therat1989

Alright I absolutely love this GTO. I traded a 2001 Mustang GT for it and have some questions. I love the pull of the GTO. It pulls harder than my car except the initial punch in your seat. I'm sure some bolt on's will solve this problem. So my question is. What are the best bolt ons to do. I know the Mustang responded well to LT's,gears and a tune. Is the GTO any different? What are the avg. gains of each item.

Also I have to say this. I hate the stock clutch and shifter! It feels so loose compared to my old GT's. I need to upgrade ASAP. What brand short throw and what clutch should I look into.

and lastly..suspension. I want to keep my stock ride the same but want firmer handling when I want to play. Do these cars benefit from FLSFC's like a Mustang does? Or would a high dollar set of shocks help more?

Sorry this is alot to take in and pictures are coming soon.

ISMELLRICE

iTrader: (22)

i hear gears are expensive as fuhhh on the gto's i had a 2002 gt with 4.10s/drags/lts and that thing would launch sick at 4k rpm...
anything done to the gto will be pricey so get your wallet ready

btw just with the 4.10's i was doing 8.89 at the 1/8th

impulsegoat

iTrader: (4)

As far as modding the GTO, i think most would agree to go longtubes and a tune for 1st mods. You will see very nice gains from longtubes. The GTO has a stock 346 rear gear in it so i don't know if a lot of guys are as quick to upgrade the gears in them as other cars. Investing in a set of MT DR's really helps these cars get off the line (you will see once you play around with it at the track). Hope this helps.

svede1212

iTrader: (3)

Definitely longtubes and a tune. There are only three shifters I'd look at in this order: Proxses, GMM and Billet Prototypes. Suspension-wise there are 2 sets of bushings that absolutely have to be changed if you are on the OEM. The front radius rod bushings are liquid filled and leak cause tire wear and dangerous handling. The strut busings/bearings also are very common to collapse. A good set of Lovells springs and matching dampers or perhaps Konis and it will be a new car. For the other bushings the Energy Suspension master bushing kit is good and cheap. As mentioned brace yourself for the price shock. There are 10 billion Mustangs and maybe only 30,000 GTOs left so the economy of scale just isn't there.

therat1989

Alright thanks guys. I cannot wait to start modding. I am already used to the power.

mark21742

When I first got my 04 I swapped out all the bushing for Energy Suspension poly except for a few I had to get through Pedders and went with Eibach 1.2" dropped springs... made car handle like it should have from the factory

mark21742

depending on how far you wanted to go, you could Unbolt the tow hitch package from under the trunk, take out the gas tank cage and relocate the battery to the rear passenger side of the trunk

therat1989

I think I will stick to basic bolt ons for now. I really want a full exhaust but the Kooks LT's I want are 900 dollars! I guess I need to sell more cars and get some bonus money...lol

NasbaGoat

^ those long tubes do not include midpipes (which you have to have)....... you looking at $1300-1400 for a set of LT's on this car from any brand unless you buy Pacesetter....

Marylandspeed.com has the most competative prices on exhaust for this car

therat1989

my god.....ok well I knew getting this vehicle would be expensive but I wanted it. Are Pacesetters any good? you left dots at the end and that is never a good sign.

impulsegoat

iTrader: (4)

A lot of guys run pacesetter's. Best bang for buck header for the GTO imo. I personally gained 4mph and .6 off my time in the 1/4 mile. And that was just switching from a set of shorty headers to the pacesetter LT's.

mark21742

Yup I'm running Pacesetters too and love them...I just pull them off once a year, clean them up and put a new coat of black high temp paint on...still fresh after 4 years now

therat1989

I really wanted Kooks but I can get Pacesetters a CAI and a tune for that price..lol

O-FiveCC

iTrader: (10)

Yeah I want some Kooks or ARH headers too. But I can't see spending the extra money. I am actually tempted to go with some stainless OBX, but they are so looked down upon that I'd have to have some thick skin to rock them. OBX is pretty much a Chinese knock off. They just design it like the high end headers and sell it for less. They are all Stainless as opposed to the PS mild steel. However, a lot of local members have Pacesetters and are very happy with them. Headers, tune, RR bushings and new rear springs for about the price of of a set of headers....hmmmm

mark21742

I got a Chinese knockoff stainless steel header for a Honda project ( yes I know, Honda) lol for $25 plus $19 shipping new and it fit and works great, so you never know lol

impulsegoat

iTrader: (4)

lmfao!^^^

therat1989

I don't know if I could bring myself to spend 25 dollars...

mark21742

I was actually shocked at how nice that header was...I figured it would be a peices of crap, but it was a nice piece....wish we could find stuff like that for our cars lol

mark21742

What ever you do, don't waste you money on a hand held tune, or an aftermarket MAF

therat1989

really. Hand helds suck on these cars? Would a dyno tune help much at all on an all stock LS2?