Hi, my name is Tony and I have a car problem, this is my 99 step program.
Todays subject, 2008 GT, with comfort and appearance packages.
Hi, my name is Tony and I have a car problem, this is my 99 step program.
Todays subject, 2008 GT, with comfort and appearance packages.
Lets start with what I know, PO purchased the car with 7k on it lowered, tinted, chiney wheels and supposedly 3:73 gears. I haven't verified that yet, it seems silly to me as it came with 3:55 out of the factory.
We'll call him Chuck (because that's his name) added BBK long tube headers, catted X pipe, and Dynomax 3" mid pipe and straight through mufflers, it's real loud in a good way.
After a few years of loud, slow and low, Chuck added more power. First Brenspeed grind Detroit rocker cams, then FRPP intake, under-drive pulleys a fresh tune and hotter coils. This stuff was has 2-5k miles on it. Dyno says 330hp at the wheels. This matches what Brenspeed usually gets with this combo.
Pics because it's better that way.
Looks nice. I wouldn't kick it out of the driveway. Should be a lot of fun with those power adders.
This should be a fun project to watch.
First question, who needs some hella flush wheels, Nitto Invo tires, stance Yo springs and I assume stock low mile shocks and struts.
In the que, behind the lawn tractor, Lemons car and Kayak trailer.
Awesome thread. Car has solid power mods. The wheels and body kit are atrocious - scream low T boomer.
The funny thing is the body is straight out of the factory, it’s just real low. It has the appearance package which is a scoop wing and engine cover I think, oh and aluminum trim on the inside.
My wife daily drives a 05 we affectionately call sally. This body style is still very fun to drive and can sneak up on you.
akylekoz said:The funny thing is the body is straight out of the factory, it’s just real low. It has the appearance package which is a scoop wing and engine cover I think, oh and aluminum trim on the inside.
I’m fairly certain the ground effects are not OEM. Whoever chose the gaudy wheels went with the tacky ground effects as well. Luckily, they had much better taste in power modifications.
Just did an image search, all the 08 GT's have them. Not my car pictured, but the same wheels and not as low. This one is Candy apple red and an auto, mine is Dark candy apple red.
I may have influenced the PO on the power mods, just incase it became mine some day. The wheels and lowering stick treatment were done by the first owner. So, who wants some nice wheels and lowering springs, free shocks and mounts?
The front lip is by CDC. I know cause i had one on my 05 GT. Its just painted the factory color.
The side skirts are stock as is the rear bumper. Same goes with the hood and wing.
For me, remove the wing, hood and wheels. Throw on the GT500 rear lip spoiler and some GT500 wheels. The 05-09 body style looks best with a lip spoiler or no spoiler.
The GT500 wheels are heavy though. There are plenty of other lighter options out there. I ran Steeda 18x9.5 Ultra-lites on mine as a set of track wheels with a set of GT500 wheels as my round town setup. 275/40R18's fit best for a square setup and there are a good amount of choices in tires.
Grab a set of the OEM 14" Brembos. They are cheap, use the OE GT brake lines and fit under GT500 wheels quite easily.
Koni yellows and Steeda sport springs was the hot setup without going to coilovers. Also big front bar, stock or v6 rear bar for track days will help with rotation. I ran the FRPP front and rear bars for a while but then swapped to a v6 24mm rear bar for rotation.
GT500 rear control arms was a nice upgrade and cheap since most GT500 owners were ditching them. They have stiffening plates on the inside of the arm and stiffer bushings compared to GT rear control arms. Same with the front lower control arms. GT500 stuff bolts right in and is a nice upgrade for the lighter GT while keeping NVH to a bare minimum.
Great chassis except for that rear end. If it doesnt whine now dont screw with it. They are extremely picky with setup. Swap a torsen rear from a 12-14 model year if you can find one. They are worth every penny.
That car left the factory as close to the same options list as my '05 as you could get in 08.
You are correct that is a CDC front lip. I saw the image you linked when I googled "2008 Mustang GT", but try googling "stock 2008 Mustang GT."
Maybe I can take the front lip off and the paint won't be messed up underneath, what are the chances of that? It's scratched anyway from sitting so low and hitting a parking barrier. I think it looks better with out it.
My recommendation would be to get some GT350 knockoffs from LMR - they are having a Memorial Day sale and I think these wheels would look great on your car, sans lip, of course:
akylekoz said:Maybe I can take the front lip off and the paint won't be messed up underneath, what are the chances of that? It's scratched anyway from sitting so low and hitting a parking barrier. I think it looks better with out it.
Just leave it on. They used 3m high stick double sided tape. I had the middle portion of mine come apart and it took a chunk off.
Also, once you get some wheels that look the part, the front splitter looks to complete the bottom of the car. Especially since the side skirts are so pronouced.
I have decided on Koni adjustable shocks and struts. Currently leaning towards HR super sport springs and Steeda sway bars. There are too many spring options for this car, the 400lb maximum motor sports springs may be to stiff for non track days on Michigan roads. Stock front springs are 125lb, HRs are 250lb so double the stock rate. I'm going with Steeda CC plates for the rubber mount for some adjustability, Ford racing rear control arms.
New shocks for $700 or used with a few track days over two years for $400? I'm cheap but having a hard time putting used shocks on car with low mileage that I plan to keep for several years.
In reply to GarageGorilla :
I have GT500 wheels for street use and have Team Dynamics for track use, I'm good on wheels for now. I agree the gold would looks sweet on the dark red car.
My track wheel will only work with a 13" rotor so when I upgrade brakes I'll have to upgrade track wheels also.
For the record, the correct wording is "Crowd Plow".
akylekoz said:In reply to GarageGorilla :
I have GT500 wheels for street use and have Team Dynamics for track use, I'm good on wheels for now. I agree the gold would looks sweet on the dark red car.
My track wheel will only work with a 13" rotor so when I upgrade brakes I'll have to upgrade track wheels also.
Are they the stock 05-09 front brakes? If so, a cheap upgrade is to the 2010+ GT front brakes. They use the same calipers but the caliper bracket and rotor are 13.1" versus the 12" 05-09 front rotor. A friend used them on his track car for almost 2 years before eventually going to a Brembo setup(had Steeda tracklite wheels which didnt fit 14" brakes).
You could probably find them dead cheap or free as take offs. Just remove the backing plate, swap the caliper bracket and rotor and youre set for a 13" brake upgrade. A good set of lines, fluid and some ducting(3" speaker port tubes into stock lower fascia) should make them last much longer than the 12" setup.
If you can find a cheap set of Brembos off a track pack or GT500 car thats the logical solution but the above is an intermediate brake upgrade if you dont want to spend too much coin up front.
In reply to kevinatfms :
Good to know, I'll look for some brackets and rotors from a 10 or newer since I already have pads for these calipers.
Rather than proceed in my usual manner by scouring Craiglist and Mustang forums, I loaded the parts cannon with the proceeds from my Fox chassis garage sale.
Trying very hard to keep this a multipurpose car, I went with the soft spring stiff sway bar approach. This will help preserve some of the cushy ride while still improving the handling. What did I get?
Koni adjustable dampers, Steeda Competition spring and sway bar combo. Steeda strut mount/CC plates, Ford rear control arms and bump stops, Maximum Motorsport relocation brackets.
This is round one to get this thing out of the weeds and on the track. It desperately needs some suspension travel. Parts should start arriving today.
I found this cord in the arm rest, it plays Ipods with the wide connector. It acts kind of strange, it plays fine but to change songs you have to select a different input with the head unit, change song then switch back to the Ipod input. The ipod input is satelite 2, if the ipod is not playing, satelite 2 will play the free content. When the Ipod it playing it will broadcast its music.
There is also an aux input right next to the cord, maybe I'll try that next.
Great project. One of these would definitely be high on the list of track cars for me. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it!
I actually like the chin spoiler and skirts. Not like it's some sort of Eleanor kit or something. The chrome wheels are definitely a bit garish, though. Sounds like you've already got a couple sets of wheels as replacements.
Fun!
My track wheels, NT01s on them right now with about an hour of life on them. I have a set of RE71s that will go on soon.
So will this be at Gingerman TNIA on June 13th?
I want to see the TD's on the car, I have a huge soft spot for those wheels.
Sean
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