Tech: 3.8L Modifications & Getting Started
04-02-2008, 03:37 PM
#1
Buyer Beware
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,586
Tech: 3.8L Modifications & Getting Started
SSSTANG's 3.8L Modifications.
Just put this together to try and help guys asking questions. If I've missed anything or you feel anything is
inaccurately just let me know. Also if you have any questions you can reach me on AIM: LoudMustang2005
1st tier
--------------
Basic bolt ons
--------------
Headers
- BBK Shorties
- Mac Long Tubes
- Pacesetter
Thoughts: The BBK shorties will do almost nothing for you as the stock mainfolds flow very well. If your going
for headers the Mac Long Tubes seem to be the best thing as of now. Currently MAC is the only producer of
94-04 Long tube headers, however Pacesetter should also be releasing a set of long tube headers for the 94-04
v6 mustang so be on the look out.
Cold Air intake
- Short Ram
- Fender well
- "ram air" types
Thoughts: The basic "bomz" eBay cold air intake will work fine. If your car is a show car, or you just like to have
a brand name then you have several options. Their are also the mach 1 "ram air" style intakes. The fender well is
what I would reccomend. The short ram seems to draw hotter air from the engine bay unless its 100% sealed off and
the ram air types are normally expensive and provide the same gains.
Exhaust
- Mid Pipe
- Catback
Thoughts: Great beginner modification. A mid pipe is not needed for an even fire v6 mustang divorced duals may be
ran if you desire. Divorced Duals, tend to have a louder sound. Xpipe, tends to be more raspy. H pipe tends to be
deeper. This can vary depending on muffler choice. You can also have an exhaust shop custom fabricate a catback,
the only difference is you won't get mandrel bends. If your just looking for a small bit more sound a Y pipe catback is
ok, however this is not the best for performance and sound.
Under Drive Pulleys (UDP)
Thoughts: Another great mod. These help buy "under driving" your accessories, less rotational mass frees up more power.
If you have a big audio system make sure you get an Over Drive pulley for the alternator. If your Audio system is huge
then you might want to look past this mod.
2nd Tier
----------------
weekend projects
----------------
Gears
- 3.73
- 4.10
Thoughts: I only included 3.73 and 4.10s but their are other options. 3.73 and 4.10 seem to be the most popular.
Gears will help your car accelerate faster, you won't gain any power but your car will move faster. Steeper gears
(higher number) will get you the fastest acceleration. Their are exceptions to this, when your car is turbocharged
or supercharged you have to consider the best gear for your powerband. (please do not attempt this unless you are
absolutely sure you know what your doing)
T-Lok
(posi,Lsd)
- Ford Racing
- Detroit TruTrac
- Auburn
Thoughts: A tlok will increase your traction buy providing power to both wheels. the 94-04 Mustangs came with an open
differential (you spin your passenger side tire ony). The Ford Racing Tlok seems to hold up to about 300rwhp however
they have been broken with stock power. If you want something better look into the TrueTrac, Aburn, or an 8.8 rear.
(please do not attempt this unless you absolutely know what your doing)
Upper Intake Spacer
- VAP
Where to find: www.vapauto.com
Thoughts: The VAP Intake Spacer will increase the length the air has to travel thus creating more low end torque
and hp. It has been dyno tested to give about 5hp and 7tq. Don't be scared to do this mod yourself the upper intake
manifold may look tough but its fairly easy.
Aluminum Drive Shaft
Thoughts: An Aluminum drive shaft is lighter than stock and will decrease rotational mass and free up horsepower.
Windstar Intake
- 96 through 98
Places to find: www.vapauto.com
www.crtperformance.webs.com
Thoughts: The Windstar intake is a composite intake manifold with longer runners. It is also lighter than the stock
manifold it has been dyno tested to around 7hp and 15tq.
3rd Tier
---------------
Into the Engine
---------------
All 3rd Tier Mods can be found at the following: [ul][*]www.supersixmotorsports.com[*]www.delkperformance.com[*]www.rpm-mustangs.com[/ul]
Ported Intakes
- Upper
- Lower
Thoughts: Ported intakes are great modifications. Smoothing casting imperfections, increasing the port entry size,
all allow air to flow into the engine faster. When you can add more air you can add more fuel and get more power.
Ported Head
Thoughts: Ported heads follow the same rules as the intakes to make power. Smoothing the intake side, valve
guides, exhaust side, and bowl work. Here you can also add bigger valves, different rockers, etc.
Camshaft
Thoughts: to make this simple and not confuse anybody a the lobes (egg shapes) on a camshaft make your valves open
and close. A performance camshaft is usually spec'd for your setup and where you want your powerband to be.
*And yes now I sell custom ground camshafts!*
4th Tier
------------
Power Adder
------------
SuperCharger Kit
- Procharger: www.procharger.com
- Vortech www.vortechsuperchargers.com
- m112
- m90 *94-98 only
Thoughts: Superchargers are a great way to add 80-100+rwhp. The two types available to us are the centrifugal
(vortech/procharger) and the positive displacement m112 thanks to a few creative minds(mysteed/lilroush) and SSMS.
The installs are pretty straight forward. Superchargers are driven buy the accessory belt (or sometimes a secondary
belt) and because of this are less efficient. The centrifugal units will provide boost at around 2.8-3000 rpms. The
Positive displacement unit will provide power from as low as 1.5k rpms. For the 94-98 guys the eaton m90 or thunderbird
s/c swap is an option for you, the m90 has the same characteristics of the positive displacement blower and will give and
instant boost, it's the m112's little brother. You can find detailed information about the m90 swap here: http://3.8mustang.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142607
Currently to get the M112 "kit" You would need to speak with either LilRoush or Mysteed. They both can be found on
www.3.8mustang.com/forums. If your nice they might put together an entire kit for you.
Turbocharger Kit
- www.TMATURBO.Com
Thoughts: Turbochargers are driven buy exhaust gases and are another way to bolt on 100+ horsepower. Unlike the
supercharger you can control boost from a waste gate or even an electronic waste gate and set it on the fly. Turbo
installs are normally more complex than superchargers because of more parts. Andy at www.tmaturbo.com has produced
kits that have made 500+ rwhp and taken cars down to low 12 second quarter miles on a stock moto
Just put this together to try and help guys asking questions. If I've missed anything or you feel anything is
inaccurately just let me know. Also if you have any questions you can reach me on AIM: LoudMustang2005
1st tier
--------------
Basic bolt ons
--------------
Headers
- BBK Shorties
- Mac Long Tubes
- Pacesetter
Thoughts: The BBK shorties will do almost nothing for you as the stock mainfolds flow very well. If your going
for headers the Mac Long Tubes seem to be the best thing as of now. Currently MAC is the only producer of
94-04 Long tube headers, however Pacesetter should also be releasing a set of long tube headers for the 94-04
v6 mustang so be on the look out.
Cold Air intake
- Short Ram
- Fender well
- "ram air" types
Thoughts: The basic "bomz" eBay cold air intake will work fine. If your car is a show car, or you just like to have
a brand name then you have several options. Their are also the mach 1 "ram air" style intakes. The fender well is
what I would reccomend. The short ram seems to draw hotter air from the engine bay unless its 100% sealed off and
the ram air types are normally expensive and provide the same gains.
Exhaust
- Mid Pipe
- Catback
Thoughts: Great beginner modification. A mid pipe is not needed for an even fire v6 mustang divorced duals may be
ran if you desire. Divorced Duals, tend to have a louder sound. Xpipe, tends to be more raspy. H pipe tends to be
deeper. This can vary depending on muffler choice. You can also have an exhaust shop custom fabricate a catback,
the only difference is you won't get mandrel bends. If your just looking for a small bit more sound a Y pipe catback is
ok, however this is not the best for performance and sound.
Under Drive Pulleys (UDP)
Thoughts: Another great mod. These help buy "under driving" your accessories, less rotational mass frees up more power.
If you have a big audio system make sure you get an Over Drive pulley for the alternator. If your Audio system is huge
then you might want to look past this mod.
2nd Tier
----------------
weekend projects
----------------
Gears
- 3.73
- 4.10
Thoughts: I only included 3.73 and 4.10s but their are other options. 3.73 and 4.10 seem to be the most popular.
Gears will help your car accelerate faster, you won't gain any power but your car will move faster. Steeper gears
(higher number) will get you the fastest acceleration. Their are exceptions to this, when your car is turbocharged
or supercharged you have to consider the best gear for your powerband. (please do not attempt this unless you are
absolutely sure you know what your doing)
T-Lok
(posi,Lsd)
- Ford Racing
- Detroit TruTrac
- Auburn
Thoughts: A tlok will increase your traction buy providing power to both wheels. the 94-04 Mustangs came with an open
differential (you spin your passenger side tire ony). The Ford Racing Tlok seems to hold up to about 300rwhp however
they have been broken with stock power. If you want something better look into the TrueTrac, Aburn, or an 8.8 rear.
(please do not attempt this unless you absolutely know what your doing)
Upper Intake Spacer
- VAP
Where to find: www.vapauto.com
Thoughts: The VAP Intake Spacer will increase the length the air has to travel thus creating more low end torque
and hp. It has been dyno tested to give about 5hp and 7tq. Don't be scared to do this mod yourself the upper intake
manifold may look tough but its fairly easy.
Aluminum Drive Shaft
Thoughts: An Aluminum drive shaft is lighter than stock and will decrease rotational mass and free up horsepower.
Windstar Intake
- 96 through 98
Places to find: www.vapauto.com
www.crtperformance.webs.com
Thoughts: The Windstar intake is a composite intake manifold with longer runners. It is also lighter than the stock
manifold it has been dyno tested to around 7hp and 15tq.
3rd Tier
---------------
Into the Engine
---------------
All 3rd Tier Mods can be found at the following: [ul][*]www.supersixmotorsports.com[*]www.delkperformance.com[*]www.rpm-mustangs.com[/ul]
Ported Intakes
- Upper
- Lower
Thoughts: Ported intakes are great modifications. Smoothing casting imperfections, increasing the port entry size,
all allow air to flow into the engine faster. When you can add more air you can add more fuel and get more power.
Ported Head
Thoughts: Ported heads follow the same rules as the intakes to make power. Smoothing the intake side, valve
guides, exhaust side, and bowl work. Here you can also add bigger valves, different rockers, etc.
Camshaft
Thoughts: to make this simple and not confuse anybody a the lobes (egg shapes) on a camshaft make your valves open
and close. A performance camshaft is usually spec'd for your setup and where you want your powerband to be.
*And yes now I sell custom ground camshafts!*
4th Tier
------------
Power Adder
------------
SuperCharger Kit
- Procharger: www.procharger.com
- Vortech www.vortechsuperchargers.com
- m112
- m90 *94-98 only
Thoughts: Superchargers are a great way to add 80-100+rwhp. The two types available to us are the centrifugal
(vortech/procharger) and the positive displacement m112 thanks to a few creative minds(mysteed/lilroush) and SSMS.
The installs are pretty straight forward. Superchargers are driven buy the accessory belt (or sometimes a secondary
belt) and because of this are less efficient. The centrifugal units will provide boost at around 2.8-3000 rpms. The
Positive displacement unit will provide power from as low as 1.5k rpms. For the 94-98 guys the eaton m90 or thunderbird
s/c swap is an option for you, the m90 has the same characteristics of the positive displacement blower and will give and
instant boost, it's the m112's little brother. You can find detailed information about the m90 swap here: http://3.8mustang.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142607
Currently to get the M112 "kit" You would need to speak with either LilRoush or Mysteed. They both can be found on
www.3.8mustang.com/forums. If your nice they might put together an entire kit for you.
Turbocharger Kit
- www.TMATURBO.Com
Thoughts: Turbochargers are driven buy exhaust gases and are another way to bolt on 100+ horsepower. Unlike the
supercharger you can control boost from a waste gate or even an electronic waste gate and set it on the fly. Turbo
installs are normally more complex than superchargers because of more parts. Andy at www.tmaturbo.com has produced
kits that have made 500+ rwhp and taken cars down to low 12 second quarter miles on a stock moto
Last edited by ESG-642T; 08-19-2008 at 03:10 PM.
04-02-2008, 10:26 PM
#6
Buyer Beware
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,586
RE: 3.8L Modifications
ORIGINAL: 03sixbanger
good writeup....should be a sticky....and do the hammer shifters not work for 01-04?
good writeup....should be a sticky....and do the hammer shifters not work for 01-04?
04-02-2008, 10:39 PM
#8
Buyer Beware
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,586
RE: 3.8L Modifications
ORIGINAL: 03sixbanger
ok how much are they?? and can i find one cheaper anywhere else??? AND WOULD IT NEED A TUNE??? lol im sure it wouldnt but i want to ask you to make sure
ok how much are they?? and can i find one cheaper anywhere else??? AND WOULD IT NEED A TUNE??? lol im sure it wouldnt but i want to ask you to make sure
04-02-2008, 10:55 PM
#10
Buyer Beware
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,586
RE: 3.8L Modifications
ORIGINAL: 03sixbanger
oK thank YOU lol.....i really love those things....and they do fit in the consol??? should i take this to the pm's to avoid cluttering up this thread?
oK thank YOU lol.....i really love those things....and they do fit in the consol??? should i take this to the pm's to avoid cluttering up this thread?
However: Added info eaton m90 for you 94-98 guys.
