Supercharged Mustang as a daily driver...
Discussion
What have I got myself into? Ever since I was a little kid I've always loved Mustangs. The look, the noise, the character. I always knew I'd have to have one and last week I got really lucky on eBay and managed to get my hands on an '06 Mustang GT with a Saleen supercharger in mineral grey with black leather. Unbelievably the car had only done 14,000 miles (although it's nearly 15k now!).
Coming from an Impreza STI, a cumbersome Yank tank with a live axle and nearly 400 horses at the rear wheels is certainly interesting. It's very rewarding to drive in the wet, as in, if you drive sensibly it rewards you by not spitting you through a hedge. Seriously though, Mustangs get a lot of stick for not being the sharpest tool on our roads, but so far it's been a lot of fun and i'm enjoying exploring the limits of the car. That V8 engine note is addictive but I'd say the supercharger is really a necessity rather than a nice to have modification.
Here she is for now, more pictures and updates at the end of the week when I've given her a good going over and burnt through a load more fuel.
UPDATE:
Having put just over a thousand miles on her now, i'm well at home with this car and loving Mustang ownership. I've just spent the day sprucing her up and taking some decent pictures. So here they are. The only downside to detailing a car is finding all the stuff that you want to put right or change. For me, the first thing was getting rid of the aftermarket chrome grill one of the previous owners fitted. Anyway, here are the pictures.
Coming from an Impreza STI, a cumbersome Yank tank with a live axle and nearly 400 horses at the rear wheels is certainly interesting. It's very rewarding to drive in the wet, as in, if you drive sensibly it rewards you by not spitting you through a hedge. Seriously though, Mustangs get a lot of stick for not being the sharpest tool on our roads, but so far it's been a lot of fun and i'm enjoying exploring the limits of the car. That V8 engine note is addictive but I'd say the supercharger is really a necessity rather than a nice to have modification.
Here she is for now, more pictures and updates at the end of the week when I've given her a good going over and burnt through a load more fuel.
UPDATE:
Having put just over a thousand miles on her now, i'm well at home with this car and loving Mustang ownership. I've just spent the day sprucing her up and taking some decent pictures. So here they are. The only downside to detailing a car is finding all the stuff that you want to put right or change. For me, the first thing was getting rid of the aftermarket chrome grill one of the previous owners fitted. Anyway, here are the pictures.
Edited by BaronVonV8 on Saturday 18th October 23:48
Edited by BaronVonV8 on Saturday 18th October 23:50
SimonYorkshire said:
My advice would be to immediately convert it to LPG...
Simon
Spend a few grand on making it run like crap on cheap gas? No thanks. The plans I've got at the moment are cold air intake, upgrade the fuel pump/injectors, 3.4 supercharger pulley and a new tune. Suspension and brake upgrades are a must, so doing my research on those. I want the car to look as stock as possible, but would like to be in the 300bhp/tonne region. I think it'll make a pretty cool sleeper.Simon
In terms of keeping it as a sleeper, I meant more that I didn't want to advertise the presence of the supercharger, keep it more as an ace up my sleeve. Still waiting on getting some proper pictures sorted this weekend, been too busy having fun. Possibly too much fun.
(Although I did manage just under 20.5 US mpg on a run recently)
(Although I did manage just under 20.5 US mpg on a run recently)
I agree 5oh, it's definately a very satisfying ownership experience so far. It seems to be a car that attracts a lot of positive attention, driving one over here, quite a few people will stop to talk to you about the car, which is nice for the most part.
Thread now updated with pictures on the first post.
Thread now updated with pictures on the first post.
That looks damn tasty Swerni! Do you still have it? I definately found the limitations of the suspension and brakes this weekend. So I think that's where my money will be going first. Great fun to drive though, very old school. Traction control is bloody awful so that gets turned off unless it's extremely wet. Simon, i'm sure LPG is wonderful when it's done right, but it isn't my bag. I didn't buy a V8 because i'm bothered about the price of fuel.
A few more pics from my weekend hoon around Dartmoor.
A few more pics from my weekend hoon around Dartmoor.
Very nice Swerni, I had a V6 Camaro as a hire car earlier this year and quite liked it (apart from being 2 cylinders short), actually ended up driving it to the Corvette museum in Kentucky as I was in the area. I'd definately consider a 'vette in about 5 years time. How do you get on with yours?
Quick update on this, Santa has come earlier and emptied his bulging sack just for me. So i've got some new wheels, 18" Bullitt's with nearly new BF Goodrich tyres. The ride is a lot nicer with the 18's and the car feels a bit more settled. Tyres... well, they are definitely designed for the American market. Nothing to write home about as they are meant to be a performance tyre, just a bit average really. Aside from riding better, the car also looks a lot better. But the polished finish isn't my cup of tea. I've knocked up a quick bit of Photoshoppery, but I think i'm probably going to go for a dark grey finish, i've had my eye on Porsche Atlas Grey and think that could be a winner. What do you chaps think?
Power delivery is pretty linear with the supercharger, peak power is made at about 5500rpm and the torque curve is pretty flat too. It's easy to drive at low speeds, and a bit of an animal when you boot it, it's quite hard to get a good start off the line but once you're going and you're in the meatiest part of the power band it's hilarious fast. The traction control is a total joke and I keep it turned off in most conditions as it feels like it's more of a danger than a safety feature as it is completely unpredictable and seems to have a life of its own. Sometimes it's almost like you're driving with it switched off, and then it'll just kick in at the slightest loss of traction and at times it cuts traction so hard that it's like hitting the rev limiter. Not doing too bad on fuel, my record is 260 miles to a tank, although on short journey around town i'm getting around 13mpg. Still worth it just for the noise though. I drove the car all through winter and had no trouble with it, changed the oil, I absolutely love how easy this car is to work on. I certainly don't have any regrets buying this thing.
I've finally got my wheels back now, so next thing for the car will be brake and suspension mods, starting with rear upper and lower control arms and possibly a Watts link. Road trip to France for a few days next week too. So here's how it's sitting at the moment:
I've finally got my wheels back now, so next thing for the car will be brake and suspension mods, starting with rear upper and lower control arms and possibly a Watts link. Road trip to France for a few days next week too. So here's how it's sitting at the moment:
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