Got my GT, got a few qestions.

[Skidzz]

Hey guys i FINALLY got my GT, a black 96. I LOVE IT! Anyway i have a few questions. First of all, before i get bashed, I've done searches on all my questions and the answers ive found are too inconsistent. So I need to find out once and for all....first ?.....I'm going to need a tuner, mainly for when i change my gears. Now i know they dont make a pred. for the 96's, and most people say that the hypertech sucks, but a few say it works. So how about the superchips max microtuner? Does it recal. the speedo for gear changes or not? Does the hypertech really suck that bad? Second ?.....GEARS. Yea i know there are 654565463 posts on this but im getting down right pissed off about the amount of different answers there are. I've heard that 4.10s are the only way to go, and that they wont kill your top end like some people say. I've been told that all they do is make it so that you can actually make use of your 5th gear. True or not? Also, how bad does it hurt gas mileage. My last ?....CAI. Some sites say they are worthless, and to just get a drop-in k&n, and yet a lot of people on here praise the densecharger (aka tunable induction). So will a CIA help or should i just get a drop-in? Someone please let me know, preferably people who have used these mods. Thanks in advance.

 

[nocaratall]

congrats on your new stang. the sct micromax tuner can be used to recal the speedo after a gear swap. i dont have a tuner yet but will buy an SCT in the near future. as far as the cai, it may give a couple extra hp when used with a bigger tb and plenum, alot of variying opinions on the cai, so i know how frustrating it can be. as far as the gears, 4:10's are the way to go. the gears wake up the car big time. you will be 110% satisfied w/ 4:10's. if you have a basically stock car, i would do gears/exhaust/tuner/shifter as my first mods. good luck.

 

[COramprat]

nocaratall...He has a 96...No tuner will fix the speedo on his car. Has to be the Speedcal.

Skidzz...I have 4.10's on my car. The ONLY drawback you will find is you have NO pull after 5000RPMs. It just falls flat so you really can't get full use of the gears until you open up the airflow with an intake swap or full headswap. Cams will help too. Also...at the track you have an extra shift by the end of the quarter and will hurt your quarter time until you get the airflow worked out.

No way in hell it hurts your top end. Unless you are pushing over 400 HP you will never see the end of your gear running 4.10's. Gas mileage I MAY have lost 1 MPG at the most.

I would get a tune ONLY after I have done some significant mods such as the ones I described above. A chip on a basically stock 96 won't give you much in the way of HP.

The shifter is a must...whether you get the Tri-ax Pro 5.0 or the new MGW shifter you need one. Hope this helps and enjoy the car. Check my garage to see my mods and feel free to ask about any of them.

 

[Mel96GT]

Congrats on your 96 GT purchase. Definitely get gears. Any choice (3.55 to 4.10) is better than the stock ratios (2.73 to 3.27's). Set your gearing up for what you want to do in the car. Dragstrip, FI, or daily driver. If you plan to heavily modify the engine, go with 4.10's otherwise go with 3.73 or 3.55's since 5th gear is not as tall (.68) as the newer 99+ years (.62). The stock, non-PI engine does "fall flat" after 4500 rpm's though so it will need serious mods to maximize the 4.10 gearing. As for CAI, I went with a K&N FIPK and it made a noticeable difference. Low-end torque improved and it makes a nice whooshing sound when I accelerate. I think FIPK's make more of a difference in 96-98 GT's than the newer PI engines. However, after I installed a MAC cat-back I lost some low-end torque. The K&N FIPK was designed to be used with stock exhaust and K&N recommends a tune if you install the FIPK with other mods. For starters I recommend gears, a K&N FIPK, a good shifter, and no tune. Just my $.02.

 

[1992 2.3LX]

My Mods for my 96 were UPR Shifter, UPR O/R X pipe with magnaflows and a Densecharger. Gears are next then the PI intake, TB & Plenium then i will get a tune. Then it will be onto the suspension work while i save for a TT kit and GT500.

The shifter makes a world of difference for $100. and the Xpipe as well not only do you get some numbers on the ass dyno but it sounds mean!

 

[Dan_Soprano]

Hey guys i FINALLY got my GT, a black 96. I LOVE IT! Anyway i have a few questions. First of all, before i get bashed, I've done searches on all my questions and the answers ive found are too inconsistent. So I need to find out once and for all....first ?.....I'm going to need a tuner, mainly for when i change my gears. Now i know they dont make a pred. for the 96's, and most people say that the hypertech sucks, but a few say it works. So how about the superchips max microtuner? Does it recal. the speedo for gear changes or not? Does the hypertech really suck that bad? Second ?.....GEARS. Yea i know there are 654565463 posts on this but im getting down right pissed off about the amount of different answers there are. I've heard that 4.10s are the only way to go, and that they wont kill your top end like some people say. I've been told that all they do is make it so that you can actually make use of your 5th gear. True or not? Also, how bad does it hurt gas mileage. My last ?....CAI. Some sites say they are worthless, and to just get a drop-in k&n, and yet a lot of people on here praise the densecharger (aka tunable induction). So will a CIA help or should i just get a drop-in? Someone please let me know, preferably people who have used these mods. Thanks in advance.

Congrats on your new car!! With a 96, you will need to change the speedo gear in the tranny housing. not flash the ECU. Only the 99+cars used an electronic speed sensor. If you are set on a handheld tuner, get the SCT one. they are the best in the business IMO. I say go with the 3.73s if your car is a standard, and 4.10's if auto. Finally, look into the K&N FIPK.

 

[Skidzz]

Well, the car is a daily driver, to answer the question about what i want out of it. Thanks for the advice. I think what i will do is get the car breathing well first: CB exaust, O/R H-pipe (because i want a muscle car sound, not a raspy sound) and either the fipk or densecharger CAI. After that a shifter, then a full PI swap, which should make better use of the CAI. Finally, i will do gears and then get the car tuned at a dyno, hopefully i can find one here in WV that will do a good job. Hopefully if i do things in this order, i wont have to buy a handheld tuner, and i will only have to have the car tuned once. And i guess ill have to have the tranny gear changed to recal. the speedo. (that sucks). Sound good? Let me know your opinions.

 

[COramprat]

And i guess ill have to have the tranny gear changed to recal. the speedo. (that sucks). Sound good? Let me know your opinions.

DON'T get the tranny gear for your speedo correction. It tears up after about 6-8000 miles and you will have to get a new one. I've been through that already. Go ahead and get the speedcal. Save the headache.

 

[propellerhead]

Skidzz...I have 4.10's on my car. The ONLY drawback you will find is you have NO pull after 5000RPMs. It just falls flat so you really can't get full use of the gears until you open up the airflow with an intake swap or full headswap. Cams will help too. Also...at the track you have an extra shift by the end of the quarter and will hurt your quarter time until you get the airflow worked out.

No pull after 5,000?! This is the first time I read this. Wow!

 

[squares98]

No pull after 5,000?! This is the first time I read this. Wow!

yep those motrs are dogs after 5k.

 

[Skidzz]

yep those motrs are dogs after 5k.

But the PI swap will fix that, right?

 

[propellerhead]

yep those motrs are dogs after 5k.

Good thing I have an 04. That post made me think twice again about my decision to go with 4.10s.