Upgrade Question: How to Spend $1000

[Brant]

I'm not a tech....I'd drown myself trying to change the oil

(just kidding)....

Anyways, lets say I had $1000 to sneak out of the bank account and make my stock 1995 Cobra faster.

I consider this car, with 3.08's I believe, to be slow in terms of quickness......really, a modern mini-van can take me off the line unless I go Wide Open Throttle and rev it up to 4000. I assumed
Gears would be the first thing.

3.55's or 3.73's......I figure $250+ for the gears and $500+ for installation. Supposedly a local place here in CT (Mustangs Unlimited) has a "kit" I can buy.....does SVT sell this kit?

But...what about after that.......I'd love to lower the car a bit, the 95 "offroad lift look" is definately noticable to me...especially since my car is white and I see all that black between the wheel well and the tire.......what are the "springs of chioce" these days, and what will it cost me to buy them and have them installed? Do I need to buy other parts to go along with this upgrade?

Finally...Exhaust....Headers...etc.....do I need them? What will they cost me, installed. As you can tell I'm kinda a newbie who's read alot of contradicting information online...so I'd love some advice here...(to add to the contradicting information!)

Also..I'm not a racer..this is my summer daily driver....but there's a local GT owner who's car is just beautifully tricked out...he'll punch the throttle taking a turn onto a street and the back-end will break away and squealing tires and..err..ok, so call it fanboy admiration...but in my CObra if I did that while in first gear all I'd get is....a car starting to go faster. Damn the 3.08's!

Gears First...then what? And what am I buying in terms of horsepower..oh, and problems? Will any of this stuff destroy my gas mileage? On a really good week my car will go 220 miles before I really need to fill up. I've never run it down to empty since the car's gas guage is so "vague"...suddenly I'm at 1/2 a tank...suddenly at 1/4, etc.......

PS: What RPM's will I be turning at 70mph on the highway wiht 3.55 or 3.73 gears. With the 3.08's I'm doing about 70 at 2000rpm....

Sorry for the 20 questions, but thanks for taking the time to read...if you've got any suggestions or advice, I'd apprecaite it.
You can probably gather that I don't have alot of spare cash to spend, but I do have a little..and would like to improve the performance of the car...its like it just needs some waking up.

Please see my other post regarding a heating problem I'm having.....hopefully that won't eat up my mod budget trying to fix that issue.

Thanks everyone for the read.

[Coupe5oh]

Well since your not a racer, the 3.55's should feel good, and noticeably increase performance, your looking at about 2200-23 rpm at 70mph, abouts, some factoring like wheel diameter can change it a little, I recomend subframe connectors, although that is better for a car that will be raced, although, if you want to take a turn and leave rubber like that gt, these can help you straighten out, and keep the chassis stable, tight feeling while the tires are up in smoke

your car would probaly look awesome with lower springs, wich ones i dont know? And also in my honest opinion, an x-pipe with some bassani mufflers, or flowmasters might really get you more looks than that GT that cruises around...good luck. anymore question are welcome......

[RED92LX50]

My first mods were:
1. 2.5" Cat-back exhaust (I chose Dynomax) $300 Installed myself.

2. Aluminum Underdrive Pulleys - $100 Installed myself.

3. Pro 5.0 Shifter - $170 Installed myself.

4. 4.10 Gears & Aluminum Driveshaft ($400 Parts, $200 Install).

This will put you right at $1170 - OK, $1000 if you wait on the shifter :-)

BTW - $500 for just Install of gears is a RIP OFF, $500 TOTAL may be right in some areas but still high. The gears are $150 on the internet, and new shims, bearings, etc. may run another $100.

[Sonics2042]

I went 2.73 to 3.55. At 65 my rpms are right at 2,000. If you are running 3.08s, you might want to consider 3.73s to get the most for your money. My parts + install came to $450.

I don't like underdrive pulleys because I have a sound system in my car. Underdrive pulleys take power away from things like the alternator and air conditioning. If I were to run my system in the rain (windsheild wipers) at a stop, my car would probably die. That and if you don't drive it frequently on decent length 'trips', you may run into low-charging issues.

Soooo...Here is what I say:
1) Gears - $ 500

2) MAC Cat-Back exhaust ($269 (includes shipping from www.mustangwarehouse.com). You don't need to know what you are doing really. Just some simple instructions and maybe a friend who is semi-mechanically inclined. If not, pay no more than $50-75 to have this done!) This should also increase gas mileage. (Compliments future mods...)

3) New Air Filter ($70-170) + air intake silencer removal (free) You could do some sort of ghetto/custom 'PVC pipe to cone filter' installation with a K & N air filter. The alternative is a cold air intake. (BBK or MAC), not much better, but looks awesome in the engine bay. Neither of thise will add significant HP, but increases pep, helps top end, and sounds cool. (Compliments future mods...)

4) New short throw shifter (150-170). There are about 3 different kinds which all rank pretty close, but Steeda Tri-Ax is my personal favorite. Makes your car more fun to drive and shifts are much shorter.

Total comes to about $ 989-1109....depending on which options you choose.


Thanks,
DoranW

[90LxDroptop]

hey there,
I know u said it's your daily driver, but you'd probably be much happier with the increase in acceleration going from 3.08's to 3.73's rather than 3.55's. and also RED92LX50 is right. $500 is way to much. I paid about $500 in total. Keep looking in the phone book, you'll find a way better price.

[93SVTstang]

I have 3.55s in my car and like them...3.73s will just make getting traction harder. I turn 2500 @80. After the gears just get some exhaust-I have Borla and LOVE it, I would definitely suggest spending the extra money if you drive alot and want an awesome sound. Just my .02

[Sonics2042]

Originally posted by 93SVTstang
I have 3.55s in my car and like them...3.73s will just make getting traction harder. I turn 2500 @80. After the gears just get some exhaust-I have Borla and LOVE it, I would definitely suggest spending the extra money if you drive alot and want an awesome sound. Just my .02

BTW, I thought I would say that I hate you...93 cobra = my favorite car.

Thanks,
DoranW

[93SVTstang]

Sorry, I guess it wouldn't help if I told you I was 17 would it??

[Jeb_Bush_2000]

Man, don't touch that Cobra. It's a collector's item.

[90LxDroptop]

AHHH, I thought I felt lucky. Just to have a Mustang as my first car (HOPEFULLY NOT MY LAST) Now here's a 17 year old with a 93 COBRA?!?! AHHH. lucky B@ss Turd...lol just kidding. oh I turn 17 tomorrow tho. wohoo(useless info.) and also Sonics2042, I posted while u were posting probably, because I didn't see what u wrote till after I submitted the info. oh well. adios

[90'5.0 Conv]

BTW, I thought I would say that I hate you...93 cobra = my favorite car.
________________________________________________

Thought he said it was a 95 cobra?

[RageForces]

I have the 373 gear set and I love them. If you dont have the smog test I would use an off road h - x pipe. If you do I would get a high flow cat and exhoust system. The best lowering springs i have seen used are the ebich pro-kit lowering kit. They lower your car about 1" and help the car handle much better. If you dont have a killer sound system I would also get some under drive pulleys. Also $500 dollers for installing gears is to much. The shop where my friend got his done charged him $250. Hope this helps.

[Brant]

Thank you all for your .02 cents. Ok, I'll try to scout around some places to see about getting gears done. Sadly, here in CT we do have the smog test...so I have to keep that in mind. Gears First, the rest will come later. Some of you may have read my other thread about the cooling issue I'm experiencing....that also takes priority.

With 3.73's whats 70MPH on the Tach....2500? Or closer to 3?
Like I said, the car does alot of highway driving mostly....but I rarely go faster than 70 or 75....ehhh...ok..maybe..sometimes...
I would go 3.55, but I've heard alot of folks tell me that they'd "wished they'd gone with 3.73's"...

Tough part is, not being a Wrench-Turner myself I don't know exactly what to expet going from 3.08's to 3.55's, or 3.73's...I just get the general gist that this will cause the car to accellerate faster and pull alot harder....while sacrificing top speed. (whateva!)..thats what I'm after

I'd also like to replace the sloppy shifter with an aftermarket one, but that will come later. PS: Anyone else just notice that sometimes the damn thing just doesn't want to go into gear....I have this problem downshifting from 5th to 4th...usually after the tranny heats up and I've been doing highway driving for awhile.

Ah the joys of owning a musklecar....

Oh yeah..as for it being a Collectors Item, I think if I keep it for 30 more years perhaps I could get my $22k back......but the problem is the car right now is like...."not living up to its potential". Ford gave me these hot rod parts...better intake, cam, injectors, etc.....only it gave me 3.08 gears. Some simple mods to make it breathe better and some better gearing will really make a huge improvement (so I am told).....hence....collectors item or not, I bought it to drive it.....tho with 13K miles afer 5 yeras of ownership..err..I need to drive it more

[onesillylx50]

with the pulleys and the sound system you should try and get a higher ampage altenator.

[RED92LX50]

Just my opinion - I would not spend $500 to go from 3.08 to 3.55, I would really feel like I wasted my money. I went from 3.08 to 4.10 (in a 5spd vert) and it is AWESOME. Not my daily driver, so maybe 3.73 for a daily driver, but no way 3.55.

Also, I have actually found it EASIER to launch with the 4.10's than 3.08, I don't have to rev the engine as much to get into the powerband as quickly. Just my exeperience...

[Sonics2042]

Originally posted by 90'5.0 Conv
BTW, I thought I would say that I hate you...93 cobra = my favorite car.
________________________________________________

Thought he said it was a 95 cobra?

I was quoting 93SVTCobra who has a black 93 Cobra. The fact that he is 17 doesn't help. I shall have my 93 Cobra and 98 Supra one day!

Thanks,
DoranW

[Brant]

The New Hyundai Tiberon looks like a miniature Supra... :P

But I digress.

Guys, where should I shop for these mods......when you buy gears, does that mean you get everything you need, including a new gear for the speedo?? (Uh, someone suggested that this was necessary)

Other parts I need to be aware of?? ie: If I want to do "gears" what do I need to buy...just the set of gears, or do I need to buy replacement gaskets (for the bell housing?) or...???

[Grn92LX]

Do a search for where you can find fms 3.73 gears the cheapest and take them to a trusty shop and have them installed. www.oemfordparts.com has nice prices on stuff, but not sure of their gear prices. May wanna also have the trac lok rebuilt while the gears r going in. The kit is like $45. Then i'd do a full exhaust, longtubes being better, but thats up to you. A full tune up would be a smart thing to do before modifying it, plugs, fuel filter, wires cap, rotor, advance timing, remove silencer, change oil/trans fluid....

[1jimmy__d]

i am a dialy driver as well. You need to get the 373's! it mat be 200 RPM difference. You wont be bothered by the rpms as well going 70. Plus when are you going over 70-75 on ythe highway anyways, unless youre racing someone. Get the 373's you'll be happier. Also, I have emission checks here too, but still have no cats= you need to find a mechanic who will pass you anyways! I DID! Just DO IT!!!!

[90'5.0 Conv]

Originally posted by Sonics2042


I was quoting 93SVTCobra who has a black 93 Cobra. The fact that he is 17 doesn't help. I shall have my 93 Cobra and 98 Supra one day!

Thanks,
DoranW

Oops, sorry bout that man. Well I have to agree with you thou. We called guys like that spoiled when I was in school. LOL. Maybe when I'm fifty, I'll have something like these kids drive nowadays! LOL

James