2011 Mustang GT: Ultimate Build
As you can see we had just about everything you could want for the new 2011 5.0L waiting in our showroom, ready to be installed
We started out our build by installing a Ford Racing Handling Pack, Powerslot Rotors, Hawk HP Plus Brake Pads all the way around and a set of RTR Wheels and Nitto 555 Street Tires. These modifications greatly improved how the car handled, braked and drove in just about every situation, along with a great stance sitting on the RTR wheels.
Next up was a JLT Carbon Fiber Cold Air Intake and Blow-By Racing Custom Tune for 93 octane using a SCT SF3 Handheld Tuner. This alone added a huge power and throttle response gain. The JLT intake fit perfect and adds some awesome looks under the hood. That coupled with a very aggressive tune from BBR, we new we had a monster in our hands. While under the hood we painted the coil covers blue to add a little color under the hood with our new Valve Cover/Coil Cover Paint!
Next up was a full exhaust system which was composed of a set of Stainlessworks Long Tube Header and Catted Mid Pipe, along with a Bassani Axle Back System and a Dynotech Aluminum Driveshaft. These exhaust components gave our 2011 a very unique and aggressive sound all across the board and the drive shaft helped reduce rotating mass, getting more power to the ground, which is always a good thing. Also while in the shop for the exhaust we installed a Ford Racing Aluminum Radiator to help cools things down while on the track!
After the exhaust it was time to make some exterior changes to the car and thanks for our friends at Classic Design Concepts we were able to get our hands on an RTR appearance package. After a few hours of intense work we completely transformed the outside of our 2011 5.0L into a sick looking street machine.
Once we had installed the body upgrades, we used the car in our photo shoot for the front cover of our new Volume 10 Mustang Catalog. As you can see from this cover the car looks great coming down the road and we were very excited to have this done in time to get it on the cover.
After a long day of driving the 2011, I noticed some rear end noise, so after consideration we decided to install a brand new set of factory Ford 3.73 gears and a new Torsen rear differential. This not only solved our rear end noise but also helped us get power to the ground even better. While we were having the rear end worked on, we also added a Steeda 13″ Rear Rotor Upgrade Kit, and also added an Front Brake Cooling kit, minus the scoops since we used the RTR front valence. The larger upgraded brake rotors definitely helped keep the car flatter during braking which is key when road racing. This was one of our favorite upgrades being we are partial to the road race and open track scene. If you are looking for a way to improve the braking on your new 5.0L Mustang, you need this Steeda rear upgrade kit, it makes a huge difference!
Now for some interior goodies! After the car was performing the way we wanted, we gave the car back to Shannon for a little time alone. During this time Shannon installed a black powder coated 6-Point Maximum Motorsports Roll Cage, (After we had some fun with it and got some good pics ) which fits like factory and looks great inside the car. He also added in the RTR interior package and a set of 5-Point Harnesses.
Not that the car didn’t look good enough at this point, but our friends at CDC helped us get a little different take on the RTR Mustang Package. Instead of the ordinary light blue or black stripe kit, we added an orange RTR stripe kit to the car and a set of matching orange RTR wheels that we had painted to match the stripes. The orange wheels are going to be our road race wheels and have a set of Hoosier R6′s mounted on them.
All in all we call this a pretty fast and very successful build, the car performs and looks just like we all had dreamed of. Although we haven’t had it on the track just yet, we have our first event coming up on March 26 for an SVTOA meet here in Texas. Keep an eye out of more pics and info on this.
We also want to give a special thanks to all of our good friends at Ford Racing, Classic Design Concepts, Steeda, JLT, Blow-By Racing, Stainlessworks, Powerslot and Agent 47. Without all of their great engineering and willingness to be a part of our build, this wouldn’t have happened as fast as it did. Thanks guys and lets all have a great 2011 racing reason!
