I just got a new to me mustang. I want this car to be more a weekend cruiser than a total drag car. It idles around 1k rpm. How do I go about tuning it? A shop?
Is the cam and head setup mild enough to be street driven?
I think that’s a fine engine set up for the street. The throttle body may be a little undersized and some people have issues with c&l maf’s. As long as it runs fine, no need change it. You can use a local tuner, if there is one near you able to tune eec iv. It’s kinda a dying art though. You may need to get a stand-alone like mega/micro squirt, pimp, terminator x, and tune it yourself.
It's setup for drag racing with the line lok and drag struts. May have to change some suspension for more streetable ride.
Other than that, I basically ran a similar setup. My 94 had a V-1 Vortech, the same GT40X Heads (with upgraded valve springs and valves), Crower Baby Cam, Long Tubes, 2.5" Exhaust all the way back, Edelbrock RPM Intake, 70MM Throttle Body, Pro-M 80MM MAF, same 42 pound injectors. Car made a tad over 480HP at the wheels but it was with an aggressive pulley on the blower (15 pounds). Second day after the tune I was racing a chick in a supercharged grabber blue Mach 1 back in the day....saw 18psi and then white smoke out the back. Blew the driver head off the block. Changed the head gaskets, pulley'd back up to a 3.33" pulley for 8-10 pounds. My car usually made more boost with the tension I was using at the time.
You should be making over 400HP at the wheels. That would be a nice street setup considering the new Mustangs make 450+ these days stock.
The combo that you have will run "ok" with the stock A9L computer and C&L MAF.
If you are wanting to tune the car for driveability and maximize combo then you have a couple options:
- Chip for the stock computer
- Standalone ECU
There are multiple options as mentioned above for standalone ECU's. Many of us use Megasquirt and typically recommend a PIMPXS, which will be able to handle your current combo with ease. We also have a resident expert on here if you need help with tuning as well @a91what including a sub-forum support as well https://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/forums/digital-self-tuning-forum.357/
Hello, as for tuning options... the EEC is getting old, its just a matter of time before you have to either replace or repair the old ECU.
I have lots of experience with these cars and many different cams... of course tighter LSA cams will idle a bit rougher but if you cannot achieve less than 1k rpm idle speed after a tune with a mild to moderate cam... you need a better tuner.
No reason the E303 cant idle below or at 850rpm...