Not impressed with new PI part.

tuned · Dec 14, 2004

As some of you may know, I have had an automatic 98 GT with a cracked intake manifold for quite some time. Well after alot of debate and research I finally gave up on fixing the damn thing and just bought a new hybrid (part metal part plastic) PI intake manifold. And from everyone, all I heard was that I would not only leak anymore damn coolant, but I'd also see 15 more rwhp. Well, my buddy has a 95 Civic 4 banger with an engine swap, its pretty quick. But since I bought the car I run againstg him to see how my performance changes when I change settings and parts, well we always race to 90ish and shut it down and with the cracked manifold pouring fluid I he would beat me by about 1 car length, consistantly. Well I figured if I had 15 more to th wheels with the intake manifold I would walk all over him. NOT THE CASE. Same everything except I have a PI intake and I see NO improvement whats so ever. He still beats me with the exact same lead as when my car was f'ed up. Wow. No impressed. Whats the deal?

Side notes: I need new of these parts, can you please suggest PI or atleast good brand ones.

- Air filter
- Plugs/Wires

Also, I think my car may be out of time perhaps, when I rev it or punch the gas it hesitates, like doesn't just launch ahead like it should, it sounds funny revving it to, because it almost spudders, maybe a new fuel filter?

Last question... What does a car "tune up" consist of mechanically?

thanks, tuned.

Green4.6GT · Dec 14, 2004

first of all dont be too hard on your car, racing another car is not a good way to test and see if youve made an improvement, especially in the small numbers you are talking 10-15 hp isnt enough to make a big diffrence, if you were talking 40-50 then sure you should get a diffrent outcome...

10-15 hp is good for .1 in the 1/4 mile so its not a ton by any stretch.

i would start of by changing the plugs/wires.. look at the air filter, if its not dirty, you probably dont need a new one.... fuel filter might need changed, in my case, I needed a new pump... (96 gt auto)

if you really want to stomp your friend.. get a set of gears, i put 4.30s in my 96 and it just rips now... hangs right with 99+ gts gets rubber into second(remember i'm atuo too) and third the odd time... good times

Green4.6GT · Dec 14, 2004

another note, PI only refers to the heads/cams and intake... those are the "power improved" parts that ford changed

GDawg · Dec 14, 2004

Are you sure you got a PI Intake? Just because it has an aluminum runner doesn't mean it's PI. Did you have to seal it with RTV or get the adaptor plates? Did you have to drill a new hole for your second coolant sensor or buy a "T"?

Just asking... And even if it was the PI Intake, 10hp is not a whole lot of difference...

tomustang · Dec 14, 2004

Green4.6GT said:
if you really want to stomp your friend.. get a set of gears, i put 4.30s in my 96 and it just rips now... hangs right with 99+ gts gets rubber into second(remember i'm atuo too) and third the odd time... good times

geez, i guess you don't fear the gear at all. i got 3.73's in my auto and i'm taching 3300@90mph what's you o/d range like at speeds?

Green4.6GT · Dec 14, 2004

haha, no fear is for sissys

i dont have a speedcal, so i cant say for sure, but its really not that bad... not to mention how much of a diffrence they made to this turd is well worth spending another few bucks on gas

some of the info on here is good, but alot of it is people just agreeing with the "norm" so instead of just doing what everyone on here says, i checked with some shops, and the cars they are running etc.. and with the more serious modular guys, and found that 4.30s are the optimal gear for the 4.6's powerband.. then bought my gears... and i can say they are perfect, my car drops right into the sweet spot of the rpm range on shifts... i have no problem with driveability at all... i love them.. and am extremely glad i didnt listed to all the people that said that these are too much, and to go no higher than 3.73 or 4.10s because i will run out of gear

NiteRydaGT · Dec 14, 2004

Every post I heard about the PI intake swap was praising how it was such a big improvement and what not. Like stated above are you sure you got the PI intake?
As far as the other stuff...air filter go with a K&N. They never have to be replaced, just re-oiled. Plugs, everyone will say something different. I use Autolites. Wires...I use Motorcraft. You could try Steeda if you want to spend a little more $. I doubt you'll notice a difference though. And as far as what I would consider a tune up would be new plugs, wires, fuel filter, oil filter if necessary, replace TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) and re-oil the air filter if it's a K&N or replace it if it's a paper filter. I think that covers a basic tune up. If you really want to get into it you should flush your radiator, replace tranny fluid and replace rear end fluid.
Your timing wouldn't be off because it is all controlled by the computer. The only way to adjust it is by either getting a dyno tune or with an aftermarket timing adjuster by Steeda, UPR, or whatever other companies make them.

Darkhorse845 · Dec 14, 2004

Yes get a complete tune up done that
should help! Spark plugs,plug wires,fuel
filter,air filter etc.

CanadaStang · Dec 14, 2004

Hmmmm...... I would think you should notice a difference with the PI intake. It would be the same lower down, but once your tach gets up to 4000rpm you should notice a difference. I've never done the intake swap, so I can't say what gains you should get, but there are a few people here that have done the swap, hang tight and maybe they will chime in.

CanadaStang · Dec 14, 2004

One thing you could check. Pull the sparkplug boots off [one at a time] and look to see if any antifreeze has run into the holes when you took the intake off. If there is, suck it out with a shop vac, and dry with paper towels.

d98gt · Dec 14, 2004

When my intake leaked, the coolant got in the sparkplug gaps and was puddling there.

My car was running horrible then when it was getting dark, I cranked it for the last time and noticed the wire was throwing a spark. Somehow my wire got cut at the end and wasn't doing what it needed

just some guy · Dec 15, 2004

tuned said:
As some of you may know, I have had an automatic 98 GT with a cracked intake manifold for quite some time. Well after alot of debate and research I finally gave up on fixing the damn thing and just bought a new hybrid (part metal part plastic) PI intake manifold. And from everyone, all I heard was that I would not only leak anymore damn coolant, but I'd also see 15 more rwhp. Well, my buddy has a 95 Civic 4 banger with an engine swap, its pretty quick. But since I bought the car I run againstg him to see how my performance changes when I change settings and parts, well we always race to 90ish and shut it down and with the cracked manifold pouring fluid I he would beat me by about 1 car length, consistantly. Well I figured if I had 15 more to th wheels with the intake manifold I would walk all over him. NOT THE CASE. Same everything except I have a PI intake and I see NO improvement whats so ever. He still beats me with the exact same lead as when my car was f'ed up. Wow. No impressed. Whats the deal?

Side notes: I need new of these parts, can you please suggest PI or atleast good brand ones.

- Air filter
- Plugs/Wires

Also, I think my car may be out of time perhaps, when I rev it or punch the gas it hesitates, like doesn't just launch ahead like it should, it sounds funny revving it to, because it almost spudders, maybe a new fuel filter?

Last question... What does a car "tune up" consist of mechanically?

thanks, tuned.

your car shouldnt have been running slower because you were leaking coolant through the crossover.

tomustang · Dec 15, 2004

get some 4.10's tuned. and clean out your bay to see if there is any coolant where it souldn't be. if you're going to take off the spark plug tubes make sure you don't rip them.

tuned · Dec 15, 2004

After some research and talking with the guy with 4.30's (Green4.6GT)in this thread. I've decided to go with a few changes. If you can offer some advice on rather this sounds good or not tell me before I head to the bank this afternoon.

Spark plugs, going with copper not platinum (as suggested by Green4.6GT) splitfire if i can find them if not than just some brand name copper plug. Maybe NGK?

For ignition wires I was going to go with a 9mm or bigger wire, brand name. Maybe MSD?

For now I think I'm just going to clean the stock airfilter until I get a new CAI, I think I'll go with the K&N FIPK II i think its called? Only one that improves HP ratins from what I hear correct?

Going to change the fuel filter soon, I think its either that or the TB causing the hesitation I get sometimes. Going to change the engine oil out with some Mobil 1 synthetic 3w-50.

Also going to a transmission shop today to ask some questions about how the gears is going to affect the tranny stress wise, I may get a shift kit... any ideas on price/cost/purpose there.

Yes when I got my car back from the shop the mechanic guy that changed the intake manifold said that there was alot of coolant in the plug holes and he dried it out and put, platinums in, so I guess i'll just hang onto the brand new ones he put in it because from what i hear our cras run better on copper.

any advice, suggestions. I think i fear the 4.30, i may go with 4.10, going to do some research first.

thanks, tuend.

tuned · Dec 15, 2004

This is the intake manifold I bought, I talked to the seller on the phone and everything. He said it was PI intake and he put it in his car and ****. Seemed like an honest good guy. I dunno, you tell me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...tem=7941094278&category=36474&sspagename=WDVW

tomustang · Dec 15, 2004

tuned said:
After some research and talking with the guy with 4.30's (Green4.6GT)in this thread. I've decided to go with a few changes. If you can offer some advice on rather this sounds good or not tell me before I head to the bank this afternoon.

Spark plugs, going with copper not platinum (as suggested by Green4.6GT) splitfire if i can find them if not than just some brand name copper plug. Maybe NGK?

For ignition wires I was going to go with a 9mm or bigger wire, brand name. Maybe MSD?

For now I think I'm just going to clean the stock airfilter until I get a new CAI, I think I'll go with the K&N FIPK II i think its called? Only one that improves HP ratins from what I hear correct?

Going to change the fuel filter soon, I think its either that or the TB causing the hesitation I get sometimes. Going to change the engine oil out with some Mobil 1 synthetic 3w-50.

Also going to a transmission shop today to ask some questions about how the gears is going to affect the tranny stress wise, I may get a shift kit... any ideas on price/cost/purpose there.

Yes when I got my car back from the shop the mechanic guy that changed the intake manifold said that there was alot of coolant in the plug holes and he dried it out and put, platinums in, so I guess i'll just hang onto the brand new ones he put in it because from what i hear our cras run better on copper.

any advice, suggestions. I think i fear the 4.30, i may go with 4.10, going to do some research first.

thanks, tuend.

bigger wires don't do anything of an improvment to the 4.6.

K&N FIPK II is one of the better choices.

never go with 50 weight oil, the thinner the (but its winter time now)synthetic, the better. 5w-20 is good, just a little heavier for winter.

and the gears, good choice, 4.10's

BlackenedSVT · Dec 15, 2004

tomustang said:
geez, i guess you don't fear the gear at all. i got 3.73's in my auto and i'm taching 3300@90mph what's you o/d range like at speeds?

I had 4.10's in my 98GT auto F'ed up my top end and speedo. My top end was like 115-120 with the 4.10s. I will never do gears in an auto again. Just my personal opinion.

BlackenedSVT · Dec 15, 2004

And TUNED, i think you should take care of your car like someone said, and put new plugs and wires into it, clean out the injectors, maybe flush the radiator. Dont just race your bro constantly without taking care of this stuff. If you want to beat on your car, you should maintain it a lot too.

Oh and i don't think you have a PI part on their either. If you didn't seal it with the RTV sealant, then you have the same non-pi intake.

GDawg · Dec 15, 2004

UDTBadkarma said:
Oh and i don't think you have a PI part on their either. If you didn't seal it with the RTV sealant, then you have the same non-pi intake.

Eventhough the guy advertised that the second sensor hole was drilled, if I remember correctly the altenator bracket has to be slightly modified too to fit correctly. Just looking at the top view of the intake you can't tell which one it is. But if I remember correctly the PI intake is shorter then the non-PI.

But I think the proof is in whether of not RTV had to be used on it (if you didn't get the adapter plates.) Otherwise it won't seal correctly.

CanadaStang · Dec 15, 2004

The Pi intake hangs waay down in the valley of the engine, where as the non-PI doesn't hang down very low [not as deep] If you still have your old intake, just take it out to your car and compare the two.

Not impressed with new PI part.

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