Intakes, Cams, Heads.............
 

If I get some MAC long tube headers, H-pipes w/ cats and 2 chamber Flowmasters along with the Steeda under drive pullies, K&N air filter and Ford 3.73's for my 02 GT convertible, will I get alot more power or do I need additional work done to make the power? Any recommendations?

I'm learning, thanks!

Don't waste the cash on bolt-ons...Just strap a blower on, get a tune and some flowmasters and be done with it! You will spend a little more cash initially, but your car will run smooth, make WAY more power, and you'll be generally happier total! I've gone the bolt on route, trust me, it's not worth it!! Just get a power adder first, and then, if you're not happy, you can always do more bolt ons to make more power! Good luck.

I disagree.

I'm a college boy on a limited budget, so I can't really speak on blowers. I do know, however, that they cost MUCH more. If you get a blower, you need a new tb. Stick w/ a low psi and you won't have to redo the top-end. But that is looking at $3500 w/ install.

I went this route, and I would recommend it--w/ some slight changes in order.

Flowmasters -$175
K & N - $75
FRPP 3.73 - $150 for gears, $75 for overhaul kit, and $275 for install (WOULD RECOMMEND THIS FIRST!!!)

I can tell a dramatic difference in throttle response (mainly due to gears), and I spent well under $1000. Soon, I hope to get an H-pipe, pro 5.0 shifter, and pullies--all of which will keep my budget under $1000.

If you have the money, go for the power adders. But when you start talking about 300+ hp, you have to start messing w/ suspension and brakes. That adds up to way much money for me. If I had 5K, I would do it...but for a minimum budget, to get the most kick, I would do what I listed above.

bolt on are the best bang for the buck throwing a sc on a stock engine will work realy good but not as good a with bolt ons plus if you have a dyno tune it would be on a otherwise stock engine then with future add ons you`d have to get another dyno tune do bolt ons first i know the strapped budget feeling

Trust me bro, you'll get to the point where you've done all the bolt ons, are still running mid 13's at 102mph, and you'll be like, WTF :confused: You've now spent 2500, and are nowhere near the power you'd see from just a blower and a good tune. Bolt on's are cheap for a reason!! They really dont do much for you.

We would all like to be able to buy a blower/supercharger, then start from there. Unfortunatly, most of us have a hard time saving up the money (200 - 500 bucks) to even buy bolt ons. I've saved up to buy the head swap kit a few times only to see my stash need to be spent on other more inportant things ( family ). Plus not everyone cares if they can do the quarter mile, just beat the local ricer or stock stang/camaro from light to light. If you want alot of power and want to race down the track there is no dought you need to spend about 4K+ on a power adder and it's accompanying parts. If you just want to beef up the stock car and have fun doing it ( not spending your lifes savings or getting more into debt ) than the bolt ons are the way to go. Sure they are cheap but we can afford them!

case in point : guy at local show has 02 cobra with blower, CF hood, race tranny, every mod available. Has over 550 Hp. He loves it! His wife tells me they are about to lose the house and the kids got no new school clothes. He still loves it, I bet his wife divorces!

well if he has a 02 cobra i bet even stock it would be worth quite a bit since there are none...sorry, had to be a smart *** for a sec.

i'm with him, save up for the blower, all i have is mufflers and high flow cats for sound and emissions, yanked air silencer and k&n, free and stock needed to be replaced, and shifter to save my tranny, i have about 2k laying around and im trying to save more, but i will be putting a blower or turbo on my next car, not the cobra.

You will get alot of gains with bolt ons. With the list of mods you gave, you will notice a difference. Getting the right/expensive bolt ons can get you as much power as a SC on a stock engine. Then once you have a great NA engine, then you can get a SC for even more gains.

esandes - what bolt-ons have you seen that get you to 400hp? Also, a supercharger will do that and still be emissions legal. You end up with more like 320-330 hp with bolt-ons and reasonable cams on a streetable 2V 4.6.

blue00GT, Steeda did up a 98 GT with the following mods:
-FRPP Heads, intake, gears, shortys
-High flow X and catback
-Vortech SC
-Forged rotating assembly

It put 460 HP to the ground. I'm not sure if it had any better cams.

There's a Vortech supercharger in that Steeda mod list, though, esandes. I may have misunderstood, but I thought you were talking about a 400hp N/A 2V 4.6?

I agree with stoplightwarrior. Don't waste your time on bolt on's. You'll end up spending more money in the long run. And the money that you spent on bolt on's you could have had a nice blower under the hood. I know that most people can't afford to just fork out the money for a nice vortech, paxton, or procharger. But, if you do the bolt on route your gonna be going as fast as you did when you started.