Modding a 4th gen vs buying something new...
09-29-2016, 10:02 PM
#21
Launching!
For the price they are nice, but still price is for each?? Used LS1 and mods are way cheaper than a new car. As most have said you're only buying a warranty. Even then they will be slower for the price tag you can and will spend on an older car. 
09-29-2016, 10:14 PM
#22
Launching!
Just for reference, I considered a "new car" but thought twice. I bought this car because I based my buy on do I want power, or comfort?. I could have bought a CTS-V, C63, M3 etc. I personally went for power and price to make this car as competitive to the new age market for under or the same price.
PM me if you want to chat more.
PM me if you want to chat more.
10-06-2016, 03:07 AM
#23
Staging Lane
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Indy
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
10-06-2016, 05:58 PM
#25
Launching!
That is a tough call to make....but I work for a dealership that has about 10 franchises and I get to drive new sports cars ALL the time, Having just bought a 2002 WS6 for 14k with 30k miles and me being the 2nd owner I would say: LT'S Pacesetter ceramic coated, with SLP LM,SLP Lid,Tick master, gears, pro kit with Bilsteins,and some good drilled and slotted rotors with ceramic hawk pads cost me under 2k with a $ tune150 BUT is a lot better then buying a 36k Mustang 5.0 trackpack, 39k Challenger rt or scat pack, 37k Camaro ss etc etc
10-07-2016, 11:07 AM
#26
OP I will give you my take on this,
Ive been a long time LSX fan and over the past few years had 3 f bodies and had a lot of fun modding them, theres just so much you can do to them and if your someone like me who just likes doing upgrades regardless if its the free ram air or more extensive like headers and intake swaps, I enjoy doing it. I had been out of the f body game for awhile tho and in 2012 bought a 13' 5.0, did some mild exhaust mods and then lost the car in a divorce. Picked up a 14' 5.0 and again had some fun with it, mild exhaust and tune, car hauled *** tune and muffler only and I was putting the beating on f body cars in my area, was solid car. The problem I ran into with the stang, ( cannot speak for the new Camaro) was that after you did exhaust and a tune, there really was no other HP mods to do unless you wanted to go FI or nitrous. From the factory everything in the car perfroms well. Sure I did LCA's and suspension stuff but I wanted more power, head swaps were useless as the factory heads flowed very well and a $2000+ head swap was only going to net me a 3% increase in CFM flow. Cam swaps were useless as the factory cam flowed plenty. In the end I cracked and spent the cash on a vortech SC setup. Eventually I sold the car when I moved to the northwest courtesy of the navy and picked up a 98 ws6 all stock with 48k miles before I left and honestly I enjoy it more. Theres so many mods to do its keeping me busy as a project car, and while it doesn't have the power I used to have, it has the potential should I choose to. The biggest thing for me is you just don't see these cars in great condition and plentiful on the road anymore, everyone that's in our genre is driving 5th or 6th gens or new 5.0's. IMO a clean, well built ws6 or ss stands out and is better. People always watch my car as I go by in my area because im one of 3 ws6's in the area and its such a unique car in terms of body styling. Case in point I was driving near the beach and there was a little kid walking with his family, there was a new mustang in front of me and the kid stopped and stared at my car and could hear him saying "wooooow" as I went by, didn't give 2 ***** about the 16' 5.0 lol. Its all personal preference and if I were you don't look at it as what is more relevant or "worth" modding nowadays, look at it as what shell would you rather be sitting in because you can get the power and performance level you want out of either. A new era domestic will perform well from the factory and require minor mods but will come with a 30K or more price tag. A good clean used f body will come at a third of that price and leave you plenty of mod money.
Ive been a long time LSX fan and over the past few years had 3 f bodies and had a lot of fun modding them, theres just so much you can do to them and if your someone like me who just likes doing upgrades regardless if its the free ram air or more extensive like headers and intake swaps, I enjoy doing it. I had been out of the f body game for awhile tho and in 2012 bought a 13' 5.0, did some mild exhaust mods and then lost the car in a divorce. Picked up a 14' 5.0 and again had some fun with it, mild exhaust and tune, car hauled *** tune and muffler only and I was putting the beating on f body cars in my area, was solid car. The problem I ran into with the stang, ( cannot speak for the new Camaro) was that after you did exhaust and a tune, there really was no other HP mods to do unless you wanted to go FI or nitrous. From the factory everything in the car perfroms well. Sure I did LCA's and suspension stuff but I wanted more power, head swaps were useless as the factory heads flowed very well and a $2000+ head swap was only going to net me a 3% increase in CFM flow. Cam swaps were useless as the factory cam flowed plenty. In the end I cracked and spent the cash on a vortech SC setup. Eventually I sold the car when I moved to the northwest courtesy of the navy and picked up a 98 ws6 all stock with 48k miles before I left and honestly I enjoy it more. Theres so many mods to do its keeping me busy as a project car, and while it doesn't have the power I used to have, it has the potential should I choose to. The biggest thing for me is you just don't see these cars in great condition and plentiful on the road anymore, everyone that's in our genre is driving 5th or 6th gens or new 5.0's. IMO a clean, well built ws6 or ss stands out and is better. People always watch my car as I go by in my area because im one of 3 ws6's in the area and its such a unique car in terms of body styling. Case in point I was driving near the beach and there was a little kid walking with his family, there was a new mustang in front of me and the kid stopped and stared at my car and could hear him saying "wooooow" as I went by, didn't give 2 ***** about the 16' 5.0 lol. Its all personal preference and if I were you don't look at it as what is more relevant or "worth" modding nowadays, look at it as what shell would you rather be sitting in because you can get the power and performance level you want out of either. A new era domestic will perform well from the factory and require minor mods but will come with a 30K or more price tag. A good clean used f body will come at a third of that price and leave you plenty of mod money.
10-07-2016, 07:51 PM
#28
Launching!
OP I will give you my take on this,
Ive been a long time LSX fan and over the past few years had 3 f bodies and had a lot of fun modding them, theres just so much you can do to them and if your someone like me who just likes doing upgrades regardless if its the free ram air or more extensive like headers and intake swaps, I enjoy doing it. I had been out of the f body game for awhile tho and in 2012 bought a 13' 5.0, did some mild exhaust mods and then lost the car in a divorce. Picked up a 14' 5.0 and again had some fun with it, mild exhaust and tune, car hauled *** tune and muffler only and I was putting the beating on f body cars in my area, was solid car. The problem I ran into with the stang, ( cannot speak for the new Camaro) was that after you did exhaust and a tune, there really was no other HP mods to do unless you wanted to go FI or nitrous. From the factory everything in the car perfroms well. Sure I did LCA's and suspension stuff but I wanted more power, head swaps were useless as the factory heads flowed very well and a $2000+ head swap was only going to net me a 3% increase in CFM flow. Cam swaps were useless as the factory cam flowed plenty. In the end I cracked and spent the cash on a vortech SC setup. Eventually I sold the car when I moved to the northwest courtesy of the navy and picked up a 98 ws6 all stock with 48k miles before I left and honestly I enjoy it more. Theres so many mods to do its keeping me busy as a project car, and while it doesn't have the power I used to have, it has the potential should I choose to. The biggest thing for me is you just don't see these cars in great condition and plentiful on the road anymore, everyone that's in our genre is driving 5th or 6th gens or new 5.0's. IMO a clean, well built ws6 or ss stands out and is better. People always watch my car as I go by in my area because im one of 3 ws6's in the area and its such a unique car in terms of body styling. Case in point I was driving near the beach and there was a little kid walking with his family, there was a new mustang in front of me and the kid stopped and stared at my car and could hear him saying "wooooow" as I went by, didn't give 2 ***** about the 16' 5.0 lol. Its all personal preference and if I were you don't look at it as what is more relevant or "worth" modding nowadays, look at it as what shell would you rather be sitting in because you can get the power and performance level you want out of either. A new era domestic will perform well from the factory and require minor mods but will come with a 30K or more price tag. A good clean used f body will come at a third of that price and leave you plenty of mod money.
Ive been a long time LSX fan and over the past few years had 3 f bodies and had a lot of fun modding them, theres just so much you can do to them and if your someone like me who just likes doing upgrades regardless if its the free ram air or more extensive like headers and intake swaps, I enjoy doing it. I had been out of the f body game for awhile tho and in 2012 bought a 13' 5.0, did some mild exhaust mods and then lost the car in a divorce. Picked up a 14' 5.0 and again had some fun with it, mild exhaust and tune, car hauled *** tune and muffler only and I was putting the beating on f body cars in my area, was solid car. The problem I ran into with the stang, ( cannot speak for the new Camaro) was that after you did exhaust and a tune, there really was no other HP mods to do unless you wanted to go FI or nitrous. From the factory everything in the car perfroms well. Sure I did LCA's and suspension stuff but I wanted more power, head swaps were useless as the factory heads flowed very well and a $2000+ head swap was only going to net me a 3% increase in CFM flow. Cam swaps were useless as the factory cam flowed plenty. In the end I cracked and spent the cash on a vortech SC setup. Eventually I sold the car when I moved to the northwest courtesy of the navy and picked up a 98 ws6 all stock with 48k miles before I left and honestly I enjoy it more. Theres so many mods to do its keeping me busy as a project car, and while it doesn't have the power I used to have, it has the potential should I choose to. The biggest thing for me is you just don't see these cars in great condition and plentiful on the road anymore, everyone that's in our genre is driving 5th or 6th gens or new 5.0's. IMO a clean, well built ws6 or ss stands out and is better. People always watch my car as I go by in my area because im one of 3 ws6's in the area and its such a unique car in terms of body styling. Case in point I was driving near the beach and there was a little kid walking with his family, there was a new mustang in front of me and the kid stopped and stared at my car and could hear him saying "wooooow" as I went by, didn't give 2 ***** about the 16' 5.0 lol. Its all personal preference and if I were you don't look at it as what is more relevant or "worth" modding nowadays, look at it as what shell would you rather be sitting in because you can get the power and performance level you want out of either. A new era domestic will perform well from the factory and require minor mods but will come with a 30K or more price tag. A good clean used f body will come at a third of that price and leave you plenty of mod money.
Like usnfenix I'm only 1 of 3 in my area as well. The ONLY other car I'd buy for uniqueness but at more than x3 the cost would be a Rossion Q1. You then pay $$ for a shell and rarity for the similar...similar...performance. 
10-17-2016, 03:46 PM
#31
should of waited for black Friday deals on vengeance racing ported FAST 92's and 102's.
However that being said the BBK is a good intake ive had myself, (bracing for all the heat-soak conspiracy theorists)
I hope you put some loc-tite on the little bolts underneath that intake that hold the bottom removable panel on, they have been known to work loose and end up in the valley cover.
However that being said the BBK is a good intake ive had myself, (bracing for all the heat-soak conspiracy theorists)
I hope you put some loc-tite on the little bolts underneath that intake that hold the bottom removable panel on, they have been known to work loose and end up in the valley cover.
10-19-2016, 06:15 PM
#35
Staging Lane
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Long Island
Posts: 68
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My bolt on 99 is faster than my 16, but the mustang is much nicer to drive. If you use it everyday, go for a new car. The comfort and features, hell, the build quality, of the new stuff is leagues better than the 4th gen.
10-20-2016, 08:59 PM
#36
Ok several routes of thought here.
The 10-15g to buy a really clean low mileage car may be hard to come up with and really hard to find a bank that will touch it so financing a new car easier.
2nd if car is a toy it's never smart to finance a toy for most of us guys of average means on here so paid for is alway's better if it's a daily then this doesn't apply.
You can only get to 70 mph so fast legally anyhow so unless it's a race car who cares if it's slower or dead even to a new car.
My personal take has changed as I've gotten older since I first joined here years ago I'd drop every dime I had to be faster then life set in and I love it. So these day's just to get to own a fairly quick nice car is plenty good. I found a beater z28 to enjoy until I get my TA out of paint jail found it bone stock used and high mileage so just kinda enjoy it while it finishes out it's last years on the pavement did a few minor mods and rock n roll
The 10-15g to buy a really clean low mileage car may be hard to come up with and really hard to find a bank that will touch it so financing a new car easier.
2nd if car is a toy it's never smart to finance a toy for most of us guys of average means on here so paid for is alway's better if it's a daily then this doesn't apply.
You can only get to 70 mph so fast legally anyhow so unless it's a race car who cares if it's slower or dead even to a new car.
My personal take has changed as I've gotten older since I first joined here years ago I'd drop every dime I had to be faster then life set in and I love it. So these day's just to get to own a fairly quick nice car is plenty good. I found a beater z28 to enjoy until I get my TA out of paint jail found it bone stock used and high mileage so just kinda enjoy it while it finishes out it's last years on the pavement did a few minor mods and rock n roll
10-21-2016, 01:41 AM
#37
LS1Tech Administrator
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Schiller Park, IL Member: #317
Posts: 32,040
Likes: 0
Received 1,492 Likes
on
1,074 Posts
I definitely agree here. There will always be a faster car, in fact there will always be MANY cars that are faster. And even more tomorrow. And then next week those cars will also be considered "slow" compared to something else. Who cares? Unless you're building a dedicated race car for competition purposes (either professionally or for bragging rights), then I really don't see the point in worrying about this for a street cruiser/daily driver. Pick a performance goal that satisfies you (a power number, an ET, a trap speed, etc.) and then follow the path of least resistance/most personal enjoyment to get there. Does it really matter if a new model happens to be faster next year? Does that make your previously satisfactory performance goals any less satisfactory? I guess this might matter to folks who live their life a quarter mile at a time, even on the street, but personally that's not something which keeps me awake at night.
10-25-2016, 12:37 PM
#38
OP I will give you my take on this,
IMO a clean, well built ws6 or ss stands out and is better. People always watch my car as I go by in my area because im one of 3 ws6's in the area and its such a unique car in terms of body styling. Case in point I was driving near the beach and there was a little kid walking with his family, there was a new mustang in front of me and the kid stopped and stared at my car and could hear him saying "wooooow" as I went by, didn't give 2 ***** about the 16' 5.0 lol.
IMO a clean, well built ws6 or ss stands out and is better. People always watch my car as I go by in my area because im one of 3 ws6's in the area and its such a unique car in terms of body styling. Case in point I was driving near the beach and there was a little kid walking with his family, there was a new mustang in front of me and the kid stopped and stared at my car and could hear him saying "wooooow" as I went by, didn't give 2 ***** about the 16' 5.0 lol.
10-25-2016, 12:39 PM
#39
I definitely agree here. There will always be a faster car, in fact there will always be MANY cars that are faster. And even more tomorrow. And then next week those cars will also be considered "slow" compared to something else. Who cares? Unless you're building a dedicated race car for competition purposes (either professionally or for bragging rights), then I really don't see the point in worrying about this for a street cruiser/daily driver. Pick a performance goal that satisfies you (a power number, an ET, a trap speed, etc.) and then follow the path of least resistance/most personal enjoyment to get there. Does it really matter if a new model happens to be faster next year? Does that make your previously satisfactory performance goals any less satisfactory? I guess this might matter to folks who live their life a quarter mile at a time, even on the street, but personally that's not something which keeps me awake at night.
10-25-2016, 09:24 PM
#40
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (7)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 527
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
+1 for the fourth gens
I bought my GTO two months ago. Last week someone at work asked why I bought another old car instead of one of many new sports cars. My reasons were:
- Challengers have 2" tall windows and 3' tall bumpers. Not appealing to me.
- Camaros: [see Challengers above] plus the weird bubble shaped radio / climate control thingy.
- Mustangs I have enjoyed as rentals, and contemplated buying one, but couldn't quite get past the Ford part.
I love my GTO. It's a great DD. But I'm still thinking of buying another F-Body. I miss my Trans Ams. The styling is unique and timeless. I don't really care how many turn signal sockets, headlight gears, and window motors I have to replace.
I bought my GTO two months ago. Last week someone at work asked why I bought another old car instead of one of many new sports cars. My reasons were:
- Challengers have 2" tall windows and 3' tall bumpers. Not appealing to me.
- Camaros: [see Challengers above] plus the weird bubble shaped radio / climate control thingy.
- Mustangs I have enjoyed as rentals, and contemplated buying one, but couldn't quite get past the Ford part.
I love my GTO. It's a great DD. But I'm still thinking of buying another F-Body. I miss my Trans Ams. The styling is unique and timeless. I don't really care how many turn signal sockets, headlight gears, and window motors I have to replace.