adamante82

Hey fellas. I've been reading on the forums a long time but have not come across a lot of information about the power packs or drag packs that Ford racing is offering.

To sum it all up, Ford racing is offering 2 performance packages that have my interest. One of them claiming to add 20 rwhp called the power pack. The other claims to shave 0.5 seconds off of your 1/4 mile time called the drag pack.

My questions are pretty simple. Has anyone done these? Are they worth their price? Do they do what they advertise? Which one is better as far as quarter mile times? That might sound like a silly question, but I'm not sure how much added HP you get if you shave off 0.5 seconds...if any. Part of me wonders if that better time comes from the 4.10 rear end and not necessarily the power gains of the drag pack.

For more information on the power pack go here:
http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts...tKeyField=8986
$889.00

For more information on the drag pack go here:
http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts...tKeyField=8987
$1,399.00

Just to throw a little twist to it, I am very much wondering about a JBA setup instead of the above. For more information in what I'm talking about, go here:
http://www.jbaheaders.com/05mustangnew.asp

From what I gather on the JBA stuff, the power gain would be pretty good and the sound would also be good. The HP gains will be around 23 and torque around 28. I priced the following parts numbers locally at a dealer and then online.
JBA Headers p/n 6675S
JBA H-pipe p/n 6675HC
JBA Axle-back Exhaust System p/n 50-2627

The dealer quoted me at $2300, with tax added.

Online I found all 3 things for $1556.10, free shipping.

I know this is lots of information, and hopefully those who knew nothing about these things now have options to sort through. Or those who know anything about them, can speak up on personal experiences and any knowledge on the topic.

I enjoy the forum and thanks to all the people who put out the great info and opinions!!

spyder7724

i think it just took ford too long to market the packs. most people that were going to mod already bought most of that stuff. the gears are alone worth 3 tenths and the tuner another .2 seconds. the mufflers aren't worth any power they just sound good. jba l/t's are a good choice and i think you may be happy the way it sounds with stock mufflers and catted h/x pipe. my friend has an '04 cobra and but the bassani catted x and borla cat back along with l/t headers and it was just loud. it sounded better when he put the stock mufflers back on. deep rumble. that's why i kept the stock mufflers with mine. sound great with long tubes and an h-pipe.[8D]

adamante82

Thanks for the reply Spyder, I've seen you respond to multiple posts and it's good to have your input.

The thing is, that no one seems to be very interested in these packages. Apparently no one on the forum has them..at least no one has replied as such. The price doesn't sound bad for the gains but what is advertised and what is true are often different. Plus, I don't know the sound of the vehicle after the mods, I don't know the "feel" of the mods, and I don't know if I just plain like them w/o some kind of reference from someone else or dyno's or sound bits, etc.

These forums on the internet shock dealerships with the amount of information an individual knows about performance or a problems with a vehicle. I've dealt with that first hand with my old Dodge Dakota 5.9 R/T....multiple issues with that truck.

Anyway! The JBA headers w/ the stock exhaust sounds enticing for a couple of reasons. One of them being that I save a few hundred dollars by keeping the stock exhaust. Do you have a JBA setup yourself? Is that what you are referring to in your post?

slak05gt

I looked at the Ford Racing Packs too. I think you can do either or cheaper though the aftermarket.

spyder7724

-mante82
i have hooker coated l/t's with the stock h pipe no cats and stock mufflers. there is no power with the mufflers so i didn't waste money on them knowing the l/t's will give me power+sound. jba's are really nice just pricey. if you can swing it get them coated. the coating helps keep underhood heat down and claims to worth a few hp. i figured if i was going with a coated header it didn't matter if it was stainless or plain steel. so thats why i went with hooker. as long as you stick with an 1 5/8" tube diameter and they are a true long tube you will get about 20hp.(mac and bassani are actually mid length headers) there are lots out there now so do some research and don't believe every dyno test they claim. if i had all the power from the bolt on stuff i had on my 5.0 it would have been 1200hp happy hunting!

adamante82

Spyder--

Thanks...I continue to read good posts from you in many other sections on the forum.

As for hooker headers vs. jba...probably not a significant different between the two. You mentioned you had no cats though...which would free up horsepower and also give the car a little sound boost. I have read many stories about this, but w/o the cats how do you pass inspection? I wouldn't know if it's something they actually check or not. That may depend on each station rather than an area, such as Virginia where I am from.

allfyre

I was looking at the drag pack a while back, I thought it was a little pricey, maybe a little more than what you'd pay if you bought it one peice at a time, but probably not much. Mainly what attracted it to me was the fact that it pretty much covered the first round of mods I would want to do (intake, headers, gears & a shifter upgrade.) Those should make a very clear difference in your cars performance, but I decided against it. I haven't heard anything negative about the kit or the components they include in it, but in the end I just decided to hold out for a SC and go from there. Probably on to some suspension upgrades. Definitely need that shifter soon though.

ren274u

i plan on going with jba long tube headers. will high flow cats give me the same performace as no cats?

adamante82

Thanks allfyre. One thing I noticed about the headers from the drag pack is the entire pack offers 0.5 off your 1/4 mile time and that equates to how much more HP?? I don't really know...around 20 to 30? If that? As Spyder has said and I have noticed, the 4.10 gears accounts for the 1/4 mile time decrease more than anything else. While the JBA headers are shown to make HP gains of 24 (including H-pipe, and exhaust). This would leave me to believe the better value are the JBA long headers for a little cheaper.

Also..if not mistaken, headers go really well w/ a supercharger. One day maybe I'll add that. It wouldn't be in vain.

allfyre

Yeah gears will make a big difference, but If I'm putting the SC in in a few months anyway then I'd just as soon stick to the factory ratio, The 4.10s with the SC might be a little excessive. I'm planning on putting in the saleen unit, then working on the suspension a little and then focusing on the path from the engine to the wheels (clutch, driveshaft & differential.)