Need Some Advice

Jrod0985 · Jun 11, 2012

Now i know somebody is going to freak out on me and say search the forums...i trust me i have. The Problem i have is my buddy just got a 2012 v6 camaro, and my other buddy just got a 2012 v6 mustang...I am running a stock set up with nothing more than cold air. I love my car and after a tropical storm and flooding which lead to hydolocking the motor and a new motor me and my stang have been through hell. I guess my question is what can i do so that i am not the guy with the slow mustang. Now here is my problem, i recently went through a divorce where my ex-wife did everything she could to destroy me financially before she ran off with the guy she was has having an affair with, even drained our savings account to pay his car off and buy her new wedding ring (yeah real winner there) so funds are limited to small upgrades for quite a while. Basically i have been fussed at and told BOOST...NOS...DONT WAIST OUR TIME and as much as i would love a supercharger and after watching motors blow im afraid of spray, i would love to know is there anything i can do to get a little more fun out of my car which is basically all i have left after the divorce...I need something to brighten my day up right now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated...and if you are going to rag me, please save it I have had plenty of that between people being on my ass for being a husband that woke up one day and had to file for divorce on his birthday to a wife who was 15 hours away with her new douche and her family. Thanks

trinity_gt · Jun 11, 2012

Newer V6s are no joke. Both of these cars are making more than 300HP at the crankshaft (323 for the Camaro, 305 for the Mustang.) Having said that, your car should be turning quarter mile times not far from theirs based on historical data I've seen. The newer cars are a lot heavier and that offsets some of the power gains they have.

The problem is that horsepower takes money. N2O probably gives the best bang/hp ratio but it's not for everybody. Forced induction is expensive. Bolt-ons will likely be the way to go for you:

compliment your intake with a throttle body and plenum
add long-tube headers if you can
get some cams
get gears to compliment the shifted power band
to paraphrase Colin Chapman, "add lightness"; get weight out of the car
get a tune to match all these parts together
improve traction allowing you to leverage your torque advantage off the line
driver mod: improve your skills behind the wheel

Jrod0985 · Jun 12, 2012

Thank you for the advice, when it comes to cams i get lost, I read one thing that (Comp 270) says, "drop them straight in and have them tuned" then i read another that says " you have to change springs and have them ground down, or you need notched pistons." I feel like i need the Mustang version of Rosetta Stone to speak the language. I love the way the 278 cams sound but I've been told there is some pretty major head work to install, so that's out. None of the performance shops will even return a phone call and the one that did wanted $900.00 to install the 270's. As far as gears I bought 3.73's but I have to find somebody to install them. When it comes to the Cams, I feel I could do the swap with the help of my buddy (ASE Mechanic) but when it comes to "having them degree'ed" I'm at a lose. Also, what kind of gains can you expect with a cam swap?

trinity_gt · Jun 12, 2012

Jrod0985 said:
Thank you for the advice, when it comes to cams i get lost, I read one thing that (Comp 270) says, "drop them straight in and have them tuned" then i read another that says " you have to change springs and have them ground down, or you need notched pistons." I feel like i need the Mustang version of Rosetta Stone to speak the language.

I personally wouldn't go as big as a 270 (and definitely not a 278) on a street-driven engine where low-RPM torque is important but that's just me. Yes, they sound cool but they tend to trade low-RPM torque for higher RPM power in a way that most engines can't really take advantage of. The 281 (4.6) doesn't need any less torque down low. A Comp 262AH has been proven to give 30HP up at redline and to lose nothing down low. The 262 can be run with stock valve springs (270s and bigger need springs) and are even emissions-friendly and give a mild lope to the idle.

I love the way the 278 cams sound but I've been told there is some pretty major head work to install, so that's out. None of the performance shops will even return a phone call and the one that did wanted $900.00 to install the 270's. As far as gears I bought 3.73's but I have to find somebody to install them. When it comes to the Cams, I feel I could do the swap with the help of my buddy (ASE Mechanic) but when it comes to "having them degree'ed" I'm at a lose. Also, what kind of gains can you expect with a cam swap?

Degreeing is not difficult but it requires a couple of specialized tools and a methodical approach. See:

http://www.modularheadshop.com/Articles/Cam degree.htm

for an illustration of how it's done. You needn't remove the heads to do this. Just install the cams and then use the degree wheel to verify the install.

007 · Jun 12, 2012

Install your gears and get yourself an SCT SF3 handheld tuner. Easy, proven power and drive-ability. I'm not confident enough to do the cam install myself... I would love to be convinced otherwise...

Jrod0985 · Jun 12, 2012

trinity_gt you are quickly becoming my hero...lol

Rejekt · Jun 12, 2012

Yeah, gears and a tuner would do wonders. 4.10 or bust (3.73's are fine too lol ) Is yours a GT or a V6?

Jrod0985 · Jun 13, 2012

Its a GT.

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