Next Upgrade for Manual 09 GT....?

[Black Beauty]

Okay gents, I am unsure what to do next for my mustang. I have the catback exhaust, tuner/intake. From there I am unsure what performance mod to do next. I am thinking either gears, maybe cams/headers? I am at a bit of a loss, I have roughly $500 to invest in the next mod, so give me your opinions gents, I am open to ideas. I am pretty done with any exhaust stuff, I am looking for gains not more/improved noise.

Thank you in advance gents, I am hoping we can possibly develop a recommended list for new stangers for future use. A good outline with some pricing could really help fellow stangers plan out their mods.

[Hotshot]

$500 and want a performance mod, sounds like you want to get gears to me

3.73's or 4.10's. I'll spare you the banter on the back and forth, do your own research on which one that you want. Make sure to do the heat and cool cycles to ensure proper break-in period after they are installed

[TommyF2011]

Get a xpipe

[GT800]

longtubes would be pretty beneficial hp wise gears would be more fun. do 4.10s. Heat and cool cycles? do you even have aftermarkets gears in your car James? get them put in by a pro and be nice to em for 100 miles and youll be fine

[ajdeter]

Gears are def up there on the to do list. Headers and an off road X made a HUGE difference in my car, pulls so strong now up top. I did headers and x pipe and 4.10s right after, its a tough call but either one you will be extremely happy with and the headers and x sounds awesome.

[Hotshot]

Originally Posted by gt/cs07

longtubes would be pretty beneficial hp wise gears would be more fun. do 4.10s. Heat and cool cycles? do you even have aftermarkets gears in your car James? get them put in by a pro and be nice to em for 100 miles and youll be fine

Yea they would, they would just go over the $500 budget he had.

I still have my stock 3.31's, i have stopped modding my car until further notice so that was one of the things on the list that didn't get done. I've been told by some installers to do the 20 min hot, cool down, 20 min hot and cool down during that first 100 miles to help break them in, anything to prevent gear whine.

[GT800]

Eh break in is really only a very slight part of where whine comes from. Whine is determined by installation clearences and most importantly the mesh between the ring gear and the pinion gear.

[PWRBY4D]

i have only installed complete rears... never gears (and dont really want to actually lol) but have watched a few sets be built on benches and it takes a lot of patience and experience... i did watch dan pull and install gears 2 times in the 8.8 rears / that being said again i have only watched and learned... but i have never ever heard someone who installs gears say that the whine was from an improper break in. that is total crap. cars from the factory dont get a break in for 100 miles of hot cold hot cold... that is crap. even heard of doing figure 8's in parking lots to make sure everything is seated will help but again bullshit imo. if it is set up right then it is right.. just dont beat em right away and listen for noises. if it all sounds good you will be fine for a long long time.

my gears whined really bad (prob due to lack of install experience / bought the entire rear used) and some of it was prob the gear as it is a short gear / 430 so i figured it was some gear related and some install.. Anyway.. they whined... until dan installed my ds and he made a necessary adjustment to the pinion (tightened down the pinion flange a hair more to get the crush collar to seat/ crush a bit more...whine is nearly gone.. very slight whistle at high speed of 80mph+.

My point is being able to make decisions like that comes from experience in dealing with shimming and getting the tolerances between the gears correct. Not easy. Not a break in will fix it or no break in caused it..


OK so.. here is a contridiction.. lol
some gears do make some noise naturally but whine is not really it... they whistle a bit.. i had a set of rockland gears that whistled a bit after install but it wasnt really bad and only when coasting... the tolerances were triple checked and they lasted forever... they just whistled a bit.. Probably due to the gear cut.

Oh yes... I doubt you will purchase gears and an install kit plus install for 500 bones... Prob cost you 350 to 500 to get them installed.. And as I said above if you have never done it you prob wont do it right...

Headers you will find maybe a good set used for around that and save on the install by DIY...

If those dont sound doable then I would do suspension stuff.. LCA's. UCA... or go right to an aluminum driveshaft. Those mods you'll be helping your car handle power and will ultimately support bigger hp/tq mods...

Building a car to handle power is far better than adding a gob of HP. The car wont be designed for it. You will love the power but wont be able to get it to the ground without spinning or worse... My opinion of course but I feel it is the best way.

Honestly for 500 bones... Manual... Get an MGW Shifter with a chunk of that... You will love it. Again not a HP mod but it will make the car shift so much better...

[mrnoodley]

It shouldn't cost you 350-500 labor to have gears installed. We charge 300 labor for installation in an 8.8.

4.10's installed (parts and labor) would be right around $550-575 at my shop. We do 2-3 Jeeps (many with 8.8 rears) a week. That's both front and rear differentials, so we get twice the practice!

I'll 2nd the MGW shifter vote too. I have one in my '08, and wouldn't suggest any other shifter. The MGW is far superior.

[Black Beauty]

I am thinking of jumping in on that "group buy" for the gears, probably going to go with 4.10s just need to ponder about it some more. Then hopefully come sept, maybe the MGW shifter if I haven't already traded in towards a 5.0 by then!