bbfirebird

hey guys. my buddy is looking to buy a 5.0 stang. i'm trying to help him out, but i know nothing about mustangs. could you guys answer a few questions for me:</P>


are the 5.0 engines / 5spd trannysreliable?</P>


what mods to they respond well to?</P>


any problem areas with these models we should look for?</P>


any differences between model years (and what is the model year range for the 5.0)?</P>


how many miles should we expect from a 5.0 before a rebuild?</P>


how much HP can be gained with simple bolt-ons (intake, exhaust, etc)?</P>


any other information on the 5.0 or mustangs in general that i should know?</P>


thanks.</P>

Quik

damm
i have seen stangs with around 180k pulling good times. not being rebuilt. just have to look for the signs. make sure your buddy gets a highmileage one from an adult who didnt beat it. yes the car will respond well to mods.
any good running stock 5.0 should hit the 13s with a aggressive driver.
the t5 cars have a weak third gear seems like when you powershift a t5 there is no more gear left. it just chews right up. my buddy has went thru 3 trannys in about 18months. hes hard on that car.headers, offroad pipe, catback, responds well to, adjust timing, good tune up, adjust the tps voltage,and mod is a good one. just make sure that the combination matches. so it can work together better.and as far as hp it depends on the mods. you dont need a 500hp motor to run in the 10s a good 400hp sbf can do it with the right set up and driver.

horatio102

Tell him to look for an 89-92 (mass air/forged pistons)
And it really varies as to the longevity - it comes down to abuse, just like any motor. My engine was toast (when I bought it) at somewhere around 100k miles, but the previous owner had it on juice and flogged the hell out of it, and it had been totalled once, stolen once.

bbfirebird

13s with a stock motor? that seems off considering the HP of the stock 5.0 is in the low-200 range. my LS1 firebird runs mid-13s stock, with (an underrated) 305 HP. are you sure thats right?

bbfirebird

horatio102- so i guess you had your motor rebuilt? how much did that cost if you don't mind me asking? has it ran good since then?

Quik

yes but your car is heavier. it has been down just need aggresive driver and some tires. if you cant get your ls1 car into the 12s then sell it. a stock ls1 can run a best of 12.97 on street tires if pushed hard enough
a typical stang is around 3100lbs a typical fbody is around 3500lbs big difference. 100lbs equals about 1/10th. so do the math

95cobragirl

i think the best 5.0 is my cobra of course but hey im biased ok...lol...well as for 5.0's i would recommend the 89....and the most important answer to all of your questions about 5.0's and their reliability is SHOW THEM SOME LOVIN....treat them right and they will last a long time...jenna

horatio102

Yeah, I had it rebuilt. It ran me what? $6k all said and done. It could have been done a LOT cheaper, if I didn't have a silly goal of ~500 crank hp (which I'm not at yet, needs tuning, then a supercharger/turbo, then more tuning).
It runs fine now. Before I got the tweecer and mucked about with the eec it would stall pulling up to lights and stuff. With my heavy foot and lack of tuning I've been getting about 12mpg.

bbfirebird

"if you cant get your ls1 car into the 12s then sell it. a stock ls1 can run a best of 12.97 on street tires if pushed hard enough"</P>


i actually haven't taken it to the track yet.. i was using a ballpark number forcars similar to mine. and some LS1s can break 12s bone stock, but not all can because of little variances from production.</P>


still, every motor trend or car and driver magazine test i've seen has the new mustang GTs in the low-14 second range (with professionsal drivers).</P>


from http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0108_bullitt/index1.html</P>


"The Bullitt gets through the quarter in 14.07 sec at 97.9 mph, versus 14 flat and 100.2 mph [for the GT]"</P>


so i can't image thata 10-15 year old stock5.0 motor would be running quicker in the 1/4 than the current 4.6 motors, especially with them being rated something like 35 HP less than the 4.6s. without, at the very least, drag slicks in the rear, skinnies up front, a VERY good driver, an intake and exhaust, and 1/2 a gallon of gas in the tank. i'm sure there are a couple of factory freaks out there that can maybe do it, but i don't think that the majority of them can. just because one car is capable of it doesn't mean the next one is. not to knock 5.0s, i think they're cool cars. i just won't believe the average 5.0 will run sub-14 seconds in stock form. if you have some proof, i'll eat my words.</P>

Quik

as far as motor trend they dont beat the s**t out of cars the jsut get base lines.the speeds you shown are 13second speeds.the article is in the oct. 2003 issue of MMFF on page 30. what they did was 26x10.5 slicks and a set of 410s. best run was of
60' 1.75
1/4 12.91 at 102mph

and my stock motor 5.0 will do 13s with easeeee
just have to be aggresive to the point if you break it oh well throw it in the guter and go buy another.

and my buddys 92 lx ran completely stock! 14.2 at 98mph
at keystone raceway. this is before he became a aggressive driver.<edited><editID>ohsoquik02</editID><editDate>37946.5786921296</editDate></edited>