Just FYI, I raced a 4.6L the other day in my '86 5.0, and beat him. The only mods I have are subframes, cold air kit, K&N filter, and underdrive pulleys. He was probably close, if not stock as well. But that's just me... Hope this helps.
Well, the 88 Mustang is lighter than the 97, I'm assuming they both have 5 speeds, the 88 5.0 makes 225 HP, and 300 ft/lbs. of torque, the 97 4.6L makes 215 HP, and 290 ft/lbs. of torque, so the 97 is heavier and has slightly less power, so if both had good drivers than the 88 5.0 would be faster.
i am in the market for a '94-'97 mustang gt, and i am having a hard time determining whether i should go with the 5.0 or the 4.6. what do you all think?
Hello,
I have a 1995 GT and I love it. Theres nothing like lining up to a same year camaro and playin the game. 5.0's are going to be collectible one day so if you wanna keep it for a good long while.... The Mod Motor people rave about them, The overhead cam does seem like a great idea but i dont experience with em, of course 290 HP out the box is tempting. not as many performance parts as there are for the 5.0 tho. If you do decide 4.6, i'd recommend 99 and up, unless you get a 96-98 with enough $$ left over to get '99 heads. that was their problem.
Sorry for being so long winded...
Hope This Helps
~*Adam*~
Parts price aside, the 5.0 is easy to work on, theres tons of knowledge everywhere, and thats a +.
Just add a set of heads and intake and you are in the 99-present HP league.
There are late 98's that had a modification that eliminated the small wall obstructing the intake valve (prior to the PI heads) on the 99+ models and they are freakishly fast and surprise alot of people how they run.My buddy bought one, it was purchased in Jan.99 so it was one of the last 98's produced and it ran low 14's right off the lot.
I agree that unless you have the funds to make a 96-98 4.6L GT fast, then you would be better off with the 94-95 GT which are eqiupped with the 5.0, But if you can get a hold of a 96-98 Cobra, then that would be the better choice in my opinion, they usually make 260-270 HP to the wheels stock, and with mild 9 psi blowers they reach power levels of 400+ and they love to rev. The downside with Cobras is that they are a little more expensive to buy, and the parts cost a little bit more also.
A race between a 94-95 and a 96-98 would be a drivers race. I have a '98 GT and I have yet to lose to an SN95 5.0.
I used to smoke my buddy's '91 GT until he swapped his AOD to a T5, but the fox bodies are lighter anyway.
The 96-98s will run even with the SN95 5.0s, bottom line.
I've run a best e/t of 14.51 and a trap of 96.9 with just a K&N, Mac Cat Pipe, and Flowmasters on the stock 2.73s with a 2.3 60ft. With more traction I hope to significantly lower these times.
Originally posted by SMACKDWN46 There are late 98's that had a modification that eliminated the small wall obstructing the intake valve (prior to the PI heads) on the 99+ models and they are freakishly fast and surprise alot of people how they run.My buddy bought one, it was purchased in Jan.99 so it was one of the last 98's produced and it ran low 14's right off the lot.
Is there an article on this anywhere? Where did you hear of this?
Well, the 88 Mustang is lighter than the 97, I'm assuming they both have 5 speeds, the 88 5.0 makes 225 HP, and 300 ft/lbs. of torque, the 97 4.6L makes 215 HP, and 290 ft/lbs. of torque, so the 97 is heavier and has slightly less power, so if both had good drivers than the 88 5.0 would be faster.
Didn't Ford change the way they "rated" the engine horsepower in 89 or 90? It made the then 225hp 302's only rate at 215hp with no changes to the engine. So the 88 5.0 may have had the same hp as the 97 4.6 with a new "method" of calculating hp.
Either way the 88 is lighter so...
My question for anyone is: is the difference in price for building a 4.6 ALOT higher than building a 5.0? I'm about to purchase either a 5.0/SN95, 4.6/SN95 or a Fox/5.0
My only other options within 3500 bucks are the f-bodied lt1 cars. But i've been a stang dude all my life so that would suck. Just have a need for speed!
There are late 98's that had a modification that eliminated the small wall obstructing the intake valve (prior to the PI heads) on the 99+ models and they are freakishly fast and surprise alot of people how they run.My buddy bought one, it was purchased in Jan.99 so it was one of the last 98's produced and it ran low 14's right off the lot.
If this is the case, when they changed the design they should've also changed to a different p/n for these heads. Get the factory part number and the heads can be ordered/found easily.
I had a 90 lx and was told they used a milder cam ,more emissions friendly with a better idle .my friend had a 87 gt and used to run the quarter in 13.4 the only mods were dynomax mufflers and a home made ram air set up stock 3.08 gears My other friends 87 lx ran 12.8 with 3.55 gears off road . stock mufflers and mickey thompsom drag radials , the floorboards under the drivers seat split due to stress from launching it
5.0 vs 4.6 
