The '10 turned out to be the...
The '10 turned out to be the car in the middle, the choice a street-performance aficionado would consider "just right" of the three Car FX modifieds.
The motto spelled out on these cars and the company's logo is "Look Better, Go Faster." To do so, customers can order a Mustang with one or more of the mods such as seen on these three builds. Will even adds further flexibility when he tells Mustang owners to make their changes a step at a time as their budget permits. They may start with a suspension upgrade, for example. After lowering, they might want to add the supercharger, and even go for internal engine mods.
Under the Car FX Rear Black...
Under the Car FX Rear Black Out Panel, Will's crew chose an SLP Loud Mouth System to deliver an aggressive, but streetable persona. As Will said, the exhaust pipes are a bit longer on the '10. "That particular kit has enough adjustment in it that we made it work on the 2010," Russell explained. "Luckily they had enough length it actually worked." The Car FX motto is written across the rear deck of each modified Mustang.
Of course, the cars share more than just a color. Mostly, the modifications interchange between the '05-'08 and the '10. Will said, "Underneath, these cars are almost identical. You need a longer tailpipe on the '10. Other than that, the Panhard bars, the sway bars, everything else fits."
There were, of course, challenges to building big power into the latest Mustang. Russell Williams, who does the actual build work at Car FX explained Ford narrowed the front grille opening in the restyle of the 2010, creating clearance interference for large high-performance intercoolers. "We removed the front fascia and made our own brackets to fit the largest intercooler we could on the 2010." Since the '10 Mustang front grille opening apparently doesn't admit as much air as the '05-'09 grille, Car FX mounted the intercooler as low and as far forward as possible to expose it to the largest volume of incoming air.
In addition to lowering, No....
In addition to lowering, No. 33 gets a visual boost from the modified front valance and bumper, clearing the way for a giant intercooler, which gives the '10 a brash, high-performance look. Steeda's 18x9-inch Pentar 2 wheels mounting Nitto Invo tires fill the wheelwell to put as much tire on the ground as possible with no body adjustments. Russell said, "They're good on the street, and really sticky on a road course." Car FX chose four-piston Brembo brakes with 14-inch rotors up front. In the rear, it selected Baer 14-inch rotors featuring improved pads.
The most aggressive performer of the three wears the lowest number, No. 12. Will explained the Car FX plan of attack. "Instead of building a street car that can go out there and race on the track, we built a track car that we could make street legal. Car FX stripped car No. 12 of most of its interior. It replaced the rear glass and door glass with Plexiglas to subtract more weight. The vehicle barely tips the scales at 3,000 pounds. "We shaved weight everywhere we possibly could," Will said.