An aftermarket exhaust is a great place to start when modding any car. A complete system can add an extra 40 hp at the rear wheels with a tune. Our tech article on understanding exhaust systems is a must-read for any first-time modder. Before I get into the nitty-gritty of exhaust systems, here are some important points everyone should know about aftermarket exhausts:

1. Purchase your headers and mid-pipe from the same manufacturer – some manufacturers sell products that only bolt up to their own, or OEM, exhaust components.
2. Long tube headers sometimes require oxygen sensor extensions, but always require a new mid-pipe (shorty mid-pipe).
3. If you choose to run an exhaust with no catalytic converters you will need to re-tune the computer to get rid of the check engine light.

IMPORTANT – Although some high-flow catalytic converters will pass state emissions testing, it is still illegal (under federal law) to run anything other than a catalyst that meets OEM specifications. You should always be aware of the state and federal emissions laws.

Headers

A lot of customers ask me about the difference between short tube and long tube headers. I think much of this confusion stems from the fact that the power gains are relative to RPM range. Long tube headers give more consistent power, not necessarily more power. This means that the long tube headers will give power from mid-low RPMs through mid-high RPMs, whereas the power increase from shorty headers is limited to mid-range RPMs.

Considering that Karl wants the most HP from his exhaust, my recommendation would be a set of ceramic-coated SLP long-tube headers. The ceramic coating is an awesome insulator, it conducts almost no heat and yes, that is a good thing. Hot gas moves faster than cool gas, so keeping the exhaust gases hot moves them out of the engine bay faster, improving efficiency.

Mid-Pipe

Mid-pipes are another subject I get a lot of questions on. What’s the difference between an X-pipe and an H-pipe anyway? First of all, a mid-pipe with a crossover is essential, it evens out exhaust pulses and the intermingling of the exhaust gasses equalizes backpressure between the two banks of the engine.

An X-pipe provides the path of least resistance, so to speak. Keeping the exhaust gases moving parallel to the walls of the tubing prevents “tumbling” and maximizes horsepower and efficiency by maintaining speed. While you won’t see as many horses with an h-pipe, they are touted for their low-end torque. H-pipes also encourage the “tumbling” effect of the exhaust gases, making them several decibels louder than an x-pipe. My recommendation for Karl here would be a shorty SLP catted x-pipe to match his headers.

Cat-Back

This is the biggest factor in the actual sound. The headers and mid-pipe will affect the sound of your exhaust to a point, but nothing affects the sound of your ‘Stang more than the mufflers. Generally, the freer-flowing the exhaust, the more power you get. Even though Karl wants to boost horsepower, I would still recommend a system with chambered mufflers like a Magnaflow stainless cat-back system. This chambered-muffler system will give Karl the muscle car rumble he wants without that maddening drone at highway speeds.

Pre-painted parts are available in all 19 Ford OEM colors. AmericanMuscle’s master painting technicians have developed a 14-step process that delivers superior shine and durability. Best of all, because AmericanMuscle is painting your part ahead of time, ALL parts ship the same day at a price far less than having it done at your local body shop.

Better: And OEM-spec facility and 14-point painting system ensure only the highest quality.

Faster: Just like everything else at AmericanMuscle, pre-painted parts are always in stock and ship the same day you order.

More Affordable: AmericanMuscle buys in bulk and paints in bulk, producing better parts for less $$$.

Before	After

The Parts

At the leading edge of Mustang style, the parts list for the October 26 launch reads like a greatest hits playlist. Many of AmericanMuscle’s top sellers will be cleaned, prepped and painted in all 19 Ford factory colors.

• Headlight Splitters (05-09)
• Mirror Covers (05-09)
• Hood Scoops (05-09)
• Chin Spoilers (05-09)
• Quarter Window Louvers (05-09)
• Side Scoops (05-09)

The Booth

The facility at AmericanMuscle is nothing less than state of the art. It was designed and built by Global Finishing Solutions, the exclusive paint booth supplier to all OEM-endorsed paint shops. The booth at AmericanMuscle is a fully-loaded GFS system that employs numerous innovative technologies to produce a highly efficient, clean room environment and a minimal carbon footprint. The foundation for this eco-friendly program is the next-generation water-base paint that exceeds the quality and durability of traditional toxic solvent-base paints.

Using a semi-downdraft system, the paint booth achieves optimal painting conditions by shooting air down from the ceiling to evenly coat the painting surface. The air then circulates up and out the back of the booth where is it removed by the comprehensive filter system. This method, combined with air-powered Sata paint guns, provides an optimal formula for finished product that surpasses even OEM factory standards, not to mention a local paint shop.

The AmericanMuscle 14-Step Painting Process

Every painted part from AmericanMuscle undergoes a meticulous 14-step process in order to produce only the highest quality results.

Inspection – Every part is carefully inspected by the AmericanMuscle paint team to determine if it is a viable candidate for the AM paint program.

Sanding – Before the painting even begins, parts are sanded by hand to remove any visible imperfections.

Primer – As the first coat to be applied, primer provides a solid base for the paint and fills any pinholes or other microscopic inconsistencies in the surface.

Sand 2 – Primered parts are sanded a second, time providing a perfectly smooth surface for painting.

Cure – The curing process ensures the primer is dried and set before further coats are applied. To cure the parts, the booth is heated to 185º for 5 minutes, then 170º for 15 minutes, and finally cooled for 3 minutes before the sealed environment is opened for inspection.

Sealer – Before the paint can be applied, all parts are treated with a sealer that facilitates adhesion and long-term durability.

Base Coat 1 – This is the first application of toned paint. Here the color is thin and weak by comparison to the finished product.

Base Coat 2 – The second round of paint builds on the first, effectively bolstering color depth and enhancing a smooth, shiny finish.

Base Coat 3 – A third coat delivers maximum depth in color and durability for long-term use on your Mustang in all possible environments.

Clear Coat – Clear coat is applied to bring out that glossy quality that truly makes a Mustang shine. Clear coat is the most durable layer, providing a hard shell of protection around your Mustang’s exterior.

Clear Coat 2 – To further enhance a strong, glossy exterior, a second clear coat is applied to all parts.

Cure 2 – Once the multiple layers of primer, sealer, base coat and finally clear coat have been applied, trim parts undergo a second curing process in order to achieve a perfect finish.

Cool – After the parts are cured and then cooled inside the paint booth they are removed to the cooling room where they rest undisturbed for an additional 8 to 12 hours.

Wet Sand – The AmericanMuscle master painter carefully examines every part in a final inspection to determine if parts require additional wet sanding to remove any minor imperfections before final packaging.

Now that you’ve got the details, go shop Pre-Painted Mustang Parts for your Pony!

As a V6 owner myself, I understand how frustrating it can be trying to modify a V6. While there is not as much aftermarket support for the V6s as there is for the V8s it is still out there and available. Supercharger and turbo kits are available for V6s now. But if you’re starting slow or don’t have quite that much to spend I would recommend a cold air intake, upgraded exhaust system and a tuner.

Cold Air Intake

Cold air intake systems by themselves can add 8-10 horsepower to your car and are relatively inexpensive. A K&N FIPK V6 Intake kit would be a great option. If you’re not looking to spend $200-$300 on a complete intake system, a K&N Drop-In Replacement Filter is a less-expensive alternative.

However, for a 05-09 ‘Stang I would recommend an intake/tuner combo kit. In most cases, S197 Mustangs will not run if a new CAI is installed without an aftermarket tune. The car will start but stall out immediately.

Tuner

A tuner reprograms your car’s computer, working with your modifications, to produce the most horsepower (or mpg’s, depending on the tune). Tuners can be tricky. If you’re unfamiliar with them you can check out our tuner tech article for help.

A custom tune is ideal. But know that tuning a car by yourself can be tricky if you’re not sure what to do. There is a small possibility of actually damaging the car if you run it with an improperly calibrated tune.

A custom tune designed to run with high octane gas (91+) will produce optimal results and add as much as 20 bhp to a bone-stock car. Octane is a vital factor: You can always run higher octane gas than you are tuned for but never lower octane!

Exhaust

Choosing an exhaust can be confusing; we have a great exhaust tech article on exhaust systems/terminology if you’re wondering what an H-pipe is, or if you just need a refresher. I’ve heard that putting an aftermarket exhaust on a V6 will give it a high-pitched, raspy exhaust note, but in my experience this is not always true! There are many factors that determine the sound of your exhaust: a balance between intake and exhaust is crucial. If you have doubts about what setup is right for you then call our knowledgeable tech staff. They’ll make sure you get the sound and power you want.

Six cylinder Mustangs have a Y-pipe, which funnels exhaust gases from both banks into one tail-pipe. The most common “dual exhaust” out there is another Y-pipe that attaches after the catalytic converter and splits the stock mid-pipe into two tail-pipes. That’s fine if you just want the look of a dual exhaust. If, on the other hand, you want to squeeze the most ponies out of your pony, an X-pipe that allows you to use a GT cat-back exhaust is definitely the way to go. I’ve got a Pypes Stainless Steel X-Pipe on my 2004 V6 and, with a GT cat-back, I picked up another 15-20 bhp.

These mods will put you on the right track to building your V6 into a serious street machine. V8s will undoubtedly continue to dominate with their large displacement and infinite aftermarket options. But stay tuned as the V6 world is steadily growing and gaining momentum. This has not gone unnoticed here at AmericanMuscle and we look forward to seeing more modded V6s at our next annual show!

We pride ourselves on the fact that many of our employees are Mustang enthusiasts, just like you. Looking around the parking lot, we’ve got more Ponies than a Texas rodeo. Many AmericanMuscle staffers spend their weekends at the track or local car shows, or in the garage installing their latest purchase, because working here does have its benefits.

Two AmericanMuscle employees that share our taste in performance are Karen Baum and Dave Kaeck. Between the two of them, they have owned a total of 15 Mustangs. These customer service reps are just a couple of AmericanMuscle’s on-the-phone Mustang experts. They’re also drag racers who recently took their AM-prepped ‘Stangs to a filming of SPEED TV’s ultra-popular Pass Time game show at Maryland International Raceway.

Filmed on location at many of America’s favorite grass roots drag strips, Pass Time challenges two contestants to “guess the time, win the cash – it’s that easy,” according to show host Brett Wagner. Playing against famed Texas-based racecar chassis builder Ken “The House” Herring, contestants attempt to predict the 1/4-mile drag times of 10 random cars that pull up to the line in front of them. After each run the player with the closest time wins, and the player winning the most money at the end takes the entire $2,000 pot.

Always ready and willing to do whatever it takes to spend a day at the track, I convinced the boss to let me and a couple of our cameras follow our friends three hours south from our home in Philly to get a behind the scenes look at SPEED TV’s first-ever game show and, of course, the adrenaline-charged acceleration at MIR.

Trackside at MIR
Pulling through the gates at MIR in Dave’s supercharged ’07 GT Vert, with Karen’s ’03 GT Coupe inside the trailer in front of us, it was immediately clear the day would reveal some serious speed. The MIR paddock was packed with turn track-only cars of every make and model rolling off the back of trailers, their owners hoping for a shot to make a run at the strip on the show.

Show producer Ray Iddings oversees the filming of nine episodes in two days every time their crew takes over a track. Sadly, not everyone that shows up for the event gets to run. At MIR, it seemed as though everyone with two thumbs and a throttle preregistered for a shot to be one of the 110 rides selected to appear on the show. Producers looked over the field of 500 cars and carefully picked their favorites to put up their best times on-air. For our guys, it would be a split decision with Karen’s naturally aspirated black ’03 GT picked from the crowd, while Dave was forced to sit and watch. With one in five cars selected, we figured getting 50% of our ground force on the show was doing pretty darn good.

For the rest of the day Karen ushered her car through the mandatory tech inspection and readied herself for her national television debut. Meanwhile, Dave drowned himself in tears as I escaped to get a behind the scenes look at how SPEED can turn drag racing into a game show.

Behind the Scenes
Contrary to what some may think, Pass Time is a genuine game show where contestants are handpicked by the show producer weeks ahead of time, invited to a regional filming, and then sequestered until their episode is filmed. That’s right, sequestered; just like jurors in high-profile court cases. (Think OJ and the late Michael Jackson.) As the morning of the show arrives, contestants receive instructions from the show producer and his staff before traveling to the track where they are confined until their episode begins.

In order to shoot nine episodes in two days, Pass Time organizers show up to the track with a small army. On-air personalities and key members of the crew fly in from destinations across the country, while additional crew members are recruited locally. In all, more than 40 people contribute to the show’s success. With the director, producer and select sound and video crew cramped into the way-cool mobile command headquarters, the team conducts a carefully orchestrated symphony that lasts approximately 45 minutes per 22-minute finished episode.

For our part, after waiting patiently though most of the day and into the night, Karen finally got her turn at the track. Following a round of beauty shots, her Mustang crept into the left lane to show its stuff. And after a brief interview with the host and a round of questions from the contestants, she was 1/4 mile away and going like a bat outta hell. Of course, if you want to know more about Karen’s run, you’ll have to tune in when her episode airs in February, or ask Karen yourself.
For a closer behind the scenes look at AmericanMuscle on Pass Time, check out our photos and video from MIR. And to watch Pass Time on SPEED, go to http://www.speedtv.com/programs/pass-time/ for the latest programming schedule.

Of course working for AmericanMuscle comes with some serious benefits, like getting your car in a calendar. This year’s theme was employee cars. So now you know what we’re driving. We wanted to share at least some of the experience with you. Here’s a little behind the scenes look at the 2010 AmericanMuscle.com Calendar photo shoot that took place here at our office last week. Now don’t say we never did anything for you.

Here are just a few of our favorite behind-the-scenes photos. You’ll have to wait for the calendar to see the rest.

History Lesson

When it comes to the evolution of the automobile, lighting technology has been behind the times, at least until the last few years. An interesting example… For 17 long years, from 1940 to 1957, federal regulations mandated that every car in America be equipped with the exact same headlights. Ford, Chevy or Plymouth, your car had the same headlights as your neighbor’s.

Breaking free from standardized lighting was a big step forward. But traditional incandescents were the only lights used for decades, until halogen lights emerged in the mid-1980s. This was a big improvement, but remained your only choice until just a few years ago, when automakers were finally pushed to investigate better lighting options due to consumer demand for brighter lights that used less energy – and of course, new opportunities for styling.

Improve Your Style

Today, lighting provides drivers with better visibility and style than ever before. Car designers weave headlights into the natural flow of a vehicle, instead of working around them. The Ford Mustang is a great example of how lighting can add safety and style to an already awesome automobile. But Mustang owners still hunger for better style and performance from their headlights and tail lights!

When it comes to style there are plenty of great options, so making your Mustang stand out in the stampede is easier than ever.

• Black Mustang Headlights: This very popular style uses black housing or a smoked glass lens for a sleek, stealthy appearance.
• Chrome Mustang Headlights: You can never go wrong with the classic look of chrome.
• Mustang Projector Headlights: A style found on some of the most expensive cars in the world. Projector headlights enclose a concentrated halogen bulb behind a technically advanced lens that maximizes beam distance and width, while looking way cool at the same time.
• Mustang Halo Headlights: Halo-equipped lights feature a cold-cathode halogen(CCFL) or LED illuminated ring around the enclosed halogen bulb. The result is a dramatic display that catches the eye by day or night.
• Mustang LED Headlights: As lighting designs get better all around, some styles use small internal LED lights to help them further stand out in the crowd – a lot of bang for a low energy cost.

Most of these styles can be obtained at a minimal cost, but provide a dramatic appearance upgrade over stock Mustang headlights.

Type ‘o Light

If you’ve never thought of your Mustang’s headlights as a safety feature, consider that traffic fatalities are 3 times more likely at night, even though road traffic during the dark hours before dawn dwindles to just 25% relative to daytime use. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 2,300 pedestrians are killed every year in auto-related accidents due to poor driver visibility. Better lighting means safer driving.

HID:
HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights are the current state of the art in automotive lighting technology. Also called gas discharge, or Xenon, these lights produce the most light (lumens) while using less energy. Simply put, HID lights project a brighter beam that travels nearly twice as far as halogen lights. This means you see farther down the road and with improved clarity during nighttime driving. This translates to more time when reacting to changes in the road.

Halogen:
Officially called tungsten-halogen or quartz-halogen; this is the current standard in automotive lighting. Though the general description of this technology remains the same, several advancements have been made including high-output bulbs, reflector lamps and improved optics. Brighter and whiter halogen replacement bulbs from companies like Sylvania and Luminics are an affordable way to step up nighttime visibility.

Care and Feeding

Personalizing your ride and making it look distinctly your own should come second only to safety on the road for you and those around you. Fortunately, there are many affordable Mustang headlights and tail lights that offer both. Here are a few tips for keeping your lights looking and running right:

• Headlights dim over time. Check your halogen lights every year and always replace both at the same time. LED and HID lights can be checked every other year.
• Clean your headlight covers regularly. Having high-output lights yields zero benefit if the light can’t get out.
• If you don’t already have them, consider adding fog lights. Mounted lower on the car, they project a wider beam to improve visibility in adverse conditions. They look cool too.

Formula 1. NASCAR. IndyCar. World Rally Circuit. These race series represent the pinnacle in motorsports. Budgets are virtually unlimited and competition is fierce as drivers fight their way to the front every second of every race. When it comes to the cars, superior technology is essential, and every team is on the cutting edge. Among the many weapons they share in their drive to Victory Lane is nitrogen in their tires.

Why nitrogen? Simply put, it far exceeds conventional air inflation in performance, durability and long-term savings (the last of which likely means more to you and me than the Pros). Recognizing the inherent benefit of nitrogen-filled tires, AmericanMuscle is now offering this as an option with all mounted wheel and tire orders. Even better, it’s free. That’s right, I said FREE. Many shops offering nitrogen fills today are charging upwards of $10 a tire. Any way you slice it, that ain’t cheap.

The benefits of nitrogen tire inflation are obvious, and extensive. Nitrogen is an inert gas, so pumping it into your tires eliminates the presence of oxygen and water, both of which are sources of many tire problems. Here are just a few of the benefits of nitrogen:

• Better Performance: Nitrogen-filled tires maintain the same pressure, regardless of ambient and operating temperature. With no water to radically expand and contract with temperature changes, tires keep a constant pressure. This means better performance when things get hot.
• Longer Tire Life: Operating tires at the incorrect pressure is the primary cause of uneven and premature wear. Compared to oxygen molecules, nitrogen molecules are much larger and unable to permeate the tire sidewall. Some reports suggest that nitrogen-filled tires maintain their pressure up to three times longer than non-nitro tires.
• Better Fuel Economy: Under-inflated tires mean higher rolling resistance that requires additional fuel to maintain speed. Tires that don’t lose pressure keep your fuel economy right on track.

Further proving AmericanMuscle’s commitment to offering Mustang owners the total shopping package, the new nitrogen inflation program is offered along with free mounting and balancing, and shipping on all wheel and tire purchases. Add in the company’s guarantee that all mounted wheel and tire packages will ship within three days of ordering and clearly AmericanMuscle.com is the best place to buy wheels and tires for your Mustang, bar none.

 

July 27, 2009

Jeff Dusing
PR and Promotions Manager
AmericanMuscle.com
7 Lee Blvd. Suite 900
Malvern, PA 19355

Dear Mr. Jeff Dusing

Please allow me to express our sincerest thanks and gratitude to you for your successful fund raising efforts for Homes for Our Troops. We are both very honored and proud to include AmericanMuscle as one of our successful fund raising groups.

Your generous donation will allow us to assist our more severely injured veterans and their families by building the specially adapted homes they deserve with no cost to them. Your success in not only making your goal but exceeding it as well as showcasing our cause will help rebuild the lives of our nation’s heroes.

We would like to thank you again for your dedication to suppiorting the brave men and women who make sacrifices every day for our freedom. Your support for Homes for Our Troops, Jeff, is greatly appreciated, and we look forward to working with you again on your next event.

Sincerely,

John Gonsalves
President and Founder

For me, I’ll take a nice race-tuned Cobra in classic white with blue strips. Or, black on black is always a good choice. But then I’ve been known to take more of a utilitarian approach to Mustang mods: If it makes it go faster, improve handling or stop better, it’s good, regardless of appearance.

Sadly, not all Mustang owners share this simple philosophy. Over the years pictures have come forward of highly modified Mustangs that went wrong—way wrong. Below are some of my all-time favorites. Perhaps the most staggering point to consider is that most of these were not built on a whim, but rather through hundreds of hours of painstaking labor backed by thousands, or in some cases, dozens of dollars.

We hope you enjoy, and look forward to your comments regarding these Mustang mishaps…

Undoubtedly the best Mustang I found in my exhaustive search for the worst Pony ever. I don’t even need to say anything about the car, or bike. (I’m honestly not sure what to call it.) I just love the fact that the slew of trophies its owner is touting are standing on a board that’s supported by a trio of mini Coors Light kegs while a host of trailers sit in the background. This is more than a picture. It’s a window into the life of some seriously twisted people with too much time and raw building materials on their hands.

This wild pony is obviously the result of a healthy dose of spit and polish. The shine is impressive, though the paint scheme is questionable. More importantly, I can’t stop wondering what the robot version will be like when it’s done transforming.

This is one of my long-time favorites. At first glance I have to admit the creative talent is impressive at the very least. But given that this Bud-built Mustang was reportedly done by a young-man while away at college, I can only imagine what his father said when he found out what the second mortgage on his home has funded.

Honestly, I kinda like this one, but it’s still just wrong. So you’ve got a Mustang that’s seen a few too many winters… What are you going to do with it? Make a super mud-machine of course. Mud destroys cars. And effectively powering through it requires a ton of power, which we all know this car has got in spades. But I digress. This car was born to beat up Camaro’s on the drag strip or a winding road course, not wade through two feet deep of septic pond scum.

Okay, I know this is not a Mustang, though it clearly wants to be one. And can you blame it? But really, how much effort and money was put into making this car less than half a Mustang? I’m guessing that by the time its owner was finished with his Pony-inspired mods, he probably could have bought a real Pony. Even better is the expression on his model and/or girlfriend’s face. It’s a beautiful blend of disgust and embarrassment. Dude, even your lady knows your ride ain’t right.

This King Cobra Mustang actually rolled right out of the factory as is. And though our theme here has been poorly modded Mustangs, I checked around the office and the feeling was mutual: Thanks to the uncontrollable gag reflex that struck more than 70 percent of our staff after viewing this photo, we had to throw it in the mix. If you suffered the same gag reflex, we apologize.

I’m not sure if we were fortunate or unfortunate to have found both a front and rear shot of these matching Sonny and Cher Mustangs. We all know the famous song-and-dance duo was known for their mad love and flamboyant lifestyle, but this is really going too far. Couldn’t they have just gotten matching tattoos? At least then a divorce would only mean they would be forever stuck with each others’ name on their skin instead of having to sell their prized Pony. That would just plain suck!

This one is actually impressive in a very strange way. Stupid as it may be, the engineer (and I use that term loosely) behind this one has managed to link the steering from the motorcycle to the steering wheel. I might just question the reliability though. If I see this sad little three wheeler blazin’ down the highway next to me, I fear I’ll have to fight off the impulse to stare in wonderment, and drive quickly in another direction before the chicken wire holding the steering together snaps under pressure causing him to wish, if only for a second, that he had not cut the crumple zone off the front of his car.

This car is proof that not all Mustang mishaps start in barns far from the lights of the big city. As if from a plastic apocalypse, this metal-studded machine was sighted at the 2008 SEMA Show. Clearly its designer was trying to make a statement with this monstrosity, though I have no idea what that might be. It is possible that if Batman were looking to downgrade from the Batmobile, this might be a viable, though decidedly less effective crime-fighting option.

This is what happens when a team of infinitely-talented designers, master mechanics, and deep-pocket financiers sit in a room for hours on end and everyone in the room is afraid to raise their hand and say what they really think. Or better, everyone involved flat out refuses to listen to that all-knowing, all-important voice of reason that is screaming from the rooftops, “Don’t do it! It’s just wrong!” Deemed the Scythe by its creators Galpin Auto Sports, a growing mod shop and the prized offspring of the nation’s largest Blue Oval dealer, this was once an ’08 Mustang convertible. If you ask me, and you didn’t, it looks like a rolling coffin with a giant gun, which sounds cool until it comes out like this.