Still looking at stangs, need opinions, 5.0 or 4.6?

JaredO99x

JaredO99x

New Member
Sep 16, 2006
1
0
0
Houston, TX
#1
Alright guys, Ive posted here before when I first decided I wanted a stang, so here I am once again. Im torn between the 5.0 and 4.6. Initially I was looking into 96-04 GT's, mostly because of the style and parts made available for these cars (ex: diablosport turner and SCT xcal). The foxes have always appealed to me and I know the aftermarket for them is huge as well... what it comes down to is which one has more potential to eat up the street/track with some time and money invested. My budget when I get to where I can buy one is 6-7k, it would be great to get one cheaper and have around 2 left over to dump into it if possible. Im very new to Fords, coming from my Datsun Z-car roots im not a v8 guy, but I intend on becoming one. my goals for the car are mid-low 13's / high 12's in the 1/4 mile.

thanks for the insight guys,
-Jared :flag:
 
#2
well my first thought is that if you havent been a big "muscle car" or V8 fan, stay that way. dont spend all your money on something you dont truly love. IMO if you have never been too fond of V8's go for a honda. i have built many hondas that can break into the 12's with under 6 grand. a shell will cost you maybe 2 with interior, a decent swap about 3 grand, and a e-bay turbo kit for a grand. a stock GSR motor(b18c) tuned on 8lbs with decent injectors will be in the 12's in a coupe and will be faster in a hatch or crx. but the only downside is that it wont look nearly as good as a stang.

the choice is yours
 
#3
Well dude, I've ALWAYS wanted a stang, I've had several different cars and my current ride is 92 honda prelude Si, im not a big fan of hondas. I love muscle cars and the power of the v8's, ive just never had one yet and would like to get into them. Ive driven a 95 5.0 gt and a 97 cobra and frigging LOVED it. My ex had the cobra and she would let me drive it all the time.

Im into all kinds of cars, its time for a muscle car :) :SNSign:
 
#4
Dont listen to that guy hes retarded... if you want to be a part of the V8 family and hang out with us then your very welcome to we welcome all-non morons... as for gotchopsticks.... nevermind...


The general consensus is that the 5.0 will be easier and cheaper to mod.

The 4.6 Will be fast in stock form but the 5.0 will catch up fast money wise.

Then you have to take looks into consideration unless you get a 94-95 5.0
 
#5
If you want cheap power you cannot and will not be able to beat an 87-93 5.0 Fox Body, the LX's were the lighter platforms aswell, especially the coupes.

The worst (not that they are bad, just the least potential to start with) would be a 96-98 GT. They run high 14's stock with a 5 speed and good driver. They are known as the non-PI (power improvment) 4.6's and lack in the stock performance department compared to a 99+ GT with the PI heads. The non-PI's have a similar power output as the 5.0's did, but the Fox Body's were lighter cars. The 94/95 GT's also had a 5.0. If you like the 94/98 bodystyle and want a 5.0 (potential...) than thats a good starting point. They are about the same performance wise (stock) as a 96-98 GT, but in MY personal opinion they have alot more potential.

BUT, if you want a 4.6 in that body style, go for a Cobra!!! You can find a 96-98 Cobra in good shape for the price range you are in. They have a 4v DOHC (as compared to the GT's 2v SOHC) 4.6 that puts out 305hp. Those engines will rev close to how your Honda does, lol. They respond well to modifications and they loooove steep gears.

If you want a GT though, you can also try to find a 99-00 for that price range. Dunno if youll have any luck, but they are good platforms. I bought mine for under 8k.

Either way, 2k in mods will go a ways in the performance market no matter what car you choose. On 5.0's you can buy a blower for that cheap, or put together a nice heads/cam/intake swap. On a non-PI 4.6 you can easily do a PI headswap along with some more agressive cams, plus longtubes and exhaust to take advantage of that. On a 4.6 Cobra you can do full exhaust, intake, gears, tune... so on. On a 99+ 4.6 thats money for Cams, bolt ons, exhaust...

Sorry if im rambling, but im dead tired... hope most of that made sense.
 
#7
the 5.0 tends to have a lot of N/A potential thanks to its 4" bore (compared to the 4.6's measly 3.55") and a huge aftermarket for heads/cam/intake, etc. Once you start getting into the upper 400rwhp/low 500 area, splitting the block becomes a problem. Not sure about the strength of the rods and pistons, but I believe that is the weak point of both the 4.6 and 5.0. And with the 5.0L, swapping in a 351W is a well documented project, so you should be able to do it fairly painlessly.

The 4.6 responds very well to boost (99+ guys get ~400rwhp with stock internals and a KB @ 9psi), and if you beef up the internals, the block can support a hell of a lot of power (probably 1000ish rwhp). You really can't go wrong either way... I almost wish I got a 94-95 mustang, but I couldn't find one in decent shape so here I am with my 97. I may end up going with the best of both worlds and running a BB Teksid block to up my displacement to 304ci, then I can make some real n/a powah!

I don't want this to turn into a 4.6 vs. 5.0 flame war, I have a tremendous amount of respect for both motors and anything can be built to go fast.
 
#8
If your looking to get those times I would buy a Fox Body 5.0 only because you can find them for cheap. Some may need some body work, but ive been able to find them for 2k. Or if you could get a Cobra from any year that would be a good starting point.
 
#9
I'd say your best bet with that budget is a fox body. I've seen a lot of 89, 90's with the 5.0 going for $4k in decent shape. The rest of your budget could go into mods to make it that fast, easily.

You'll be hard pressed to find a reliable 99+ for 6-7k and it would leave no mod money. Even the 94-99 can be hard to find for those prices unless they have 150k miles or a V6!
 
#10
exindust said:
Dont listen to that guy hes retarded... if you want to be a part of the V8 family and hang out with us then your very welcome to we welcome all-non morons... as for gotchopsticks.... nevermind...


The general consensus is that the 5.0 will be easier and cheaper to mod.

The 4.6 Will be fast in stock form but the 5.0 will catch up fast money wise.

Then you have to take looks into consideration unless you get a 94-95 5.0
Click to expand...

im not a moron, im realistic. 8 grand can go alot further and make a car faster if the car and parts are cheaper. everyone knows hondas are cheaper to build, and EVERYONE carries parts for them....even pepboys...

but if he is really set on buying a stang, why not use the money for a downpayment on a new model, like 99+gt or 03 cobra:shrug:

i support anyone that wants to go blue oval:SNSign:
 
#12
I am not a honda guy, TRUST ME. thats all I have to say in response. LOL and I am not gonna have 8k to spend, its more likly 6-7 INCLUDING buying the car. Cant afford payments on a newer one otherwise I would have one as we speak. I'm still looking, I will most likly get one that I find a good deal on, whether is a later model or an LX Foxbody 5.0
 
#14
if you can find one an 89-91 5.0 notch. the notch is the lightest of the fox bodies and the 89-91 5.0 has the strongest internals. dump 3-4k for a decent car and the other 2k will easily get you into the 13's. find an old explorer and swap the heads and intakes. they are the same as the ones on the cobra motor, upgrade the cam and you are basically there.
 
#18
Notch :drool: I love those cars. The main problem with building up an N/A 302 is trying to decide what H/C/I combo will suit you best. But hey, at least they have an aftermarket. I'd find a rolling chassis notch, then buy a shortblock from CHP (408W :drool:), pick your top-end parts, add a TKO-600, and do wheelies all day long
 
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