Future Mustang Upgrades

[fost9508]

So I have decided to install 3.73 gears in my 88GT 5 spd Mustang and upgrade the whole exhaust system....with what I am not sure yet. What sort of stuff should I do under the hood. I wanna keep it street legal, and don't intend to ever race it at the track. With this in mind what sort of HP gains should I shoot for?

Also can anybody reommend mods besides the gears and exhaust the will give me some good HP gains without completely turiing my car into a dragster. Let me know if this is too much to ask in one post.

Thanks in advance.

 

[HISSIN50]

H/C/I

 

[90mustangGT]

MAF, TB, Lower intake ported, advance timing, A/C delete, go manual steering, delete smog pump, underdrive pullies. Lots of little things.

 

[giddyup306]

nitrous

 

[HISSIN50]

as you can see, you really need to be more specific as to what you want and are willing to do - you have answers from two very knowledgable folks (and stupid me) - we all might do different things. (all great answers - depends upon what you want to do).

if you do a cam, get one that is SD oriented (produces vacuum).

 

[90mustangGT]

Don't be modest JT, you know your stuff.

 

[HISSIN50]

Don't be modest JT, you know your stuff.

ahh Shucks. Touche Jason.

 

[fost9508]

HISSIN50,

I wish I could be more specific, but I know even less then you do I am not even sure what type of stuff to look into to get hp gains. For a throttle body how do you guys decide what size to get? How do you know how much to port your intakes??? How do you select a cam? Also, since I do not have intentions to race the car competively how much hp is a good number to shoot for?

Thanks

 

[giddyup306]

He means what are your goals and what price range do you have in mind.

 

[HISSIN50]

HISSIN50,

I wish I could be more specific, but I know even less then you do I am not even sure what type of stuff to look into to get hp gains. For a throttle body how do you guys decide what size to get? How do you know how much to port your intakes??? How do you select a cam? Also, since I do not have intentions to race the car competively how much hp is a good number to shoot for?

Thanks

Giddyup is right on - that is what i meant. i was not referring to wrenching or modification knowledge; i meant what are your goals and parameters, as Giddyup said. to that end, you do know more than i do (im not inside your head).

as you can see, each of us have different goals and such - we would all do different things. im a low-end-torque street guy - Jason and Giddyup are into more serious machines with racing considerations. we would all do different things.

what kind of money are you gonna spend? doing the mods yourself? do you live at higher revs or is low end grunt enough? do you need the power all the time or just occasionally (nitrous consideration). and so on........ see, you do know more than me because i dont know what you want to do.

were i you, i might search some threads with 'what modification next' type of topics. this might give you more of a feel for what you might like to do.

my two cents. good luck.

 

[fost9508]

That must be the crux of the problem. Haven't driven mustangs enough to know really what I want. I do love the feeling of being pushed into the back of the seat by accelleration, but I would also like to be able to cruise at like 120 mph. How have other people decided what they like. And is the a good middle road between top end speed and low end torque?

Thanks

 

[giddyup306]

That must be the crux of the problem. Haven't driven mustangs enough to know really what I want. I do love the feeling of being pushed into the back of the seat by accelleration, but I would also like to be able to cruise at like 120 mph. How have other people decided what they like. And is the a good middle road between top end speed and low end torque?

Thanks

Then in that case it seems that a few bolt ons may do the trick for ya.

 

[Andres2882]

Manual steering on a daily driver? Does that mean eliminating the power steering, or am I just a newb?

 

[HISSIN50]

Manual steering on a daily driver? Does that mean eliminating the power steering, or am I just a newb?

yep. best way to do it is with an aftermarket rack or an early fox rack (requiring some adaptation).

Fost, if you really want top end (speed) and thrust back in the seat, that requires a bit of power. forced induction is nice (blower or turbo) - or nitrous if the need is only occasional. the extra HP allows you to keep (or go back to numerically lower gears) for top end speed, while still having the thrust to wind through the gears quickly.

but now that you have gears, i agree with Giddyup that some bolt ons might be the ticket. at least for now.

 

[jrichker]

On a budget? do the junkyard upgrade...

Gears - 87-88 T-Bird Turbo Coupe rear axle - disc brakes and 3.55 or 3.73 gears in one package for $125-$300. Add another $100-$200 or so to complete the brake upgrade.

94-95 Mustang GT MAF - $40-$100. It is 70 MM instead of the stock 55 MM on regular stangs built prior to 94. It uses a slip on duct on the side that goes to the throttle body and a 4 bolt flange on the other. You need a $25-$35 flange adapter from Pro-M to fit the stock slip on air ducting that goes to the air box. Wiring plugs right in with no changes. *1

95-97 Ford Explorer intake manifold & throttle body $150-$300. The intake manifold flows 220 CFM +, much better than stock. Throttle body is 65 MM, bigger than the 60 MM on stock stangs. I got a 96 with EGR passages that match the stock setup, so my smog gear works just like factory. You’ll need a 65 MM EGR spacer & new gaskets for $65-$90 so you have a place to mount the EGR & throttle linkage.

3G alternator from 94-95 Mustangs or other Ford. $20-$120. A must have to make the electrical system work like it should. You’ll need a 4 gauge power wire and a 125-135 amp fuse to go with it about $15- $30.

Lincoln MK VIII electric fan -$40-$160. Free up some HP by not having to drive the stock fan. The 3G alternator upgrade is a must have prerequisite before you do the MK VIII fan. You won’t have enough electrical power if you don’t do the 3G upgrade.



*1.) Pro-M has revised their website lately, but here's what I found for the MAF adapter flange.

http://performancepartsmall.com/detail.asp?id=224 - plastic adapter

http://performancepartsmall.com/detail.asp?id=223 - metal adapter

I got a metal one from Powered by Ford for $35 and tax. That was over a year ago.

Powered By Ford
1516 South Division Avenue
Orlando, FL 32805
Hours 0800-1800
Phone 407-843-3673
http://www.poweredbyford.com/

 

[fost9508]

jrichker,

I like your "on a budget post" any recommendations for cylinder heads, or are those just things that you have to bite the bullet and buy from reputable company?

Also, when you guys talk about bolts ons are you mainly talking about, upper and lower intake, Throttle body, MAF conversion, exhaust, headers, and the sort.....

Thanks,

 

[fost9508]

jrichker,

I like your "on a budget post" any recommendations for cylinder heads, or are those just things that you have to bite the bullet and buy from reputable company?

Also, when you guys talk about bolts ons are you mainly talking about, upper and lower intake, Throttle body, MAF conversion, exhaust, headers, and the sort.....

Oh and by the way, I haven't done the gears yet, just bought them in my dream world. I have just heard getting 3.73's is a good gear for all around driving.

Thanks,

 

[jrichker]

jrichker,

I like your "on a budget post" any recommendations for cylinder heads, or are those just things that you have to bite the bullet and buy from reputable company?

Also, when you guys talk about bolts ons are you mainly talking about, upper and lower intake, Throttle body, MAF conversion, exhaust, headers, and the sort.....

Oh and by the way, I haven't done the gears yet, just bought them in my dream world. I have just heard getting 3.73's is a good gear for all around driving.

Thanks,

Budget heads - non ported - look for GT40 P heads from the same years as the GT40 manifolds.

The best budget head is Thumper460's ported stock heads see www.thumperoforangepark.com for details

 

[PhLoBuS]

hci = header cam intake

 

[HISSIN50]

Also, when you guys talk about bolts ons are you mainly talking about, upper and lower intake, Throttle body, MAF conversion, exhaust, headers, and the sort.....

Oh and by the way, I haven't done the gears yet, just bought them in my dream world. I have just heard getting 3.73's is a good gear for all around driving.

Thanks,

yep, bolts ons are just what they sound like - things that pretty much academically bolt on and off - no real need to measure or engineer anything. and it is generally a bigger, better replacement of an existing item.

3.73's sound like a nice choice. when you do the gears, might be a good time to rebuild the trac lok if you are having issues with one-wheel peel outs.

good luck.