A Friday public holiday for a football game played on a Saturday..........................never mind...................
Today, I took the opportunity to step back in times.......................
Sorry, I couldn't resist!
I have always said that the Mustang is a blank canvas for enthusiasts to make their own. But the greater beauty of the Mustang is the massive aftermarket sector that caters to those who want to customize their Mustang and create something unique. For me, I love the simplicity of the GT in its standard form, letting the lines and form factor speak for themselves. That said, I have tinkered with a few things to create that OEM+ look. For the most part, I stayed OEM by using Ford Performance parts, in other cases I used OEM-looking parts.
Some of those parts will remain, mainly because I have no use for them on the new car. The oil separator won't fit the S650, likewise the coolant tank cover and AEM filter. The dead pedal is a one-time application. The Borla exhaust will stay, even though I still have the original.............which I have no idea what to do with, scrap metal?
However, there are two things that I wanted to remove from the car prior to trade, the wheels and blue coil covers.
The coil covers are from Ford Performance and are simply to fit and remove. These won't fit later S550 or S650 engines because of the DI hardware Ford uses, so I will likely put them on the XR8. I know blue clashes against red, but I actually liked it.
I kept the grey originals, so back to stock they go.................
The Ford Performance HP wheels cost me a fortune to import, only for them to appear via the aftermarket vendors a few months later. These are based on the wheel design Ford offered with the US-only PP2 package. Available in four widths, I went with the same spec Ford used on the R-Spec, 9.5-inch fronts with 255/40/R19 tyres, and 10.0-inch rears with 275/40/R19. The Michelin PS4S tyres I insisted on transformed the car.
The key benefit with these wheels was how much easier they were to clean! I later also added black lugs to better blend into the wheel, a very simple change that transformed the look of the car.
Before -
After -
I'm not sure what I will do with the HP wheels, I'm toying with putting them on the S650 but I'm sort of over black wheels. I may end up selling them separately. In any case, they cost me too much to just trade them in at the dealer. I kept the PP1 wheels, so back on they went.
Retrieved from storage -
The PP1 wheels were wiped of dust with ONR, it was then out with the tools and the jack. The fronts were extremely difficult to remove from the hub, taking way longer than anticipated.
Shout out to these Koken lug sockets, very nicely made and they look cool as well. The plastic outer sheath is also removable with replacements available if needed in the future. I'll point out that I didn't use the impact to break these lugs, I was only using it to zip them off quickly after using a breaker bar.
The black lugs I will use on the S650, the old jacket-style chrome units go back on the car, torqued to the 150 ft-lbs / 203 Nm. I've said this a few times, but if you are looking for a good torque wrench, these Wera units are the bomb!
The final step, some Armour Detail Supply Tire+ to freshen up the OE fit Pirelli's................
Despite sitting undriven, I gave HP wheels a quick clean and scrubbed the tyres with Carpro ReTyre. It was then into storage until I decide what to do with them.
I have to say, it felt somewhat sad to put the old PP1 wheels and chrome lugs back on, almost like it isn't my car anymore. The HP wheels gave the car a boost in aggression and separated it from the rest of the Mustang GT's on the road.
I have had more than two years to say goodby to this car. When I first placed the deposit for a S650 back in September 2022, I wasn't ready to part ways with the car. But two years later, I think I have reached a point where I am content letting it go. I had a list of things to do before saying goodby to this car, which is now nearly completed. Just one task remains..............................
Today, I took the opportunity to step back in times.......................
Sorry, I couldn't resist!
I have always said that the Mustang is a blank canvas for enthusiasts to make their own. But the greater beauty of the Mustang is the massive aftermarket sector that caters to those who want to customize their Mustang and create something unique. For me, I love the simplicity of the GT in its standard form, letting the lines and form factor speak for themselves. That said, I have tinkered with a few things to create that OEM+ look. For the most part, I stayed OEM by using Ford Performance parts, in other cases I used OEM-looking parts.
Some of those parts will remain, mainly because I have no use for them on the new car. The oil separator won't fit the S650, likewise the coolant tank cover and AEM filter. The dead pedal is a one-time application. The Borla exhaust will stay, even though I still have the original.............which I have no idea what to do with, scrap metal?
However, there are two things that I wanted to remove from the car prior to trade, the wheels and blue coil covers.
The coil covers are from Ford Performance and are simply to fit and remove. These won't fit later S550 or S650 engines because of the DI hardware Ford uses, so I will likely put them on the XR8. I know blue clashes against red, but I actually liked it.
I kept the grey originals, so back to stock they go.................
The Ford Performance HP wheels cost me a fortune to import, only for them to appear via the aftermarket vendors a few months later.
These are based on the wheel design Ford offered with the US-only PP2 package. Available in four widths, I went with the same spec Ford used on the R-Spec, 9.5-inch fronts with 255/40/R19 tyres, and 10.0-inch rears with 275/40/R19. The Michelin PS4S tyres I insisted on transformed the car.The key benefit with these wheels was how much easier they were to clean! I later also added black lugs to better blend into the wheel, a very simple change that transformed the look of the car.
Before -
After -
I'm not sure what I will do with the HP wheels, I'm toying with putting them on the S650 but I'm sort of over black wheels. I may end up selling them separately. In any case, they cost me too much to just trade them in at the dealer. I kept the PP1 wheels, so back on they went.
Retrieved from storage -
The PP1 wheels were wiped of dust with ONR, it was then out with the tools and the jack. The fronts were extremely difficult to remove from the hub, taking way longer than anticipated.
Shout out to these Koken lug sockets, very nicely made and they look cool as well. The plastic outer sheath is also removable with replacements available if needed in the future. I'll point out that I didn't use the impact to break these lugs, I was only using it to zip them off quickly after using a breaker bar.
The black lugs I will use on the S650, the old jacket-style chrome units go back on the car, torqued to the 150 ft-lbs / 203 Nm. I've said this a few times, but if you are looking for a good torque wrench, these Wera units are the bomb!
The final step, some Armour Detail Supply Tire+ to freshen up the OE fit Pirelli's................
Despite sitting undriven, I gave HP wheels a quick clean and scrubbed the tyres with Carpro ReTyre. It was then into storage until I decide what to do with them.
I have to say, it felt somewhat sad to put the old PP1 wheels and chrome lugs back on, almost like it isn't my car anymore. The HP wheels gave the car a boost in aggression and separated it from the rest of the Mustang GT's on the road.
I have had more than two years to say goodby to this car. When I first placed the deposit for a S650 back in September 2022, I wasn't ready to part ways with the car. But two years later, I think I have reached a point where I am content letting it go. I had a list of things to do before saying goodby to this car, which is now nearly completed. Just one task remains..............................
