GT500 Mods
 

I just thought I would put an update up as to what I have done to the car and what my thoughts are. As far as performance mods this year I have added: Ford Racing cold air intake, Ford Racing "KR" axle back exhaust, Ford Racing "KR" short throw shifter, Ford Racing 3.73 gears, SCT X3 flash tuner with VMP custom tune and a Steeda adjustable upper control arm. My only complaints about the car when I got it was the horrible wheel hop and the exhaust was way too quiet. I also found that the car felt heavy on take off. After these mods it ts like driving a different car. It feels much lighter on it's feet, the wheel hop is gone, and the exhaust has a great bark to it. All in all I am very happy with all of these parts and would recommend them to anyone that may be considering them.

How's traction with those 3.73s and all that torque? ...that's gotta be a hoot!
These cars are bad for wheelhop and I'm glad you were able to cure it. Even my V6 with one wheel peel did it when it was stock. It still does it occasionally, even with aftermarket upper and lower control arms.

Totally agree on the sound of the exhaust! This car was not intended to be quiet (at least not mine). Can I ask why 3.73 instead of 4.10? Is 4.10 too much for a daily driver?

Awesome to hear. Nothing is worse then doing mods with only feeling disappointment in the end.

It has a serious traction issue but it's lot's of fun. So far I haven't had a hint of hop and hopefully it stays that way.

Stock was 3.31 and 3.73 works great on these cars. 4.10 would be ok but isn't really necesary with this much power. It would be a blast though and I probably would have done it but I always think resale and 4.10's seem to scare people.

Great to hear you are pleased with the mods. If I drove mine harder I would certainly go your route. Any vids of the exhaust???

No but I do need to get one

Absolutely. I would love to have mine done with the lumpiest of cams as well as the perfect headers/exhaust etc. For me it's 100% look/sound. Speed meh

Ummmm....yeah...get on that please! I love those kind of vids. :)

I agree totally with your assessment on the wheel hop and quiet exhaust. The Ford Racing "KR" axle back exhaust is rumored to be a really nice sounding exhaust with no drone, I think you made a good choice!
I went with the magna flows because of a great deal from a friend, they are still too quiet but offer next to no drone! (I hate drone)
I'm considering the Ford Racing 3.73 gears as a "winter mod" but worried about a proper install.
I think I will address the suspension during this off season with the Track Pack
Maybe after the suspension I will open the hood, but I'm pretty happy with the power at this point.

I'm not sure that the handling pack will do anything for the wheel hop but it will help in the looks and handling dept. The gear install is pretty basic and no different than any other car. If you do it though there is a different inner pinion bearing required for the GT500 and a spacer that needs to be remove from behind the old one. Also if you aren't planning any performance mods a Ford dealer can change the gear setting to 3.73 for you as it was the factory ration on the KR. I used the gears as an excuse to get the programmer and since I was doing that got the air intake also. After hunting through all of the sound clips on the net the one I liked the best was the KR and I'm glad I made that choice. It's so hard to tell till you hear an exhaust system in person. It doesn't drone a bit and at highway cruise speed is actually very quiet.

I completely agree with the MagnaFlow assessment but they have gotten a tad louder in the last 3 years. I have 3500k's on my mufflers, how many on yours and has it gotten louder with usage???

I think they have gotten a little louder but very little I have aproxx 1000kms on them now.

I would like to replace them and do headers, anything to make it meatier sounding. My wife said go ahead but cringes and shakes her head. She thinks its plenty loud enough but what does she know tehehehe

Headers won't make it much louder, but an off road mid pipe will. Headers and an off road mid pipe = even better

^^^good to hear and thanks

Headers won't make it much louder, but they will make it sound a little more aggressive. The thin walled tubing resonates more than thicker walled tubing or cast manifolds. This will be more noticeable with full length headers. As for mufflers... If you want more sound with NO interior resonance (drone), the best mufflers on the market are Corsas. They are far from cheap, but are very well made, and will likely last the life of the car.

http://www.corsaperf.com/product_loc...ke=16&model=14

^^^ Never heard Corsas in person.

So the only mod that eliminated the wheel hop was the UCA? I have the same issue and was thinking of changing the UCA too as the first step, then maybe the LCAs next. Are you running stock tires, GY F1?
Cheers

It has been awhile since I have heard them but a member here has them NickGt I think:tup

I was expecting to have to change the lowers as well as the stock ones are pretty flimsy looking but the UCA did fix it for me. I am still running the stock Goodyears and I am not a fan of them. I think they are garbage. They are noisy and traction is terrible.

Even I can say the traction is not all that great say a 4/10 but really what is going to hold 500-550hp un-modded

Drag radials make quite a difference

True, I was thinking more along the lines of dedicated street tire. Lets assume that a fella has DR's, how many k can you get if you drove mostly normal like??? Ok like me, slooooooooooooooooooooow

I'm not too sure but if you are really easy on them there probably isn't much point in having them.

Any cosmetic mods worth mentioning??

they scream mean so cosmetic :chacha:

All I did was a shorty antenna and I got a template from JLT which spaced out the Shelby letters accross the trunk instead of just on the left side. One of my favorite things I did to the car actually. I also added a Clarion CD/DVD and mounted a backup camera where the trunk lock cylinder goes. Also did the Ford Racing push button start.

Ahh I see, well with how much you drive I'm sure you would get 10 years out of them.

not bad lol