More power on 87 octane

[doctorendo]

I have a 2000 GT. I love this car, but wouldn't mind a little more power. However, I am grateful every time I stop at the pump (which seems to be pretty frequently) that it only needs regular gas. What would you suggest I do to increase power without needing premium gas?

[MiracleMax]

the easiest way to add power without changing octane requirements would probaably be to cut parasitic horsepower loses.

Ford however evidently has some very conservative ignition settings so I suppose a slight increase in dynamic compression is not an issue.


The drivetrain is pretty much optimized from the factory, the diff is lubed for life with a synthetic oil (02 anyways), and they tranny only needs to be checked for proper level (and I beleive it has a synthetic in it also). this leaves engine oil as far as lubricants go (I think the 5w20 is a non synthetic oil still).

From there you 've got the under pulley thing and the last place you might try is the exhaust system. Any time the engine has to work against back pressure, its gonna burn up HP trying to push it out of the exh. port.

[mustanggt_50]

if you havent already done this you can remove the air silencer, put on a K&N, or a complete cold air setup. Not sure what you'll get out of that cause im not to familiar with the 4.6 motors, but hey, worth a shot, besides colder air into the motor is less prone to detonation

[Crazy Horse GT]

is your 2k an auto, or manual? i just put an o/r x- pipe on mine, it runs fine on reg. gas , you need to use 5w30 in it, if you have an auto you need to change the fluid & filter every 30,000 miles- mercon 5, if you find a little plastic plug in the pan , toss it , it messed me up till i found out it's just a shipping plug. , plus you need to change the fuel filter at 30,000 also, it takes a special tool wich looks like siscors with cups on the end. it's all in your owners manual.

[doctorendo]

I have removed the rubber thing from the intake on my '00 GT, and left the stock filter. I want to change to a K&N, but don't know if I should just put one on what I have now, or if I have to spend the money to get a cold air kit that extends the filter into the fender. Would there be a significant gain with the cold air?

[tireburner163]

Unless you add a chip, a power adder or increase compression you can still use 87 octane.

[97SOHCAMMER]

Yeah tireburner is right. Anything that doesn't up the compression ratio, alter timing, or fuel curves will be fine w/ 87. For those of you who run premium in your cars your just wasting money and confusing your EEC. You actually get worse gas mileage when you don't run the recommended 87. Those of you with Snakes have to use premium though but I'm sure you figured that one out for yourself because it says so on the instrument cluster. And about the silencer, people can say what they want, it does add power. It tends to add about 3 rwhp. I definitley noticed a difference when I pulled mine. Plus it makes a cool gulping sound when you crack the throttle. Not bad for free mod that takes about two minutes to do.