Too early to mod?

[Crushinator]

What's you guys opinion on modding a new car? This is only my second brand new car. The first was a Z06 in '04. For that car, i waited til I had 1,000 miles before I did anything to it.

Right now, the Shelby only has 150 miles on it but I have this uncontrollable urge to buy a handheld tuner. I figure the way the tuners are nowadays, I can always change the tune after

I do exhaust/pulley/intake...one thing at a time. Another thing about those tuners...which one do you all prefer? I've seen claims of up to 50rwhp on a stock car. Is that really attainable?

 

I have to be honest, this is all a family "macho" thing. haha My Dad has an '06 Z06 that I know is a quicker and faster car than my Shelby. I always rub it in his face that my car puts out as much

horsepower to the wheels as his makes at the crank, and his nickname for my car is "the tank"....jokingly of course. We both know his weight/transmission gearing gives his car a huge advantage.

I'd just like to make the car as quick as his. I've done searches and found that a tuner, pulley, exhaust and intake should pretty much get me there. Am I on the right track?

 

From all your experiences, (since this is my first Shelby) what are the best brand names to look for? By that I mean, which mods are proven to be worth it?

 

Sorry for all the question fellas!

[mciarochi]

Sorry for all the question fellas!

 

 

That's okay!

 

I'd get a tuner with a CAI. I'm partial to the JLT. Kill two birds, and all that.

 

My favorite suspension is the Fays2 Watts link - that made a huge difference, but lots of guys here disagree.

 

No, it's not too early, unless there's something happening in your personal wife, er, life, or bank account that you aren't telling us.

 

I've done a mess of little things (see the sig) and don't regret a penney that I've spent.

[SteelTownStang]

I'd just like to make the car as quick as his. I've done searches and found that a tuner, pulley, exhaust and intake should pretty much get me there. Am I on the right track?

 

 

 

YES!

 

I had a box of mods waiting for the last few cars that I purchased. These cars are so raw and very easy to mod. Be careful as it can become addicting.

 

The 07-09s are a little easier to mod in the sense that they are a little raw’er. A CAI/Pulley/Tune will yield about 120 extra hp (+/-), whereas the 2010-11s already have a more aggressive tune w/an OEM CAI. Nonetheless, I’d definitely start with a smaller puller. I highly recommend VMP for the pulley and tuning... Justin's new 2.59 pulley set-up is simply awesome.

 

I also recommend JLT... You really can’t go wrong with any of the site vendors.

 

You have an awesome car there... It shouldn’t take your tank too long before catching your dad's Vette.

 

Welcome to TS and congrats!

[bpmurr]

Do yourself a favor and enjoy the car for a year. Then if it isn't enough for you mod it. Just remember that when you mod it or track it Ford will deny warranty coverage at any chance possible. A 2011 with the SVT PP is a hell of a car as it stands.

[rhlgt500]

Large number of issues involved in the to mod or not or when question. How much money, appetite for risk, and real need one has, are you going to be at the track competing with you dad next Saturday?. IMHO there are no "slam dunk" 2011 mods worked out yet. The era of CAI and tune is over as Ford pretty much does that at the factory now. Pully/tune for 2011s seem a bit suspect until solid, dyno proven, and lived with for some 1000's of miles, options show up. Only guaranteed big HP gain out there seems to be the just announced FRPP 750 HP kit, but it appears to be back ordered due to fuel pump availability issues.

 

No one really has sorted out the SVTPP suspension and determined how to improve it. A couple people have dropped in lowering springs or put on drag radials for 1/4 mile runs. Improving looks or ets. But stock it is capable of pulling 1G on the skidpad and pretty well rounded, so where does one take it other than something like a full Griggs suspension package. It appears that the "must have" control arm mods of earlier GT500s aren't really needed as Ford did an adequate job beefing them up for 2011.

 

What this all boils down to is that any 2011 GT500 SVTPP mods done now are going to be experimental. Unless you have the cash to experiment, are friends with and live near an experienced GT500 tuner who is willing to play with you on the dyno or track, or are yourself very experienced with pioneering mods, as opposed to bolting on kits, and don't mind the risks (warranty, down time) that pioneering mods brings I'd probably hold off a bit.

 

Personally, I've done the pioneering mod thing before on my '94 Land Rover Defender 90. It was a great experience, made it into major magazines, won contests, was on TV on Four Wheelers top truck challenge, my truck at one time had 3 websites that featured it, none of which I had anything to do with. But it was also an expensive, painful, learning experience. Three full suspension builds for example, weeks of down time waiting on parts, lots of serial pioneering while learning stupid things like how to recalibrate the speedometer and remove the top speed limit after a gear change. Oh and crap like flying in transmissions from England and dealing with US customs when mine went south after the supercharger install....

 

For my 2011 GT500 SVTPP, given the new engine block and suspension, wheels, tires, I decided out of the dealership door to wait at least 5K miles and 6 months before modding. Couple things I wanted to see. Most important was for me to decide what changes I wanted to make to the car for how I use it. Don't want to jump in on the latest "trendy" mod that is being talked about on the boards to to find it compromises critically some other performance, reliability or comfort aspect of the car I really care about. I also wanted to get past infant mortality issues with parts and let Ford learn enough to write up some TSBs while my car was still under full warranty. Just about there now at about 4.5K+ miles, but I recently concluded my backup car wasn't going to make it. Replacing it this last weekend ('94 Toyota Land Cruiser is now a '10 Lexus LX570) set back any GT500 mods for a while I recharge my bank account. Since I really like my GT500 as it is, this isn't a real problem, I'm just going to enjoy driving it.

 

What I think I've learned in that time, reading way to much on the different GT500 sites, is that GT500 + FRPP 750 HP kit or KB blower kit + full Griggs suspension + Revan/Shelby cooling + supporting mods like driveshaft upgrades should take the car up a couple catagories of performance to near supercar levels. But that is probably $25K - $30K+ worth of mods depending on how much one can do themselves and what "minor" supporting changes one includes. Stupid stuff, like adding an accurate boost guage to monitor the increased boost of the larger blower add $$ and time to a project fast if you only accept "clean" installs. Looks like somewhere north of 850ish HP, things get serious and you need a built bottom end, built rear end, transmission changes etc. to play hard.

 

Not all of the above mods make sense if you only drag race or only track your car. None of these mods will make a real difference on the street, as the stock GT500s limits are well beyond what is sane on almost all public roads. So one probably wants to start thinking about how/where they might race and factor in any competive or safety requirements/limits that a particular track/catagory/class has before getting too deep into the mod game..

 

Warranty risks factor in. For me, no way am I possibly voiding a warranty on a new $20K engine for the just 50 HP, to maybe 100 HP, pully and tune mod. I'm much older/boring now than I was in '94..... But I could see myself jumping on a 200HP increase from a FRPP or KB kit?

 

Summary, your personal risk levels, cash flow, past modding experience, and backup transport are huge factors in any mod decision. IMHO, right now, no must have, pre-packaged mods for a pimarily street driven 2011 SVTPPs exist. yet. Though this could change any minute, as the tuners start pushing stuff out and people finish up some of the very early first 2011 mod attempts. So if you do decide to start today, I'd be very interested in what you learn along the way.