Wish I knew more

[acidskie]

I am reading a lot over 3 diff sites and I still feel like I don't know a thing really.

From what I'm reading, Stock GT's are around 220-230 rwhp.
Now add in all the 5-10hp gains via bolt ons and your not going to be hitting 280 rwhp with out doing real motor work, NOS, or a supercharger/turbo.

This all seems hopeless!!!! I don't want to void my warranty, everything costs so much but is only gaining around 10hp if that.

Do upgrades start to gain more HP as you add other mods?

Can you break 300 rwhp with bolt ons, exaust, and such with out voiding your warranty? If so have you done it and what are your mods?

[surfbeast]

I doubt you can ever see 300 rwhp with just bolt ons. The major part of Modding for me besides gaining HP is the pure fun of it. Plus you get to learn about your car. If you are looking for big HP than you need to spend the money for a power adder or just buy a high HP car. It all depends on what you want to do!:D

[acidskie]

Very true I guess. See I don't have a garage or anywhere to work on a car, and for that matter... I'm not a mechanic either. While simple things like plugs, oil, etc are in my ability, I just don't think some of the other things I could handle, so I would be paying to have it done... So there is another bummer about it. But oh well. It will come togeather sooner or later.

[GTvert]

Sure, there will be faster cars, but what's the fun of buying a fast car that you haven't put any effort into? I always say I will leave my next car stock, but I know better.Building it is 90% of the fun. When a lot of people assume that it is stock, and then get blown away, it is a pretty good feeling (for you anyway).I think that you can probably do most of the bolt ons yourself if you just take an afternoon and don't get frustrated with it. The only exception I can see as far as bolt ons go are gears and exhaust.Everything else is pretty straightforward, take one off, put the other one on.
300 rwhp is just a number, who cares? If you want it, build your way up to it.There are more and more 4.6 parts coming out, so it may be attainable, although 300 fwhp is a better starting point.Yes, some parts will produce more hp the more you add.

[acidskie]

Thanks Vert!

[explicitone]

Originally posted by acidskie
I am reading a lot over 3 diff sites and I still feel like I don't know a thing really.

From what I'm reading, Stock GT's are around 220-230 rwhp.
Now add in all the 5-10hp gains via bolt ons and your not going to be hitting 280 rwhp with out doing real motor work, NOS, or a supercharger/turbo.

This all seems hopeless!!!! I don't want to void my warranty, everything costs so much but is only gaining around 10hp if that.

Do upgrades start to gain more HP as you add other mods?

Can you break 300 rwhp with bolt ons, exaust, and such with out voiding your warranty? If so have you done it and what are your mods?

are looking for 300rwhp or 300fwhp(flywheel)

300rwhp
will take all the bolt ons plus cams and P&P heads and a good tune and the fuel system to go with it

300fwhp yes you can get that , all bolt ons and thats with long tube headers and the bullit intake manifold and a tune


and dont take what the ads say the power increases will be here is a list of what the real nimbers look like


underdrive pullies----- 4-5hp 150$ good all around mod smallish gains at peak but good gains throughout the power band)
timing adj------ 4-5hp 130$(same as above)

t/b without plenum----- -1-2 115-230(you will gain maybe 1 peak and lose as much as 10 under peak)

cold air intake--- waste of money will get the same gain out of a k&n drop in filter

plenum(no t/b)----- 4-6hp (solid mod with or without a t/b good gains throughout the power band)

put the plenum and t/b togather and it is a great mod for the price)

cat-back------ 2-4hp not worth the money for power but worth it for sound

catted mid pipe------- 8-10hp good mod
non catted mid pipe---- 10-12hp good mod

shortie headers---- 0hp waste of money on headers and install

long tube headers ---- great mod good gain throughout the power band

bullit intake--------- great mod you only 5 peak but as much as 20hp above peak and below peak

mail order chip-------- 4-5hp waste of money only a dyno tuned chip will give you good gains with a safe tune


c&L maf --- waste of money does the same thing a good tuner will do and he can do it safe

pro-m maf-------- good meter but not need untill P&P heads and stoker come in to play

dyno tuned chip----- is the only way to go with a chip but i would wait untill long tube headers and cams come into play or its not worth it

Bigger mods
___________

P&P headers costly 15-20hp depending on cams and porter

cams 15-20hp depends on cams and maker(plus valve springs are needed



what you have to look at is the bolt on mods dont do as well as they did on the 5.0 for a reason we already have better stock stuff(save for pre93 internals)
5.0 t/b 58mm 4.6t/b 65mm
5.0 maf (small cant remember size) 4.6 maf 80mm


remeber this hp ## is only something a dyno queen cares about so they can brag to everyone how much power they make

just mod you car for what you like fun on the street ,drag racing,autocross and what not just have fun dont stress yourself out on a ##

[stacy's stang]

That was a great breakdown and lesson. Thanks! I'm trying to learn about all this too and now it's all starting to make sense. I wish I wasn't so compulsive. I've had my stang for 6 weeks now and already changed out the mufflers, gotten graphics, and have rims on order. The ole pocketbook is starting to holler so I better slow down. I just printed out your post so I can use it as a shopping list.:)

[Mercury]

Another great way to make your car faster, and its free, except for gas....is imporiving ones own driving. That can make all the diffrence in the world, not just horsepower.

[acidskie]

CRAP bro. That was some serious good info!!!

I have settled down since my orig post. I am not going to be at the drags, but if I can find some more power here or there that I can feel I will be happy. I am going to prob get a plenum and T/B after I put on some pulleys. I need to find out what kind of springs are in my car as the person who had it before me seems to have changed out the stockers. I have maybe 4-5 inches clearance. In fact I doubt I have that. I drag over speed bumps If I am not very careful and there is no way I could drive over a standing soda can and not knock it over.

Thanks for bearing with me guys. I'm a work in progress just like my car is. So just sit back and enjoy the show http://webpages.charter.net/acidskie/popc1.gif

[GodStang]

I agree with explicitone for the most part but it all depends on your car. He says 0 hp for a Cat-back. I have seen people get 15 hp and 17 TQ from just a catback with my same year car. It is all about making your car personal. Make it different then all the others. Most important have fun with your car.

[Snakeman]

decide on what you really want to end up with, a beastly drag car that is difficult to drive on the street, a road warrior to handle the twisties like a snake, etc.

while on a stock motor a catback is about worthless, if you have heads/cam/intake mods or nitrous/supercharger, then a catback can show serious gains over the stock exhaust. same with the other parts, alone they don't make a big difference, but in combination with all the other mods they form a complete package.

on a stock motor, stick to intake-side mods and weight reduction mods to see the biggest gains for the least money. once the intake side is done, gears would give a nice seat-of-the-pants boost. then go with heads/cam and exhaust mods. then upgrade the brakes! :D

pretty soon your car has more aftermarket stuff than stock...

regardless; it's kinda fun buying new bits for the car if you can spare the coin!

have fun!

[xxxBlakexxx]

Acidskie:

There has been some great advice on this thread. Good to hear from Godstang, he has been quiet for a while.

Look at it this way...what is the bottle-neck in your performance and that's where you should start your upgrades. On a stock GT, most would agreee (I think) it's the intake. Upgrading something like injectors (which no one told you to do) is worthless, because the stock ones can handle much more than 260 HP.

Some mods will pay dividends now while others will pay-off later. Some work well with others and some...not so much.

I think if all you did was some intake work, 4.10's, and a Cat-Back you would have a car that was quicker and sounded better. Can you ask for anything more?

Look at all my mods. My car is no faster today than when I got it. Why? My tires suck....all they do is spin. Once I launch the car in first (easing off on the gas so they don't spin) and as the rpms increase to about 4,000, the tires break loose again. I used to be able to hit 60 feet in 2.1/2.2 without any mods, now it's 2.3 and I should be just below 2.0.

My quarter mile times have actually increased too (according to my g meter) a little. I ran 14.7 this evening at 99.7 (1600 feet elevation). My bottle neck...TRACTION. Stock I ran about 14.5 at 96. I feel I should be 13.9 at 101 or so.

I welcome any comments on these times BTW, especially my estimates as far as what I think I should be doing.

I am doing no more power adder mods until I fix the traction issue. I have new tires on order (Kuhmo Ecsta 712). They should be stickier cus their new and I am going with 285's in the rear. But far from a drag tire (I am running on worn Sumis).

[xxxBlakexxx]

I am sure the low temps don't help either for traction.

[Jason1320]

My mustang is almost two years old now and I'm at the point where I don't care about the warranty anymore, I just want more power. The only thing I've really done is install a Jet Chip, K&N cold air intake and flowmaster mufflers. What kind of intake work can I do for the best performance. Coin isn't that big of an issue, but I would rather learn how to do it than pay someone. Any advise?