Ninety3Coupe

As most of us on here, I am within a budget until "Santa" gives me the Christmas bonus at work. In the meantime I have a few questions for planning purposes.

The car currently has 4.10 gears (would LOVE to have 3.55's...Anyone near Anaheim Ca. wanna trade?), a Short Shifter, Bassani Ceramic Equal Length headers and some mufflers. Very tastefully done mods IMO.

The car is a 93 Coupe with 91,XXX original miles and while needing paint, is literally the straightest Fox I have seen that hasn't been rebuilt.

Here are my questions. Bang for my buck, what do I do for power? I kinda like having the stock airbox in there (previous owner put a K&N Panel filter in it), but if a CAI is really worth some real power I could deal with doing it.

Next up would be TB. Worth it?

Intake Manifold. I, as most humans with testes, think the GT40 Intake Manifolds look bad-***. I know others out there make a little more power (or is it a lot more?) but the look is great. The under-hood appearance is kind of amazing with this car (Clean, clean, clean!), and while it will never be a "show car" a clean appearance is getting more and more important as I approach 36 years of age.

I wanna keep the cats, and don't feel like spending money on a catted X pipe, unless it is agreed it is THAT worth it.

Any other ideas? And no, UDP's just got pulled of the car and I will NEVER install another set on my, or anyone I like's car.

Thanks all. You guys have been exceptionally helpful through my overheating issue. Couldn't have solved it without ya!

g3mustang

best bang would be the x-pipe. a gt40 intake and/or throttle body really wouldnt do much on stock heads. so unless you want to switch to gt40 heads its a waste of money IMO.

cai makes no more real power then filter in factory box.

if you want to go faster on a budget spray it

mustangGT86_05

an actual CAI system normally gives you a noticeable difference, but it's not a whole lot.

Ninety3Coupe

So I think I am on the right track. I actually have the chance to go to a "Dyno Day". $40 for 3 wideband pulls... How can ya beat that?

Looking forward to some disappointing numbers! In the end I could care less. I love that I finally have the Coupe I have wanted since high school (in 1990 and I was a freshman!). It makes me smile just looking at the damn thing. Who cares what a piece of paper says?

Thanks for the input guys. I most certainly appreciate it!

Now, how do I buy everything Maximum Motorsports makes...? Think selling a kidney would do it?

nitrous_bob

sorry for my ignorance...but i thought you wanted to go FASTER ? if so....i'd spray it.

if you wanna go slower just take 4 spark plug wires off, way too expensive to make it a pig by dropping to 3.55's for a half second ET gain

Ninety3Coupe

Sometimes I post on here just to hear what funny thing is going to spring forth from N-Bob's fingers...

I would like to go quicker. But with 4.10's I wind up starting in 2nd all day. What fun is that?

I never take it to the track (maybe I will someday) and I just like to drive it on weekends. I am certainly not looking to set a land speed record and spraying it to just "drive around" seems a little funny to me.

I was merely looking for an order or a "common steps" of mods. Seems to me that the CAI is a bit of a time waster, and unless you do heads, cam and intake why bother with TB's and the like. And if you do heads, cam and an intake build a damn 347.

I would still rather enjoy swapping to a set of 3.55's if anyone has any. I am an adult 36 year old male that doesn't need to shift every 3 seconds under normal driving.

And thanks again N-Bob for the chuckle!

nitrous_bob

well im 40 on the 16th of september

i think you'll be dissapointed with 3.55's based on the fact that i have owned 5.0's with, when i got them :

2.73
3.08
3.27
3.73

none have been better than the 4.10 swaps

due to extended tranny probs (just grenaded a t5 today 3rd in a year)



and thats not an inspection hole...thats a shattered bell housing

anyways.... you wanna go faster or not ?

nitrous is there when you want it, doesnt go bad....can keep a bottle for 10 years if you wanted to, and is as mild mannered as clark kent when you dont

the 3 biggest bangs for the buck are: in this order !

1) nitrous
2) gears (close second and you wanna remove)
3) heads

im just saying..... think about what you really want.....

going fast + fuel econony DOES NOT exist

Ninety3Coupe

Well, there is your problem. We share a birthday. 9/16/75 for me here.

Damn shame about the trans my friend. My apologies. I wish nothing but the best for the inevitable replacement. Shall it live long sir.

The discussions happened today with Coast High Performance. In the end, it seems I am just not going to be happy with doing anything other that a 347 with a S/C. After speaking with them and the shop they recommend I am looking at about $7k for the engine and install. Then the S/C later.

And with that do you think 4.10's are still needed? I start in 2nd now.

I think I will go with the Maximum Motorsports Grip Box first and then concentrate on going faster. Handling has always been something I enjoy and until I have a solid idea of supporting cast members for the drive-train I may as well enjoy the curves.

I certainly wouldn't want to beef up the engine and take out a T5...Oooops. Maybe bad timing...

On a serious note, what will you replace it with? That picture is exactly why I do not feel like dumping $7k into an engine. I know the T5 would protest (much like yours did) and I just don't know how to back up that engine with something reasonably priced. Possibly you may shed some more of your knowledge?

Thanks again sir, and happy birthday in about a month.

nitrous_bob

haha what are the odds ?

no your gonna want a tremec tko most likely, assuming you keep it a stick. otherwise a c4, but thats a 3 speed and then 4.10's become an issue on the freeway

im not really sure what my plans are right now.... it might hit the garage til next summer but we'll see. im spending a month in cancun this winter so i dont have the loot to get a decent trans now. there may be other issues too, until i see the extent of the damage...... this project goes to the back burner for now and i think i might finally do it right. 347 was in the plans for me as well, and with a power adder your looking at a true 500 hp car that should go 10.80-ish

i love driving a stick...but i might do a c4 swap just to get it back on the road. it hasnt seen the track with this current combo, so i'd like to get a few passes b4 the snow comes

Ninety3Coupe

I mean, what ARE the odds? (I know, 1 out of 365, but ya get the point...)

I am truly sorry to hear about the trans dude. That is a bummer. I feel slightly LESS BAD for you knowing that you will spend a damn month in Cancun. A busted T5 is God's little way of making the rest of us feel better about this situation...

The TKO sounds like the right way to go, I agree. I do granny shift the damn thing. In the interest of cost savings I was thinking of doing something REALLY funny. I was going to buy a forged 347 (their "better" series...rated to 800hp) and then put the stock heads and intake manifold back on until funds allowed to build the rest. I know, I know...It would cripple the hell out of it. But I know me, and I need to do the "big" parts first and not cut corners. Build a "Roy-Proof" bottom end and then go from there. I probably wouldn't break the bottom end in that config!

It still sounds dumb, but it may just be a good option for me. Trouble is finding a shop to do it I trust.

I had a C4 in my 65 Mustang and it was ok, but 3 speeds just really, really suck. A stick is the way to go.

Enjoy your trip sir. And God-speed the new trans.