So I race this 2004 Mustang GT the other day from a 40 roll and also from a dead stop at a light. By the time I get into third, the Mustang has 2 cars on me. I ask the pony driver about the mods and he states that he has only bolt ons. His car appeared totally stock from the outside and didn't sound all that different from stock either. Should this be happening? I was under the assumption that these cars were a bit slow? Maybe my car isn't as fast as it should be? I have $500 to spare so my question is what can I do to make my car faster with these limited funds? Thanks.

 

for 500 I would go with a cam, roller rockers, save a little more and get 3.73 gears.

 

A 100 shot of nitrous will even the playing field.

 

Hot cam kit for around $600 and another ~$175 in a tune.

 

You should have no problem with an 04. I think there is more done to that mustang than he was letting on...

With $500 and an A4, I would suggest to get a good deal on a stall converter and a tune for all your mods from PCMforless.

 

Your sig doesn't say what gears you have. I'm gonna guess 2.73s, or at least hope so. With LTs you should be about 280 rwhp or a bit more and that should walk on an 04 GT. Then again, if he's a manual, he will probably pull on you from a roll. My suggestion would be to save your cash for an MN6 swap. Best mod I ever did. Went from a 14.2 @ 97 to a 13.8 @ 101 with no other mods.

 

Stock the 99-04 2v cars are pretty comparable to a stock lt1. They usually run about a 13.9-14.2 right at 100. I had a bolt on 04 GT that ran a 13.46 @ 99 (103 was my best mph). I had a drop in K&N, o/r H pipe, stock cat back with flows welded in (might as well be stock), 4.10 gears and 17" nitto drag radials. From a dig I beat a few LT1 z's. From a roll I got pulled in fourth gear by the same ones I beat from a dig.

Full bolt on cars (L/Ts, mid pipe, cat back, plenum/TB, CAI, gears, and a tune) can run in the 12s at around 106-108.

A Cam with supporting valvetrain, gears, and a converter would really even the playing field!

 

500 bucks is good for a barebone nitrous system. A system with all the bells and whistles will tally up to over a grand.

 

Gears and Stall... I had the 2.73's for the longest time... Went to 4.10's and a 3000 stall and couldn't believe the difference...

I would also suggest that he was modded up a bit more than he let on...

 

Thanks for the replies for all that did. Since I am not sure what rear end my car has what is a good way to find out. If this helps, my car's rpm in third gear at 60 mph is roughly at 3000. With the mods in my signature what is a good stall? You can tell I'm a bit new to this. Thanks.

 

Easiest way - does your shifter have a 1 on it, or does it only go to 2? If it has a 1, then it's 3.23s, if it only goes to 2, then it has 2.73s. If it is 2.73s, you can remove a rubber nub under the shifter plate that will let you manually choose 1st gear as well.

 

Jack up the car (and support it with jack stands)

Put it in neutral and make sure the e Brake is off. Take a piece of chalk or a grease pencil (or anything tnhat you can mark on steel and rubber).

Put a mark on one of the U-Joint bolts and rotate the driveshaft so that the mark is at the 12 o clock position. Now without rotating anything (tires or driveshaft) mark one of your tires on the inside sidewall at the 6 o clock position. Slowly rotate the marked tire ONE revolution, while it is rotating, the driveshft will be rotating, only faster. Count how many times the driveshaft rotates for one revolution of the tire. That is your gear ratio.

2 3/4 times = 2.73s
3 1/4 = 3.23s
3 1/2 (a little under) 3.42s
3 3/4 (a little under ) 3.73s
4 = (slightly over) 4.10

And so on.

This only works if you have eiteher a limited slip rear or a spool. If you rotate the driveshaft and one tire spins one way and the other goes the other way, just give up......Either your posi is toast, or someone put an open V6 rear in your car

 

I would think you could take an 04 GT with the mods you have. How may miles do you have on your car?

To find your gears just check your RPO codes on the door. Do a google search for F-Body RPO you will find what you need to figure out your stock gears.

 

94's have the RPO's in the glovebox not the door and its going to list either RPO GU2 (2.73's) or GU5 (3.23's). Could also have the super rare 2.93's (GU3) but I highly doubt it.

 

Everyone posting the axle codes, it is a good way to tell what gears the car CAME with when it was new. But, His car is fourteen years old. Who knows how many ten bolts have been in it.