This is topic I have a BRAND NEW 04 GT to MOD in forum Tech Talk at Northern California Ford Owners  .


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Posted by Black Stallion (Member # 5114) on :
 
Like I said... I bought a brand new 04 GT 5spd back in August but I havent done anything to it. I've been doing research up until about now but don't know where to start. I was wondering if the very wise and benevolent 99-04 tuners could give me some help. I'm only 18 so I wouldn't have enough $$ for a blower just yet. Where should I start? Induction or what? Suggestions on which tb/plenum/cold air kit? Recommendations on suspension?? (Dont got enough for Bilsteins btw [Frown] )

[ January 18, 2005, 05:34 PM: Message edited by: Black Stallion ]
 
Posted by mtbaughs (Member # 4052) on :
 
do the rear end gears first
 
Posted by RioredGT (Member # 2300) on :
 
Probably the best place to start to liven the car up would be with gears and a short shifter. I'd suggest doing some 4.10s, I did 3.73s on my 98 GT and now I wish I would have gone with the 4.10s. For the shifter consider a pro 5.0 or a Steeda Tri-ax, I personally prefer the pro 5.0 but either one is good.
After that it would depend on how much money you've got to work with.

Edit: Damn, Mike beat me to it....

[ January 17, 2005, 03:19 PM: Message edited by: RioredGT ]
 
Posted by Black Stallion (Member # 5114) on :
 
Would messing with gears void the warranty? totally forgot about that....
 
Posted by FasterDamnit (Member # 442) on :
 
BTW-
Learn what "tune" means. If you change out parts, you're not tuning. And changing the gears should not void the warranty.
 
Posted by season'd 88 (Member # 169) on :
 


[ November 06, 2006, 01:42 AM: Message edited by: season'd 88 ]
 
Posted by Black Stallion (Member # 5114) on :
 
Ah thanks.. already been in some close calls. Is there a spec. brand of gears I should be aiming for? Ford Racing?
 
Posted by blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
FMS gears

dont bother with a CAI kit, the stock airbox is a cold air and looks 1000x better than the aftermarket POS's [Smile]
 
Posted by crazynorwegian (Member # 5000) on :
 
first mods should be gears and mid-pipe. for the gears I recommend frpp 4.10's, or if your going to put a supercharger in soon, go with 3.73's. I got my gears from gefracing.com. other brands will be cheaper, but they are more likely to produce gear noise.

-Andrew
 
Posted by cobraracer46 (Member # 1142) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by blind:
FMS gears

dont bother with a CAI kit, the stock airbox is a cold air and looks 1000x better than the aftermarket POS's [Smile]
And I thought I was the only one on earth who hated aftermarket cold air kits for the same reason! [burnout]
 
Posted by Black Stallion (Member # 5114) on :
 
thanks so much guys. if not a cai, what about plenum+tb?
 
Posted by crazynorwegian (Member # 5000) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Black Stallion:
thanks so much guys. if not a cai, what about plenum+tb?
mid-pipe>plenum&tb... plus your car will sound sweet
 
Posted by OhToGeeTee (Member # 5145) on :
 
Dude, if you care about your gas milage. Don't get 4:10's. Go as far as 3:90. Atleast it is still streetable.
 
Posted by spegull03 (Member # 2842) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by OhToGeeTee:
Dude, if you care about your gas milage. Don't get 4:10's. Go as far as 3:90. Atleast it is still streetable.
[Roll Eyes] I just got back from a road trip and got the same mileage, if not a little better than stock. 4:10s or go home [Razz]
 
Posted by OhToGeeTee (Member # 5145) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by spegull03:
quote:
Originally posted by OhToGeeTee:
Dude, if you care about your gas milage. Don't get 4:10's. Go as far as 3:90. Atleast it is still streetable.
[Roll Eyes] I just got back from a road trip and got the same mileage, if not a little better than stock. 4:10s or go home [Razz]
Fine fine, 4:10's or go home. [Razz]

Happy now? Sheesh.. [Roll Eyes]
 
Posted by BlueOvalRacing (Member # 1531) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by FasterDamnit:
BTW-
Learn what "tune" means. If you change out parts, you're not tuning. And changing the gears should not void the warranty.
Sorry Jim, changing the gears does void the warranty. Ford has been cracking down BIG TIME on any mods or abuse, especially on Mustangs and Power Stroke Diesel trucks.
I have seen engine claims get kicked for a CAI and pullies, and rear axle claims being denied because the tires were "drag radials" even with a D.O.T branding on the tire.
PCM chips/programmers are the first thing that we have been told to look for when a check engine light is on or with trans shift issues, along with gear ratio changes & tire size changes.

If you want to put gears (or any mods for that matter) in any vehicle that you may need to bring in for warranty repairs, you better keep the stock stuff around to reinstall before heading on in down to your local dealer. Trust me, adding gears can or will void your rear axle, rear suspension, trans, clutch, manual or auto trans, and possibly even engine warranty.

Oh yeah, when you do come in, even in bone stock trim, DON'T LEAVE YOUR DRAG TIMESLIPS OUT IN PLAIN SIGHT!

Sorry, they are not my rules, I'm just giving you fair warning.
 
Posted by crazynorwegian (Member # 5000) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by BlueOvalRacing:
quote:
Originally posted by FasterDamnit:
BTW-
Learn what "tune" means. If you change out parts, you're not tuning. And changing the gears should not void the warranty.
Sorry Jim, changing the gears does void the warranty. Ford has been cracking down BIG TIME on any mods or abuse, especially on Mustangs and Power Stroke Diesel trucks.
I have seen engine claims get kicked for a CAI and pullies, and rear axle claims being denied because the tires were "drag radials" even with a D.O.T branding on the tire.
PCM chips/programmers are the first thing that we have been told to look for when a check engine light is on or with trans shift issues, along with gear ratio changes & tire size changes.

If you want to put gears (or any mods for that matter) in any vehicle that you may need to bring in for warranty repairs, you better keep the stock stuff around to reinstall before heading on in down to your local dealer. Trust me, adding gears can or will void your rear axle, rear suspension, trans, clutch, manual or auto trans, and possibly even engine warranty.

Oh yeah, when you do come in, even in bone stock trim, DON'T LEAVE YOUR DRAG TIMESLIPS OUT IN PLAIN SIGHT!

Sorry, they are not my rules, I'm just giving you fair warning.
you just need to find a mod friendly dealership. my friend had a 03gt with pulleys, cai, 3.73, and a triax, took his car to frontier for on steven's creek in san jose. they never said anything about his mods.
 
Posted by 1SiCV8 (Member # 4224) on :
 
I agree, Ford does Hate on you when you change anything and will void the warranty. I had an X-pipe w/out cats...and it sounded great, felt the power. I would recomend it though watch out its a $2500.00 fine...I got a warning so now I catted again...
Let me know how the Gear's go though
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/fatal_excepti0n_0e/detail?.dir=/b6bd&.dnm=611e.jpg&.src=ph&.tok=phhFjYCBYS58KzcH
 
Posted by BlueOvalRacing (Member # 1531) on :
 
Crazynorwegian, it depends on what area of the car is in for service. For example, if you bring a car in for the radio being inop, nobody cares if the engine/rear axle is modded. But if you have a knock from the engine, and there is anything that increases the hp or rpm limit, you better beleive that they frown on any mods.

If one dealer makes a repair to a modded vehicle, and the customer has a problem 50 miles down the road and the customer has the car towed to another dealer, the first dealer can get into some serious trouble for working around the warranty guidelines by fixing a modded vehicle. There are many dealers that will snitch out another just to look good in the Ford field rep's eyes.
 
Posted by Black Stallion (Member # 5114) on :
 
Ah thanks SO MUCH because i'm under extended warranty. What will NOT void warranty? Would Ford Racing parts not void warranty cause well, it's Ford?
 
Posted by BlueOvalRacing (Member # 1531) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Black Stallion:
Ah thanks SO MUCH because i'm under extended warranty. What will NOT void warranty? Would Ford Racing parts not void warranty cause well, it's Ford?
Nope, they are intended for racing use only.
Basically, anything that increases hp/torque or acceleration is frowned on in Ford's eyes. Ford feels that they design parts to withstand normal everyday driving. There isn't much that you can do to increase performance and still remain 100% under warranty.

I put gears in my 93 Mustang when it had less than 1000 miles on it, but I knew that if there ever was a problem that I had to have repaired under warranty I would have to return the car to stock form to avoid any hassles. That was 11 years ago, and Ford was VERY blind to aftermarket add-ons. Today, they are not - for example, they know exactly what a supercharged engine's weakest part is. If they have nearly zero connecting rod failures or cracked pistons with an engine in stock trim, and see a rash of rod breakage and broken pistons when a supercharger was added (i.e. Roush stage 3 cars) they know that the horsepower exceeded the design of the part itself. They didn't engineer a rod to withstand 400+rwhp. They designed it to live a long time at 260hp (and save $$$). That's why the 03-04 cobra engines have good rods and pistons - they were designed for that hp rating.
If I were you, I would be careful modding a new car while under warranty. After 3/36 - knock yourself out (like everyone else here - me included).
 
Posted by Black Stallion (Member # 5114) on :
 
So aftermarket suspension would not screw with warranty? I was leaning towards in that direction
 
Posted by 1992gtdrop (Member # 4502) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by spegull03:
quote:
Originally posted by OhToGeeTee:
Dude, if you care about your gas milage. Don't get 4:10's. Go as far as 3:90. Atleast it is still streetable.
[Roll Eyes] I just got back from a road trip and got the same mileage, if not a little better than stock. 4:10s or go home [Razz]
How the hell do you get the same gas mileage out of your 4.10s as you did w/ your stock gears? Please explain? [Confused]
 
Posted by BlueOvalRacing (Member # 1531) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Black Stallion:
So aftermarket suspension would not screw with warranty? I was leaning towards in that direction
ANY powertrain/suspension/electrical mods may affect warranty.
 
Posted by mtbaughs (Member # 4052) on :
 
Basically if you change a part on your car and something breaks which is under warranty that can be associated with the installed aftermarket part you run the risk of the warranty not being honored. So in other words if something breaks remove the aftermarket parts before you take it to the dealer. If you have aftermarket springs or shocks and the heater goes out don't worry about removing them. The only time you have to worry is if Ford can prove that a failure occured because of an aftermarket part directly associated with the problem

[ January 20, 2005, 01:40 PM: Message edited by: mtbaughs ]
 
Posted by blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by 1992gtdrop:
quote:
Originally posted by spegull03:
quote:
Originally posted by OhToGeeTee:
Dude, if you care about your gas milage. Don't get 4:10's. Go as far as 3:90. Atleast it is still streetable.
[Roll Eyes] I just got back from a road trip and got the same mileage, if not a little better than stock. 4:10s or go home [Razz]
How the hell do you get the same gas mileage out of your 4.10s as you did w/ your stock gears? Please explain? [Confused]
I get way better gas milage with my 3.73's than my girlfriends stock 5.0 with 2.73's gets. She's lucky to get 180-200 miles to a tank, I only get under 340 miles to a tank if I really beat on it.
 
Posted by rnowacki (Member # 686) on :
 
Hope the tanks are the same size....
 




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