Top 6 Mods For The 2018 Mustang – The Mustang Community Weighs In

This should really come as a surprise to no one as this is one of the first mods many ‘Stang owners make as soon as they get their pony. A set of wheels and tires add that perfectly subtle personal touch to your build, while also providing increased traction and grip. While the factory 2018 Mustang wheel and tire setup can be had in a variety of options including forged wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport Tires, there is always room for improvement.

The 2018 Mustang comes from the factory with a valve controlled exhaust like that found on the Shelby GT350. While it does deliver that signature muscle car exhaust note that we’ve come to expect from the Mustang, it doesn’t quite have that over the top, in-your-face aggressive exhaust note.

A few enthusiasts at Carlisle expressed that they’d love to add a set of long tube headers to an '18 Mustang for that race ready growl, while others were more interested in just replacing the cat-back. The 2018 model wouldn’t be a Mustang unless gearheads wanted (and could) uncork the exhaust to allow every single bit of power to be heard loud and clear.

The most polarizing aspect of the 2018 Mustang has been its front end. With a lowered hood line and slightly reshaped front end, the 2018 Orange Fury Mustang GT had seemed to split the crowd gathered around it between “love it” and “hate it”.

After talking with the “hate it” crowd about the front end, the unanimous idea was that a few exterior styling parts would do the trick. The two main prevailing mods seemed to be a grille and a revised hood- meaning either an aftermarket hood or adding a pre-painted hood scoop.

Considering that you can not currently by a factory supercharged S550 Mustang, it should come as no surprise to anyone that one of the first mods many enthusiasts are already drooling over for the 2018 Mustang is a supercharger kit. The naturally aspirated 5.0L will be belting out an already impressive 440+ HP (official power numbers have not been released yet), but that doesn’t quite match up with the higher horsepower halo cars of other brands, such as the Dodge Hellcat and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. A supercharged 2018 Mustang would be hell on wheels for the competition, laying a boosted beat down on whatever lines up next to it.

The handling of the S550 Mustang is worlds beyond previous models, and the 2018 does a good job of continuing to push the envelope. Perspective ’18 owners can get theirs from the factory for Magnaride shocks and dampers for what is considered to be the best handling out of a Mustang to date.

With that said, there were quite a few enthusiasts at Carlisle who thought that a set of lowering springs should be high on the mod list for the ’18. Between enhancing the handling and improving the curbside appeal, a set of lowering spring will be an efficient and utilitarian upgrade for the 2018 Mustang.

Despite the improvements Ford has made to the 2018 Mustang’s MT-82 transmission that has been in production since 2011, there is still a lot left to be desired with the shifter setup. The true blue enthusiasts who still enjoy rowing gears were quick to chime in at Carlisle about wanting to upgrade the shifter on the 2018 Mustang to a short throw setup, for a more precise and notchier feel.