What would you do if you were me?

[BruceH]

AFAIK, they had the supplied frpp tune. I'm pretty sure it was spring + summer when they let loose. Most will park it for the winter. The rain alone will make most folks baby it around town + the hwy. At 36-38 deg F, boost appears to be up a little bit..vs 70F. But that may have been enough to do the damage.

I thought cyl #8 issues were just on coyotes.

I must have this thread confused with a "should I put a coyote in my car" thread.

Do you know these people? I'm skeptical because the frpp whipple ho is almost bulletproof with the frpp tune. Maybe it's the lack of ethanol in the Canadian gas? That kit doesn't blow motors and makes right at 470-490rwhp with the Ford tune.

Ethanol in the gas is about the only difference I can think of. Still though, the knock sensor should pick up any knock that ethanol free gas would create.

 

[Pentalab]

I must have this thread confused with a "should I put a coyote in my car" thread.

Do you know these people? I'm skeptical because the frpp whipple ho is almost bulletproof with the frpp tune. Maybe it's the lack of ethanol in the Canadian gas? That kit doesn't blow motors and makes right at 470-490rwhp with the Ford tune.

Ethanol in the gas is about the only difference I can think of. Still though, the knock sensor should pick up any knock that ethanol free gas would create.

Its on the cdn mustang site. ALL gas up here is E10 with the exception of chevron's 94 octane..which has no ethanol. Shell 89 is E5. Shell 91 has no ethanol. The chevron 94 with no ethanol is only sold in the vancouver and vancouver island areas..that's it. They do have E15 94 octane in parts of sask though. Every other combo sold is E10.... or more correctly.."may contain up to 10% ethanol". Moot point if the KS are working.

A good tune is imperative at any rate.... but even that won't help the weak link in the chain...the rods. Folks with lotsa open roads can be in boost a lot of the time. Last time I came back from my daughter's place 140 miles north of me, I had the blower on every 30 secs the entire way. One theory is, it might be accumulative metal fatigue + stress. High rpm makes for a lot of stress on the rods...when in boost.

I still think 490 rwhp + 11 psi is pushing your luck. You only need just 1 weak rod out of the 8. If you moved the shift points down a bit, they could well last longer. What magic did FRPP do to get the engs to survive?

 

[RufCTR]

First of all I want to say I love this place! The best Mustang forum on the internet IMO. Two months ago I was with my GF who was car shopping for a Ford Expedition for herself when I spotted a vista blue 2007 Mustang GT on the lot. It had a stick shift in it and only 35K miles. The car was super clean inside and out. I wasn't planning on buying a car for probably another year but when I saw it was being advertised for $14,500 I just couldn't pass it up. Other 3V mustangs with that kind of mileage were going for 17-18K in this area.

I admit it was an impulse buy. I used to have an intake, exhaust, cam only LS1 Formula that ran 11.5 @ 117 so I am no stranger to american muscle cars and modding. But I am new to Mustangs. So without doing any research I put 2K down on the car and financed the rest. For the past 2 months I have been using the search feature to research this car, the mods it likes, the limits of the stock transmissions and stock bottom ends, ect.

The car all ready has 4.10 gears, CAI and Magnaflow catback. I liked the idea of adding Detroit Rocker Cams, LT headers, ORH and a 75 shot of N20 (should put me close to 400 rwhp which is safe enough for the stock motor and hopefully the stock 3650). I also kicked around the idea of a supercharger even though I might have to save a bit more money first.

But that is not my real dilema. While researching 4.6 3V's I inadvertently learned a lot about 4V 5.0's at the same time. The idea of 12's stock and 11's with bolt-ons is very appealing. So for shits and grins I searched carsguru to see what 2011 Mustang GT's were going for in my area. I could pick one up with 30-50K miles for right around 20K. Since I got such a good deal on my car two months ago and put 2K down I figure my 2007 is worth as a trade-in what I owe.

So what would you do if you were in my shoes? Keeping in mind I have not had the car long enough to be emotionally attached to it and thus far have not put a penny into mods. Choices are:

1). Keep the 2007 GT and go with the bolt-ons, DR cams and n20 along with a good tune from Brenspeed.

2). Keep the 2007 GT and save until I can afford a supercharger.

3). Trade the car in on a 2011 5.0 and mod it up!

I am close to being in the same situation as you... bought an 08 GT in February and at the time the car was worth more than what I paid.

This has changed drastically though in the past two months with the release of the 2015 Mustang and as of yesterday, a local Ford dealer offered me $11k for my car. Granted, I have more miles than you (78k) but it doesn't change the fact that my car's value dropped nearly $5000 in the last few months.

You should get your car appraised at a dealer that has a car you like to see where you really stand. Hopefully this will help you make a decision based on the feedback you get.

 

[darrens07gt]

I am close to being in the same situation as you... bought an 08 GT in February and at the time the car was worth more than what I paid.

This has changed drastically though in the past two months with the release of the 2015 Mustang and as of yesterday, a local Ford dealer offered me $11k for my car. Granted, I have more miles than you (78k) but it doesn't change the fact that my car's value dropped nearly $5000 in the last few months.

You should get your car appraised at a dealer that has a car you like to see where you really stand. Hopefully this will help you make a decision based on the feedback you get.

Yet the price of 4V 5.0's is still well in the 20's. It sucks because Ford could have given these 3V cars better motors and transmissions if they had wanted to. But since they had no competition at that time they said "here you go, have a 270 whp car with a transmission that can only handle 350 tq and spark plugs that break off in the heads."

Then Chevy brings back the Camaro with over 400 HP and suddenly Ford decides to do what GM did in the late 90's which was to give thier muscle car a decent motor that has good NA potential and a transmission that can handle some decent power as well.

I wish I had done my homework first and not purchased this car on a whim like I did. Don't get me wrong, I love the car itself. But I hate how it is so limited on NA potential. And even with a power adder you'll likely need to do a forged bottom end which is by no means a cheap project. Then you probably need to swap to a magnum T56 which is also not a cheap project.

I just want something where I can add bolt-ons and cams to get 400 whp and still be able to spray a 100 shot on top of that without having to forge my motor and do a complete tranmission swap.

I'm still looking for a deal on a 5.0 so we'll see what happens. So for now I am saving my money which will eventually either mod this car or more likely be used as a down payment on a Coyote.

 

[BruceH]

Its on the cdn mustang site. ALL gas up here is E10 with the exception of chevron's 94 octane..which has no ethanol. Shell 89 is E5. Shell 91 has no ethanol. The chevron 94 with no ethanol is only sold in the vancouver and vancouver island areas..that's it. They do have E15 94 octane in parts of sask though. Every other combo sold is E10.... or more correctly.."may contain up to 10% ethanol". Moot point if the KS are working.

A good tune is imperative at any rate.... but even that won't help the weak link in the chain...the rods. Folks with lotsa open roads can be in boost a lot of the time. Last time I came back from my daughter's place 140 miles north of me, I had the blower on every 30 secs the entire way. One theory is, it might be accumulative metal fatigue + stress. High rpm makes for a lot of stress on the rods...when in boost.

I still think 490 rwhp + 11 psi is pushing your luck. You only need just 1 weak rod out of the 8. If you moved the shift points down a bit, they could well last longer. What magic did FRPP do to get the engs to survive?

They have access to some top secret factory stuff, lol. I think they just lock the torque down so that a good air day isn't going to pop a rod. It's also got a fantastic intercooler setup that keeps iats down.

Even with all that stuff the most I took my factory block was 8psi and 436rwhp with the frpp tune. I felt that was putting a good load on the motor at the track. I didn't go custom tune with the ho until I had built a motor.

 

[BruceH]

Yet the price of 4V 5.0's is still well in the 20's. It sucks because Ford could have given these 3V cars better motors and transmissions if they had wanted to. But since they had no competition at that time they said "here you go, have a 270 whp car with a transmission that can only handle 350 tq and spark plugs that break off in the heads."

Then Chevy brings back the Camaro with over 400 HP and suddenly Ford decides to do what GM did in the late 90's which was to give thier muscle car a decent motor that has good NA potential and a transmission that can handle some decent power as well.

I wish I had done my homework first and not purchased this car on a whim like I did. Don't get me wrong, I love the car itself. But I hate how it is so limited on NA potential. And even with a power adder you'll likely need to do a forged bottom end which is by no means a cheap project. Then you probably need to swap to a magnum T56 which is also not a cheap project.

I just want something where I can add bolt-ons and maybe heads/cam to get 400-420 whp and be able to spray a 75-100 shot without having to forge my motor and do a complete tranmission swap.

I'm still looking for a deal on a 5.0 so we'll see what happens.

You aren't going to get 400rwhp out of a na 281 cubic inch motor. It's easy with a blower though. Expect maybe 350-370rwhp with heads, cams, and headers keeping the car driveable.

Why are you stuck on a t56 magnum? A 6060 swap can be done for under $2000 and it will handle anything you can throw at it. For the same money as a blower you could build a bigger motor. It still wouldn't be as big as a LS but it would be capable of meeting your na power goals.

Maybe you should trade it for something you like.

 

[darrens07gt]

Maybe you should trade it for something you like.

I like the car just not crazy about the motor, LOL. Now is the 6060 swap a direct match up? Would I need to get a different driveshaft or clutch?

 

[BruceH]

I like the car just not crazy about the motor, LOL. Now is the 6060 swap a direct match up? Would I need to get a different driveshaft or clutch?

A 26 spline hub will be needed, same as a t56 magnum. The driveshaft depends on what you have now. A stock ds isn't going to work but some one piece units will. I'm running a gt500 take off I paid $125 shipped for.

I included the price of a used transmission, shifter, clutch, crossmember, pins, and ds in the $2000. You might even be able to do it for less if you shop carefully. The 3650 should work just fine up to 500rwhp or so.

Transmission $1300, 07806 Exedy clutch $225, shifter and boot $100, crossmember $50, drive shaft $150.

Not bad for a much better transmission and an extra gear.

For starters just put some 4.10 or 4.56 gears in your car. You could add hot rod cams and longtubes for about 330rwhp. Have lito tune it and you will be fine. Those mods will get you by until you decide what to do and the hot rods hold value pretty good should you decide to do something different.

 

[darrens07gt]

A 26 spline hub will be needed, same as a t56 magnum. The driveshaft depends on what you have now. A stock ds isn't going to work but some one piece units will. I'm running a gt500 take off I paid $125 shipped for.

I included the price of a used transmission, shifter, clutch, crossmember, pins, and ds in the $2000. You might even be able to do it for less if you shop carefully. The 3650 should work just fine up to 500rwhp or so.

Transmission $1300, 07806 Exedy clutch $225, shifter and boot $100, crossmember $50, drive shaft $150.

Not bad for a much better transmission and an extra gear.

Good info there. Thanks, I really appreciate it. I'd love to have a 6th gear.

For starters just put some 4.10 or 4.56 gears in your car. You could add hot rod cams and longtubes for about 330rwhp. Have lito tune it and you will be fine. Those mods will get you by until you decide what to do and the hot rods hold value pretty good should you decide to do something different.

I've all ready got 4.10's in the car (previous owner installed them). That's another reason I'd love to have an extra gear. Right now my 4th gear tops out at around 117 mph which really kind of sucks. I'd like to see this car pull hard to 130 but with the current transmission and gears that just isn't possible.

I've been researching a lot on the cams and have been torn between the detroit rockers or the hot rods. It seems they are pretty close to one another for gains and overall sound. I was leaning towards the rockers only because Brenspeed would be doing the install and they have that youtube video out that shows how good the street manners are at 1500 rpm's.

I've had a cammed car that bucks and surges at lower rpm's so I'm ok with it but my girlfriend sometimes drives this car too and I don't want to piss her off. Any idea how the street manners are on the hot rods with a good tune?

 

[BruceH]

Good info there. Thanks, I really appreciate it. I'd love to have a 6th gear.



I've all ready got 4.10's in the car (previous owner installed them). That's another reason I'd love to have an extra gear. Right now my 4th gear tops out at around 117 mph which really kind of sucks. I'd like to see this car pull hard to 130 but with the current transmission and gears that just isn't possible.

I've been researching a lot on the cams and have been torn between the detroit rockers or the hot rods. It seems they are pretty close to one another for gains and overall sound. I was leaning towards the rockers only because Brenspeed would be doing the install and they have that youtube video out that shows how good the street manners are at 1500 rpm's.

I've had a cammed car that bucks and surges at lower rpm's so I'm ok with it but my girlfriend sometimes drives this car too and I don't want to piss her off. Any idea how the street manners are on the hot rods with a good tune?

I'd go with Hot Rods. I've owned them and the street manners were just fine. Make sure you get a good tuner for them. It will make the difference between adding power or keeping power the same, having raw gas come out the exhaust, and losing mpg. Hook up with lito for your 3v tuning.

 

[NickD87]

I included the price of a used transmission, shifter, clutch, crossmember, pins, and ds in the $2000. You might even be able to do it for less if you shop carefully. The 3650 should work just fine up to 500rwhp or so.

Transmission $1300, 07806 Exedy clutch $225, shifter and boot $100, crossmember $50, drive shaft $150.

Bruce can you PM me where you found these prices, I have been looking into doing this swap as well and cant find any good deals...

 

[RED09GT]

Its on the cdn mustang site. ALL gas up here is E10 with the exception of chevron's 94 octane..which has no ethanol. Shell 89 is E5. Shell 91 has no ethanol. The chevron 94 with no ethanol is only sold in the vancouver and vancouver island areas..that's it.

94 at all Chevron stations in BC is Ethanol Free. Furthest East that I have bought it is in Golden and I have not run into a chevron station in BC without it.

Friends of mine lost a motor with the FRPP tune and I believe they were running one of the E10 91 octane fuels. It let go just before the finish line at Mission Raceway. They are now running a Livernois Big Bore Stroker. Next time I see them I'll ask what fuel and what the air temperature was like when it happened.

 

[John336]

I just bought my 13th Mustang. I've wasted so much time and money because of discontentment...which is what plagues most car guys. I just sold my '13 DIB 5.0 due to a $516 per mo payment and a 3rd gear high rpm lockout issue. I picked up a Alloy '07 GT Auto (Goodbye lockout probs) for $12K (Goodbye $516 car payment prob).

I love this car, and vow to be content/grateful for it, and keep it no matter what I see! As for mods, I would choose the DOB kit if I were you. I've always wanted a single turbo car, so that's my ultimate goal for my car. In closing, you got a GREAT deal on a GREAT car. Be GREAT-ful!

 

[BruceH]

Bruce can you PM me where you found these prices, I have been looking into doing this swap as well and cant find any good deals...

For the transmission try LaPointe Auto Reyclers in Ohio. Call for the best price.

Exedy clutch 07806 is available in many places, just do a search on google. I got mine through amazon for that price.

Shifter, boot, and crossmember are available from horsepower1 on ebay. The ds will require some looking. Try calling JPC first, then other speed shops that have lots of mustang business or ebay.

You might find the transmission for less on this forum or ebay. You can also check your local scrap yards. In 2009 they went from a 5/6 gear of .8/.63 to .74/.5.