5 Cheap and Easy S550 Mustang Mods

S550 Mustangs are stylish and modern right off the assembly line. But, there's always room for improvement. Personalize your ride with our top five picks of S550 upgrades for under $500 each.

In addition to being inexpensive, these projects are quick to complete. In just a weekend with the tools in your garage, you can upgrade your S550's looks and performance.

1. Marker Lights

The factory S550 marker lights aren't very bright. But, you can swap in brighter, multi-bulb replacements. Not only are these aftermarket marker lights brighter, but they're available with different lens colors. This allows you to personalize your lighting setup.

There are generally three lens color options: red, clear, and smoked. Red is the factory lens color and is a good choice if you just want to tweak the classic look. Clear and smoked styles are better if you're building towards a different look. In particular, smoked lenses are a great addition to a blackout build.

Installing new marker lights is easy. You won't need any tools, but a pair of needle-nose pliers make the process easier.

Head over to our S550 Mustang LED lighting guide for more ideas on how to brighten up your ride.

2. Hood Struts

Replacing your Mustang's factory prop rod with hood struts makes it easier to lift the hood. Once you lift the hood about halfway up, hood struts lift it the rest of the way with progressive-rate gas springs.

Hood struts are more secure than the prop rod, so you'll be safer while you tinker in the engine bay. They also seat further back than the prop rod. This gives you more space to work and eliminates the possibility of accidentally knocking into the rod and causing the hood to fall.

In addition to the practical benefits, hood struts simply look cool. This makes them a nice addition to your Mustang, whether you've already got stylish underhood mods or are planning to install them.

Hood struts should install in under half an hour. They don't require many tools, and the ones you do need you probably have already.

3. Wheel Spacers

Wheel spacers add distance between the wheel and wheel hub, creating a wider stance. The result is a more planted car with better handling, grip, and cornering.

Spacers allow you to create a staggered look without buying a whole new set of wheels. However, if you're ready to pick a new set of wheels, spacers make it possible to go bigger than the stock sizes.

Wheel spacers can also give you the clearance you need to add performance brakes. Performance brake calipers are typically wider than factory calipers and might rub against your wheels. Adding space between the wheels and calipers with spacers should fix this problem.

It's important to pick out the right wheel spacers for your build, so you get the ride quality you want. Check out this article to learn more about wheel spacers.

4. Resonator Delete

Adding a resonator delete to your Mustang improves the exhaust note while making it louder. They also shave weight off your build for better acceleration.

Resonator deletes are available for all three stock engine setups. For the GT and V6 engines, you'll want either an X-pipe or H-pipe. You'll need a Y-pipe for EcoBoosts, though. You can read more about mid-pipes here.

Even though you have to cut the pipes to install, it's way easier than it sounds. Plus, the benefits mentioned above are worth the effort.

If you're interested in more exhaust modifications, there's plenty you can do to improve the sound and performance of your S550. Depending on which engine your ride has, use either our S550 GT exhaust guide or S550 EcoBoost exhaust guide to find the next exhaust mods for your Mustang.

5. Lowering Springs

Obviously, lowering springs drop your Mustang's ride height. The lower center of gravity decreases nose dive and body roll for better handling. You'll also experience less lean when taking corners. Read more about the performance benefits you'll get with a lower center of gravity here.

Mustang lowering springs give your build a sportier, race-inspired aesthetic. You can choose to drop both the front and back of your Mustang for a leveled look or increase your ride's rake. Rake describes the effect of either the front or rear end of your vehicle being higher than the other end.

You'll want to decide how low you're going to drop your Mustang before you start looking at springs. Daily drivers are usually only dropped about one inch to keep them from bottoming out on speed bumps. You may want to go a full two inches if you plan to take your Mustang to the track, though.

Another factor to consider is whether linear or progressive springs will meet your needs best. Read through the differences between the two in our linear vs progressive spring guide.

Next Modifications

If you've already done these modifications or don't see anything you like, one of our other guides may have what you're looking for. The best S550 Mustang mods page is full of ways to improve performance and style. But, if you're only looking for appearance upgrades, the S550 style guide is probably more your speed. For an upgrade that gives performance benefits but still stays in the $500 price range, browse through our S550 cold air intake guide.