I am going to do a head and cam install and have my intake ported in the near future, but is there any other performance upgrade I can do for under $300 that would benefit what I already have done? Thanks for any suggestions
What's the next step for power?
- Thread starter SVTtripleblack
- Start date
drakesdad
Member
I don't want to risk using NOS on an engine with 73k that isn't built for it. I plan on keeping my car N/A, maybe a supercharger way down the road, but I doubt it. It would be fun to try thought. Thanks for the input.
BlueSaph95GT
Member
maybe some better axles to handle the power increase? that would come in around $300. or an aluminum driveshaft to shed some rotational weight in the driveline...just a few ideas.
other than that, it wouldn't hurt to maybe upgrade your fuel system or radiator/cooling system before your upgrades...if nothing else, $300 will spend itself quickly on little parts and details during an HCI swap.
other than that, it wouldn't hurt to maybe upgrade your fuel system or radiator/cooling system before your upgrades...if nothing else, $300 will spend itself quickly on little parts and details during an HCI swap.
DDSTANG94
New Member
IF THE STOCK CLUTCH IS IN THERE U MIGHT WANT TO THINK ABOUT THAT WITH THE POWER THE HEADS AND CAM ARE GOING TO BRING
drakesdad
Member
Yeah..I know the feeling.....I'm at 67K and about out of NA motor trans and gear mods.....have not touch suspension yet......looking at possible power adder..I actually changed my response after seeing the 300.00 limit...I had put Turbo or S/C.......
But...Paul...GCOM...and Bill have played with the juice and the engine held up for quite a while.........food for thought but I am with you on the choice.....
earleys94gt
Active Member
I'd look towards...
1.) Upgrading the clutch, flywheel etc. if not done so already
or
2.) Some larger injectors like 24's or 30's and the appropriate MAF and tuning materials in advance of the imcreased airflow and power.
1.) Upgrading the clutch, flywheel etc. if not done so already
or
2.) Some larger injectors like 24's or 30's and the appropriate MAF and tuning materials in advance of the imcreased airflow and power.
I can understand about wanting to do something ... NOW
On The Other Hand
Put that 300 bux aside for when you get some nice Aluminum Heads
Do not plan on reusing your Cobra rockers
Instead ............
Use that 300 bux for some stud mount rockers and then buy heads
that are compatible for such rockers.
I don't know how it is these days ... but with AFR heads in the past
Going with stud heads would also get you a nice bump in compression
as they had smaller chambers
Hey ... 300 bux will get you a Custom Cam
I looked at your sig ... and to my way of thinking
At this time ... I see setting aside some money for things that will REALLY
make a difference later on as the best thing for you in the long run.
I know ... I know ... That ain't what you wanna hear
Grady
Thanks for the input guys. I'm probably not going to spend much more money on my car untill I get the heads and cam. I am probably going to upgrade the maf for future mods but that's about it. I already have 24# injectors being that it's a cobra and those should be plenty with what I'm looking to acheive. I have considered upgrading the clutch, but I almost don't want to because it's still working great. I know that can change with more power. I've always been fascinated by the supercharger route, but I will have to spend a lot of money to make it a reliable car and lower the compression. I know too many people that just bolt on a supercharger with these cars and blow head gaskets right and left because of too much compression and not the right parts.
Will my car run ok with a C&L maf without a tune or will it be too lean? Or should I go with a pro-m or a summit maf calibrated for the CAI to allow the computer to adjust for more more air flow. I would really like to avoid the tune untill I do the H/C install.
Will my car run ok with a C&L maf without a tune or will it be too lean? Or should I go with a pro-m or a summit maf calibrated for the CAI to allow the computer to adjust for more more air flow. I would really like to avoid the tune untill I do the H/C install.
As for your blower possibilities
IMHO ... I feel you are giving too much concern about compression when talking
about a blower application on an OEM block.
Yes ... All the time ... Over and over ... You see them blow HG's
Honestly ... A lot of the time ... That happens to a noobie blower user
A blown combo can toss a set of HG's for many reasons that are unknown
to a new user of such a combo
but
They learn quickly you could say
and
IMHO ...Compression on an OEM block is not the cause of their grief
About your maf concerns
I would have to say the C&L could be doing one of three things for you
1) Nothing
2) Helping ... but if so ... By a small amount
3) Might actually be costing you a bit of power
or
Drivability issues
or
Even both
The same could be said about other meters with an application where
not much of an increase in airflow is present.
The OEM meter has PLENTY of headroom for a bolt on GT or Cobra
Of the three possibilities I mentioned ... I listed them in the order of what
I believe might happen.
Since we all focus on 94-95 Stangs here
I can say without reservation :Word:
The Cheat Method employed by the aftermarket meter manufacturers
has fallen out of my favor on a more and more steady basis over the
years as I have learned more about our pcm's.
That whole process is just not the kind of thing that compliments the
workings of our pcm's ... and ... if the truth be told ... it is really
detrimental to what one is trying to do because it hoses up the
load factors in the 94-95 pcm which are used in MANY tables to
arrive at fuel and spark values.
Now ... That is not to say ... it DON'T or WON'T work
With 24's the error is not as great as with 30's or larger
but
None the less ... The whole process can lead to issues
I'd tell you to use that C&L and see how things go
cause
If you feel there is some kind of prob
you can put back the oem meter
The thing that can REALLY throw an untuned pcm outta whack is .........
Larger inj's with a matching caled meter
and
The thing that can be so frustrating about that is
It is such a crap shoot
I mean ... you can have two very similar combos and one can very
well be effected by such mods and the other might not notice
any difference at all
Grady
IMHO ... I feel you are giving too much concern about compression when talking
about a blower application on an OEM block.
Yes ... All the time ... Over and over ... You see them blow HG's
Honestly ... A lot of the time ... That happens to a noobie blower user
A blown combo can toss a set of HG's for many reasons that are unknown
to a new user of such a combo
but
They learn quickly you could say
and
IMHO ...Compression on an OEM block is not the cause of their grief
About your maf concerns
I would have to say the C&L could be doing one of three things for you
1) Nothing
2) Helping ... but if so ... By a small amount
3) Might actually be costing you a bit of power
or
Drivability issues
or
Even both
The same could be said about other meters with an application where
not much of an increase in airflow is present.
The OEM meter has PLENTY of headroom for a bolt on GT or Cobra
Of the three possibilities I mentioned ... I listed them in the order of what
I believe might happen.
Since we all focus on 94-95 Stangs here
I can say without reservation :Word:
The Cheat Method employed by the aftermarket meter manufacturers
has fallen out of my favor on a more and more steady basis over the
years as I have learned more about our pcm's.
That whole process is just not the kind of thing that compliments the
workings of our pcm's ... and ... if the truth be told ... it is really
detrimental to what one is trying to do because it hoses up the
load factors in the 94-95 pcm which are used in MANY tables to
arrive at fuel and spark values.
Now ... That is not to say ... it DON'T or WON'T work
With 24's the error is not as great as with 30's or larger
but
None the less ... The whole process can lead to issues
I'd tell you to use that C&L and see how things go
cause
If you feel there is some kind of prob
you can put back the oem meter
The thing that can REALLY throw an untuned pcm outta whack is .........
Larger inj's with a matching caled meter
and
The thing that can be so frustrating about that is
It is such a crap shoot
I mean ... you can have two very similar combos and one can very
well be effected by such mods and the other might not notice
any difference at all
Grady
i had a c&l too and am much happier with the Pro-M i got now. boost horror stories are mostly from rookie mistakes or contributing problems. my head gasket problems were from over heating and over revving it. only blown it twice in 4 years now and both times were within the first year and half. haven't blown it since. as long as you get the supporting hardware and tune your golden. same as nitrous i would assume.
you haven't said what heads and cam you were getting, and i agree with grady, get yourself some better rockers.
you haven't said what heads and cam you were getting, and i agree with grady, get yourself some better rockers.
Thanks again. I'm not 100% sure which heads to go with. I'm leaning towards AFR 165's or trickflow TW Street heads. I hear both are good and I've seen a lot of you guys using them and making around the kind of power I want to put down, which is at least 300rwhp. As for a cam, I don't want anything too outrageous because the car is only going to see the track a couple times a year and I want it to be fairly reliable if it has to sit in traffic or take some longer trips for shows and weekend cruising. This means no stalling or overheating. It is not my daily driver and I only put less than 5k on a year so I'm not worried about anything silly like gas millage or waking the neighbors. Should I go with a Steeda #19 cam, crowler, TFS, Crane, etc. or just get a custom cam? I want the car to be driveable so I can at least drive it to a dyno to get it tuned and I know these 94-95 stangs are picky about cams. Any suggestions?
Yes ... Good power can be made with both of them
Reliable
A Steeda #19 is no more or less reliable than my FTI custom
or
A TFS stage 1
or
Crower etc
After all ... You are talking Street Car not Race Car
so
All street car cams are going to he reliable
Sit in traffic
I guess you would be talking about lope
so
ANY cam is gonna lope
Trips
I get over 19mpg on the highway at cruise speeds of 75-80mph
so
You should be able to do as good or better with most cams
Weekend cruising
Around town you will obviously get less mpg than on the highway
but
I do pretty good around town if I keep my foot out of it
The stalling does not have to be a consideration of cam choice
It would not be a consideration what so ever with a sharp tune
Obviously ... the overheating would not be caused by cam selection as well
I will tell you to expect more heat as you are asking it to work harder to
make more power :Word:
A better radiator and water pump made all those kinds of things
go away for me
I would talk to some custom guys about the possibilities
That is ... The power possibilities ... Things such as .........
Maximum rpm potential
Power band expectations
and so forth
Those guys can tell you almost to the T what to expect
For the drivability considerations
I'd definitely NOT think about them in the same thought process when
thinking cams
H E Y ... Clear your mind for just a few seconds of
ALL the 94-95 pcm/cam stuff
You have seen and heard spread around on the internet in the past
Have you ever listened to the idle of some of the combos with a sharp tune
that report of NO drivibility issues what so ever ???
A lot of them have more than a ... subtle lope ... to em
Said that stuff to try and show ...
You tune for drivability
... NOT ... Make cam choice 
I offer my humble sig combo for consideration and example
Ever hear peeps say ... "A low lsa will drive your pcm nuts"
Well ... Would you consider
... 109 ... a low lsa I mean ... My pcm ain't nuts
Just think over some of these thoughts
I assure you :Word: ... It ain't hear- say ... cause ... I done it
I am not here to brag
I am here to tell you there is another way
Grady
gcomfx.com
Founding Member
6.5 years of a LOT of nitrous. I "almost" made it to 200,000 miles before the rings let go. Nothing wrong with the heads or pistons at all.
The 125 shot is wonderful!
Oh and for the naysayers... this was on a DRY shot. Look at those two purty bottles back there. Attachments
Thanks again for the input. I am certainly not even close to being an expert on the subject of heads, cams, and definately not tuning. I just try to go off other's feedback in the past. You guys have been very helpful and I learn something everytime I'm on here. Would you guys recommend me going with the AFR 185's over the 165's heads? Any benefits of either for a street/strip car? Any recommendations on a cam to go with these or a recommedation of a custom cam shop in the south central Pennsylvania area? I will take the advice and no longer worry about my computer spazing out and go for a cam with good power power potential and get a good tune. Oh yeah, and I'm not worried about gas milleage or a cam lope at all. I love the sound of a cammed up stang. I have a aftermarket radiator ordered to help a little with the heat, plus I have a chip programmed for my 180* stat and my fan runs on low speed so it only gets up to the "o" in normal while driving.
I am certainly not even close to being an expert on the subject of heads, cams, and definately not tuning. I just try to go off other's feedback in the past. You guys have been very helpful and I learn something everytime I'm on here. Would you guys recommend me going with the AFR 185's over the 165's heads? Any benefits of either for a street/strip car? Any recommendations on a cam to go with these or a recommedation of a custom cam shop in the south central Pennsylvania area? I will take the advice and no longer worry about my computer spazing out and go for a cam with good power power potential and get a good tune. Oh yeah, and I'm not worried about gas milleage or a cam lope at all. I love the sound of a cammed up stang. I have a aftermarket radiator ordered to help a little with the heat, plus I have a chip programmed for my 180* stat and my fan runs on low speed so it only gets up to the "o" in normal while driving.Similar threads
