what are some small mods
- Thread starter 96convertstang
- Start date
patman0911
Founding Member
Yeah, that's good advice if you're really squeezed for money. Freshing up the suspension is not a bad investment on a 13 year old car either.
There's not many small mods that will make a noticeable difference. A few extra degrees of ignition timing with my timing adjuster made the biggest improvement on my '96 among the few bolt-ons I've done - the downside is running premium gas now but it made a noticeable improvement from idle to redline and was really noticeable in the low RPMs where 95% of your time is spent while driving. They don't appear to be as popular as they used to be and I see a lot of people recommending skipping the T/A and getting a tune instead - that's probably not a bad idea as a good tune can be much more precise than simply cranking up the base timing. 96's have the least aggressive factory tune of the 4.6L Mustangs so either route will net you some decent gains.
A lot of people like underdrive pulleys too and I've got 'em but I'm not sure I haven't compromised alternator & battery life and possibly cooling capacity with them - on the other hand, I believe some models, like the Bullitt I believe, were under driven from the factory so maybe its fine. I didn't notice any performance difference with them though and probably wouldn't do them again but I haven't been motivated to put the stock pulleys back on either.
I've still got my long-legged 2.73 gears but having driven a couple of NPI 96-98s with 3:73 or 4:10 gears, shorter gears will make the car feel much livelier around town.
I'd skip the little stuff and start planning and saving for some sort of PI swap - intake & cams at least, if not a full head swap if you really want to get some more power.
There's not many small mods that will make a noticeable difference. A few extra degrees of ignition timing with my timing adjuster made the biggest improvement on my '96 among the few bolt-ons I've done - the downside is running premium gas now but it made a noticeable improvement from idle to redline and was really noticeable in the low RPMs where 95% of your time is spent while driving. They don't appear to be as popular as they used to be and I see a lot of people recommending skipping the T/A and getting a tune instead - that's probably not a bad idea as a good tune can be much more precise than simply cranking up the base timing. 96's have the least aggressive factory tune of the 4.6L Mustangs so either route will net you some decent gains.
A lot of people like underdrive pulleys too and I've got 'em but I'm not sure I haven't compromised alternator & battery life and possibly cooling capacity with them - on the other hand, I believe some models, like the Bullitt I believe, were under driven from the factory so maybe its fine. I didn't notice any performance difference with them though and probably wouldn't do them again but I haven't been motivated to put the stock pulleys back on either.
I've still got my long-legged 2.73 gears but having driven a couple of NPI 96-98s with 3:73 or 4:10 gears, shorter gears will make the car feel much livelier around town.
I'd skip the little stuff and start planning and saving for some sort of PI swap - intake & cams at least, if not a full head swap if you really want to get some more power.
twogts4us
15 Year Member
A 3 inch midpipe on a 4.6 L motor is not helping... Ideal is 2.5". Too big and it loses the ability to scavenge the exhaust out.
Not exactly small, but gears will provide a great bang for the buck. An ECU tune should be mandatory and a set of U/D pulleys thrown into the mix wouldn't hurt either. 
...but I agree with the rest. Go over the rest of the car first to see that it won't leave you on the side of the road 10-min after you instal your new go fast parts.
...but I agree with the rest. Go over the rest of the car first to see that it won't leave you on the side of the road 10-min after you instal your new go fast parts.
You already have the mid pipe and catback. That's a start. I gained almost 35RWHP with those mods on my 2001 GT, and that was untuned. I just made two dyno pulls.
Next, I'd do some gears and some maintainence like plugs and wires. Do a search for "Project Red Headed Step Child". One of the magazines covered this project and almost got a 96-98 style GT to 300RWHP. They covered every single bolt on one step at a time and made dyno pulls between each and then after all of them.
Next, I'd do some gears and some maintainence like plugs and wires. Do a search for "Project Red Headed Step Child". One of the magazines covered this project and almost got a 96-98 style GT to 300RWHP. They covered every single bolt on one step at a time and made dyno pulls between each and then after all of them.
Here are some small mods but I still say do PM first:
-lower windshield wipers
-install better head lights (Sylvania Silverstars)
-shorten antenna
-dress up items like MGW makes for interior or engine bay
-new shift knob
-make fog lights work with headlights off
-LED license plate lights
Use Google to find more info on any of those.
-lower windshield wipers
-install better head lights (Sylvania Silverstars)
-shorten antenna
-dress up items like MGW makes for interior or engine bay
-new shift knob
-make fog lights work with headlights off
-LED license plate lights
Use Google to find more info on any of those.
sneaky98gt
10 Year Member
PI Intake + PI Cams + Exhaust (you already have) + Tune = A HUGE difference. I dropped .75 in the 1/8 and gained 6 mph with these plus Steeda UDPs and a K&N.
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