2002 mustang 2v build NEED HELP!!

[kirbyVA]

TRYING to build my 2002 mustang gt up without breaking the bank. Ive looked into cams, plenums, exhaust etc.. But I am relatively new to these motors. Is there anyone out there that has experience with these motors?

I have a 2002 mustang gt
lowered 2 inches
stage 2 clutch (looking to change)
straight piped exhaust:bash:
3.23 gears


all done by previous owner. im looking for hp gains and would like to get more top-end out of this car!

 

[DHG1078]

What are you looking to do with the car? what are your end goals? Is it your daily driver? Is it going to be set up for auto-x or drag racing? Budget doesn't always go with a dependable build, but there are some mods that give you a great bang for your buck.

A good set of gears makes a world of a difference. Gears aren't too expensive but labor to install them is. For under 450 hp, your best bet is to add a supercharger like a vortech or pro charger. You can find them fairly easily for cheap and will put you close to 400 rwhp on a good tune. Add an intake manifold, throttle body, you will hit the limit for the bottom end pretty easily.

Some cheap and easy mods (read small gains) are under drive pulleys and an electric water pump.

If your looking to add power, I highly recommend adding full length sub frame connectors and lower control arms. It will help control the car with the extra power. Any suspension/ chassis mods I recommend Maximum Motorsports. Not usually the cheapest, but you can't beat their stuff.

 

[KLeech]

Put a stock clutch back in that thing. My car went 2 years of being N/A with many many hard shifts, and a year of 8psi and the clutch still looked fantastic when I took it out last week for my trans swap.

DHG1078 is on the right track with those questions. And why would someone put 3.23 gears in a gear that had a 3.27 rear gear stock?

 

[DHG1078]

DHG1078 is on the right track with those questions. And why would someone put 3.23 gears in a gear that had a 3.27 rear gear stock?

Thats a good catch. I didn't notice that. I'm hoping that was a typo/mistake. I don't even know where to buy 3.23 gears lol.

 

[Kline12]

Put a stock clutch back in that thing. My car went 2 years of being N/A with many many hard shifts, and a year of 8psi and the clutch still looked fantastic when I took it out last week for my trans swap.

DHG1078 is on the right track with those questions. And why would someone put 3.23 gears in a gear that had a 3.27 rear gear stock?

My first mustang had a 3.23 rear gear instead of a 3.27. The car was supercharged though, and all of the work done by the previous owner. The car was an auto, and with that gearing it felt like it kept pulling forever, if that makes sense. It almost felt like it didn't have a limit to just how fast the car would go. It was an auto, vortech v2 supercharger, 2400 stall, and all of the supporting mods. It made around 447hp to the wheels.

 

[blacksheep-1]

Good advice, establish your goals now and it will save you lots of money in the long run.

 

[kirbyVA]

He told me that his next goal was to put a pro charger on it. I appreciate everyone's help ! what would be a good gear to put in the car? The car is mostly street although It will be seeing the track some in the near future.
the things I would like to change in the next couple weeks are
-clutch
-gears
-type of tires (its has nexen n3000 now) looking for a wider stance and to put some more meat on it.


the 4th upgrade is up to yall, I am open for suggestions although would like to keep this one under 1,000.

 

[Driver500]

He told me that his next goal was to put a pro charger on it. I appreciate everyone's help ! what would be a good gear to put in the car? The car is mostly street although It will be seeing the track some in the near future.
the things I would like to change in the next couple weeks are
-clutch
-gears
-type of tires (its has nexen n3000 now) looking for a wider stance and to put some more meat on it.


the 4th upgrade is up to yall, I am open for suggestions although would like to keep this one under 1,000.

A good 3.73 gear will take you a long way. I found 4.10 to be too aggressive and 3.55 just wasn't worth the trouble.

The next most fun mod I did when I was at the point you are now was nitrous. A wet 100 shot will last forever and be a lot of fun. You can find a used kit for under $500 and have it installed to stay under your $1000 mark.

Check out nittos 555s for tires. They are the standard for decently priced performance tires. What size wheels are you running now? If you are still on stockers look around for a set of 17x10.5 wheels for the rear and 17x9 for the front. This combo has been done thousands of times and looks great on your car. Those wheels with decent nitto rubber will work great.

 

[DHG1078]

A good 3.73 gear will take you a long way. I found 4.10 to be too aggressive and 3.55 just wasn't worth the trouble.

The next most fun mod I did when I was at the point you are now was nitrous. A wet 100 shot will last forever and be a lot of fun. You can find a used kit for under $500 and have it installed to stay under your $1000 mark.

Check out nittos 555s for tires. They are the standard for decently priced performance tires. What size wheels are you running now? If you are still on stockers look around for a set of 17x10.5 wheels for the rear and 17x9 for the front. This combo has been done thousands of times and looks great on your car. Those wheels with decent nitto rubber will work great.

I agree with driver500. I just installed 3.73 gears in mine last year. It perks up the car a lot without being too much for a daily driver. Some people go with 4.10 gears and say its fine for them as a daily driver but first gear is almost useless for the street.

For $1000, if you need to pay someone to do the install, nitrous will probably get you your best bang for your buck. There isn't a whole lot of mods that get you more hp that can be done for under $1k. You might also consider doing full length sub frame connectors, shocks/struts, lowering springs, and caster/camber plates together.

I agree with the nitto tire suggestions as well. the nt555 is a great performance summer tire with a great price.

As for the clutch, I am actually selling a brand new ram hdx clutch. if your interested, check out my for sale ad.

 

[KLeech]

The biggest problem I see with these cars are people always over clutching a close to stock setup. With a thousand dollar budget personally I'd stay away from nitrous. It's like everything else, there are nickel and dime things that pop up during an install.

If it were me..

1. Tires, Nitto makes a decent summer tire, they run narrow so in all reality stuffing a 315 nitto on a 9" wheel is easily done.
2. An SCT so you can put a tune on the car, really helps the driveability and its something that will come in handy down the road for gear swaps and calibrating the speedo to getting any sort of tune that you may need someday for any other bigger mods.
3. 3.73 gears. Great gear all around, it peps up a stock car quite a bit and leaves plenty of room to grow later on with any sort of forced induction.
4. If money permits an MGW short throw shifter, trust me you will not regret this at all. The stock shifter sucks, and the MGW is hands down better than any other shifter out there.
5. Subframe connectors make a huge difference in the ride quality and handling, they'e relatively cheap and something you will be glad you did as well for under 100 bucks.

 

[bobby_0081]

TRYING to build my 2002 mustang gt up without breaking the bank. Ive looked into cams, plenums, exhaust etc.. But I am relatively new to these motors. Is there anyone out there that has experience with these motors?

I have a 2002 mustang gt
lowered 2 inches
stage 2 clutch (looking to change)
straight piped exhaust:bash:
3.23 gears


all done by previous owner. im looking for hp gains and would like to get more top-end out of this car!

I don't know what you would consider breaking the bank. The best mod I did to my 2V was Trick Flow 38cc heads and comp cams. The parts cost was just under 2800 and I did the work myself. As for power my 2V GT put down 337 RWHP 335 RWTQ. I also have under drive pulley's, JLT inner fender cold air, 24lb injectors, BBK equal shorty headers, and a Bullitt intake manifold.

 

[bobby_0081]

He told me that his next goal was to put a pro charger on it. I appreciate everyone's help ! what would be a good gear to put in the car? The car is mostly street although It will be seeing the track some in the near future.
the things I would like to change in the next couple weeks are
-clutch
-gears
-type of tires (its has nexen n3000 now) looking for a wider stance and to put some more meat on it.


the 4th upgrade is up to yall, I am open for suggestions although would like to keep this one under 1,000.

I have 3.55 gears with a T56 Magnum and love the gears. When I stock Cobra T56 I hated the 3.55 gear but now with the lower first and second I am really fond of the gears. The best clutch I have had was a stock 03/04 Cobra clutch. Never smelled it burn and I got the thing used for a really good price and the pressure plate was resurfaced. I had to buy a 26 spline to replace the clutch when I did the T56 Magnum swap and I got the Ford Racing (Centerforce) and I hate it. I got a new flywheel at the same time and new pressure plate and I have smelled that thing a time or two and it seems to me that it just hasn't seated well. I cleaned it good too when I installed it. I am not the one to ask about tires and wheels because my favorite wheels are the SVT machined 03/04 Cobra wheels but I still have the Bullitt wheels on my car. The last upgrade for under a grand is the front brakes. I got new loaded Bullitt calipers with a good set of resurfaced rotors and the mounting brackets for a shade under 500 dollars and it was night and day from the stock brakes and worth every penny. I have since had to replace the rotors and went with the DBA kangaroo paw slotted rotors.

 

[DHG1078]

I don't know what you would consider breaking the bank. The best mod I did to my 2V was Trick Flow 38cc heads and comp cams. The parts cost was just under 2800 and I did the work myself. As for power my 2V GT put down 337 RWHP 335 RWTQ. I also have under drive pulley's, JLT inner fender cold air, 24lb injectors, BBK equal shorty headers, and a Bullitt intake manifold.

He is currently looking at under $1000 per his last post. heads/cams are a little out of that price range lol.

brakes are another good idea. The 03/04 cobra got the same brakes as the bullitt and are great for the money.

 

[KLeech]

They also sadly do not make stock 03 cobra clutches anymore, or that is what I would've put into my car.

 

[kirbyVA]

I currently have 17x9 in the front and 17x10 in the rear.
the rear has a 285 nexen n3000.. is the 315 better?

thank yall for the help again!

just ordered 3.73's, underdrive pulley, short throw shifter, and my friend said i could take the clutch out of his 03 cobra!BOBBY 0081 was there any changes you had to make in order for this clutch to work??

 

[KLeech]

There is no changes that will be necessary in order for it to bolt up. Just get your flywheel resurfaced or get a new one. The 3650 transmissions already had an 11" clutch disk out of the box which is the same size diameter as the stock 03 cobra disk.

 

[bobby_0081]

I currently have 17x9 in the front and 17x10 in the rear.
the rear has a 285 nexen n3000.. is the 315 better?

thank yall for the help again!

just ordered 3.73's, underdrive pulley, short throw shifter, and my friend said i could take the clutch out of his 03 cobra!BOBBY 0081 was there any changes you had to make in order for this clutch to work??

No there wasn't. Just get the flywheel resurfaced and be easy on it for a couple hundred miles after the install to allow it to seat to the newly surfaced flywheel or new flywheel. Don't forget to replace the pilot bearing and the release bearing. Good luck!

 

[kirbyVA]

ALRIGHT GUYS! next question, I went outside and checked my tires one last time.. On the rear I have a set of 245/35/18 nexen n3000's
on a 18x10 falcon r rim.. will it fit a 315/35/18?
315/45/18?
what would be the best thing to put on the rear? with going as wide as humanly possible without having to change the rim and add pointless parts (wheel spacers):thumbsup:
was going to check online for myself but yall have helped me out so far soo i thought why not ask :burnout:

and i want a couple of options for tires!
already looking at
-nitto 555
-nitto nt05

 

[DHG1078]

ALRIGHT GUYS! next question, I went outside and checked my tires one last time.. On the rear I have a set of 245/35/18 nexen n3000's
on a 18x10 falcon r rim.. will it fit a 315/35/18?
315/45/18?
what would be the best thing to put on the rear? with going as wide as humanly possible without having to change the rim and add pointless parts (wheel spacers):thumbsup:
was going to check online for myself but yall have helped me out so far soo i thought why not ask :burnout:

and i want a couple of options for tires!
already looking at
-nitto 555
-nitto nt05

245's on 10 inch wide rims? those things must be STRETCHED! both the 315/35/18 and 315/45/18 will fit the rim, but you will probably have more rubbing issues with the 315/45 as that will be quite a bit taller. The two options you have listed are great options. They are what I have on right now.

 

[kirbyVA]

they are extremely stretched.. the guy i bought the car from put them on it. the car has AMAZING traction! when its dry.. the size i am looking at now after further research is a 285/35/18. are toyo proxes R1R's good??