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upgrades for my mustang

50K views 25 replies 6 participants last post by  eveaspetroay4947 
#1 ·
Not long after I bought it, I deleted the resonator with a ford racing x-pipe and put on a pair of ford racing sport mufflers by borla. I also installed the short throw shifter and the shifter support bracket from blowfish racing. This past Saturday I put on an airiad modular intake tube and an AEM dry flow filter. I also have an 87 mm throttle body from the GT350 engine (the stock one is 80 mm) and custom tunes to accommodate the larger TB waiting to be installed. I bought the wrong adapter plate for the TB so I'm waiting on the correct one. Turns out the stock 80 mm has a square bolt pattern and so does the 90 mm, but the 87 for the GT350 has a rectangular pattern and I didn't know that until I tried to install it Saturday.
 
#2 ·
I got the correct adapter plate today and I installed the 87 mm throttle body today along with the custom tune for the bigger TB. I had to heat the rubber coupler that goes on the TB because it wasn't designed to go on a TB that big. I had to heat it to stretch it out to make it fit, I almost ripped it, it barely stretched that far.
 
#3 ·
Well after installing the 87mm TB and the custom tune, I drove it for a couple days and it ran horribly. It would surge and sputter at lower rpm and light throttle opening. It would get better at higher rpm and more throttle opening but I still could feel it surging. Ford's PCM's have a learning feature so I drove it for a few days hoping it would get better, it didn't. So after 3 days of driving it, I decided to return it back to stock and return everything. After I get my money refunded I'm going to get the ford racing power pack #2 which is basically the same as what I had, but with a tune from the engineers at ford so the car will run correctly.
 
#4 ·
They approved the return on the TB and the airiad intake tube. So I'll get back about 300 bucks. The tune I'll have to eat, and the adapter plate I scratched when I installed it so they won't take it back, but it was only 60 bucks.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I just ordered the ford racing stage 2 kit, it was 747 otd from Late Model Restoration. Ford claims 21 rwhp with the stage 2, also it adds 40 more ft lbs of torque below 2500 rpm. Just where you want it for a street driven car. LMR did an install and test and they got 26 rwhp out of it. Roughly 30 more crank hp for about $750, not bad.



I also bought an air/oil separator
 
#6 ·
I received the stage 2 kit today, took me about an hour to install, and another 45 minutes to download the ford tune and install it. So far first impressions, huge difference under 2500 rpm. It lights up the tires at will now in first and second gear.
 
#7 ·
#9 ·
There is a steel tube inside it but it's not very thick walled and is not certified for rollover protection, it's mostly for looks.
 
#11 ·
I got the light bar put on today, it kinda makes the car look a little more upscale. It's similar to the ones they put on BMW's and Merc's and like the ones used on the 68 Shelby convertibles.

 
#13 ·
Well today I bought a set of long tube headers. I bought the stainless power ones, they are made by stainless works but only come with a 2 year warranty and are 450 bucks cheaper than the stainless works model.
 
#17 ·
Yesterday after the headers arrived, the bolts that came with them were 10mm x 1.25, so I pulled a stud out and checked it and sure enough, they are 1.25's. The info I got from summit racing is that the 1.25's were discontinued in 2011 and all coyotes since have the 1.50's. Well today I went down to summit and bought a set of stage 8 locking header bolts in the 1.25's to fit my car and I informed the counter guy that the info on their site is wrong. When I got home, I also fired off an e-mail to stage 8 to let them know so they can update their database. I also asked if they could produce a set of locking header nuts so we could reuse the factory stainless studs. I got a reply from them, here it is.

Hello Mike,

Updating the 5.0 Coyote exhaust bolt thread pitch has been a long running joke for some time now, for a lot of companies. Ford changed the thread pitch back and forth several times and we were all told the the final thread pitch would be M10-1.50. You can attest that's not the case. Many header companies put two sets of bolts in their headers so they cover both.

We have Locking Nuts, we just don't make a header nut kit for the 5.0 but all you need to do is call and ask for them. We don't offer a nut kit because most people want to use bolts. Studs can still come loose even if they have a Locking Nut, the stud can still unscrew from the head. Using a bolt eliminates that.

Thanks for the suggestions though I'm always keen to hear new ideas.

Regards,
Glenn Thompson
Stage 8 Locking Fasteners


After reading their reply, it now makes sense why they state on their site that all coyote owners should double check what thread they have before ordering.
 
#18 ·
Finally got them installed, did not use the lock clips. I could barely get my big bear paw hands in there to just get the bolts in. Half of them I had to install by feel because i couldn't see them so there was no way I could put on the clips.
 
#19 ·
While I was installing my headers, I found the vin stamp on the engine. It's located on the drivers side rear right above the pan rail on a machined pad. It has the last 8 characters from the vin stamped into it. Good info to know if your looking at a used S-550 and want to know if it still has the original engine, or if you need to prove originality before a sale or auction.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Yeah, it lined up well, but it was tight. Going from a smaller primary tube to a large 1 7/8ths primary made it rather difficult. Some of the bolts I had to install by feel because I couldn't see the bolt holes at all. The advantage is that if I had a problem, stainless works is actually closer to me than summit racing. I chose them because they are local.

Yesterday I bought a few smaller items, a pre painted gas door that has the running horse logo embossed in it.



I also bought a set of hood struts to eliminate the prop rod, and I bought a washable air filter designed to fit my ford racing power pack setup.
 
#21 ·
Last year I found a local company, that does dyno tunes and installs on old school engines as well as the new stuff. They do everything from intake swaps and 4 bbl upgrades to turbo and supercharger installs. Anyway, I have an appointment on June 21st to get my car dyno tuned and to get rid of the code from the header install. I'm hoping for 425 at the tire, that would equate to 500 at the crank. The power pack I have is only rated for 21 rwhp on 91 octane, but all the other aftermarket CAI's that are big enough to require a tune claim 33-36 rwhp. So I figure ford ford left about 20-25 crank hp on the table as I also have an 87 mm throttle body and I run 93 octane. Throw in the long tube headers and high flow cats, the resonator delete/x-pipe and ford racing mufflers. I'm about 95% sure I'll exceed 400 at the tire, I'm hoping for 425. I would love to say I have 500 hp all motor.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Well today was the dyno day. It was 93 degrees and high humidity and they got 425.8 hp and 380.4 tq at the wheels on a mustang dyno. So I actually have 501 at the crank.
 
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