front brake hoses are different, since the mounting location of the different calipers is oriented a bit different. Brand new hoses are like $20 each.

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