Perfect SGT Naturally Aspirated Street Car

[Kvin C]

We all know the benefits of the various and popular superchargers on our SGTs, so let's stipulate for this discussion that a S/C may be the easiest and most economical way to street-Nirvana.

 

However, if for whatever reason an SGT owner wanted to stay N/A yet still maximize his fast fun on the street (i.e. doing the Stoplight Grand Prix).........what mods and in what combinations (and why) would the SGT gurus here recommend?

[jmn444]

I would recommend that person find a sc'd car to get a ride in before following a na route. It seemed to cost more for less performance when I looked onto going na...

[kahmann]

I traveled the NA route for a long time with my SGT before finally throwing a Paxton on it. I was able to top out at over 350 rwhp with my combination of bolt ons. With an intake manifold, long tubes, and aftermarket heads, you could make much more. However, in the end, you'll spend more money NA than you would for the same or more power with an SC. Here's a list of the combo of mods I ran to make 350+ rwhp (or at least what I can remember of it). Keep in mind that you'll need to update your tune for almost all of these mods. A custom tune alone is worth 10-20 HP on these cars FYI, but it's absolutely necessary when adding more fuel or air with any mod.

 

4.10 gears - you'll actually lose a small amount of HP with this mod, but the torque you pick up is absolutely necessary, since you'll lose a lot of torque with most NA bolt ons that make any real power...this is absolutely the first mod to make.

Steeda billet charge motion delete plates - by removing the restriction of the IMRC plates from the bottom of the intake manifold, you'll pick up 10-15 HP (and lose a small amount of torque)

 

Aftermarket cams - I highly suggest Comp XFI VSR or SPR series stage 2 or 3 (many different part #'s to choose from so talk to a Comp tech)...these can be worth 40 HP...

JBA shorty headers - I picked up almost 15 HP with these, dyno verified, and lost a small amount of torque...they also look much nicer than stock manifolds and allow you to retain your stock FRPP catted x-pipe...if you don't have smog laws to worry about, go with a set of Kooks long tubes and catted x-pipe (to salvage some torque) instead.

Steeda underdrive pulleys - I picked up 10 HP with these.

 

Steeda cold air intake tube - I don't know whether I gained any HP with this elbow, but it sure did look a lot nicer than stock.

 

That's honestly all that I can remember, but I'm sure I'm forgetting at least one or two other mods. You can research my old threads if you want to dig any further. But starting with these mods, adding some really good tires, and maybe a bottle or two of NOS, and you'll be keeping up with the big boys in no time. Again, with a little head work and a couple other expensive mods, you wouldn't have much to worry about on the street anyway. It all depends on your wallet and local smog laws. Good luck.

 

EDIT: Check out www.S197forums.com for any and all tech advice you could ever want with these cars. When it comes to NA power, the guys over there know their stuff.

[ARMORINE]

just forgo that route and go for a 310 high compression stroker. 10.5-11 to 1 would make some GNARLEY hp on 91 pump gas and is high enough you could put in e85(with the proper fuel calibrations) and crank you timing to hell and back. you know you want 450 to 500 na hp!

 

im working on figuring out the parts i'll need to build one. im going to use a teksid block bored 20 over. add in some 127600 cams and call it a day!

 

.....the more i talk about this the more i want to kill to make it happen...

 

 

i'll run the numbers on what a 310 would make tonight. should be pretty high. god bless the person who came up with the P.L.A.N.K formula

[Kvin C]

I traveled the NA route for a long time with my SGT before finally throwing a Paxton on it. I was able to top out at over 350 rwhp with my combination of bolt ons. With an intake manifold, long tubes, and aftermarket heads, you could make much more.

 

 

Thanks much, Ken, right on point.

 

I am running FRP 4.10s now, as well as the Steeda underdrive pulleys along with a Steeda 1-piece aluminum DS and a canned SCT tune.

 

I've been eyeing the combo of FRPP ported heads and Hot Rod Cams, and if that happened, the addition of the shorty headers would make a ton of sense at the same time. Concur on the custom tune once all is in place.

 

I'm curious about the deletion of the charge motion plates. You note, as I've read before, that you'll lose a bit of torque along with the HP gain. If the goal is to perform well from a dig or slow roll for a relatively short distance (and therefore not high MPH nor RPM), is the importance of torque or HP more of a consideration?

 

General question, I know, so general answers gladly accepted!

[ARMORINE]

Thanks much, Ken, right on point.

 

I am running FRP 4.10s now, as well as the Steeda underdrive pulleys along with a Steeda 1-piece aluminum DS and a canned SCT tune.

 

I've been eyeing the combo of FRPP ported heads and Hot Rod Cams, and if that happened, the addition of the shorty headers would make a ton of sense at the same time. Concur on the custom tune once all is in place.

 

I'm curious about the deletion of the charge motion plates. You note, as I've read before, that you'll lose a bit of torque along with the HP gain. If the goal is to perform well from a dig or slow roll for a relatively short distance (and therefore not high MPH nor RPM), is the importance of torque or HP more of a consideration?

 

General question, I know, so general answers gladly accepted!

 

 

 

do 127300 or 127500(127600 if your feeling frisky) spr comp cams or crower stage 2 unless your just camming for the noise. the hot rods add hp but not a whole lot they do sound good though. with a proper set of heads(livernouis stage 3) and some serious cams 380 wrhp is very possible. the heads are the expensive part though.

[07SGT5687]

I traveled the NA route for a long time with my SGT before finally throwing a Paxton on it. I was able to top out at over 350 rwhp with my combination of bolt ons. With an intake manifold, long tubes, and aftermarket heads, you could make much more. However, in the end, you'll spend more money NA than you would for the same or more power with an SC. Here's a list of the combo of mods I ran to make 350+ rwhp (or at least what I can remember of it). Keep in mind that you'll need to update your tune for almost all of these mods. A custom tune alone is worth 10-20 HP on these cars FYI, but it's absolutely necessary when adding more fuel or air with any mod.

 

4.10 gears - you'll actually lose a small amount of HP with this mod, but the torque you pick up is absolutely necessary, since you'll lose a lot of torque with most NA bolt ons that make any real power...this is absolutely the first mod to make.

Steeda billet charge motion delete plates - by removing the restriction of the IMRC plates from the bottom of the intake manifold, you'll pick up 10-15 HP (and lose a small amount of torque)

 

Aftermarket cams - I highly suggest Comp XFI VSR or SPR series stage 2 or 3 (many different part #'s to choose from so talk to a Comp tech)...these can be worth 40 HP...

JBA shorty headers - I picked up almost 15 HP with these, dyno verified, and lost a small amount of torque...they also look much nicer than stock manifolds and allow you to retain your stock FRPP catted x-pipe...if you don't have smog laws to worry about, go with a set of Kooks long tubes and catted x-pipe (to salvage some torque) instead.

Steeda underdrive pulleys - I picked up 10 HP with these.

 

Steeda cold air intake tube - I don't know whether I gained any HP with this elbow, but it sure did look a lot nicer than stock.

 

That's honestly all that I can remember, but I'm sure I'm forgetting at least one or two other mods. You can research my old threads if you want to dig any further. But starting with these mods, adding some really good tires, and maybe a bottle or two of NOS, and you'll be keeping up with the big boys in no time. Again, with a little head work and a couple other expensive mods, you wouldn't have much to worry about on the street anyway. It all depends on your wallet and local smog laws. Good luck.

 

EDIT: Check out www.S197forums.com for any and all tech advice you could ever want with these cars. When it comes to NA power, the guys over there know their stuff.

 

 

That's a great little write up man. I was surprised at some of the HP pick-ups you mentioned though. So am I to understand you picked up around 75HP over stock with those add-ons? Have you dyno'd lately with all that installed? Not criticizing, just surprised at the gains. I might have to rethink a couple of those pieces if they worked that well for you.

[kahmann]

Thanks much, Ken, right on point.

 

I am running FRP 4.10s now, as well as the Steeda underdrive pulleys along with a Steeda 1-piece aluminum DS and a canned SCT tune.

 

I've been eyeing the combo of FRPP ported heads and Hot Rod Cams, and if that happened, the addition of the shorty headers would make a ton of sense at the same time. Concur on the custom tune once all is in place.

 

I'm curious about the deletion of the charge motion plates. You note, as I've read before, that you'll lose a bit of torque along with the HP gain. If the goal is to perform well from a dig or slow roll for a relatively short distance (and therefore not high MPH nor RPM), is the importance of torque or HP more of a consideration?

 

General question, I know, so general answers gladly accepted!

 

What I mean by 'losing torque' is really losing low end torque. Remember that horsepower is just a measurement of torque x engine speed (RPM). So if you're gaining HP, you either picked up torque or RPM. With any NA bolt ons, you're going to lose some low end punch out of the hole. If you're a drag racer/street racer, that may bug you. But if anything you may have a better time with traction and your 1/4 mile times and speeds will surely be better with the higher HP.

 

That's a great little write up man. I was surprised at some of the HP pick-ups you mentioned though. So am I to understand you picked up around 75HP over stock with those add-ons? Have you dyno'd lately with all that installed? Not criticizing, just surprised at the gains. I might have to rethink a couple of those pieces if they worked that well for you.

 

I was surprised by some of the gains as well. Like I said, with all of my NA mods, I made over 350 RWHP. At the time, this car was pretty hot compared to most other NA 3V's. Since then, however, a ton of NA parts have become available that make 350 to the wheels pretty easy to attain. Cams (good cams, not the Hot Rods), heads, intake, and exhaust are the key components to any high HP NA 3V. Again, all of my mods were put to the dyno test. I've got tons of old threads with dyno sheets and write ups, if you care to dig through them.

[sgt1020]

This looks like a thread for me! I am interested in going the N/A route. Here is my list of parts for my little project.

Livernois stage 3 heads

Ford Racing 3.73 gears

Ford Racing 65mm Throttle body with Throttle body spacer. Spacer adds up to 10hp and 12lbft of torque alone.

Stage 3 comp cams

The new Ford Racing intake manifold

 

All of this with a good dyno tune at JDM engineering should give me 400 at the rear wheels if not more. What do you guys think?

[shelbytexan]

This looks like a thread for me! I am interested in going the N/A route. Here is my list of parts for my little project.

Livernois stage 3 heads

Ford Racing 3.73 gears

Ford Racing 65mm Throttle body with Throttle body spacer. Spacer adds up to 10hp and 12lbft of torque alone.

Stage 3 comp cams

The new Ford Racing intake manifold

 

All of this with a good dyno tune at JDM engineering should give me 400 at the rear wheels if not more. What do you guys think?

 

I don't know about the motor but the 373's are just to close to the 355's to see much difference. I have the 410's that i installed when i was n/a and i can tell you from experience that the 410's changed the performance of the car much more than the aluminum d/s, shorty headers, and brenspeed tune conbined. It's been said several times on this forum that you feel like you gained 50 h.p. with 410's and that is true. i'm now s/c so if i change gears now then i will probably drop down to 373's but the 355 to 373 change is just to close to get that real seat of the pants feel. If you were forging the bottom then i would say go with your mods but if not then i believe i would just s/c. My 490 rwhp is hard for most people on the street to argue with. If i had another 100 hp then i could do very little with it as i have a tremendous traction problem now which is a nice problem to have. Good-Luck on whatever route you take.

[ilmor]

I don't know about the motor but the 373's are just to close to the 355's to see much difference. I have the 410's that i installed when i was n/a and i can tell you from experience that the 410's changed the performance of the car much more than the aluminum d/s, shorty headers, and brenspeed tune conbined. It's been said several times on this forum that you feel like you gained 50 h.p. with 410's and that is true. i'm now s/c so if i change gears now then i will probably drop down to 373's but the 355 to 373 change is just to close to get that real seat of the pants feel. If you were forging the bottom then i would say go with your mods but if not then i believe i would just s/c. My 490 rwhp is hard for most people on the street to argue with. If i had another 100 hp then i could do very little with it as i have a tremendous traction problem now which is a nice problem to have. Good-Luck on whatever route you take.

 

 

Did you actually install 3:73's at one point and feel the difference? I'm curious because I'm considering this, and don't know if I really want to get the 4:10's due to the increased cruising rpm, fuel mileage drop, etc.

 

I notice that Ford installs the 3:73's on its power pak options on the new Mustangs.

[sgt1020]

I don't know about the motor but the 373's are just to close to the 355's to see much difference. I have the 410's that i installed when i was n/a and i can tell you from experience that the 410's changed the performance of the car much more than the aluminum d/s, shorty headers, and brenspeed tune conbined. It's been said several times on this forum that you feel like you gained 50 h.p. with 410's and that is true. i'm now s/c so if i change gears now then i will probably drop down to 373's but the 355 to 373 change is just to close to get that real seat of the pants feel. If you were forging the bottom then i would say go with your mods but if not then i believe i would just s/c. My 490 rwhp is hard for most people on the street to argue with. If i had another 100 hp then i could do very little with it as i have a tremendous traction problem now which is a nice problem to have. Good-Luck on whatever route you take.

 

 

Yes the 3.73's are not a big difference from the 3.55's but, I do not want my rpms at 3,000 while Im doing 75 mph. I'm not a drag racer, I'm more of a road course track kinda guy. 3.73's are aggressive enough for me especially with all the work I plan on doing. I drive my dads KR sometimes and it has the 3.73's which have plenty of go, somewhat noticeably more than the 3.55's. I think going all N/A has more bragging rights than being supercharged. Supercharging your car is simply enough slapping on that big heavy unit and having to build boost to show off that 500+ hp. Being N/A with 400+ hp, the power is all there all the time at your right foot, and it actually takes some weight off the front end. I like the superchargers don't get me wrong, but having a 400+ hp N/A Shelby GT to me is almost like the real deal. I love the american muscle, and to me thats making it all motor baby. I think an all N/A car will handle better anyway on the track. Also, N/A cars have shown to be faster on the drag strip as well.

[mywickedshelby]

Yes the 3.73's are not a big difference from the 3.55's but, I do not want my rpms at 3,000 while Im doing 75 mph. I'm not a drag racer, I'm more of a road course track kinda guy. 3.73's are aggressive enough for me especially with all the work I plan on doing. I drive my dads KR sometimes and it has the 3.73's which have plenty of go, somewhat noticeably more than the 3.55's. I think going all N/A has more bragging rights than being supercharged. Supercharging your car is simply enough slapping on that big heavy unit and having to build boost to show off that 500+ hp. Being N/A with 400+ hp, the power is all there all the time at your right foot, and it actually takes some weight off the front end. I like the superchargers don't get me wrong, but having a 400+ hp N/A Shelby GT to me is almost like the real deal. I love the american muscle, and to me thats making it all motor baby. I think an all N/A car will handle better anyway on the track. Also, N/A cars have shown to be faster on the drag strip as well.

 

 

I feel like Ive posted this numerous times, but here goes one more time....you guys who feel the 4.10s are too steep a gear really should actually drive a car that has them.

because Your perception of the experience seems to be inaccurate.

 

With my 3.55 gears I was at 2200 rpms at 80, with my 4.10 gears, I am at 2600 at 80..........NOT 3000...........

 

The 4.10s are so great, I left them in when I supercharged the car on the recommendation of the installer........he was right, I still love them........

 

and I thought my car was perfect before I supercharged it..........I was wrong.....its perfect now.....

 

have fun!

[07-2937]

well as far as slapping that big heavy unit on the top, S/C's provides the power you want, They look impressive, the power is there all the time... Horsepower and torque will always beat the lesser powered engine, regardless of s/c or n/a. They all drive the same but coming out of the corner the SC will come alive and eat almost all N/A cars... don't get me wrong i have driven N/A cars i had a built 347 stroker ford, high compression,big cam, 4.10's, built tranny ,but huge expense and the streetability was very poor. read some of the threads on here some tried the N/A route but later did the S/C... A S/C car will run 11's in the 1/4 but will also get you 23mpg on the highway!!!!!!!!!! Bragging rights for either is proven on the dyno and track!!!!! Good luck with whatever you chose!!!

[andrewnagle1964]

I feel like Ive posted this numerous times, but here goes one more time....you guys who feel the 4.10s are too steep a gear really should actually drive a car that has them.

because Your perception of the experience seems to be inaccurate.

 

With my 3.55 gears I was at 2200 rpms at 80, with my 4.10 gears, I am at 2600 at 80..........NOT 3000...........

 

The 4.10s are so great, I left them in when I supercharged the car on the recommendation of the installer........he was right, I still love them........

 

and I thought my car was perfect before I supercharged it..........I was wrong.....its perfect now.....

 

have fun!

 

 

Spot on ! !

 

I put 4.10's in with the Whipple based on Ken Ahmann's recommendation and loved the combination.

 

Andrew

[07SGT5687]

Yes the 3.73's are not a big difference from the 3.55's but, I do not want my rpms at 3,000 while Im doing 75 mph. I'm not a drag racer, I'm more of a road course track kinda guy. 3.73's are aggressive enough for me especially with all the work I plan on doing. I drive my dads KR sometimes and it has the 3.73's which have plenty of go, somewhat noticeably more than the 3.55's. I think going all N/A has more bragging rights than being supercharged. Supercharging your car is simply enough slapping on that big heavy unit and having to build boost to show off that 500+ hp. Being N/A with 400+ hp, the power is all there all the time at your right foot, and it actually takes some weight off the front end. I like the superchargers don't get me wrong, but having a 400+ hp N/A Shelby GT to me is almost like the real deal. I love the american muscle, and to me thats making it all motor baby. I think an all N/A car will handle better anyway on the track. Also, N/A cars have shown to be faster on the drag strip as well.

 

 

While I've thought once or twice about doing the built-up N/A thing too, and I understand the mindset of keeping it N/A to be "true to the past"... I think it's more of a niche avenue to take than anything else. A "to say you did" type of thing, which is cool and all... especially if you're going to stop at around 400hp. Different story if you're building far beyond that. No disrespect intended but IMHO, when I sat down and looked at it, I'd spend NEARLY as much as a SC and still be 100 hp short. I just realized that I'd likely end up with some kind of "buyers remorse" if I did all that work and I STILL got smoked by the guys with their Whipple 550's! Not to mention those damn STi's. If being all N/A is important to you, BY ALL MEANS that's the way to go, but I'm not sure if those bragging rights hold up. I'd have a hard time believing that the 400hp N/A Shelby GT will beat the 490-500hp SC Shelby GT at the drag strip. And if I were to beat a guy at the drag strip and he says, well I'm all N/A and I was close... I'd acknowledge it, but I don't think "bragging" is in order on his behalf.

 

Plus, I could be wrong here, but I think going SC makes it easier to retrograde to stock were you to want to take her back to original. Maybe not, but it seems like just removing a SC is much easier than de-building an engine.

 

On the note of your experience with your dad's KR... consider the fact that that car is pushing significantly more power than you plan on doing with yours... I mean, what is a standard KR... 600hp+? 3.73s, from what I've been told are MUCH better suited for a car with that kind of power. But if you're going to halt yourself at around 400 N/A HP, then I think the 4.10s are still the best way to go. From what I've been told 4.10s are ideal for up to 400hp, especially with our 5spd cars... and 3.73s for beyond... well, fairly far beyond... I've venture to say those 725hp SS KR's with 6 speeds could do alright with just the stock 3.55s, but anyway. With 4.10s and 400 N/A HP, you'd kind of get the best of both worlds... and it will make that 400hp feel like more like 450!!

 

ALL THAT SAID... I DO very much respect the guys at the track taht have those lightning fast cars and it's all engine baby. There is an beautiful orange 69 mach occasionally at Bandimere here in Denver and that thing is beautiful, drivable and 10-second-bad-fast... on all motor. Love it. But he's built far beyond 400hp.

 

Here ends my long winded opinion....

 

PS Disclaimer - I'm not supercharged OR built N/A at this point, but with the research I've done, when the funds finally hit the highwater mark... the Whipple 550 is the way I'll be going.

[sgt1020]

I love the superchargers. Believe me. I drool at the sound of a whipple. But I feel like building the motor up, and taking your word for it and going with the 4.10's is more up my ally. I can always put the paxton supercharger on the car in the long run. I could get close to 600 out of her. But lets be serious, what do you need that kind of power for? Especially in a mustang? Our shelby GT's stock are way faster than the old school mustangs from the 60's, 70's and 80's. I feel like the Shelby GT was designed by shelby to be a fun track car. They focused more on the handling pack on our cars than the motor. I feel like beefing up my suspension more, possibly doing a complete Griggs racing setup in the future, and adding pure N/A power. 400 or more ponies at the wheels with the torque these cars have is plenty to have a very competitive daily/race/track car. There is a video on youtube of a stock mustang GT (315hp) with a Griggs Racing suspension setup chasing down a track ready Z06 Vette. Surprisingly, the mustang passes the Z06 after about five minutes on the track. I can just imagine if that same mustang had 400 or more (RWHP). Regardless, I feel the supercharger or atleast the whipple isn't true shelby or race heritage for these cars. Some of the older shelby race cars had superchargers but they were paxtons. Thats also why I feel like building the motor is ok, since I can always add the paxton later on. If there is a mustang with a 550 whipple and smokes me it's ok in my mind. *No matter what you do, there will always be someone out there faster than you.* Thats how I see it. Years from now I plan on buying another Shelby mustang, but with a supercharger. I want to keep my Shelby GT as close to the older GT350 as possible and keep the real old school muscle in it. I can always drive the KR when I need a little supercharger action!

 

And just on a side note, I feel our cars are more closely related to the 65 and up GT350's. The GT350 had the 289 Cid V8 which is pretty damn close to what our cars have. The new Shelby GT350 has the new 5.0L V8 and is in a way, not really the modern version of the GT350. I feel they should have done something with our 4.6L motors to come out with the new modern GT350. Ford is releasing the Boss mustang in 2012 with the 302 motor aka the 5.0. What I'm saying is if Ford for instance released the Boss mustang with our 3V 4.6L V8 engine in it, would it really be a Boss? In a motor trend magazine from years ago, (I think I still have it somewhere) they compared our 07 Shelby GT's with the 65 GT350. The only thing shelby did differently was put silver stripes instead of blue. In my mind, our cars are the real modern GT350's.

 

PS- our cars are the last of the pre titled programs besides the KR's. That makes us special!

 

*Also, all respect to Shelby and the new GT350. It is an ANIMAL and one hell of a car. They did a great job with it.

Sorry for ranting off topic.

[mywickedshelby]

I love the superchargers. Believe me. I drool at the sound of a whipple. But I feel like building the motor up, and taking your word for it and going with the 4.10's is more up my ally. I can always put the paxton supercharger on the car in the long run. I could get close to 600 out of her. But lets be serious, what do you need that kind of power for? Especially in a mustang? Our shelby GT's stock are way faster than the old school mustangs from the 60's, 70's and 80's. I feel like the Shelby GT was designed by shelby to be a fun track car. They focused more on the handling pack on our cars than the motor. I feel like beefing up my suspension more, possibly doing a complete Griggs racing setup in the future, and adding pure N/A power. 400 or more ponies at the wheels with the torque these cars have is plenty to have a very competitive daily/race/track car. There is a video on youtube of a stock mustang GT (315hp) with a Griggs Racing suspension setup chasing down a track ready Z06 Vette. Surprisingly, the mustang passes the Z06 after about five minutes on the track. I can just imagine if that same mustang had 400 or more (RWHP). Regardless, I feel the supercharger or atleast the whipple isn't true shelby or race heritage for these cars. Some of the older shelby race cars had superchargers but they were paxtons. Thats also why I feel like building the motor is ok, since I can always add the paxton later on. If there is a mustang with a 550 whipple and smokes me it's ok in my mind. *No matter what you do, there will always be someone out there faster than you.* Thats how I see it. Years from now I plan on buying another Shelby mustang, but with a supercharger. I want to keep my Shelby GT as close to the older GT350 as possible and keep the real old school muscle in it. I can always drive the KR when I need a little supercharger action!

 

And just on a side note, I feel our cars are more closely related to the 65 and up GT350's. The GT350 had the 289 Cid V8 which is pretty damn close to what our cars have. The new Shelby GT350 has the new 5.0L V8 and is in a way, not really the modern version of the GT350. I feel they should have done something with our 4.6L motors to come out with the new modern GT350. Ford is releasing the Boss mustang in 2012 with the 302 motor aka the 5.0. What I'm saying is if Ford for instance released the Boss mustang with our 3V 4.6L V8 engine in it, would it really be a Boss? In a motor trend magazine from years ago, (I think I still have it somewhere) they compared our 07 Shelby GT's with the 65 GT350. The only thing shelby did differently was put silver stripes instead of blue. In my mind, our cars are the real modern GT350's.

 

PS- our cars are the last of the pre titled programs besides the KR's. That makes us special!

 

*Also, all respect to Shelby and the new GT350. It is an ANIMAL and one hell of a car. They did a great job with it.

Sorry for ranting off topic.

 

 

You can come over and drive my car with the 4.10s anytime.......well, its going to bed for the Winter this Saturday, so "anytime" has a serious asterik.

But you are welcome to come over Saturday morning or meet up in the Spring before you make a decision on your car.

[sgt1020]

Thanks man! I appreciate the offer! We have to do a cruise in the spring and summer. I'm looking forward to the Wicked nationals this year too! I'm sorry I missed it. My car goes away soon too. As soon as the salt hits the roads, it won't be seeing the pavement until it rains quite a bit.

[ilmor]

4:10's do seem to be the way to go based on what you guys are saying...

[RACERX009]

4:10's do seem to be the way to go based on what you guys are saying...

 

 

I went from 373 to 410's it was nite and day difference it makes any car crisper response. I also just order 3x 10pd bottles NOS for a 600hp wet shot. I'll show you supercharged muscle heads whos the real man !! Did I mention my wife will be the driver on that run !!! I just payed off her life insurance :happy feet: I got the next 20 rounds and lap dances in Vegas

[sgt1020]

I went from 373 to 410's it was nite and day difference it makes any car crisper response. I also just order 3x 10pd bottles NOS for a 600hp wet shot. I'll show you supercharged muscle heads whos the real man !! Did I mention my wife will be the driver on that run !!! I just payed off her life insurance :happy feet: I got the next 20 rounds and lap dances in Vegas

 

[Kvin C]

While I've thought once or twice about doing the built-up N/A thing too, and I understand the mindset of keeping it N/A to be "true to the past"... I think it's more of a niche avenue to take than anything else. A "to say you did" type of thing, which is cool and all...

 

Hey, this is an excellent summary of my "vision thing" for SGT 07-5048 as well as my 'mindset'; very well put!

 

As I've mentioned before, my loosely followed theme is to make mods that kinda backdate the '07 to the 1965, 1966 GT-350 glory days.

With that in mind, I've already done visual cues such as the rear seat delete with exposed spare as well as the Silver Horse flush quarter window louvers. And while I am certainly interested in more performance punch, I'm less interested in dyno numbers than staying true to that retro-grade, N/A ideal.

 

(Oh, and what the heck - I am admittedly a nut and a born contrarian).

 

And I'm also getting older. In a nod to that, and in an effort to keep the SGT driveable and survivable, I've dialed down even the N/A mods to more vanilla Livernois ported heads and the tame FRP HotRod cams plus some other stuff; see my sig below.Yeah, I left out the new(ish) 3V FRP Intake manifold. With what I am doing, the gains would have been minimal, I think, plus I get to retain a more stock-looking underhood, including the beloved strut tower brace.

 

That work is being done tomorrow and I hope to have her back by the weekend. I'll share results if anyone is interested.

[07-2937]

right on should sound and run good!!!!

[07SGT5687]

I'll share results if anyone is interested.

 

 

IF? IF anyone is interested? Um, HELL YEAH we're interested!!

[Kvin C]

4:10's do seem to be the way to go based on what you guys are saying...

 

 

Ilmor, take it from a guy (me) who is probably even more conservative than you.............if you've a mind to do gears, go with the 4.10s.

 

I went the half-way route with the 3.73s on my 2002 GT and wasn't satisfied. And heck, that was even a steeper step-up - I think my 2002 GT had 3.27s (?) if I recall correctly - than it would be from 3.55s to 3.73s.

 

Sounds exotic, I know, and it IS an eye-opener when you first drive 'em, but then it all becomes clear that this is the way it was meant to be!

[sgt1020]

IF? IF anyone is interested? Um, HELL YEAH we're interested!!

 

After reading your post over and over again, you swayed me :happy feet: . It's much more cost effective to do the S/C. I'm not blowing 12 grand on the shelby SC package though. I would rather buy a whipple for 5,000 and have it installed and done costing me around 6,500 and having 515hp at the wheels. I could always take it off as you said and put it back to stock.

 

I guess my dream is to build a stroker and build my own race car for the track myself. That's in years to come. I'm going to start saving now..... after my S/C project that is.

 

PS- Cj pony parts and some other stores have the 550hp whipple for over 6 grand. Any one know where I can get a good deal on one of those?

[jmn444]

I think $6300 is about the bottom dollar I've seen for a new 550 kit... might stumble on a used one though! keep an eye on the classifieds on all the mustang forums around, you may get lucky!

[07SGT5687]

Cj pony parts and some other stores have the 550hp whipple for over 6 grand. Any one know where I can get a good deal on one of those?

 

 

+1

[07SGT5687]

keep an eye on the classifieds on all the mustang forums around, you may get lucky!

 

 

So on that note, I've never been one for going used on such a... high dollar and seemingly volatile piece of equipment. But what IS the general concensus on USED Whipples? Are there many parts involved that can used to the point of abuse? Or are they pretty much bulletproof? I've pretty much reserved myself to biting the bullet and finding the best price I can on a new one, but if used ones are just as good and not really prone to issue... well then... maybe we'll be doing this a lot sooner!