Ford Mustang S550 - Basic Upgrades Guide. Part 1

Steeda Europe offer a huge range of upgrades and parts for your Mustang! Good news! We are a one stop shop for everything your Mustang needs. Even if its not on the site, we can still offer it, these are just our most popular items.

However this large range of parts (sometimes with baffling names? Just what IS a vertical link or a toe-link??) can be confusing to your every day car owner. (click the links to find out!)

We all start off with the great package that Ford gave us as our entry point and perhaps we can help you decide as to what to do with your car.

There are 2 golden rules (in our opinion) that you need to follow:

1. It's YOUR car. So if it makes YOU happy, and it's what YOU want, then you have done it right and just ignore what other people say! That feeling of happiness as you get into your own personalised car, is part of the spirit of Mustang.

2. What is your aim for the car? Developing a car for style, or performance, or track days, or racing or the drag strip all will mean different priorities and different trade-offs. Think about WHAT you want to achieve when drawing up your list.

Having said that, there are a few simple rules to help you along, and also a few simple mods that we can recommend to get you started in part one of our guide.

In further parts we will address more specific build aims (e.g. a track focussed car)

There are some parameters that can help you decide what you want to start with and how to do things.

1. Budget?
2. Fitting?
3. Priority (this goes back to WHAT)
4. Supporting / Complimentary upgrades. (this in some ways is related to point 2, but not totally)
5. Impact.

Lets address these points individually to start with:

1. BUDGET:

Modifying your car is expensive right? So you need to save up a LOT before getting stuck in? WRONG.

One of our most popular mods is our S550 clutch spring, at under £20!

So should you get one? NO. Not if you think your clutch pedal feels fine and you are happy with the way the clutch pedal feels! This goes back to 1. It's YOUR car so even if 100 people say the clutch spring is great, if you don't need it, don't get it! However, if you do have some issues with clutch feel, or kangarooing, driveability etc, then certainly get the spring. At that price you can't go wrong!

One thing we think that you SHOULD get is our Steeda IRS Base package. It doesn't sound exciting (and it really isn't) but the change in the driveability and feel of your car, plus its correct alignment, potentially saving you tyre wear etc IS exciting. We think it's a must have for any Mustang, Ecoboost or GT, track driven or just to the shops. And at Sub £200 it's another mod that won't break the bank proving that BIG impact can be had with minimal spend. Just fit it, and thank us afterwards!

If you want to see how much you can do for not a lot check out our WALLET FRIENDLY MUSTANG MODS guide on another post.

Of course if you want to go all out we can help you with that too!

Below: Steeda "Stop The Hop" Ultimate IRS Pack

2. FITTING:

Why is this a consideration? Well because you can save money on parts OR you can save money on fitting. Trying to "synchronise" installs to minimize duplicated labour is a good way of doing things. For example doing the IRS base pack install at the same time as a set of Springs makes sense. Doing the clutch and flywheel at the same time is always a good idea. Body kits are a classic example of where fitting can have a major impact? Save money buying a cheap kit, spend a lot more trying to get it to fit! In the case of the Mustang, our variety of suspension/chassis upgrades often make sense to buy as a package if possible to combine fitting.

Everyone knows what fitting springs is all about, but the mystery of the S550 IRS rear end means a lot of Steeda parts aren't understood or purchased and yet these can make a huge impact on the quality of the drive. Always feel free to ask our advice! This leads us neatly on to

3. PRIORITY:

You see buying a huge selection of Steeda suspension and IRS mods might not be a great way to spend money if you aren't that bothered by driveability or performance, but just love the way your Mustang looks and sounds. ABSOLUTELY buy the IRS base pack, and a nice set of Steeda progressive lowering springs, but that is enough. Spending more on suspension parts, especially initially, probably isn't where you want to put your budget. So think about the WHAT you want to achieve and then either ask us what we think will help you further that aim most effectively, or choose yourself. If it's all about enjoying things on track, then piling money into styling mods isn't a great idea. Drag racing focus will mean that trying to enhance power without actually giving yourself a good traction base to launch from is a waste of time. Check out our Silver Bullet world record holding 2018 drag development car. Its hitting the low 10s and is still NA, because drag racing is all about traction...

ALWAYS feel free to ask the Steeda UK team for advice, that's what we are here for.

4. SUPPORTING MODS:

In some ways related to fitting costs, but not always. This means how certain mods can contribute to the success of other mods. For example:
Doing wheels and springs at the same time works perfectly and you will end up with a killer stance (whereas stock suspension with your lovely new wheels may leave you a little regretful). Superchargers + Stop The Hop pack. Totally different ends of the car so NO connection to fitting costs, BUT the lack of traction can make you very disappointed with your new found (expensive) power. After all the stock car doesn't put down it's 400hp very well, so thinking it can put down 600 plus is not realistic! This is where new wheels with the ability to wear wider Michelin rubber can also come into play.

5. IMPACT:

You are changing your car so what do we think will have the maximum impact. What are our recommendations? (bearing in mind the golden rule, it's YOUR car)

1. Exhaust. Nearly every Mustang owner whether GT or EcoBoost wants their car to sound like a performance car. This applies on pre 2018 facelift cars as the new cars with active exhausts sound pretty great from the factory! Consult our Exhaust beginners guide if you want some tips! Or BROWSE OUR EXHAUST SELECTION HERE

2. Steeda Springs + Steeda IRS base pack: Improve your ride, improve your driveability and confidence in the car and improve the looks and how it sits. WIN all around! And for less than £500. It's a MUST!

3. Wheels. A set of Velgen wheels, designed to fit perfectly on your Mustang and allow you to use wider rubber if you like for looks or performance, is the biggest single change you can make to the looks of your car. Available in a variety of colours and styles and lighter than stock, you cannot truly say you are changing the way your car looks if you stay on stock wheels. Available in 19" or 20" styles.

The new Velgen VF5 wheels also offer a huge advantage in performance through their amazing weight saving over stock wheels.

These are what we regard as "the big 3" but of course you decide, and if you want to make it the big 23, then we can help! There are so many options and so many ways to take your Mustang. It's part of the "Joy of Mustang!" And remember if you need help CONTACT US.