Bang for my buck mods on a 98 GT

[oxman198]

Hi all,
Just registered on the forum, and have a few questions. I recently purchased my first gt and love it! Its a 98 manual with 136,000 miles on it. Had a mechanic look at it and said the car is in great shape! The dealership I got it from wasnt too sure about what had been done to it, other than it being lowered about 1.5", 3.73 gears, very nice exhaust (not sure what the exact set up is, very aggressive sound though), CAI, cobra clutch, short throw shifter. Runs great, but I am looking for some more N/A power for fun driving, no track or racing. From what I have read on this forum, a PI intake and cam swap is a great place to start. I am confident that I could do the intake swap myself but am a little nervous about a cam swap, since I have limited mechanical experience and this is my only vehicle,I am also on a budget (grad student).

Anyway, I was thinking about purchasing a PI intake, UD pulley, and maybe a 70mm TB with plenum. What are your opinions on this setup? Would this be a nice bang for buck gain?? Thanks alot. Again, my mechanical experience is limited, I had a 96 V6 stang before this and installed the UD pulley and basic bolt ons myself, which is as far as I went with it.

 

[joshjwc9]

Springs/Cobra Brakes/and PI Head and Cam swap. It will beat up on many stockish 99-04 GT's and most LT1 F Bodies then and every NA Honda Civic around.

 

[sneaky98gt]

If it already has exhaust, gears, clutch, CAI, short throw shifter, and is lowered, there isn't a great deal much left to do.

As you said, PI cams, PI intake, throttle body, and UDPs are about all that's left. You could also go with a timing adjuster or a programmer, too. A custom tune really woke my 98 up when I was NA, but that was mainly in the form of a much better shifting transmission. I would still recommend a tune after you do all of those things; American Muscle has paired up with Bama Custom Tuning to give you free custom tunes for life if you buy a programmer from them, which is an awesome deal.

UDPs are extremely easy to install, as is the TB. The intake manifold and cams are a bit more involved, but still not really all that hard. Me and my dad swapped the manifold on my car in a few hours one afternoon, and I had to replace my granddad's PI intake on his 01 with an updated one, and it only took about 3 hours start to finish completely by myself. To be honest, the cams were easier to do. Just be sure to have a couple extra hands around to help hold up the cam sprocket and all will be gravy.

All of these mods on your car plus some decent tires and a driver will easily get you into the 13s in the 1/4. I know you said you weren't going to race it, but that is very respectable on the street and very fun to drive.

Good luck with the car and post some pictures up.

 

[wmburns]

IMO, best bang for the buck with the best in drivability is forced induction.

Check out - Supercharger Selector

With one kit, you get a known combination that WORKS. The results will in most cases excceed what can be done with bolt on mods. Without sacrificing drivability.

The apparent higher initial purchase price of the supercharger will scare many ppl off. IMO enough bolt on mods that will equal the HP gains of FI will exceed the cost of the basic SC kit.

<puts on flame suite>

 

[oxman198]

Wow, thanks for the fast replies!
Yeah I am tempted to go ahead and find a PI cam to go along with the PI intake since it is such an enexpensive piece to buy (relatively speaking). The underdrive pulleys are almost def going on because in my experience with the v6, it was the only bolt on that I actually felt. If I install the pulleys, will I need a shorter belt? It has been a while but I seem to remember having to put on the shorter belt with the smaller pulley. And if I put on the PI intake, do I need a TB and plenum for a 99-04 or 94-98? May be a dumb question but I am def still learning. Oh yeah and I will get pics up pretty soon, man I have to say it is a pretty sweet looking ride. Thanks for the help guys! Glad I found this site.
BTW I would love to supercharge it but it's just not in the cards right now, too much $$ at once. I know HP doesnt come cheap but it seems that the PI intake, TB plenum combo and UDP is actually pretty inexpensive power that would be quite noticeable. Thanks again

 

[oxman198]

Oh and the reason I am a little worried about installing the cam myself is I have read that if you get it wrong it could basically destroy the engine, def dont want to do that. And there is no way that I am paying $400 or whatever to have someone do it. Thats why I was thinking about just forgetting the cam, and getting the intake with the pulleys and TB and plenum. Maybe just the intake plus UDP, whichever combo is the cheapest way to squeeze some more power out of it. Thanks

 

[sneaky98gt]

Nope, same belt for the UDPs. The crank pulley is smaller, but the water pump and alternator pulleys are larger, offsetting the difference.

Nope, same throttle body and plenum for either intake.

If you REALLY mess up the cams then it is possible you could harm your engine, but that's why you check everything before cranking it up. Several turns around by hand will let you know if there is any contact. Even still, follow the instructions in the write-ups that are floating around on the forums and all will be fine. It is easier to do the cams with the intake off and out of the way, too.

 

[oxman198]

Thanks for the help sneaky98gt!

 

[sneaky98gt]

No problem. It's good to see a new member who's done a little research beforehand.

And PM sent.