Let's Talk After Market

What you want to do with your car & what you plan on using your car for is how you're going to determine what to do. I'm sure other more knowledgeable people will add to this, but here is my .02 cents...

Suspension upgrades are the "always there" mods. They are there whether you're going full throttle or dead stop. They will make the car handle better and feel more solid. I would suggest some good subframe connectors for starters. Also, I don't know how prone 97 GT rear sway bars are to breaking, but my 98 GT sway bar broke TWICE. I lucked out at the salvage yard and found a rear swya bar from a 95 GT and picked it up for $25. Me & a buddy installed it in about an hour. There are MANY other suspension upgrades.. another popular choice is springs. When you're dealing with suspension though, you'll want to get components that work well together. This isn't my area of expertise, so I'll leave this alone. Somebody else can help you out w/ this.

If you're driving a manual 5-speed, you'll want to get a short-throw shifter. I chose Steeda Tri-Ax because of SVTKate's recommendation a while back. I do not regret it one bit. It is one of the best bang-for-buck mods, IMHO. If you're driving an automatic 97 GT.. I'm sorry. Those are slow =). J/k.. anyway...

Another mod you should consider is rear differential gears, aka "rear-end gears". I chose 3.73 gears because I have a 5-speed manual transmission & do drive occassionally on the interstate and I didn't want that bad of gas mileage. If you have an automatic or don't drive on the interstate, I'd go with 4.10 gears.

The above mods are the best bang-for-buck that I can think of right now without getting into the more expensive power-adders... like turbochargers, superchargers, and nitrous.

Avoid crap like cold air kits (yes, I have one, and no.. it didn't add any HP). It's all marketing hype. That is, of course, unless you are dealing with a F/I motor (forced induction). Then, cold air kits aren't so ridiculous. I've seen some pretty impressive power gains on 03/04 Cobra's when they've used BBK cold air kits.

Give us a little more information on your car & what you're wanting to do with it so we can further guide you. Good luck w/ the 'stang & have fun!

-Mike

-- A happy kid behind the wheel of a 98 Mustang GT Cold air intake FRPP 3.73 gears Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter Full Boar turbo mufflers Hi-speed fan switch

I just read it was a 5-speed in another thread. So, if you were to get gears, I'd go with 3.73's if you drive on the highway/interstate, and 4.10's if you don't mind a hit on the gas mileage.

-Mike

-- A happy kid behind the wheel of a 98 Mustang GT Cold air intake FRPP 3.73 gears Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter Full Boar turbo mufflers Hi-speed fan switch

knowledgeable

turbochargers,

How much money do you want to spend?

Mike has made some good suggestions and others will add more. I just felt the need to offer up a little advice borne of age and experience.

Aside from the usual 'no place to use radical amounts of power other than the track' cautions, it is all to easy to get something so radical that it is downright unpleasant to drive in traffic situations. That brief adrenalin rush we get as we try to turn ourselves into another statistic pales in comparison to the frustration of negotiating heavy traffic or coaxing a beast through the parking lot of the KwikkeeMart.

A few well thought out modifications can give you what you're looking for while keeping your car fun to drive.

Steeda tri-ax, shorter springs and a set of tokico struts/shocks will make the car handle much better.

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