It’s not that certain modifications will de facto void your warranty (thanks to the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act), but selecting the right tuning company results in your Ford service advisor seeing what’s been done as a “known quantity”.

The biggest difference between the two groups is that companies like Shelby have a history, a track record, and - most importantly for me - a warranty.

We have the big boys like Shelby, Roush and Saleen, and then perhaps a thousand smaller shops selling everything from new headlamps to questionable engine mods. When it comes to Mustang tuners, we’re spoiled for choice. Shelby will sell you parts so you can do the work yourself one mod at a time, or you can send your ‘Stang to Vegas and they’ll do it all for you. How thoroughly Shelby mods your Mustang depends on your patience level and the size of your bank account. Of course, seeing how nothing is more ‘Murican than a modded pony car, I secretly wish they had gone with “Shelby ‘Murican,” but I digress. Why “Shelby American?” Because now that Shelby has gone public, Shelby American is the division that actually modifies cars. In case you didn’t know, Shelby American tunes Mustangs. Fortunately, my cousin, a rabid collector of classic Shelbys swore he’d saw my nuts off convinced me to fly to Vegas to check out Shelby’s latest wares. My V70R is a tale for a different time, but I mention it because when I got an email invitation from Shelby, I almost deleted it. I kept the factory exhaust tips but jammed in a racing cat, different muffler and I fiddled with the suspension. It’s not that I don’t like extra power, or a different suspension tune, I just prefer parts made by the company that made my car and I like the car to look “stock.”Ī case in point was my 2006 Volvo V70R.

Super snake nudge tunes