Cornbread52

I posted about this 98 Mustang GT in the new member area, and I just wanted some opinions on my plans. I intend to replace the entire exhaust with headers, off-road or high flow cats, a flow master cat back 2.5 inch. I'm considering the PI head swap, 30lbs injectors, under-drive pulleys, 3.73 gears, larger throttle body, MSD ignition, and maybe lowering the car. At what point would I need to stiffen the chassis? I'm also thinking I should enhance the steering and braking capabilities of her. Any thoughts?

SVTeeshirt

I'll tell you right now the stock MAF and Injectors will hold those mods listed with no problem and you would simply be wasting money on new ones as they would provide no performance.

Also i vote.. along with many other members on this site to go 4.10s... the gas milage is NOT as bad as most make it seem, just ask the people who have them.

Also, its never a bad idea to stiffen the chassis, look into Full Length Sub Frame Connectors (FLSFCs) they can be had for a decent price and it is a good mod, Also upper and lower control arms for some traction out back are also a good investment.

A P.I. swap would defenetly be worth it, it is a very common mod with NPI cars for good reason, i would say if you can put the money together buy some aftermarket cams with your P.I swap and shoot for 300whp.

If you do hit 300whp, stock injectors MIGHT not be enough, im not sure but 23lb injectors would work fine.

HasABetterSN

Welcome man!

You live in SC - so go off road exhaust, high flow cats arent really worth it. As a lot of guys here will tell you, if you do headers do LTs, as shorty headers really are not worth it after the install costs etc.

Cornbread52

Thanks, I forgot to mention that I also plan on adding an aluminum fly wheel

SVTeeshirt

Honestly thats a waste of money unless the Clutch NEEDs replacing, but while we're on Aluminum, Aluminum Driveshafts are a good mod for some weight reduction of rotational mass.

stangalator

skip the MSD ignition, honestly Ive heard they use the stock coil set up but remove coils to increase voltage so they burn out quicker (or something like that). Ignition upgrades wont net you much as the stock system is more then enough til you get into some serious boost.

Stiffening the chassis is money well spent too, I have done the FLSFC and am currently in the process of installing the upper sfc's too. The chassis handles every aspect of driving, braking, handling, and accelerating. So it makes since to get a solid foundation before you add more power or handling forces.

As for the steering and braking upgrades the cobra front rotors, pads and calipers are well worth it. As for steering if you mean the steering feel a cobra rack and solid steering shaft are a nice upgrade. If you mean handling after FLSFC and good set of struts and shocks with lower springs goes a long way. You need to look up Jazzer and rear his official suspension thread. Has a lot of good info.

Good luck

a_penquin

I dont know if your talking about a full MSD system (ie controller, and coil packs) but I can tell you the Coil Packs did seem to make mine more responsive. About them burning out faster I can tell you mine have been good for about 30k miles so far. Long tubes are a must, and a catted x will do fine if you dont want an o/r. Plus when I did it in MI multiple shops wouldnt fit my x pipe unless it had cats due to the federal law. Cat back are whatever sound you want. Check out modular head shop for PI heads and cams, and also NPI heads/cams. Throttle body and plentum may help out a bit, but you'll feel a lot more out of suspension work.

Lowering springs, shocks/struts, upper/lower control arms, and subframe connectors should be on the list. Gears are great, and for brakes an upgrade to the stock cobra's will be plenty. After all that work you just need to forge the bottom end and FI it.

Dont forget about a good tune either. A hand held will work at first, but if you go FI get a pro to tune it.

swarthyfellow

Stock ignition is plenty good for an NA. sub-frames never hurt. lower control arms are great especially with adjustable spring perches. definetly pi up-grade or if u have the money a set of port and polished heads and cams and a pi intake. The 19lb injectors are going to be limited to about 250hp ((# injectors*.8*lb/hr)/bsfc) (.8 or 80% injector duty cycle is the industry standard) i would say 30lb are good enough for any NA application they can support 385hp ((8*.8*30)/.5). There is a whole mess of threads debating the choice of long tube or short tube headers. I went with shorties cuz i didn't have money for a full exhaust at the time and i don't regret. I have a ton of low end and mid range torque that really makes more of the power-band usable in every day driving. 3.73 are a great gear i wish i had gone with them, i went with 3.55 for a more street able car. I love my sniper performance tuner, it is a huge help when doing diagnostics. Handling wise i got bigger tires all around (255-35-17 front and 275-35-17 rear) and that really helped with all aspects. Anyway good luck with the build.

Cornbread52

Are they any particular sub frame connectors you recommend?

a_penquin

Modular Motorsports seems to be the standard, but any will work. All they are is a square tube to connect the front and rear sub frames on unibody cars.