I have a 96 Mustang GT Convertible (stock 4.6 liter 5 speed) with about 85k on it. I was having it detailed this weekend and the guy detailing it was a major Mustang nut. I mentioned that I like to drive fast, but know nothing about motors. He suggested that I install a short throw shifter and underdrive pulleys. What simple mods should I consider? The stang is no longer my everday car, so I don't want to spend a bundle. What are the best shops in Houston?
sell it and get another car...just kidding...no, i'm not... it depends on what you want from the car...do you want a street car with a little more pop, let's say "Vette pop" !?!?!?...by "Vette pop" i mean you'll probably be making close to 325hp to the ground and probably be able to "hang" with a bone stock LS1 powered Vette on the highway... i'll be safe and say you at least want another 100hp cuz believe it or not, those junk 4.6L V8's only made about 220-230hp on the dyno...very weak engines for some reason... a built/ported head, a nice mild cam, intake, exhaust, 3.93 gears and a great tune would do wonders for the car and would actually surprise you during your first wide open throttle pull you would fall in love with your car all over again...the driveability would be pleasent as well...
Don't get UD pulleys. They underdrive your A/C, Alt, and water pump. They include some extra pulleys that are supposed to bring these back up to speed but they do not achieve the same RPM. Your mustang is basically the biggest dog of the 90's. 96 and 97 were the slowest of all mustangs, they got a slight bump in 98 and then a nice one in 99. Pre 96 was still the pushrods. I would leave it alone.
BUUUUT, if you don't wanna get THAT involved in it, a nice K&N CAI, an X-Pipe exhaust, and a 3.93 gear would suffice... still, your car would feel amazing with the new gear... the head/cam would be killer though...........
"4.6 V8's" is a very broad term. The 96-97 were the worst but since then have become much better (slowly) there is no way they made 220 on a dyno. so you pulled those numbers out of your arse.
yeah, i shoulda rephrased that...but i seriously doubt they made anything over 190-200 on the dyno...i was just being nice... from 1995-1998 is quite possibly the slowest GT's ever produced...
roller dynos I doubt they hit 180. 1995 is still pushrod so thats a strong car. The early 4.6's just had a lack of testes.
yeah, he's gonna need a complete rebuild or an engine swap to make "great" power... but i could see him being happy with the mods i listed above seeing as he doesn't want to spend a bundle...that is depending on how "tired" his engine is...i wonder if he's had it since 1996 ??? either way, it's not his daily driver anymore so he may have time to do some things to it... pipe, what part of town you in !?!?
gotta disagree. a gear will make the thing suck on the freeway, and the x-pipe will make is suck when trying to get it inspected. Pipe- just enjoy your american V8 for what it is. the basic answer is except for a gear (which is expensive for a shop to do, and will kill your MPG) you will wonder if the cheap mods even made a difference.
Thanks, CaseyH, I was wondering about the a/c etc. I am happy leaving it alone, if some cheap mods won't make much difference. Hopefully FalconsTalon will weigh in. CarlosNice - I am the original owner. When I brought it home (top down) my then 3 year old son asked me why I bought a car without a top. Of course, now he is 15 and wants to drive it all the time (I tell him only so long as I am in the passenger seat). I live near Reliant Stadium. Its been a great car for what it is. I drove it hard and put it up wet many a time. I still might get the short throw shifter.
the 4.10's will suck on the street, that's why i mentioned the 3.93's...alot easier on the gas...plus, if you want performance ---> "you gotta pay to play" it shouldn't be too bad to get that thing inspected... anyways, we can both make better assumptions when pipe comes back in and tells us exactly what he's looking at because i'll tell you this right now, the pulley's and cai won't do jack chit...
it's a blessing in itself to have a car that long...congrats... so what are you looking to get from your baby !?!? how much money do you want to spend !??!?
yeah I would get stuff that makes it more fun. The shifter is in direct connection to the driver so it could make it more fun.
No it won't. Unless its an off-road pipe. I've got a '93 5.0 with an x-pipe and high-flow cats. Inspection is a breeze. Here's what I'd do if you just want a bit more power: K&N air filter. Do the cold-air intake variety if you want. A plain filter swap will run you about $50. I'm just running the filter. Short-throw shifter. $50-$75 or so, depending on the brand. I have a Hurst and I love it. Mufflers/exhaust. Anywhere from a few hundred to several grand. You can find audio clips online of every variety you can think of attached to those older 4.6 motors. I have Mac shorties running into a custom x-pipe with high-flow cats and Flowmaster mufflers. The headers were about $200, the x-pipe and cats were ~$600, and the Flows were on my car when I bought it, but I think they're in the $200-$300 range. What that'll give you is a car that breathes better from the filter to the exhaust tips thus giving you more power, a noticeable difference and improvement in sound, and a shifter that feels a lot more sure of itself. Also, give the car a tune up. Change your plugs (plain 'ol Autolites are fine....don't believe that crap about SplitFires and the like), wires, distributor cap and rotor, fuel filter, etc. That's all cheap and can be had at AutoZone.
pretty much intake and exhaust...would make a noticble difference without getting too deep into the pockets... ported intake manifold and throttle body is also pretty cheap and would net some decent gains...
Once again, I've got to disagree. I cleaned and re-oiled my K&N filter just a few weeks ago, and it made a noticeable improvement....and all I did was clean the damn thing. Pipe, you'll notice a difference, and the power gains will start to add up. Not only that, any changes to the exhaust will also be heard as well as felt. And if you're thinking 'hey, I don't want a loud-ass car,' there are a million different brands and different styles within those brands with all types of sound and volume options. If you're thinking of getting into cars, or just want to spruce yours up a little, I say go for it. Watch out for that horsepower bug though. Its vicious.
the 1996 has a plastic intake, you cannot port it, they released an intake manifold for it in 97 or 98 for over 1000 bucks and it showed almost no gain on a stock car. In your head after your worked on cleaning thinking how much faster your car would be or on the track in a 1996 mustang 4.6L? Your 5.0 had a crap air filter and a decent intake behind it. This thing has very different intake where the air filter is not even close to being a huge bog. The 1996 has more O2 sensors than yours. X-pipe usually means no cats, but if you run aftermarket cats they will likely be small and only 2 instead of 4 which will make the O2 sensors show wrong signal. best idea i have heard so far!
jeeez, i had no idea they were plastic...sad few years for the Mustang definately had to be the mid 90's...
they are plastic today and make over 300hp. nothing wrong with plastic I only replied like this because I have a 2006 and it is plastic yet kicks ace. no offense or anything
