What mods for a stock 5.0?
 

I just got my car a few days ago, and am already thinking about modifications... What would you guys do? Keep in mind im 16 and am on a very very limited budget. Thanks :D

Im 18 and on a very tight budget myself. A K&N is always good, a good exhaust (If you like flowmasters Summit has them for 228 with free shipping if you give them a catalog number out of Muscle Mustang & Fast Fords) i here good things about pulleys too. Hope this helps.

It depends on how limited your budget is. If you can afford, gears, they would be your best bet. I would just give the car the basic mustang "tune up"...gears, pulleys, and exhaust. They are all relatively cheap and don't have to be done at the same time.

The above mods are good. Gears, exhaust, K&N filter. Pulleys are questionable because if you put in a stereo then your charging system won't be at full potential because the alternator will spin slower. If you want pulleys check with March Performance, they have a power pulley set that is designed for stereo systems. If you can spare the money I would get the fenderwell kit for your filter so your engine is not breathing the hot air from the radiator. Those are good ways to start. After the basics you may want to plan your build up. It get expensive.

i am in the exact same boat as you. i started out with a K&N, i would never buy one again, i noticed no power.

remove the air silencer, set TPS to .98, if you run on good gas(91 or so) bump the timing, shifter(always helps the feel) cat back, h-pipe, and headers are usually a waste unless you have headwork.

i also have an electric fan, and removed the smog pump.

Basic modifications
 

A K&N filter offers about 1 HP gain so you won't 'feel' it but it can be used for many years with just a washing and reoiling and it does filter much better than a paper filter. Worth the money but no, not a HP increase that you'll notice.

Advancing the timing to 14 degrees is free and you will notice the difference.

3.73 or 4.10 rear axle gears are a great mod but run around $400. with pro installation (highly recommended).

Underdrive pulleys are under $100. and offer about 5 -8 HP gain but as mentioned, you could have charging problems.

Always do a full tune-up on a newly aquired car. Plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor, air & gas filters, TPS adjustment, timing.

Good luck with your 'Stang!

If I were you, I would pick up the new issue of 5.0 Mustang and Super Fords. Its the august issue. The cover article is "Fast Start". It has a list of the most important first mods to put on the stang and a few paragraphs explaining each one. It is a very informative issue, especially for beginners like some of us. It is helping me a lot in making my decisions to start the modification process.
Many of them have been mentioned here.
Here is a quick list but you can pick up the issue for an explaination on each.

Rear End Gears
Pulleys
Cold-Air Intake
Mass Air Meter/Throttle Body
Exhaust H-Pipe and Cat-Back (Headers if you have the money)
And then a stretch is to go for the Heads, Intake and Cam.

I hope that this helps a little, but again, the article is very detailed and product specific.

Scott

All good ideas. All I can do is just reiterate what's already been stated.

Since you just got the car and likely don't know a whole lot about the maintenance schedule it has been on, start with an oil change and a basic tune-up as per Mr 5.0's post.

Next comes all the free stuff. Include advancing initial timing to 13-14 degrees, TPS setting to .95-.98 or so, and air intake silencer removal. If you have any questions on how to do these...just let us know and we'd be glad to walk you through it (I don't have any idea how much you know about Mustangs...).

After that, get ready to spend a bit more money as you go.

1. K&N filter. You could go for a simple panel filter or a open cone element. With a panel filter, you don't have to worry about fan wash messing with your idle as much and they still flow really well.

2. Cat-back exhaust...woudln't worry too much about headers
just yet. The exhaust itself will only pick you up minimal power now, but you will love the sound and it makes for a great foundation for future mods.

3. Gears. At least 3.73's for your AOD. If you don't mind spending a few more dollars at the pump each time, go with 4.10's. That will probably put you at about 2600-2700 or so at 70mph (I believe I ran about 2300-2400 after I put 3.73's in before the converter). This is a bit expensive to buy the gears and then pay to have them put in, but definately a must for Mustangs.

After those basic mods, a whole world of possibilities opens up. First, decide what you want your car to do.

Do you want it to remain a daily driven street car? My guess is that you do. In that case, you have to weigh the potential outcomes of your mods and decide if they are worth it in terms of streetability. If fuel mileage is important to you and you do a lot of highway driving, you may need to consider 3.73's rather than the better performing 4.10's. You get the picture with this line of thought?

Another thing to consider: Do you want to focus on straight-line acceleration, or more on carving up the twisties? Do you want to dessimate all at the track, or simply be competitive with most of what's out there? Do you want to remain naturally aspirated or go with forced induction or nitrous?

Do some thinking about where you want to go with your car before you mod it. Then you can peice together a road-map of modifications and develop a list of parts you'll need along the way. We can help if you want; you only have to ask.

Have fun with your car, but be safe. And welcome to MustangWorks. :D

--nathan

The best thing to do in ur car is 4.10 gears because of ur aod, that is not the cheapest mod but it is the best mod i think for the money, and trust me u can feel it, but that is just my 2 cents


-raini

I'm on a limited budget and this is what I've done-
Headers, Offroad H-Pipe, Flowmasters and a cold air intake with a K&N (really helps the air flow better into and out of the engine)
Electric Fan and ASP Underdrive pulleys. Those helped "free" up horsepower. I wouldn't do the fan right now because of your budget, I had to do mine because my old one decided to break into 2 pieces. I'm hoping to do my gears soon. From what I've read about, it's definately worth it.

Just a little FYI for the future.

If you're planning on keeping the AOD, there are some things you can do to make it run with the stick boys. Now everyone you talk to (mostly) is going to tell you that the AOD is a dog. They're right. The AOD is a dog in stock form. The worst part of the tranny is the valve body design and another major problem with the AOD is overdrive breakage.

First, an OD band, no matter how strong you make your AOD isn't going to live up to much torque. It just isn't designed for that. It's there to cruise down the highway with. Therefore, treat it accordingly. I would suggest running around town in D rather than OD to avoid excessive shifting back and forth from 3rd to OD. Also, avoid flooring the car while cruising in OD. This will cause a harsh downshift into 3rd which is pretty hard on the OD band I would guess a cause of a good number of breaks. If you do want to get on it while in OD, pull the tranny back into 3rd, wait for it to shift, and then step on it.

Also, get a tranny cooler. Heat is enemy number one of trannies.

To make the AOD run better in the future, think about investing in a 2800 or so torque converter from the likes of PI, Lentech or PA. This, in my opinion, is the absolute best mod you can do for an AOD car. Also, you need a shift kit from Transgo or Baumann. Makes 'em tons more fun to drive. Or, if you want to go the extra step, look into a manual shifting valve body as to avoid the 1-D-1 shuffle to hold 2nd.

Alot of information and suggestions here. Just stuff I've picked up from others and stuff that has worked well for me for four years.

--nathan

Thanks so much for all of your help guys! I definitly want to keep my car as a daily driver, as it is my only car. Therefore, I have to keep cats on there.:mad: I think my first mod will be a cat back (I'm thinking a force 2 catback flowmaster 50 series mufflers). Ill let you guys know what ends up happening. Thanks again.

I can say that I know quite a few people who don't have cats on their daily driver, and i am going to be in that group within two weeks as soon as I buy my off road H. The only problem is that you have to drop it and put the stock H back on for inspection. Just because it is a daily driver, I wouldn't worry about the cats, just make sure you keep your old pipes.

My car is my daily driver, I don't even have any intention of taking it to the track this year, or maybe not even next. I just went with the offroad H-pipe for better sound, performance, and gas mileage as opposed to my 13 year old cats. Only downfall is like Scott said, you got to swap it out to pass emissions.

Or just move to the West Texas South Plains where we don't have sniffer tests :) (yet). Of course, some places will not give you an inspection without a visual of the cats (can you say, "gutted?")

--nathan

Adjusting Timing
 

I am just curious. What does it mean when you adjust the timing? What effects does it have on the car? How do I do it? What do I need to do it? Thanks :D

My fan did the same thing, but i felt a great gain from the electric fan, however it was anything but cheap at 240$:(

Get the K&N 40.00, adv the timing, A good tune up, remove the air silencer (every thing in the fender), Get an adj fuel press reg 40.00, Get a long tube 1 1/2 headman header 90.00, gut the cats, remove all UNNESSASARY WEIGHT, when and if you replace the rear tires, get them for traction, Avengers PEP Boys and cheap, When you can swing it 4.10 gears. Oh yea, gears, 4.10s. Did I mention gears? 4.10s, and last GEARS GEARS GEARS. And always ask here before you spend 1 cent. GOOD LUCK wecome to the Mustang world.