I seen so many people talk about getting a pro charger, turbo, or blower for the 3.8 l V6, but that stuff is insanely expensive. Like title says it's my first car and it's definitely a good intro to mechanics, though I want more power. I have that common aftermarket cold air intake with stock MAF sensor, completely redone exhaust with BBK shorty headers, catless xpipe, and Pypes Street Pro true dual mufflers (over axle setup). Stock injectors but I have a screaming demon coil pack, and .060 spaced copper spark plugs. I also run an oil catch-can with a 4 mm orifice in the line from my PCV to intake to limit the blow-by vapors decreasing the fuel octane. As well as 5W-40 Castrol edge Euro car oil (good for old & hot engines). and 93 octane tunes from Bama, street, performance, or race with datalogs in process. I've heard a lot about changing diff gears, cams, rockers, and even adding nitrous being one of the heavy hitters for power. Any recommendations or easily budgetable ways to add power?
First Car, what should I do for power??
- Thread starter tunedV6
- Start date
gkomo
now i can hopefully expect to receive the shaft
Without getting into power adders, gears would be my next mod with an aftermarket shifter like MGW to pair with them. (is yours manual or auto?)
squeak93
15 Year Member
First car - Congrats.
I'll be dead honest here - unless you're tossing a serious build or boost at a v6 - most of those bolt on's are only going to drain your pocketbook with low returns.
Best options are as mentioned, shifter if a manual (I'm a steeda tri-ax guy but others LOVE mgw) and Gears. Those two alone will enhance the driving experience more than anything combined (outside of boost/n2o).
Cold air, headers, exhaust will have minimal gains on a v6 compared to cost. Drive it - keep reliable for school/college and save up for a v8 to mod and build is my advice.
I'll be dead honest here - unless you're tossing a serious build or boost at a v6 - most of those bolt on's are only going to drain your pocketbook with low returns.
Best options are as mentioned, shifter if a manual (I'm a steeda tri-ax guy but others LOVE mgw) and Gears. Those two alone will enhance the driving experience more than anything combined (outside of boost/n2o).
Cold air, headers, exhaust will have minimal gains on a v6 compared to cost. Drive it - keep reliable for school/college and save up for a v8 to mod and build is my advice.
DadLife0724
Active Member
gkomo
now i can hopefully expect to receive the shaft
Still gears then. 3.73's or even 4.10's with an auto.
Gears and a small shot of nitrous,drive it till the wheels fall off, then get a v8
Hello,
I concur with the members about cost vs. gain. The approximate gain in horsepower from what you’ve done with the exhaust would be around 15 - 20 to 25-30 rear wheel horsepower RWHP.
Torque torque. Gears gears. You can have a whole bunch of under the hood horsepower, but if the rear tires don’t lock up, grab/ grip the pavement … well just sit and spin.
The 4.6 L V8 was an option for your M - tang. Find one, sell your 3.8 L 6.
I own six pre-72 muscle cars, unless they were matching numbers, protecto plate, doctumented, Marti Report etc.. The documents were more about my knowing exactly what was what after confirming the engine block numbers, numbers on the transmission, etc. because I will never sell these cars. They R forever cars, my bucket list of muscle & body design. The engine, transmission & rear end all came out during the restoration that I did on the cars. I gave up driving on the freeway ever again for being thrown back in the seat, actually my passenger being thrown back in the seat because I was already snuggled in behind the wheel. Now, granted this is a different scenario than you & your car, but it’s still boils down to torque.
All the best,
Have a fantastic day,
Never lose the “adrenaline rush” from “go fast!”
I concur with the members about cost vs. gain. The approximate gain in horsepower from what you’ve done with the exhaust would be around 15 - 20 to 25-30 rear wheel horsepower RWHP.
Torque torque. Gears gears. You can have a whole bunch of under the hood horsepower, but if the rear tires don’t lock up, grab/ grip the pavement … well just sit and spin.
The 4.6 L V8 was an option for your M - tang. Find one, sell your 3.8 L 6.
I own six pre-72 muscle cars, unless they were matching numbers, protecto plate, doctumented, Marti Report etc.. The documents were more about my knowing exactly what was what after confirming the engine block numbers, numbers on the transmission, etc. because I will never sell these cars. They R forever cars, my bucket list of muscle & body design. The engine, transmission & rear end all came out during the restoration that I did on the cars. I gave up driving on the freeway ever again for being thrown back in the seat, actually my passenger being thrown back in the seat because I was already snuggled in behind the wheel. Now, granted this is a different scenario than you & your car, but it’s still boils down to torque.
All the best,
Have a fantastic day,
Never lose the “adrenaline rush” from “go fast!”
Similar threads
- Locked
