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If you had to pick one mod off your list to start, what one would you pick?
cobra brakes, wheels, and tires. I've seen 03 cobra wheels with good tires for 800 before. If you already have junk tires it's a great route to take.
As far as brakes, used cobra setups aren't very expensive. I'm pretty sure they came with steel braided lines from the factory too. That and some good springs/shocks are a good start for whatever direction you want to take the car
Edit: stock springs and shocks from the Bullitt and mach 1 are good upgrades and will be easy on your wallet
Thanks Soldier, I will definitely look into that one. I do drive highway though, and someone else recommended 3.73 gears for that instead of 4.10. What do you think?
I do drive highway though, and someone else recommended 3.73 gears for that instead of 4.10. What do you think?
4.10s would be interesting if you're everyday freeway driving. My 3.27s turn ~2500 rpm at 70 in 5th, 4.10s would be what 3200? I think 3.73 or 3.55 is a reasonable aggressive gear on a daily. If you get into real power 4.10s will get annoying too. I chirp tires enough as is
I sat down and reread this thread. Getting back to "Mods for Beginners", from what I have read elsewhere (on the web and in books), one of the first things anyone should do is a plan of action. What do you want to do with the vehicle? Do you want to drag race? Do you want to autocross? Or do you want a sweet looking street machine? Plan what you intend the vehicle to be.
Most people wait until last to do this one, but you need to STOP. It doesn't matter what else you do to the vehicle, if you can't stop safely, you in a heap of trouble. "Stangs can go with the Cobra braking system or Wiiwood. Once you have a vehicle that can stop safely, then you can do on to more horsepower and better handling.
Most braking systems utilize larger rotors. (Disc brakes rule.) So you have no choice but to get bigger wheels. Clearance for those rotors can be critical on stock wheels, but luckily Ford does offer Factory Options in larger wheels. But here I would seek professional advice from the tire guy. The offset of some wheels will cause the tires to rub on the wheel well or on suspension parts.
My Crown Vic came with 11 inch factory rotors up front (and 10 inch in the rear), common for the 1992 through 1998 editions. I upgraded to the 1999 Lincoln factory rotors (and additional spindle parts) to put on 12 1/4 inch factory rotors. This forced me to use at least 17 inch wheels to avoid rubbing and contact. The offset was the same as the 1994 to 2001 Mustangs. I went with 19 inch wheels (At the time I couldn't find 20 inch wheels that I liked.) I ended up with a CVPI that could stop about 15% faster than the stock system. That's 15 percent shorter distance. And the wider wheel/tire combination helped with more stable and controlled turns.
So I say Brakes/Wheels/Tires should be the first thing to consider once you have planned the use of your car.
On a side note, my wife has a 2005 Hyundai Elantra that came from the factory with disc/drum combination. I replaced the front disks with the 12 inch XG350 rotors and calipers, and the rear with the 10 1/2 inch disc brake assembly from the Sonata. Plus the wider wheels and tires, and she handles like a Tiburon. Now to finish getting all the parts together for the turbo.....
Last edited by jdmeaux1952; 05-02-2015 at 08:09 AM.
Ok so I always wanted to make something like this so if someone new comes on here they can refer to this thread for some mods. I am gonna list a few things that are simple bolt ons and that almost everyone has done to their car. Maybe we can get this stickied and if people want to add more to this then let me know, I am not the most knowledgeable person on here, and I'm just putting things in this thread that I have hear from other members and stuff from experience...
First I'll start with the Cold Air Intake.
On our cars a CAI is not needed for performance. Our stock intake flows fine and there really arent any performance gains that you will get from a CAI. Some people might like the CAI because of the looks and other people claim increased throttle response. An alternate option for a CAI if you don't want to spend too much money on the whole assembly is a drop in filter, such as the K&N which will replace the stock restrictive filter that comes with the car. This will perform just as well as a CAI.
Exhaust
is what I will address next. Exhaust is broken down into 3 parts. Headers --> Midpipe --> Catback. Different brands will bring different sounds, and basically the same performance, so there is not one brand that is better than the other. Exhaust will give you a little bit of power, but not like 50 hp like companies claim, exhaust is more for the sound than it is for the power. This is pretty basic knowledge in here that most people probably already know but i'll put it in here anyway. What most people do with their exhaust is put a catback and midpipe on their cars.
A catback is the piping that goes from your catalytic converters back, a catback is what has the mufflers in it. Some people like to just swap the mufflers and weld in new ones into the stock catback, which you could do. The stock catback is 2.25 inches and most aftermarket catbacks are 2.5 inches so with a whole catback youre freeing up some restriction in the exhaust, which gives you a little bit of power but in my experience its not much. There are also different kinds of mufflers, these being chambered mufflers and straight through mufflers. They basically are what they sound like, chambered mufflers, such as Flowmasters, MAC Flowpaths, and a few others that I'm missing, have metal plates welded inside that the exhaust bounces off of before it exits the muffler, this results in a nice sound that is not too loud. Then there is straight through mufflers, these are also what they sound like, when you take a straight through muffler and look through it you can see out of the other side, some come with a little packing it in, other's do not such as loudmouth LoudMouth 1's. These tend to be louder since the exhaust is just passing straight through the muffler and not having to go through any chambers. Some straight through mufflers are SLP mufflers/resonators, Borla Stingers, Magnaflow Magnapack, SSS exhausts, and there's probably a few others that I'm missing.
A midpipe is what has the catalytic converters in it. Stock midpipes are an H pipe with 4 cats in it, earlier SN95 mustangs have 6 cats in them. There are 2 types of midpipes X pipes and H pipes. There is really no power difference between the 2 and people decide what pipe they want based on sound. An X pipe is more a NASCAR scream, while an H pipe is more of the classic deep muscle car tone. So those are the 2 types of midpipes now there are 2 more options if you were to buy one. That being whether you want your midpipe to be catted, which means it has catalytic converters, or if you want it to be Offroad or O/R, which means there are no catalytic converters. Check with your state and see what your emissions are because O/R midpipes will not pass emissions in certain states because there are no catalytic converters. Catted midpipes will give you a little more power because most midpipes come with 'high flow' cats, and there are only 2 cats compared to the 4 cats that are on the stock midpipe, so you are definitely freeing up more restriction. O/R midpipes have no cats and are louder when you put them on your car, I have no experience in O/R midpipes so if someone has more advice let me know. But O/R midpipes have even less restriction than catted midpipes because there are no cats. This will give you more power than catted midpipes and are chosen a lot because of that. Another midpipe which doesn't fit this category is the Mac Prochamber, this is an O/R midpipe that is unlike the H or X pipes because instead of a crossover it has a little box like piece that connects the pipes. This translates into a nice quiet and tame sound at idle and while cruising, but a nice mean and loud sound when you get on the throttle, this could be another option because of the unique sound.
Headers are what connects to the engine itself. With headers there are 2 different types, Shorty style or Long Tube headers. Stock headers are shorty headers. Aftermarket headers will give you good power gains, long tubes should give you around 10-20 hp to the wheels depending on other mods. As for shorty gains I'm not totally sure but I would guess between 5-10 give or take a little. Another option is also mid length headers, which is a medium between the long tubes and the shorty's, midlength headers are offered by Bassani.
To continue on exhaust I want to go over different types of materials, as some materials last longer than others, and prices reflect this. I got this off of AmericanMuscle's website
-Polished - headers are great for customers looking for a car show appeal. They look great under the hood.
-Natural Stainless - won’t tarnish or stain, but will age with the vehicle.
-Ceramic - great for customers looking to get the most power out of their car. Ceramic keeps the heat down, resulting in more HP.
A handheld tuner/chip is another great mod.
This is also one of the first mods you should do. A tuner or chip tunes the computer of your car so if will perform better. The stock tune on mustangs is very conservative, so a tune will be something that is worth doing. The most common tuners are SCT and Diablosport, but there are other brands like Sniper and some others as well so you could do more research into that. AmericanMuscle does a program where if you buy a tuner from them they give you 'free tunes for life' so if you put a new mod on your car, you tell them and they will give you a new tune that maximizes that mod. When I got my tuner and loaded a tune onto my car I could definitely feel a difference so I feel like this is a great mod. A tuner is also very important for auto's because it will help adjust your shift points, and make your shifts more firm.
That also brings us into Gears.
Gears are arguably the best mod you could do to your car. Gears are what goes into the rear of your car. Gears go by a ratio, the stock ratio is 3.27, which means if the wheels spin one time the driveshaft will spin 3.27 times. What you need to know is a steeper gear will help you accelerate faster. Most people like switching to 3.73 gears or 4.10 gears. So if you put say 4.10's in your car, it is going to be spinning faster and your RPM's are gonna be higher than normal. Here is a link to CliffyK's website which can tell you what your RPM's will be at certain speeds http://www.paladinmicro.com/pmicro.p...InGearCalc.htm. Use that calculator and see what is best for you. If you do a lot of highway driving some people like 3.73's because your RPM's arent as high as 4.10's, although there is not much difference between the 2. With gears your MPG's will go down but most see a difference of maybe 2-4 mpg's average. Between 3.73's and 4.10's you might see a difference of 1-2 mpg's Some people say that if you're gonna be going F/I (nitrous, supercharger, turbo) then 3.73's are the best and 4.10's are too much. I disagree with that because I run 4.10's with a supercharger and I love it. Turbo's are a different story and stock 3.27's or 3.55's would probably be best for you since you want to keep a load and the turbo spooled. Again check the gear calculator and look at what would be best for you. Gears are also a job that should be done at a professional shop because it is very precise and difficult to do by yourself. You will also need the tuner to correct your gauges after you are done because if you do not correct it the speedometer will be off and the cars mileage will not be right.
Next I'll go over throttle bodies (TB's) and plenums.
Throttle body and plenum is the pieces your intake goes into sitting on top of the engine. The TB opens as you press on the gas and lets air in, so a bigger TB will let more air in. This is another thing that I dont have a lot of experience in, but I'll post what I know and any other advice would be great. The stock TB is 65mm and most aftermarket ones are 70mm, 75mm, and 78mm. When looking at a TB you want to think what the future goal of your car is, meaning are you going to keep is N/A (no nitrous, supercharger, turbo) or if you're planning on going F/I (nitrous, supercharger, turbo). If you plan on staying N/A than a 70mm TB will be fine for that application. If you plan on going F/I then a 75mm or 78mm might be better for what you need since you're going to be moving a lot more air. Putting a 75mm or 78mm TB on a N/A car is basically useless and will perform just the same as a 70mm, 78mm might actually hurt you a little due to being too big. A plenum is what the throttle body connects to, so like the throttle body a bigger plenum will help more air to enter the engine.
Short throw Shifters.
This is another simple bolt on that makes driving more fun. Short throw shifters help the throw of your shifter be more tight and less travel so you could bang gears a lot faster and without missing a shift. There are a couple shifters out there such as the MGW shifter, Steeda Tri-Ax, Pro 5.0 shifter and a few others. A lot of people on here like the MGW because it is very tight and adjustable. I like the Steeda Tri-Ax although I want to try the MGW in the future. I would search around and see what you hear about shifters and make your choice.
Underdrive Pulley's (UDP's).
I have no experience in these. But from what I hear they don't add power they free up the power. Let me clarify that, you are gaining power from UDP's but you are free power up that it being taken from other things. I don't know much about these, so help would be great. I remember reading power gains from UDP's are minimal, and you should not use them if you have a big stereo or anything like that.
Full Length Subframe Connectors
is another good mod to do. FLSFC's help make your frame stiffer, which in return helps keep your car straight off the line or in the corners, and greatly helps in the corners. From what I have read this is one of the best suspension mods that you can do.
These are just a few, I know there are more out there that I haven't gone over so if you want to write something up, correct me, or add stuff let me know, put a post and I'll edit it up so we can get everything right. I didn't go over anything suspension or brakes because I am pretty clueless there so again if you wanna add it be my guest and I'll put it in. Thanks for looking guys and hopefully this could be helpful for the new members or people who are looking to add something else.
What websites do you recommend buying all these parts??? I'm really only interested in 3:73 gears, cold air intake, 70mm TB, and ceramic long headers and flow masters. I'm in California so I think I don't mind spending extra to have straight pipes switched every two years just to pass SMOG inspection.
I'm reading conflicting post about mods. Some guys are saying CAI systems are complete waste of money and add no horse power. Video on American muscle shows approx 26+ power gain with BBK CAI with bama tune. So is it only the tune that's truly adding power??? Opinions on adding 73mm TB I found that is legal in California. I'm also adding 3.73 gears next week because I ran neck n neck with 14' Volkswagen golf GTI on freeway. Can't be losing to 4 cyl cars!! I'm all stock except for 1 chamber flow masters.
I'm reading conflicting post about mods. Some guys are saying CAI systems are complete waste of money and add no horse power.
If you do real research on CAI systems and horsepower gains, most are 10% or less. The problem is that most people actually are not buying a true CAI. They think that getting rid of the stock air cleaner and tubes, and replacing them with a short pipe and conical filter is a CAI. It's not.
A true CAI will be routed to pull cold air from outside the engine compartment and direct it to the engine. If the filter is put into the side of the engine bay where it can draw cold air or placed in a separate box and sealed from the engine hot air to draw cold air from the grill area, then you have a CAI.
The auto manufacturers have to deal with federal emission standards, engine longevity issues, and can only adjust the computer for so much power. A "tune" will change a lot of the computer control standards and allow the engine to make more power, at the cost of longevity. Even a mild tune for 87 octane fuel will pickup about 15% in power and increase mileage (as long as you keep your foot off the floor).
Having a tune done on a dyno will give you lots more power, but at the cost of longevity of the engine. You may request a tune to get maximum power on 91 octane, but then your engine may on last 50,000 miles before it is burnt out. That's a fact of life. Most tunes change the amount of advance the engine gets and how fast it gets that advance. Lots of times that gets close to detonation for the fuel octane you use.
IMHO I would buy a canned tune from SCT or BAMA for 89 octane and fill up with 91 octane. That is your safety margin to keep the engine alive.
And then, another question.. I read above that after installing gears, such as a 3.73, you would need a tuner after? A tuner as in like the BAMA one and get a tune? Or did I miss something..
There is no aftermarket "CAI" capable of making more HP than the stock intake (which is a "real CAI"). The vendors that say otherwise are lying or testing it together with other mods and/or improved tuning/
You need a "tune" after changing the final drive gears to correct the speedometer--that is the only thing that has to be changed--BAMA can take care of this...
Last edited by cliffyk; 12-20-2015 at 12:32 AM.
Reason: spelling
And then, another question.. I read above that after installing gears, such as a 3.73, you would need a tuner after? A tuner as in like the BAMA one and get a tune? Or did I miss something..
Unless heavily modded do not waste your time or money on any type of aftermarket CAI system (2Vs only). I'm not speaking from info I heard or read but experience. 1st off, do not believe any manufacture claims on any mods. If anyone has gained 26 rwhp with a CAI and tune, they are lying to you. If you are planning on going with any gear, I would suggest 410s. I have them on my car and absolutely love them (I had 373s). A tuner when installing gears are not a must. It will be used more or less to correct your speedo. I wish I had asked these questions 8 yrs ago. Could have probably saved a lot of money. GL!
05-01-2015, 09:28 PM
