1998 Cobra SVT 32-Valve Snake. What Are Some Quick Horse Power Add-Ons?
I have a 1998 Cobra SVT 32-valve snake. What are some quick horse power add-ons that are not that expensive. I have the JLT air intake,Flowmasters and an X-pipe. Also I have stock 3.27 gears and I've been told that 4.10's are better, is that true? Any help is appreciated.
3.73 or 4.10 will wake up that snake and make is bite, personally i would go for 3.73 unless you have tall tires or not much freeway driving, throttle body will help, but dont forget to upgrade to a larger mass air meter, big G
Long tube headers and a tune will get you some decent HP gains, but they're a little on the expensive side. Pullies will free up some HP and are fairly cheap. As for gears, don't waste your time with 3.73. 4.10's minimum, 4.30's even better (thats what I'm going with).
2004 Black Mach 5 Speed, MGW Shifter, SCT XCAL Tune by Texas Hot Rods, K&N FIPK ,Flowmasters, Mac catted H-Pipe, 18" Black Chrome Mach 1 Rims, H&R SS, Bilstein HD, and MM caster,4:10 Gears
98 Black Cobra
Build # 3154/5174,Build date 3/30/98,Flowmaster, MGW shifter, JLT CAI
In my opinion, there is no such thing is a "cheap" hp & torque upgrades. Cold induction, gave me NO gains on the dyno. I am beginning to wonder if they do at all. I have 4:10 gears, you shift every 5 seconds, but it does get you out of the whole quicker. I am putting on long tube headers, and high flow cats. Expensive, but hope to see REAL dyno results!
Good luck,
Rich
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96 cobra, 4:10 gears, K&N cold air induction, BBK long tube headers, BBK high flow cats, king cobra clutch.
"If I am ticking you off, then I must be speaking the truth"
Power, to the rear wheels, will really come from decreasing resistance on the engine. Creating a more fluid, less constricted, air flow to the combustion chamber always helps. Cold air intakes, with a bigger MAF or throttle body only help air move with less resistance through the intake, the choke points are still the MAF and throttle body. Bigger MAF and throttle body will allow you to move more air, however, bigger is not always better. Velocity is the goal. I put a bigger filter, MAF, new intake pipe and it felt a bit snappier. But I put on an Acufab oval throttle body, much bigger, and it idled funny. See, the air was not moving fast enough to engine and the Idle Air Control freaked out, so on went the old throttle body, problem solved. If you have forced induction, then go for the bigger throttle body for sure. 1996-1998 32V heads were great, for their time. But one of the reasons the new Cobras are stronger, minus the Supercharger, was because they used smaller intake valves, increasing velocity. Now, a 1998 in theroy should respond more effectively to forced induction. Reworking the heads, porting, makes a huge difference. Sorry, Ford did not do you any favors there. There is always gains avaiable, but remember bigger is not always better, you want to maintain a good amount of "swirl," through the heads. As far as exhaust, if you live in an area where you don't have DEQ, ditch the cats for sure. Exhaust manifolds are a touchy subject, some folks swear by them but to be honest I have yet to see any gains of worth through manifolds other than long tubes in a forced induction setup. Cat back exhaust, besides the improvement in sound, is a good option but you already have some. One expensive upgrade is a custom ground cam set up. When you work out the slop in the chain drive and get it set tight, the gains can be around 20-40 depending on application. Lighter driveline, clutch, and flywheel GREATLY decrease the rotating mass in your car, allowing more energy to be pushed to your rear tires. Nitrous is a quick way to do it, but if you have an older mileage car and don't have the ability to adjust the timing, be aware you might burn a piston, break a rod or wear out a bearing. Like I did! The CPU can always be adjusted for your new parts, the safer the better so if you add some serious parts, be prepared to throw down some change and get your engine dyno-tuned. Gears are always nice but only if you like more trips to the gas station...if not a factor then give'em a shot. Pick an RPM you wouldn't mine cruising on the freeway with, compute it based on the 10 or 15% increase, and pick a gear ratio. Best of luck.
In my opinion, there is no such thing is a "cheap" hp & torque upgrades. Cold induction, gave me NO gains on the dyno. I am beginning to wonder if they do at all. I have 4:10 gears, you shift every 5 seconds, but it does get you out of the whole quicker. I am putting on long tube headers, and high flow cats. Expensive, but hope to see REAL dyno results!
Good luck,
Rich
Define cheap! Nitrous is cheap HP and torque. Yeah, it only comes in bursts, but you should only be using that kind of power at the track anyways IMO.
Nitrous in my opinion is a "cheap" way to ruin your car. I have heard so many horror stories using nitrous I don't even "think" of it as a alternative to gaining more hp.
If you really want hp & torque, turbo or charger is the best way but is not cheap. As far as the ($250.00 for ) cold induction, I have yet to see any gains on the dyno. An exhaust system would give you 8-10 but is around $500-800 dollars, not cheap. Long tube headers & high flow cats set me back around $1500.00. Nitrious is around $400-500.00. Throttle body or inlet around $400.00......you define cheap! cuz anything over couple of hundred requires a credit card or savings at my house! HAHA!!
Good luck,
Rich
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96 cobra, 4:10 gears, K&N cold air induction, BBK long tube headers, BBK high flow cats, king cobra clutch.
"If I am ticking you off, then I must be speaking the truth"
......you define cheap! cuz anything over couple of hundred requires a credit card or savings at my house! HAHA!!
I'm in that same boat ! As long as Nitrous is done right, and your not pushing too big of a shot, it will last you a lifetime. Not to mention it's fun as ****! Although a CAI doesn't show much gain on the dyno, I think that's gonna be my next mod. These 4V's seem to suffer bad from heatsoak, pulling air from the fenderwell should help in that area.
wow awesome feedback fellows. thanks. I recently installed 4.10 gears and it was a big difference getting off the line and downshifting 5th to 4th responds with a great burst of speed.
1998 Cobra SVT 32-Valve Snake. What Are Some Quick Horse Power Add-Ons? 
! As long as Nitrous is done right, and your not pushing too big of a shot, it will last you a lifetime. Not to mention it's fun as ****! Although a CAI doesn't show much gain on the dyno, I think that's gonna be my next mod. These 4V's seem to suffer bad from heatsoak, pulling air from the fenderwell should help in that area.
