motormanimatt

So im new to the mustang world. I just sold my silverado that was all decked out for mudding for a mustang last summer. And I had a few unawnsered questions because im 20 and still learning about mustangs. First off I been doing alot of research to learn the car inside and out because i always like to know my vehicle. But seems like i get differant awnsers on google. So this car is a bone stock 1998 mustang gt 4.6 automatic i bought with onlyy 68k miles. I wanted to start off by doing a couple of mods like first cold air intake, tuner, and rear end gears, would that make a noticable differant? expecialy for an automatic because of the tuner?. Then this winter i want to do a nitrous setup, not sure what the differance is between and wet and dry nitrous. Right now i have my mufflers cut off, but not sure what would be the best flowmaster to put on for sound untill I have time to install some headers this winter while the car is parked. I bought them couple of months ago. And one last question is that i run sythetic oil, i bought the car with 68k miles and now has 80k miles and i notice it burns a half of a quart of oil about every 3k miles. does that mean a rebuild? cause i know that is worn piston rings when it burns oil so i went with thicker mobile 1 sythetic oil. thanks guy i really appreciate any help and advice.

stevednmc

A. Gears and a tuner are your best first mods. Tuner especially good for an auto trans. And yes you will notice it big time!
B. Avoid the CAI...doesnt do anything, unless you like the looks.
C.Read this for some basics on nitrous(ignore the fact its written for the lowly F body) http://www.go-fast.org/z28/new_to_nitrous.html also google Wet Vs. Dry NOS. alot of stuff comes up for it.
D. 1/2 Qt every 3000 miles is not that bad really. You should be changing it by then anyway. Maybe Rebuild it when you put PI heads and a supercharger on it.
E. Mufflers..the debate rages on and on..Go on you tube and search for some vids. See what sounds good to you. Better yet hit up a local mustang club or car show and find out what people have in person..listen. If you like it...buy it.

MCxQubed

For a 98 id look into a pi swap first because thats gonna help alot. Gears and a tune will also help a lot as well. Exhaust is also a good mod since it lets you hear it and puts a smile on your face whenever you get on the gas But i would definitely look into doing a pi swap.

13hundred&20FT

Before you go with any type of performance upgrades you need to address your blow-by issues. Start with a compression check to make sure it is your rings, you may be getting blow-by from your valve stem seals the NPI heads are known to do this. If you do need to do head work I would try to find some used PI heads there pretty cheap and a great way to get decent power. Ive heard as much as 50 hp but its prob closer to 35-40 it will also increase yor compression ratio to about 10:1 so you will have to run premium gas at least 91+ and will also need the PI intake manifold. As far as bolt on power, I would start by letting it breath with intake and throttle body. Defiantly go with Long tube headers if you can with ether X or H pipes. Go with 4.10 gears it really wakes up the auto trans cars. A "wet system" is a nitrous system which mixes nitrous and fuel, and feeds it as a mist or fog into the intake manifold. A "dry system" only feeds nitrous into the intake, and tricks the existing fuel system to add the fuel. I recommend using a wet system ether way you should upgrade your fuel injectors. I have heard claims that a stock 4.6 can handle 125 shot. I personalty would not go any bigger then 100. Tuners are great technology ive only used Bama power flash so cant say to much on any others but for a auto trans it adjusts shift points and firmness. Okay man thats all I got hope this helps. Hit me up if you got anymore questions.

motormanimatt

thanks guys, that helps alot, and i heard rumors said that if you cut off your mufflers you could possible damage the engine? is this true or just a myth.

13hundred&20FT

You should be fine. You will prob feel a drop in low end torque and might have a few pissed off neighbors. Just hang in there and wait till you able to throw on some exhaust. I know its easy for me to say. Then again I hacked off all my cars mufflers when I was 20!!!!

jtnorbert

I have a 2002 gt automatic and have the same questions as the OP. what i need to know is, what are these gears i keep hearing about?? are they the camshaft and crankshaft gears?? if so, can i upgrade these by getting a performance timing set??

jtnorbert

ok i researched and found out i was way off. nothing to do with timing. are they "pinion gears"?

stevednmc

Differential Ring and pinion gears....

jtnorbert

i found the ford racing ones for $190. what are some good ways to improve handling? finally, what brake pads do you suggest and do the rotors make that much of a difference?