2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 & Boss 302

The Best and Worst Generations

The Ford Mustang was First introduced in 1965, and are still Produced today. I own a 2000 Mustang, which is a 4th Generation Mustang. In total there are 5 generations of mustangs. The First Generation Mustangs are obviously the best, because you can't beat the original. Their small  body's, light weight construction, and quite powerful engines gave them the perfect recipe for power and speed. The Third generation Fox Body Mustangs were also a huge favorite, and are also my personal favorite. The Fox body had a massive V8 stuffed under the smallest body offered by Ford. In the early 70's the gas crisis hit the United States, and that made for some horrible cars. The early 70's generation two mustangs were huge, heavy, slow, gas sipping boats. They were made to not consume a lot of fuel and that kills horsepower. The other terrible Mustang Produced by Ford is the late 80's third generation mustangs. The motors were good, they were relatively speedy, but their rounded body styling were ugly and paired up with some of the worst stock rims I've ever seen, made for one huge disappointment. After the Third generation Mustangs, Ford turned its focus on power and speed. The last two generations have been fast, good looking machines. Lets hope that keeps going for many years.

Fox Body Mustang 

late 80's Mustang

Fuel Grades, Bang For Your Buck

I was at my local gas station the other day filling up my 2000 3.8L Mustang, i was wondering the effects on upgrading the fuel going into your Mustang so i decided to research. I found that the higher number fuel grade you go the more octane the gas contains. More octane means hotter cleaner fuel consumption. Most production cars take regular 87 grade fuel, but some higher end cars run much cleaner on higher grade fuel.

So i switched my car to mid-grade 89 fuel. So far the effects are small but effective. My Mustang idles smoother, i have better throttle reaction, and my MPG has gone up 1 to 2 miles. Upgrading your fuel is like giving your Mustang its daily vitamins. I don't mind spending an extra 20 cents per gallon on fuel in order to sustain the performance on my Mustang and extend its life. I love the performance advantage i get from the upgrade also.

Weekend Cleanup

Over the weekend the weather was perfect for a relaxing day of Mustang TLC. On my list for the day was interior and exterior washing, Engine degreasing, and wheel and tire cleaning. I started by washing the out side of the car using turtle wax car wash and microfiber sponge. After I was done with that i moved to the interior using Armor All interior wipes to clean the dash and doors. I vaccuumed the carpets. and cleaned the windows with Windex. Then i used Gunk heavy engine degreaser to clean the engine and the entire engine bay. This is very important to keep your engine clean and eliminating the possibility of any engine fires from grease or oil. Keeping dirt and debris off of the exterior keeps your paint strong and shiny. Keeping your interior clean makes your appearance clean and keeps your resale value high. TLC on your Mustang keeps your Mustang clean and looking its very best.

Shelby Cobra GT1000

No, you didn't read that wrong. The latest insanity of horse power to come out of the Shelby garage is the brand new 2012 Shelby Cobra GT1000. Now if your family with anything and everything mustang, you're familiar with the Shelby GT500. The GT500 is a mustang built by Shelby that has roughly 500 horsepower. The new GT1000 makes that look pathetic. The street version has 950 horsepower, and the track only edition has roughly 1,100 horsepower. With a starting price tag of 200,000 dollars its not for everyone. With only a hundred or so being made it seems like only a dream. The new GT1000 starts out as your basic GT500 that gets stripped down to the bone. The engine gets new pistons  crankshaft, and rods. They suspension gets all new, stiffer components. They replace the GT500 supercharger with a much larger supercharger. Then they factory tune the entire engine. Below is a video showing the progression of the  Shelby Cobra. 50 years of insanity and horse power. Also below is acouple picture of the GT1000.

    

  

Winter The Saddest Time of The Year



Its that time of the year again, where cold weather and unsafe road conditions leave your Mustang sitting in the garage. Winter is the saddest times of the year for me, because that means winterizing my 200 Mustang convertible and having to drive my slow and boring winter truck. Unsafe roads, cinders, and salt are very hazardous to the condition of your Mustang, therefore winterizing your car is the best solution for maintaining your Mustangs peak performance. The worst part about driving a mustang during the winter is the cinders and salt they put on the road to melt the snow and ice. This keeps the roads drivable and save, but are very harmful to your wheels and the underneath of your mustang. The salt from the roads is corrosive and damages the condition of your wheels by eating away at the finish. Never use chrome rims on roads that have salt of cinders, because it will ruin the shiny finish. Salt and cinders also eat away at the metal exhaust and other suspension and drive train components. To avoid all of these hazardous road conditions I personally put my Mustang away until the roads are free from salt and cinders. I put my mustang away in the garage and put a car cover over it to keep away all the dust and dirt. I also unhook the negative battery cable to there is no drawl on the battery during storage. Another tip to to leave rat poison near the vehicle so that rats don't make nest in the engine bay, air intake, or interior of your car. The last thing before i put my mustang away for the winter is take one last drive, and wash the interior and exterior of my Mustang. This will insure that there is no harmful substances on the car while in storage. If your love your Mustang like I do, i suggest winterizing your car until the roads are safe and the weather is nice again.





Tune ups, maintain your best

Installed spark plug wires

A tune up can make the difference between 30 MPG's or 20 MPG's. Regular tune ups also keep your engine running its best and keeping your Mustangs as fast and effcient as possible. A tune up is a fairly easy process that requires minimal experience, but has a huge payoff at the end of the day. The three main items you will be inspecting while doing a tune up is your spark plugs, spark plug witres, and your ignition source. (distributer, coil pack, caps on coils) First things first how do you know your Mustang needs a tune up. If your vehicle has been running sluggish, has a rough idle, has a noticable cylinder misfire, been consuming more fuel than mormal, or has been more than 2 years since your last tune up, its time to get under the hood and get some new spark. When doing a tune up spark plugs and wire always should be bought together so that the age at the same rate. When purchasing your spark plugs and wires there are numerous options to choose from, and depending on your Mustang and your desired performance level, you choose the option that best fits you. Now its not nessasary to replase your coils evertime you do a tune up, but if you replace your spark plugs and wires and your idle is still rough, or you still have a cylinder misfire, it may be nessasary to replace the coils. A normal tune up costs around a hundred dollars for plugs and wires, and coils are usually an additional hundred dollars. In the end a tune up more than pays for itself.







Keep The Heart Alive

With the seasons changing and the temperatures dropping it is very important to maintain your Mustangs top performance. Keeping your heart alive and in top performance is easy if the proper steps are taken. The engine is the heart of the vehicle. To keep your Mustang running at maximum performance proper maintenance is key. Oil changes, coolant flushes, tune ups, tire rotations, and fluid checks are just some of the things you should regularly do. The most important maintenance item your should perform is regular oil changes.

clean and dirty engine valves

Oil changes should be done every 2,000 - 5,000 miles, depending on how you use your car. The harder you use your car the more often oil changes should be performed. Without proper oil changes your engine will develop sludge. Sludge is old dirty oil that becomes thick. Sludge is one of the leading causes of engine component failure. Sludge causes poor oil flow to vital components of the engine, without proper lubrication components will fail to perform causing engine failure. Oil changes are relatively cheap, they cause around $30. Regular oil changes will help stop engine sludge from developing and help keep your engine in top performance. 

Another vital maintenance item to be performed is engine coolant flushes/radiator flushes. Engine coolant is what keep engine temperature low and keeps the car from over heating. Engine coolant flushes should be done every two years or 30,000 miles, which ever come first. Without regular coolant flushes, the coolant becomes dirty and doesn't perform at the same rate as clean fluid. Clogged radiators and clogged water pumps can also be caused by improper maintenance. Without proper engine coolant maintenance your vehicle will not perform at its top level, and can cause the car to over heat.

Other maintenance's your should perform is to do engine tune ups. A tune up consists of changing the spark plugs and the spark plug wires. This should be performed every every two years or 30,000 miles, which ever come first. You should also check to make sure that your brake fluid, power steering fluid, oil, engine coolant, and transmission fluid are all at their proper levels. Tire rotations should be performed two to three times a year, also you should check your air filter to make sure that is clean and has proper air flow. If you perform your maintenance at the proper time it will keep your mustang at its top performance though its life time.

Add HP Without Losing MPG

sports car with performance exhaust

Today im working on giving my 2000 mustang more horse power without losing any gas milage. One of the simplest ways to do this is to install performance exhaust. The function of the exhaust is to get rid of the burnt fuel from the engine. Exhaust filters out the harmful emissions while keeping the car quiet. Factory exhaust has alot of restrictive devices on it,  this keeps the car quiet. Performance exhaust eliminates those restrictions and allows your car to function at its absolute best. Factory exhaust restrictions include factory catalytic converters, factory mufflers, and small exhaust tubing. All of these components are nessasary in order to pass state emissions and inspection laws. Performance exhaust still has all of those components but have fewer restrictive devices. This make the exhaust louder and more boastful. Installing performance exhaust to your car will add 15 to 30 horsepower while increasing miles per gallon by up to 10. 

performance air intake being installed

Another modification you can make to increase your horsepower and miles per gallon is by installing an performance air intake system. Factory air intake systems provide a key aspect to a running engine, air. Air mixes with the fuel to make it more combustible  and more efficient in the performance of the engine. With out proper air flow the engine would not be able to run. Factory air intake systems have very efficient but restrictive air filters and inlet tubing. Replacing your air intake system with and aftermarket system lets your car function with more ease. Performance intake systems come with less restrictive filters, larger tubing, and more efficient delivery systems. Installing a performance air intake system will add anywhere from 5 to 30 horsepower, while improving miles per gallon by up to 15.