To Mod or Not to Mod, That Is the Question

[Albertcado]

Is upgrading to wider aftermarket wheels beneficial at all?
I'm on the black accent pkg wheels which don't look too bad but are 19x8.5
Would getting wider wheels (19x10 squared) benefit the acceleration at all or actually slow it down? I know the handling will improve but this car is a daily in the city so I'm wondering if it's worth spending all that coin on 4 new wheels and new tires...

On a side note to OP, upgrade the stock exhaust to a catback, it's one of the things that will actually put more smiles on your face from the moment the key goes in, cold starts, downshifts, WOT, and just listening to the car on idle. I feel like the money and ease of upgrade to a catback exhaust has the most "you know it's there" factor when done, most constant return for your investment.
I have the Borla S-Type catback and this thing is bonkers, one of the first mods I did after much research into exhausts.

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[3pdl]

Since I have a convertible and don't have a roll bar, as does OP, I assume your comment was more of a general response. Adding a rollbar and tracking a two ton car isn't particularly practical. Better to find a 20 year old Vette.

you bought a potent vehicle. exploit it.

 

[Balr14]

you bought a potent vehicle. exploit it.

The vehicle is way more potent than I am. I'm 78 and don't drive much anymore... like 2000 miles a year. You don't want me near you on a track!

 

[Albertcado]

The stock wheels are great in the sense that you have far more break away warning. Comfortable as well.

The more tire and traction the faster they snap out.

1/2 in spacers can change the look alone. Then you can do steeda min drop for another cosmetic and functional gain.

i like the black package wheels.

yea.. I think I'm going to stay with the stock wheels for a bit

 

[shogun32]

On a side note to OP, upgrade the stock exhaust to a catback, it's one of the things that will actually put more smiles on your face from the moment the key goes in, cold starts, downshifts, WOT

actually an H-pipe is sufficient for that outcome.

 

[Vicr]

Did someone say mods???

 

[ice445]

yea.. I think I'm going to stay with the stock wheels for a bit

The stock wheels blow imo, you get traction control power cut basically all the time lol

 

[young at heart]

There are times while browsing this site and places like American Muscle when I feel like I have a devil on my shoulder saying DO IT, DO IT, DO IT!!!. Then I get in my 460 HP car and feel totally content with the sound, speed and performance. Then I'm bored and back on the internet, thinking NOT ENOUGH HORSES, NOT LOUD ENOUGH, NOT COOL ENOUGH, but I'm not tracking or showing the car so why do I care? Sometimes it starts with a simple resonater delete but ends up being a revamped exhaust that's louder than a Harley and pisses off the entire neighborhood. Other times it starts with a CAI and a tune that gives you 40 more horsepower but you end up with a car that gives you never ending headaches and a CHECK ENGINE LIGHT that never goes out. Sometimes it starts with a minor interior change but ends with a new steering wheel, tint too dark to see through and $4000 worth of hideous carbon fiber. Then the exterior mods start where you need to change everything just to say you changed everything. It might start with a new grille and rock guards but you end up with a new hood, aftermarket fog lamps and Ferrari tail lights (imagine a Ferrari with Mustang tail lights for laughs). Americans need the Euro tail lights and the Europeans need the American tail lights. Before you know it the car is unrecognizable along with your bank account and you're stuck with a car that is worth significantly less than before you spent a dime. Soon nothing is stock and there's no going back and you paid a whole lot of money to ugly up a beautiful car. Sometimes I really envy the restraint that the "Never Mod' crowd shows. Not sure what the moral of this story is but I do know that human nature is a funny thing.

OP, maybe I missed it but does your car have Active Exhaust? I’m totally addicted to the sound of mine in Track mode with the top down. Other than running straight pipes I’m not sure how my AE car could get much louder and still be streetable.

 

[baazooka]

Realistically I have no place to use the horsepower I already have. So, I will save the money to put toward the next car with a bigger "cool factor".

Feel that one, need a foxbody again

 

[ZeroTX]

I'm going for mild mods that could've possibly been done by Ford from the factory (e.g. Mach1-inspired stripe kit, GT500/Mach1 spoiler, OEM piece). I may at some point go w/ wider wheels, but probably will choose an OEM-style or something similar. Aftermarket stuff like exhaust, well, so far I'm using a Steeda H-pipe (which is OEM quality or higher, really), and still keep the stock look out back w/ the stock mufflers and tips.

I've modded cars many times. What I've found, and what I see is true for nearly everyone else, is that if you overdo it on mods, you regret it. Often times you no longer even like the car when you've done so much to it that the practical and comfortable aspects of the car are totally gone.

Example: suspension.... I've asked for advice on springs, and get everything from a mild 0.75" lowering spring all the way to track-style handing kits. Y'all. I don't want a race car and I don't have the disposable income to just build a race car in addition to a street/highway car. So no, I am *not* going to install coilovers that make the car ride like a buckboard, no I am *not* going to lower it so far that I can't even get over a speed bump or into my driveway.

TL;DR -- Just take it slow. Going overboard will (in my experience/and seeing others) make you wan tto get rid of the car, because it won't be enjoyable for its primary use anymore.

 

[ZeroTX]

Feel that one, need a foxbody again

Couldn't get the wife onboard w/ spending $20-25k on a clean built foxbody. You and I realize that 20k is nothing once you start building a car, but not everyone gets it. Also, I wouldn't be really keen on a cross-country road trip in a 30 year old car, no matter how cool it looks or how well it was built. It's still hand-built/restored.

 

[baazooka]

Couldn't get the wife onboard w/ spending $20-25k on a clean built foxbody. You and I realize that 20k is nothing once you start building a car, but not everyone gets it. Also, I wouldn't be really keen on a cross-country road trip in a 30 year old car, no matter how cool it looks or how well it was built. It's still hand-built/restored.

Reliability is very nice, mine is a daily. I imagine once you sort out the most important parts of a fox, you can have something very reliable (SVO Not included LOL)

 

[ZeroTX]

Reliability is very nice, mine is a daily. I imagine once you sort out the most important parts of a fox, you can have something very reliable (SVO Not included LOL)

I don't doubt it. I just get a little paranoid thinking about 100+ mile highway stretches w/ no cell service and a 30 year old car Realistically, we all know that a highway drive is less stressful on a car than an around town romp, but mentally ... maybe it's because I grew up poor and we drove sh*tboxes that literally did break down often and at the worst possible time.

 

[Seanuf99]

This is an interesting thread, because I think a lot of people struggle with these kinds of things. I grew up restoring classics with my dad, but got out of it when I went off to college, and had always had a hankering to get back to it. I let my wife talk me out of the Mach 1 and I went the extreme other end- base 300a with the only option being the active exhaust (I did not actually seek that out, but since having it I do enjoy it).
My home office is now full of boxes from Ford Performance and she has started asking questions about how much it cost. I just replied, 'still less' then the Mach 1. And basically I get a sinking feeling like I am diminishing the vehicle before I do anything to her-- even the easy bolt ons (strut tower and cowl braces, hood struts, etc.)

 

[shogun32]

maybe it's because I grew up poor and we drove sh*tboxes that literally did break down often and at the worst possible time.

that's why the poor of the world drive Honda/Toyota. I can't think of a single instance where our Japanese cars ever had so much as a hiccup. I've had component failures (eg. alternator) on GM but it didnt' strand me as such.

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