Originally posted by 88GT 5pt0 :
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Well I have decided to sell the 88 5.0, even though I love it, I want something newer. I'm looking for a 94-98 model. I want to know which is the better engine the 94-95 5.0 or the 96-98 4.6. Which is faster stock? which is easier/cheaper to mod? It will be my summer daily driver and it probably wont see the track more than once or twice a year (for now) but I would like to be able to smoke anyone on the street.
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Since the 5.0 engine was last offered in a Mustang in 1995, you're stuck with a '94 or '95 model if you go the 5.0 route.
The term 'better engine' is a relative one with a lot of factors to consider. The 5.0 V-8 has been proven to be reliable over the years and it's a more simple design (pushrods vs overhead cam) with lots of reasonably-priced go-fast parts available for it, as you must know. Most stock 5-speed 5.0's run in the mid-to-high14 second range but can easily be modified with steeper rear gears, head, intake and exhaust upgrades and of course, a blower or nitrous for that big kick. A 13 second 5.0 is not hard to find and 12-second 5.0's are fairly plentiful, too, although they usuallly have nitrous or a blower pushing the power.
I'm less familiar with the 281 (4.6 liter) Mustang engine but I recall the early ones ('96 -98) were generally judged to be dogs, compared to the 5.0. The later models ('99-up) seem to have been improved a lot and are faster - but also more expensive. Of course, again, nitrous will make anything 'faster' if you want to go that route.
On balance, I would go for a 94-95 5.0-powered Mustang. The engine is better, it's going to be a lot cheaper and you still have the newer body style. As for 'smoking anyone on the street' - that's a fantasy unless you have an 11-second Mustang. Late model Corvettes, Camaro-Firebirds and assorted much-modified riceburners and turbo-powered foreign cars are quite capable of 13's and even 12's in some cases. Of course, a well modified Mustang 5.0 can run in that pack too, but a stocker is only going to be a 14-second car and while that can beat a lot of non-nitroused ricers and guys driving Mom's Honda Accord, it won't 'smoke' a lot of the more serious cars out there. The good news is that it will have the
potential to do so, if you want to modify it and even if you don't, your Mustang V-8 will be a lot more fun to drive than some screaming ricemobile blowing smoke out of it's farting 4" exhaust tip. After all, you'll be driving a
Mustang; an American automobile legend with a proud history and a good old V-8 engine, just the way God intended.
Good luck in your search.