erikpd

I want to make my car (it's a 95 Cobra) a little louder, and maybe get a little more HP out of it. I've spent the last year or so researching ways to do that and what I've come up with so far is a combination of an intake manifold (Trick Flow Street Burner?) and CAI (Granatelli?), with shorty headers and exhaust. I want the CAI mostly because I like the whoosh sound it creates when you step on the gas. The only main thing about the exhaust is it has to be stainless. I've also considered adding a cam to make it a little lumpier, but what I've read is that would negatively impact driveability unless I installed new heads. So I scratched that idea.

That is until this week. I've been reading that I wouldn't see any gains at all in power and probably throttle response with just the CAI and intake manifold. To truly make it worth it I would need to install heads as well. I wasn't interested in going that route as I wanted to make this as bolt-on as possible so I could revert the car back to factory components if necessary. That and I have a possibly irrational desire to not screw with the long block and risk somehow ruining the engine.

I'm not looking to build a track car or drag car, I just want some more kick when I'm driving it around town or to work. I'd like to keep it streetable for the highway in case of longer drives, and for it to have a nice growl when driving or at idle. The engine is currently all factory and has flowmaster mufflers, so it's a little louder than stock, but the idle is still a little too "smooth."

While budget is always a worry, I'm more than happy to spend to get the right combination of parts to get the desired result. In short, I'm not trying to cheap out on this. And also if I know what I need to get I can get a budget together so I can save the cash for it.

I hope this doesnt's seem all over the place, but that is the main goal I'm going for. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Erik

88 orangepeel notch

What kind of budget do you have to work with? That will determine the answers you get here. My opinion is first mod should always be a set of gears for the rearend. Best bang for the buck hands down. CAI if you want, won't hurt, and as for cams, there are tons of choices that will give a decent boost in power, lumpy idle, and won't hurt drivability at all.

reldla1996

I can tell you way back in 1987, i changed out the intake manifold on my essentially brand new 1986 5.0, everything factory stock, with a 1987 Ford factory stock 5.0 intake, and it made a noticeable difference, and I was happy I did it. Changing heads will make a much bigger difference than anything else under hood, but you will notice changing the intake. Whatever CAI you settle on, make sure it goes through the fender as opposed to placing the filter in the engine compartment.

lxman1

Magnaflow cat-back flows great (much better than Flowmaster) and has a nice deep tone. They are all stainless too. Have a kit for my 88 LX.

erikpd

I haven't really thought about budget yet. I'm getting a sense of what I want to do. After that I can figure out how much it'll cost to do. I did some research on the parts I think I would get, short of doing heads, and I think I'm in the 1-3K range.

I forgot to mention the existing mods. The previous owner installed subframe connectors (not that those have anything to do with this) and 3.73s. And the rest is bone stock.

I'm with you on the CAI going into the fender, I don't want to pull in the hot air of the engine compartment. IMO looks cleaner too.