My 2.3l mustang needs some power, help please.

americangothicx said:

Hello every one, im kinda new to the forums so dont bash me to much, but my 2.3 is in some serious need of power, i dont have the money to drop in a 2.3l turbo so thats out of the question, im also a do it yourselfer, so i prefer to do all my work myself if possible. The reason im posting is that I could use some help on what i need to do to punch some more juice into the motor, every where ive looked cant find parts for it, websites would be appreciated, any help would be appreciated for that matter. btw i work in fast food so money is an issue, thanks for any and all help.

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Well if a turbo is out of the question your next best thing is nitrous. They got some dry kits on ebay for around 234.99+shipping. The most I would run my self is a 50 shot, now there is a guy who has his up to 150hp shot; run a search on nitrous 2.3L. Your 92'LX is around 105hp stock, so thats like 155hp depending on how much you put on it. Now keep one thing in mind the main thing hurting this motor (2.3) is the head's air flow and that is where the power is lost. I would also look into doing the following:

1) Install a ranger header and maybe delete the EGR or atleast replace it I'm sure it needs it.

2) A high flow cat and leave that pre-cat off ( next to the mainifold) and a turbo muffler. ( maybe 2 1/4 pipes)

3) Then make a CAI for it. Here is a site on a nice CAI for your year of 2.3L. (this is afordable and easy to do)

4) You can also install a MAF and 19lb injectors off a 95' and under GT mustang just incase you want more fuel.( no more than 19lb on a N/A)

5) Platinum plugs wouldn't hurt also ( not recamended on turbo)

http://jman.stangnet.com/coldair.htm

Now if your car is a auto you can swap in a T-5 which would help free up a few hp and make it a little more fun.

Anything else I think would require poping the head off to: port, polish, and mill it. Plus you can port the intakes a little. ( it maybe cheaper to turbo it instead working on the head)

I hope this helps you out and gives you a idea where to go on your car. Now if anything is wrong or I left out please people feel free to let us know

You've pretty much covered all that my newbie butt has heard.

Except for the ranger header. It's better to go with a longtube.

I just saw jman's CAI and I was wondering what kind of gains in HP you could expect. The process looked fairly easy and inexpensive and I would like to do it rather than have that plain old pipe w/ filter on there.

toadstang said:

I just saw jman's CAI and I was wondering what kind of gains in HP you could expect. The process looked fairly easy and inexpensive and I would like to do it rather than have that plain old pipe w/ filter on there.

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Well I cheated on making my CAI I got most of my parts from Auto Zone like a MAF adaptor that fit great. Anyways I think I gained .5hp from it my self, but my high end seemed to love the mod way more than the factory air box.

So fair I've installed: a ok exhaust( 2"pipes, high flow cat, deleted pre-cat, turbo muffler.), CAI, Platinum plugs and I really just see a few more RPMs on the high end than anything else total maybe 1hp gain lol. You can get 150-175 out of these motors without boost but you will need to do some head work for sure and probly a meaner cam.

I think the short Ranger header is a little easier to get and use that is why I was going to pop one on for my self

Good Luck

Take off your alternator/power steering belt you'll have much much better throttle response and acceleration

Forgot to mention that you will kill your battery but I was a speed demon yesterday, (for a little while, at least)