Now that my daily driven(70K miles) 1989 AOD LX hatch is looking good(new wheels, tires, paint, and lowered stance), it's time to make it faster. It's only performance mods so far are a Flowmaster aftercat and a Moroso CAI. Looking to spend $1500ish. 5spd swap? 6psi Powerdyne? Since it's my DD the mods need to be street legal, reliable, and somewhat fuel effficient. What should my next mods be?
Time to perk up my DD, what mods next?
- Thread starter MYSTICSVT
- Start date
srothfuss
Last night I stabbed the same guy 7 times in a row
Your first mods should be as follows (my take):
In order of Priority
1) Subframe connectors (SFC's) full length ones are prefered for a stiff chasis
2) Gears: 3.73:1 or 4.10:1 seem to be the popular choices and should be the first modification
3) Buy a K&N panel filter (no CAI kit required) and put it in the stock box
4) Exhuast (headers, hi-flo cats, mufflers)
5) 3G alternator upgrade / electric fan
6) Larger MAF, TB (MAF cars from 1988 california only, 1989-1993)
7) Fix the weak brakes
8) Bumped timing (free mod) 10 Degrees is stock.
After those, it's pretty much up to you. There are plenty of Super Chargers or Heads, Cam and Intake packages to choose from.
Also, don't forget about the basic tune up which should include:
1) Changing all of the fluids (oil, coolant, trans, rear end, brake and some of the power steering)
2) Plugs: (non-platnum type) Autolite or Motorcraft
3) Oil filter: Motorcraft or equivalent (not FRAM)
4) Air filter: see above
5) Plug wires: Ford Motorsport (FRPP) 9mm units are great
6) Cap / Rotor
7) Oxygen sensors
Edit: This just covers the basics of things that you will need to upgrade / replace in your quest to reach a power level that you are happy with. FRPP now sells the Powerdyne 6PSI kit for 1,600.00 but without all of the supporting mods first, you won't see the full potential of the kit.
In order of Priority
1) Subframe connectors (SFC's) full length ones are prefered for a stiff chasis
2) Gears: 3.73:1 or 4.10:1 seem to be the popular choices and should be the first modification
3) Buy a K&N panel filter (no CAI kit required) and put it in the stock box
4) Exhuast (headers, hi-flo cats, mufflers)
5) 3G alternator upgrade / electric fan
6) Larger MAF, TB (MAF cars from 1988 california only, 1989-1993)
7) Fix the weak brakes
8) Bumped timing (free mod) 10 Degrees is stock.
After those, it's pretty much up to you. There are plenty of Super Chargers or Heads, Cam and Intake packages to choose from.
Also, don't forget about the basic tune up which should include:
1) Changing all of the fluids (oil, coolant, trans, rear end, brake and some of the power steering)
2) Plugs: (non-platnum type) Autolite or Motorcraft
3) Oil filter: Motorcraft or equivalent (not FRAM)
4) Air filter: see above
5) Plug wires: Ford Motorsport (FRPP) 9mm units are great
6) Cap / Rotor
7) Oxygen sensors
Edit: This just covers the basics of things that you will need to upgrade / replace in your quest to reach a power level that you are happy with. FRPP now sells the Powerdyne 6PSI kit for 1,600.00 but without all of the supporting mods first, you won't see the full potential of the kit.
srothfuss said:
Oops, I guess I forgot to list some of its other mods. It also has 3.73's, subframe connectors, and upper and lower control arms.
The car already is in a great state of tune (recent tune up with all fresh fluids) with the timing set @ 14 degrees .
The only bad part about buying the FMS supercharger kit is the lack of warranty.
What's gonna give me the best bang for the buck?
iwashmycar
20+ Year Stangneter 
If you plan on keeping it AOD I would look at things for the trans first.
1. Trans cooler if you don't have one. The bigger the better
2. Shift kit. I have a transgo in my AOD. Some guys have issues with it wanting to shift into OD under full throttle even when it is in the D position. I haven't had such problems myself
3. A or A+ servo for the OD band. The stock B servo doesn't have enough force to keep from burning up the band eventually. Ask me how I know.
The list that srothfuss has is a pretty good start. From there you can move onto the induction system. The stock 5.0 intake is pretty restrictive. You can have tmoss port the lower or you can swap it out for one of the many aftermarket ones that are out there.
1. Trans cooler if you don't have one. The bigger the better
2. Shift kit. I have a transgo in my AOD. Some guys have issues with it wanting to shift into OD under full throttle even when it is in the D position. I haven't had such problems myself
3. A or A+ servo for the OD band. The stock B servo doesn't have enough force to keep from burning up the band eventually. Ask me how I know.
The list that srothfuss has is a pretty good start. From there you can move onto the induction system. The stock 5.0 intake is pretty restrictive. You can have tmoss port the lower or you can swap it out for one of the many aftermarket ones that are out there.
srothfuss
Last night I stabbed the same guy 7 times in a row
MYSTICSVT said:
You could have the AOD worked over if you haven't looked into that already. A converter / shiftkit will make a world of difference. Porting the lower intake and adding a set of aftermarket heads would also make a noticeable difference. ~ Or save the money you have for your SC kit (don't forget to add tax)
srothfuss
Last night I stabbed the same guy 7 times in a row
I leave that one out of the list for the following reasons:
Once the pullies are added, you gain x-amount of HP/Torque. But if you don't have the 3G alternator upgrade there will be an issue with charging. It's not a big deal, but it can be frustrating.
Then, once it's time to add a Supercharger, you will need to reinstall the stock crank pulley which sort of turns me off from them as a long term mod....
Once the pullies are added, you gain x-amount of HP/Torque. But if you don't have the 3G alternator upgrade there will be an issue with charging. It's not a big deal, but it can be frustrating.
Then, once it's time to add a Supercharger, you will need to reinstall the stock crank pulley which sort of turns me off from them as a long term mod....
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