AM Customer Mike's 2015-2019 Mustang GT Build

Justin: Hey, everybody. Justin with americanmuscle.com back here with my buddy Mike Smith. Mike, good to see you again, man.

Mike: You too.

Justin: Absolutely. Now, you guys might remember Mike, of course. He brought his brand new 2015 in with us. Did his first run of mods which included that Airaid cold air intake, Flowmaster exhaust, and of course, the Bama V2 tune. And how are you liking these things so far?

Mike: Absolutely loving it. Everything that they did to smooth out that low RPM shifting and everything going into it, the power, the sound, everything that it brought for the Mustang itself has been amazing.

Justin: Can't beat it. With over 400 wheel horsepower, too, you got to be happy.

Mike: Very.

Justin: All right. Well, just like many other Mustang owners including myself, Mike has been bitten hard by the mod bug and that's why he's back with us today. It's only been a couple of weeks, but you're already back with some new plans. What do they entail?

Mike: Well, I was reaching out trying to look for some things just to get a little bit more of a performance stance to it, get it down a little bit, make it a little bit tougher, looking for new wheels.

Justin: Well, I think we have something in mind for you, Mike.

Mike: All right.

Justin: And of course, we worked together on a few parts, and we'll show you guys what we're working on. But for now, Mike, get out of here. We got to get to work, brother.

Mike: All right.

Justin: All right, guys. So, the first part on Mike's suspension and handling build, as you can see, we're working on a set of sway bars. Now, he decided to go with the Whiteline front and rear sway bar kit for the 2015 GT which should be a nice improvement even over the beefy performance pack sway bars. Whiteline is looking at a 35-millimeter front bar and a 24-millimeter rear bar as opposed to a 32 and 22 factory bar, which should give the car a lot more grip in turns, make it feel a little flatter as well in turns to basically make it handle a lot better on the street for Mike. Full disclosure, guys, it's a little tricky getting the front bar off, mainly because there's a few bolts you have to get from the engine bay but the rear should be a lot easier. And of course, we are gonna tackle that rear bar in a minute. Did wanna mention real quick, though, Whiteline does include these nice beefy adjustable end links which is a very nice little touch. And, of course, the bars themselves are three-way adjustable, so it allows you to dial in your optimal settings, optimal preload, things like that. So, we are going to talk a little bit more about some of the suspension mods that Mike has chosen for his ride here today, but first, we're gonna finish up getting this front bar installed.

All right, guys. So, what's a suspension build without an aftermarket set of springs? That leads us to our next part here in Mike's build, these Vogtland lowering springs which are gonna lower the car an inch on all four corners. Now, Vogtland is actually a well-known brand in other automotive fields. They've been around for over 100 years, but they're relatively new to the Mustang game, so I'm really excited to see how they're gonna work out on Mike's ride, as is he. Now, again, the one-inch drop should be just right for this car getting rid of some of that ugly wheel gap of course, but the car shouldn't be slammed to the ground. And even more importantly here, we are gonna reuse his factory dampers because as of now, no aftermarket company has released a set of aftermarket dampers for these cars. So, basically, the factory stuff should be able to handle it just fine, the mild drop and relatively low mileage stuff. So, we're gonna get these fronts installed here, move on to the back. And we have a few more things to talk about there.

All right, guys. With that last bolt, we're pretty much wrapped in the rear. We got the Whiteline rear bar installed along with the rear springs and we're pretty much good to go underneath the car. Now, obviously, the 2015's do have the independent rear suspension which makes spring install a little different back here. Before the solid rear axle, you'd just basically drop the thing down, pop both springs at once and you're good to go. With this, it's a little bit more labor-intensive. You have to lower the subframe on each side, pull the springs out, put them back in. Not the end of the world, it just takes a little bit longer. So, with that, we're all done back here. We're gonna get the car down on the ground and show you guys the last part of Mike's build.

Well, guys, as you can see, the third and final part for Mike's build today here, brand new set of MMD Zeven wheels, 19-inch diameter in bright silver. Now, he didn't wanna do the traditional black on black or even charcoal on black. Instead, he wanted to do the bright silver. He thought it would pop on his car, and I would totally agree with him. Now, we wanna get him in here, of course, see what he thinks of this thing. I think it looks killer, of course. But we also wanna go for a ride and see what he thinks of these new handling parts and to see if they've improved on his handling performance.

Well, Mike, moment of truth, man. Springs, sway bars, and of course, those MMD Zeven wheels are in place. What do you think?

Mike: Wow. Wow. I tell you, instantly, just you look at it, the wheels are popping at it, the stance of the car now with the springs on it just lowered a little bit, filled in all that gap.

Justin: Absolutely.

Mike: It looks amazing.

Justin: Well, there you go. Very nice. So, I'm glad you're stoked with it. Of course, there's more than just looking at this thing, though. We got the springs, we got the sway bars. We wanna see if this thing is handling better, so what do you say we hop in and go for a spin?

Mike: We're ready.

Justin: All right, Mike. So, we're out in the car. We got the springs installed, we got the sway bars, of course, those wheels and tires. And I have to ask, first impressions of your ride?

Mike: It's been awesome. Just the grip, just the handling of everything from the corners to the bumps and everything else we've been going through, it just grips at a whole other level right now.

Justin: Absolutely. And we're in the Northeast. The roads this time of year are brutal to say the least.

Mike: You're gonna get a good test right now out of these springs and the sway bar and how it's handled in the corners in this area.

Justin: Oh, man.

Mike: Feel that grip?

Justin: Thing just did no spin at all.

Mike: Finally. That's all I've ever wanted from this damn thing and I couldn't get it.

Justin: Well, there, it's amazing the difference an all-season makes.

Mike: Absolutely.

Justin: I tell you what, Mike. We got a hard right-hander coming up here. Let's see how these sway bars are working for you.

Mike: All right.

Justin: Now, we got another left-hander coming up here. Ripping off a downshift. Let's see how she feels. It's a hard one, too.

Mike: We're going in.

Justin: Yes, sir. Oh, man. But overall, a success, you think?

Mike: Yeah. Absolutely. What a performance handle and just everything that it has done to wrap it all together with the sway bars from the cornering to the springs. Your number one driver is the performance piece of it, but also you want it to look good.

Justin: Oh, and you got the looks.

Mike: And this thing right here, it just sits mean right now.

Justin: You do. You got that aggressive stance, you got the rubber...

Mike: Just right.

Justin: ...you got the wheels. Overall, a success.

Mike: Absolutely.

Justin: There it is, guys. Well, Mike...

Mike: I'll be back.

Justin: Mike, he can't stop, man. He's been bitten hard by that mod bug so he might be back in a few weeks maybe for that blower we're talking about.

Mike: Yeah. You never know.

Justin: Well, there you go, guys. You have to follow this build. Mike is having a blast, as are we. So, be sure to stay tuned right here at americanmuscle.com.

Justin: Hey, everybody, Justin with americanmuscle.com here, and welcome to another episode of "Builds," the place where we highlight and feature some really cool customer and employee rides, do some wrenching and show you guys the results. Now, here with me today in the studio is AM customer and friend Mike and his beautiful 2015 GT. Just picked this thing up, man, and it really is sharp. Tell us the story a little bit, though, because this isn't your first Mustang. Right?

Mike: It's my second.

Justin: Okay.

Mike: It's my second, but it is my favorite. About 18 years ago, I had a 25th anniversary that I picked up, drove it about a year, year and a half. And it got to the point where I was just starting my career, and I had to get to work. The Northeast winters aren't favorable for Mustangs all year round all the time. So I had to sell it, get the 4-wheel drive to get back and forth to work, and here we are, probably for the last 16 years, I've been wanting one. And about a year ago I finally got the green light from my wife. The time was right, and I was looking and looking. And then I was about ready to get the 2014, and when I saw the 2015 unveiled, I was just like, "Yeah, that's it." That was the winner.

Justin: How you liking the car so far?

Mike: I love it. It's beautiful.

Justin: But it needs more power, right?

Mike: It needs a little more power.

Justin: Well, that's why we're here today, of course. Mike just brought his car in. He's not going crazy right away. We're gonna start small. We're gonna take care of some of the Mustang basics, give the car a little bit more power, a little bit more sound, and maybe make it a little bit more fun to drive for ya...

Mike: I'm ready.

Justin: ...and have some fun. So I tell you what, Mike's gonna get out of here. We're gonna get to work on this thing, and then we'll bring Mike back in when we're ready to dyno the car and see if he's impressed.

Now, granted, this isn't a crazy build by any stretch of the imagination, but, nevertheless, we are taking care of some of the Mustang basics, starting off with this cold air intake here from Airaid, along with an exhaust from Flowmaster, wrapping it all up here with a BAMA tune. So intake, of course, you guys should know the deal by now with these. Gonna free up some power under the hood, give us a little bit more sound there. And the exchaust, of course, it's gonna help out with our 2015 GT because, as you may or may not know, these things are just ridiculously quiet from the factory, so Flowmaster should definitely open that up. So guys, we're gonna get started. I'm gonna get going here with the Airaid. Let's check it out.

All right, so Mike decided to go with the American Thunder Flowmaster Axleback Exhaust here, this 2015. Now, with any axleback here with these 2015s, you have to cut the factory exhaust. There's really no getting around it. So really not that big of a deal, though. Stan and I are making our measurements now. You really only measure about two and a half inches back from this bend here, make your marks, grab a Sawzall, something similar like that, and just make your cut. So we're about finished with our measurements now we're gonna start cutting.

Okay, guys, so we've just finished up with the install, the cold air intake and the exhaust here on Mike's 2015 GT. Of course, now the car's over here on the dyno jet. I got Paul from the BAMA Performance team in here with me, and he's gonna work on a tune to see what kind of power we can squeeze out of these mods. Now, we've been down this road a million times, of course. An intake and exhaust are pretty much standard operating procedure for a new Mustang owner. What kind of adjustments did you make with the tune?

Paul: With our tune, we make our standard adjustments, you know, throttle response, torque management, some fueling changes, a wide-open throttle for optimal power, as well as revised spark mapping.

Justin: Sounds great, man. Well, looks like you're pretty much buttoned up here, so I'll get out of the way and see what kind of numbers Mike can expect. All right, Mike, well, we just got done making our pool here with all the mods and the tune-up load. The bone stock car made 384, 362. Not too bad, of course. But Paul, what's the car making now?

Paul: After the Airaid intake, Flowmaster axleback, and our V2 race tune, the car put down 407 horsepower and 379 foot-pounds of torque.

Mike: Wow.

Paul: You know, over stock, that's 23 horsepower. It's pretty impressive.

Justin: Absolutely. Then you're looking at 26 horsepower, 30 pound-feet of torque underneath the curve, which is even more impressive. I mean, those are numbers you're gonna feel. Are you happy with those numbers?

Mike: Absolutely. I'm ready to feel them.

Justin: All right, well, I think you heard it from him. Let's get this thing off the dyno. Now, the power numbers are great, of course, but I think, most importantly, though, you're gonna be more concerned about the drivability and things like that. Right?

Mike: Absolutely. That's one of the big things I'm looking to get out of the tune.

Justin: Okay, well, there's only one way to find out, guys, so we're gonna unstrap this thing here from the dyno, get it out on the road and see what Mike thinks. Now, Mike, your first reactions, man, of how it feels, how it sounds. What are you thinking?

Mike: I'm telling ya right now. This is a dream come true. It is just absolutely amazing the power and the sound of the difference of just the Flowmaster alone and tune that I got.

Justin: Now, you were saying, like when we were pulling out of the parking lot, just right there you noticed the car was almost, like, shifting differently, but for the better. Right?

Mike: Yeah, absolutely. Right out of the factory, I notice it's a little jerky coming into the first, second, and third gear transition.

Justin: I hear ya. That's kinda gone now.

Mike: And I don't know what...whatever the tune did. I don't know if it's putting more fuel in or the airflow, but it's something connecting just right as it's firing.

Justin: Well, why don't you drop it down a gear and give these guys what they want?

Mike: Oh.

Justin: Yeah, buddy. This thing grips, man.

Mike: Oh, my god. Are you kidding me?

Justin: That top end, I feel, is a lot, you know, a little bit more robust now.

Mike: It just keeps pulling.

Justin: Yeah.

Mike: Everything about it is pulling, and it just wants to go.

Justin: Nice.

Mike: This car with this tune and everything that you guys have done to it, it's just...for me, this is American Muscle. This is what it's about. It's about having fun and having the power when you want it.

Justin: Nice.

Mike: You know what I mean?

Justin: Hell, yeah.

Mike: It's a little too tempting, but it is there.

Justin: Well, hey, tempting is always a good thing. It means you're joy-driving the car.

Mike: Got the self-control, but I'm gonna tell you now it's very hard.

Justin: Nice. All right, Mike, now, as far as the exhaust, what do you think with the Flowmaster? Are you happy with it?

Mike: Oh, I love it. It just gives you a much more throatier deep bass tone to it that is what a Mustang is about. It's got that sound. Just like its power, it's there.

Justin: Absolutely.

Mike: Once it hits that 3,000 rpm range, there's nothing... It's a Mustang.

Justin: Well, there you go, guys. I mean, it seems like Mike's a happy customer.

Mike: 100%.

Justin: He's loving life. And sounds like you'll be back for more mods, right?

Mike: Absolutely.

Justin: All right.

Mike: I'll be back.

Justin: That's what we like to hear. Well, guys, if you wanna stay tuned with more of Mike's build, you should know what to do by now. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, American Muscle Videos, and for all things Mustang, keep it right here at americanmuscle.com.