Mods: Part 2

Engine bay with LiveWires, K&N cold air intake.
New improved design intake on left, factory manifold on right

MAC tailpipes

MAC Catback just installed

Before I begin i would like to say that my car is daily driven. It isn't a race car, nor is it a show car. I do however take it to races at the local autocross and have entered it in a show before. The point is the mods done to the car are made to improve the car overall. I know this car won't win at the 'strip or best of show, but i love it!

Engine

• K&N Cold Air Intake Kit: I bought the K&N due to a few factors. One being that it is a proven design. Two, i didn't want a flashy chrome cold air intake (not really a big chrome fan). And last main reason being that i wanted the tubing to be plastic instead of aluminum for cooler intake charge. The kit was really simple, all the instructions are provided with the kit and only basic hand tools are needed to install the setup. I didn't have to flash the computer or anything like that, nor did it give me any check engine lights or idle problems. One thing I wish to improve upon this kit is perhaps a better heat shield. Doesn't do a whole lot to seal off air filter. I have plans on making my own heat shield with some sort of heat guard material on the outside of the shield. My only other complaint is that the filter is difficult to remove when it comes time to clean it. Other than that i love it, sounds great and sure it gave the car a lil pep

• Intake Manifold: When i got the car it had a coolant leak. Turns out to be a common problem for this year of Mustang. The plastic lower intake manifold has a coolant passage at the very front of the manifold. Problem is that the plastic is prone to cracking at that area. To solve that problem I installed a "improved design" intake manifold with a aluminum coolant passage. Otherwise the manifold is like the stock piece. That was the first mod to the car and haven't had a problem with the manifold since. While I had the manifold off i installed a 180 thermostat to aide cooling.



• Plug wires: When it came time to replace the plugs and wires on the car i chose to brighten up the engine compartment with a set of Performance distributors "LiveWires". They are great looking. I was very hard to find yellow plug wires for my car so that is the reason why i chose that brand. Everything has been great with them. Think they are a 8.5mm or 9mm but with a Yellow jacketing material on them so almost all plug wire dividers don't work with them, so use the Performance distributors ones.






• Cat Back Exhaust: It wasn't long before i noticed how quiet my car was. I am young stupid guy, and dammit i want my car loud, lol. But i didn't want it super loud because i don't need tickets. So I bought the MAC "True-fit" 2.5" cat back exhaust system. The kit said it was going to be powdercoated black, but when i got it, the tubing was bare metal. So i painted everything except the tailpipes high-temp black with a rattle can. I was really happy because it only took my dad and i to install it. We don't have a lift or anything fancy like that. I ran the car for a long time with the chrome 3" tips in place but after awhile grew tired of the chrome. So one day i removed the tailpipes and not only was i rewarded with the look i was after but gave the exhaust note a increased "bark".




• BBK X-pipe: My factory h-pipe had four cats and two resonators, plus it weight a lot. I decided to replace it with aftermarket piece, but wasn't sure if i wanted to go with a X-pipe or H-pipe. I played around on youtube, listening to cars similar to mine only with different mid-pipes. After much consideration i choose the X-pipe. I just loved that sound, and if you haven't heard it, stop reading this and go take a listen. At first i was going to get the Pipes X-pipe due to the lower price but some people warned me about the fitment issues with stock manifolds and aftermarket headers. SO in the end i chose the BBK X-pipe with cats (hey I live in CA, need to at least try to pass smog). The sound is amazing. But man did i struggle with getting the fitment together. I took my car to a local exhaust shop where they put the car on a lift and got all the issues taken care of. So if you do plan to do this mod, take into consideration that no matter what the kit says, there will be tweaking involved. But it is worth it and damn does it sound great. It isn't the cheapest mod, especially if you get one with cats (I mean some are going for close to $700, but the BBK was easier on the wallet).