HI there
Right some facts.
A standard Mustang GT is an OK car. You can pick one of these up in good condition, no more than 2 years old with 25,000 or less miles for £15,000 - £20,000 if you search on Pistonheads, Ebay or Autotrader.
So for less than 20k you've got yourself a V8 Muscle / Sports coupe with 300 horses as standard and over 300Lb/Ft of torque and a car thats gonna make you grin guaranteed. Handling wise as standard they are an OK car, but nothing particular amazing. In stock form don't expect M3 handling, simple as that, but as you will see there are many upgrades on offer at very low cost and easy to fit.
Anyway once you have got your car you can start with modifications. So lets begin:-
N/A Power Upgrades
1.
CAI along with Remap for UK RON 98 £400 delivered, expect 50BHP and 30Lb/Ft along with much better throttle response.
2.
Long Tube Headers £1000 delivered or less with DE-Cats, expect 20BHP and approx 30Lb/Ft plus a great sound.
3. You can then go with a catback system, but it won't add if any power but will make it sound rather special. Cost circa £500 delivered.
4. Can also add lightweight under drive pulleys, add charge motion plates which together can give a furth 10 or so horses along with much quicker throttle response. Expect to pay £500 tops, but these mods become redundent should you add a supercharger.
Basically the CAI, Remap and Long tuber headers will get you to circa 375BHP and 370Lb/Ft, not bad for the money.
Total spent on N/A Power = £2000 Delivered (375BHP/360Lb/Ft)
Brakes
1. Best option is the Shelby GT500 brake kit. It comes with Brembo 4 piston calipers, same as featured on EVO 9's and many other cars. Brembo 14" rotars, front and rear Ferodo pads. Many places sell in the USA for circa £500 area, just gotta search.
2. There are other kits but the Shelby kit is a great direct fitment no hassle option that gives great improvement. Afterall the Shelby brakes were designed for a much heavier and more powerful car.
Total Spent on brakes = £500 - £750.00
Suspension
1. Change the dampers/shocks -
Tokico D-Spec Adjustable Shocks and Strut Kit - These will set you back around £400 delivered and completely transform the car. These are superior to the shocks that come on Saleen and Roush supplied cars.
2. Springs - Improve the look due to lower ride height and further handling improvements. However you don't want to lower any more than 1" in total or you will put the roll centre out too much and actually make handling worse.
Steeda Ultra Lite Springs - About £150ish tops!
3. Top Mounts -
Steeda Upper duty top mounts - These give more feel/communication on the steering and let you adjust front camber to dial out understeer. £150 tops!
4. Front Anti-Roll bar -
Steeda front swaybar - Transform steering response and front-end control with this front anti-roll bar. £100 !!
5. Rear Anti-Roll bar with HD Links -
Rear swaybar with HD links - Firmly plant that rear end, great handling improvement. Only £200 !!
6.
Steeda Strut Brace and G-Trac brace - Do as they say. The pair will cost no more than £100 !! Available on
www.steeda.com
7. Lower Billet Control arms -
Steeda Lower Control Arms - Help prevents wheel hop, improve grip. £150.00
8. Upper Control arm -
Steeda adjustable upper control arm - Get the pinion angle set perfectly or adjust for better handling or better off the line traction. Further helps reduce wheel hop greatly improving traction. £100 !!
9.
Steeda adjustable panhard bar and brace - Greatly improve the rear live axle with these, transforms handling and improves the car on bumpier surfaces. About £150.00
10. Thats about it, I did the above and the transformation was awsome. You can do even more -
http://www.steeda.com/products/
Total spent on suspension setup = £1500.00
So basically £4000 will give you a decent power increase, improve your stopping power considerably and completely transform the way the car handles. I did all the above on my Mustang, except because mine was a Saleen it had their own shocks, springs and front anti-roll bar so I obviously saved some money there. However the Tokico D-Spec dampers and Steeda springs are better than the Saleen and Roush offerings.
Remember folks all Saleen and Roush do to the standard Mustang GT is simply fit their own shocks, springs and front anti-roll bar. Plus as an option you can specify larger brakes and rear anti-roll bars as options. In this state of tune they handle on par with an M3, or basically more or less anyway. I know at least 2 owners who have got Saleens that are completely standard and they previously had owned E46 M3's and they both agree that the Saleen is on par in the twisties. Also Saleen fit huge 20" wheels with decent rubber, this obviously helps with traction but is not so great for handling or performance due to the weight. Wheras Roush go for a more lightweight 18" wheel which is the best solution, but 20" do look good on a Mustang.
Now obviously the above additional Steeda parts I've listed further improve the handling and predictability of the car. They also aid greatly with traction, so should you go supercharged you won't have any issues with power delivery unless your running very little wheels and skinny tyres.
With all the above you will definetely have a better handling car over an M3, however remember you can mod an M3 too. However I think everyone here will agree the E46 M3 is a good handling car, so if a Mustang can handle as good and better that also means the Mustang can be made into a good handling car for very little money and little effort/work.
Then for you guys who want to go supercharged, simply visit
www.teamjdm.com
These guys will sell you a complete bolt-on packaged for about $6000 that will see any Mustang GT over 500BHP reliable and safe. Then pretty much anything will struggle to keep up with you, should it be a straight or twisties because you will have a very sorted car.
Now considering I did all the above to mine, it was indeed worth every penny. The car was transformed and so much better than the E46 M3 I drove in the twisties. Now I own an M3 CSL which does indeed handle better than my Saleen did in both dry and wet conditions. For the road I doubt you could get a Mustang upto CSL handling standards, but on the race track where road noise, harshness is not an issue then you most probably could. However in saying that I am sure if a CSL was purely for track use then you could even improve the CSL further too.
Put simply, the Mustang may have a live axle, but it handles OK. If you spend a little money it can be made to handle very well. EVO magazine themselves have seen the benefits of simple suspension mods and even Clarkson raved about the Roush.
A Mustang is a lot of car for the money, simply great value.
With all the above suspension tweaks a Mustang GT would weigh circa 1550kg, maybe a little less. With a supercharger added, thats gonna close on towards 1600kg.
However it is possible to go further and for about a further £1500 of spending you can get weight down to sub 1450kg on a Mustang by buying replacement suspension parts etc.
You can also fit short shifter, to improve gear change and let me tell you they make night and day difference. Saleen shifter is good, but MGW make the best short throws for Mustangs.