Ford Mustang=good start?

[streetkid]

My dad is thinking of giving me his mustang for a first car. Now I know to get used to the car first and all that I'm not gonna be doin any dangerous traffic drifting just late night parking lots and I was wondering what a good first upgrade would be?

Its a 4.6 GT V8 version

[Ris4drift]

my advise would be

1) find the soonest local drift event
2) get some used 15 or 16'' v6 wheels with tires to learn on
3) go to the event see how you like it, find what you wanna improve on and go from there.

also advise for drifitng if your just getting the car.

change fluids, and put water in teh radiator + water wetter (purple ice or something) .

but drive it 1st see what you want/need. 1st time i took my s13 to an event i was 99% sure i would wanna upgrade the suspension, instead i found some cooling problems i needed to adress as well as some other bugs i needed to fix.

[Ris4drift]

however if you have to buy somethign i would reccomend subframe connectors. you just need to find a place that can install them if you cannot weld.

[ReavTek]

Mustang is one helluva drift car. I agree with doing all the fluid swaps before you push it though. Tranny, Radiator, Differential, Engine Oils all swapped. Take your car to the track and spin it around for awhile, you shouldn't do any handling mods at first, learn to drift stock. This will make you a better driver. I suggest swapping out the radiator and fans then pop in an engine oil cooler to keep eveyrthing running smooth.

[Ris4drift]

he doesnt need fans , the clutch fan shoudl be fine, jsut put water + purple ice in the radiator.

[DriftingNewbie]

there was a guy drifting with a new cobra at RSR chicago, he wan't good but he was trying it. I say go for it

[GRiDRaceTech]

I don't see any problems with a newer Mustang factory cooling system. As it is should be good.

Do replace the fluids, though.

The Mustangs have some pretty heinous body roll, so once you decide you need to upgrade, upgrade the factory suspension setup first.

[ReavTek]

Haha I was going to say that. After you master your stock stang do some suspension. Holy cow is that body roll insane.

[Tsunami]

First off, if you are getting a Mustang as a first car, don't tear it up trying to drift. You don't know how lucky you are getting a Mustang GT. Drifting is risky business and everytime you do it you risk damage to your car and to yourself. You have to ask yourself "do I really want to risk wrecking my only car, the car that I depend on every day to get to work/school?" You gotta master basic car control before you can even think about drifting. So the most important thing is just to be a good driver. That's something that only comes with seat time.

Your Mustang has a couple of problems you should take care of from the start: snap oversteer and chassis flex. Get yourself a good set of subframe connectors, they run about 100 bucks. This is THE MOST IMPORTANT mod you can do to a Fox Mustang, and should be your first, whether your drift it or not. Also invest in a quality set of rear control arms, around 500 or so. This will help the snap ovesteer problem. With that you'll have a solid base to learn from. Don't worry about making the car fast. Become a good driver first, so that when you are ready, you can get the most out of your car.

Having said that, how can you become a good driver? Well, I don't have all the answers, but I can point you in the right direction.

1. Stay calm and be focused. The calmer and more focused you are, the better driver you'll be. Don't get to excited or get distracted by things like cell phones, cranking up the radio, or talking to your friends. Focus all your energy on driving the car.

2. Be smooth. All your actions need to be smooth and not jerky. When you are smooth you don't waste time and are easier on the car.

3. Be safe. Always wear your seatbelt and don't have books or soda cans lying around in the car that can become projectiles in the event of an accident, or stuff that could lodge under the brake or clutch pedals.

4. Use common sense. Know the limits of both you and the car. Don't cross the center line and risk hitting oncoming cars. Don't try to show off.

5. Take small steps. Don't try to go too fast too soon. Take baby steps. As you learn more about the car and grow in your abilities, you'll get faster. This is something that only comes with time.

Good luck and be safe!! Take care of that Mustang!!

[R2K]

first thing first LEARN TO DRIVE!!! like you said ge use to the car... drive it about couple of week before trying to drift, during couple of week practice going fast and getting you head use to to your mustang at atleast 80mph... then start doing drift at 30mph or lower. I dont "CARE" what the other say for you to get anything.

TO THE OTHER GUY!!! dude he's a freakin kid who cant drive yet so i suggest dont get anything if you are beginner... and WAVE(Tsunami) who care if the car have some stupid problem let him try this sport first! plus he probly dont have money anyway...

so im saying drifting at 30-40mph doesnt require any mod, even an echo could do this kinda crap!!! so yeah learn to concentrate do stupid thing that could get your driving skill to develop that brain of your!!! or just simply go to a dragstrip and become muscle car JUNKIE!!!

[Ris4drift]

wow, look at em go.


if you wanna learn how to drift go to a drift event. any drift event you go to will have qualified experienced instructors that will be more than happy to help you learn to drift.

but dont try to learn on the street. thats sooo stupid. as much as i like the idea of more cars in the junkyard for wheels/parts dont learn to drift on the street. thats the stupidest advice ever, and normally it leads to nothing but wasted time, and tire.

[Al_]

After putting 10k on my 88, I decided to burn up the tires before replacing them. Basicly for me, I put it in 2nd and drove around an old parking lot for 20 min. The older 5.0's are very torquey at the low RPM's so all I needed to was push the clutch a little or tap the gas. I probably never went more than 25-30 in a drift the whole time. I had the most fun around 20 mph. I could hold a 30-40 degree drift without a problem.

BTW- Change those fluids! I later found that the last day of my posi was on that day of drifting.

[streetkid]

Thanks for all the input guys. And I'm also trying not to get my hopes up though. Mainly because he already told me that he doesn't think he could trust me in that car. But hopefully he'll do it

[Legit]

I started on a 2001 GT 5spd, that car is so much fun once you switch off tcs. It has great torque at the rear wheels you can drift all day long in that beast.

[Team503]

Originally posted by streetkid
Thanks for all the input guys. And I'm also trying not to get my hopes up though. Mainly because he already told me that he doesn't think he could trust me in that car. But hopefully he'll do it

No offense man, but that's a bit much for a first car. I know people here are going to say "I did it and did just fine!", and perhaps they did, but the vast majority of guys your age aren't ready for a relatively powerful RWD car.

Try to get your dad to get you an FC or S13/S14 - stock power ratings are low, they're great drifters, and they have tons of potential to make lots of power.

And most importantly, insurance should be relatively cheap for you in those cars. Can't imagine what you'd pay for a GT...

Good luck man, and welcome to the car world.