Hello all! Looking for advice. :)

[glewis29]

Hiya all, I bought a V6 about 2 months ago. It came from the dealer as a 'Southern California Special'. Basically Pony Package, Interior Upgrade, Rally Stripes, Chrome exhaust tip and 'SCS' gas cap emblem on the back.

So far I absolutely love it. I drive pretty mellow on the whole, but I am interested in doing some mods to increase the MPG (with added torque/hp of course ) I'm currently getting about 18.5 MPG... the daily drive is half freeway, half city street... although sometime the freeway is worse than the street.

I live in So Cal and want to keep it street legal, so that does limit my options to some extent.

I know the K&N FIPK filter has been approved for the 05 V6, so I'm sure it'll pass on the '06 next year. I also know that the JBA headers are street legal in CA. After that I was thinking about possibly going with a dual exhaust or maybe just a freer flowing single...maybe a pulley kit too.

Any thoughts on which of these would require me to get a retune? I'm interested in doing the mechanical work myself, but I have no clue what is needed to do a retune... do you have to take it to someone with a dyno? Can you retune it yourself fairly easily with a Diablosport or SCT Xcal2?

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all

 

[mattzts]

first most mods you do will NOT increase MPG. most likely decrease them alittle.

 

[glewis29]

It's my understanding that any mod you do that makes your engine more efficient (increase intake efficiency, exhaust efficiency, combustion percentage) will increase MPG if it is driven the same. The net result will be greater torque and as stated by a gentleman at Steeda in an article I read, more torque equals free gas mileage.

 

[hamidlmt]

Bolt ons, like an intake, tune and exhaust can increase your mileage.. but, don't expect miracles... maybe 1-3 mpg or so. They all increase power, which makes it a bit harder to keep off the gas!

Instead of the K&N, go with either a C&L or Demolet Tunable Induction intake with an SCT X-cal 2 tune from Doug at Bamachips or Lideo of Alternative Auto. Sticking with an 87 octane performance tune should increase your mileage a bit.

If you don't want to tune, the K&N is ok. We put a K&N on my wife's Pontiac Vibe and got a nice 4 mph increase.

Exhaust mods are a great idea too. Only get headers if you're also getting a free flowing muffler... either duals or single. For headers, go with the JBA's instead of the MAC. MAC have some issues with fit... and, the JBA's are oh so sweet! JBA headers and single exhaust have shown to get a 17 rwhp gain.

Some good single options are the MRT, JBA, Borla/Ford Racing or Magnaflow. Those are all good dual options as well. Oh, and the dual Flowmasters sound great too!

So, you're not going to get a lot of mileage increase. With all of my mods, with the winter mix of gas, I was getting around 19-20 mpg. If I didn't have gears, I'm quite sure I'd get 2-3 mpg more. My intake and exhaust mods really just made up for the loss in mileage from the gears. Now that spring is here, I'm starting to get better mileage.

Good luck!

 

[glewis29]

Thanks for the opinions. I probably will stick with the K&N filter due to the strict requirements in CA, but I'll check and see if the others are street legal.

I'm definitely not expecting miracles, but 3 mpg increase is a 16% gain given that I'm getting 18.5 now... that seems worthwhile to me.

Besides, it'll be a lot easier to get the wife to 'sign off' on some of this stuff if I can tell her that it'll save money on gas over time too

Any other thoughts on if headers would be worthwhile without upgrading the stock muffler. Would those mods (headers and/or mufflers) require a tune?

Thanks much

 

[shooterm1]

Any other thoughts on if headers would be worthwhile without upgrading the stock muffler. Would those mods (headers and/or mufflers) require a tune?

Headers are next to useless on a V6 unless you really (and I mean REALLY) want to modify the engine a lot ... mainly because the stock exhaust is that good!

Get the SCT tune and the CAI (cold air intake) ,,, 90% of them are California Street Legal now and will say so somewhere in their ads.

Also think about a flow through muffler like a JBA / it will help ...


best,

 

[V6WBlue05]

Just curious. How much do you plan on spending on the mods?

If you are doing it to get better milage when would you start seeing the results of the increase compared to the initial output?

I am sure over the long run it could help but if you are like most people, it is possible that you would sell/trade the car before you really got any gains out of it.

Just a thought.

 

[glewis29]

Good question

A lot of it depends on numbers I don't have... I was looking at an article where they upgraded the headers, muffler (single axle-back) and air intake and retuned to use 93 octane gas http://www.jbaheaders.com/articles/50Mustang_306.pdf.

In this article, the torque increase was about 14%. I'm not going to go with 93 octane gas, and since I'm probably going to use a K&N filter, it might not have quite the airflow, so let's say mine only goes up 10%. If that 10% correlates directly into gas savings (not sure if it does), I'd go up around 2 mpg (sounds reasonable )

Now if you divide the miles driven per year (15k) by MPG before and after. You get 15k/18.5 = 810 gallons and 15k/20.5 = 731 gallons or about an 80 gallon per year difference. Given the fact gas is running over $3/gallon in So Cal, I'd estimate I'll 'save' $240 per year.

The cost of the headers is ~ $400, air intake ~ $200 and muffler ~ $200... if I can do the install myself and then get a tuner for maybe $300, I figure I'd pay for it in about 5 years. If I have all the work/tuning done, the payback would be a bit longer.

I really love the look of this car and I'm planning on keeping it for quite a while... but even so, while the gas savings would be nice, it'll be sweet to have the extra performance too.

So assuming that it's worth doing there are still a few things I'm not sure about...

1) Will the K&N filter require a retune (I'm thinking no)
2) Are headers worth it without getting a freer flowing muffler
3) Will headers require a retune
4) Will the exhaust require a retune
5) If any of these require a retune, can I do the retune myself
6) What would I need to do the retune (other than a tuner)
7) How do I do the retune (is it all in the tuner instructions?)
8) Even if I can do the retune myself, is it worth getting it professionally done at least once?

Thanks for all the thoughts, please keep em coming

 

[hamidlmt]

lesse...

1) Will the K&N filter require a retune (I'm thinking no)
No

2) Are headers worth it without getting a freer flowing muffler
No - get a more free flowing muffler... the muffler is the main restriction. Once you have the muffler, then consider headers if you want your exhaust note to be louder and gain a few extra hp. Or, do both at once!

3) Will headers require a retune
No

4) Will the exhaust require a retune
No

5) If any of these require a retune, can I do the retune myself
You'll need a handheld tuner like the X-cal 2... they come preloaded with 3 tunes.

6) What would I need to do the retune (other than a tuner)
hmm... a Dynojet or Mustang Dyno!

7) How do I do the retune (is it all in the tuner instructions?)
The reflash is super simple. The directions will come with the unit. And, the unit itself will give you directions as you go along. Takes a minute or two.

8) Even if I can do the retune myself, is it worth getting it professionally done at least once?
It's worth getting a pro tune. But, it's safe to start out with canned (mail order) tunes from a reputable tuner. If you're just going with basic bolt-ons... intake and exhaust... then a canned tune might be all you need. Once you're basically done with your mods, go in and get a dyno tune and they can tweak every last bit of hp out of her.

Good questions! Believe me ... I was right where you're at last year!

 

[glewis29]

Thanks for the answers

So it sounds like I should be able to install the K&N FIPK (I checked and it is currently the only air intake mod that is CARB certified for the 05), then the muffler and then the headers and the stock tune should be able to handle it. I can then take it in for a custom tune at my leisure.

I really appreciate all the help... more input would be appreciated

Oh, one other question... if I get a professional tune do you lose MPG to gain the HP? Or does the optimization just make the engine more efficient like the physical mods do?