[iBones]

So my gf has a 08 V6 vert, and It recently occurred to me that her car is faster than my 04 V6. Now that I have various bolt ons, her car is no problem, but before the mods, she left me in the dust.

Anyone have any idea why hers would be so much quicker? My stepfather suggested shocks/struts to put more power to the ground, does this sound about right? It makes a little sense, because when I drive her car, everything is very smooth, just acceleration. In my car, unless im manually shifting 1 through D, the car seems like its "jumping" almost.

Anyone have any suggestions on a possible solution? They are both automatic, and to the best of my knowledge, I drove them both in similar conditions.

 

[05horse]

its that extra .1 of a liter.


could be in the suspention. hard to tell. perhaps trans gear ratios or something

 

[iBones]

I find it hard to believe that .1 liter is making a noticeable difference.

My guess is that I have crappy suspension, but what about transmission gear ratios?

While were at it, after looking over my mod list, whats left for me to do other than a big power adder? Heard pullys arnt worth the little gains if you want decent sound from your system(though mine is stock atm). Anything anyone can suggest? Any little tweaks or tricks? If not, whats everyone's opinion on new shocks/struts? Would this give me a little better power to the pavement control?

 

[05horse]

those 18s are a bit tall

 

[Guest]

maybe she had one of those invisible superchargers? you never know young padiwan.

 

[Guest]

You can lose some of the cars weight. Get rid of the rear seats, spare tire, and jack. Every 100lbs removed gives you a tenth second in the 1/4 mile. Smaller wheels will help. The 18s are just more rotational mass to turn. You might also think about a battery relocation kit. They put the battery in the trunk. Doing so moves almost 100lbs (not all battery weight) of the cars weight to rear tires for better traction and balance
Lower control arms can help put power to the pavement as well as drag launch springs.
As for the car being "jumpy" when it shifts, try backing off the aggressiveness of your shift points in the tune.
Her car also has 5 speeds and you only have 4. Her RPMs after shift are closer than the 4-speed in your car.
Stickier tires will help you get out of the hole better. You can run Nitto drag radials on the back.

 

[Markstang]

its probably just because the 3.8(3.9) is an overhead valve engine and the 4.0 is overhead cam engine.. completely different designs so of course they're going to perform differently

 

[05horse]

i would not run drag radials on the back with a 7.5 inch rear.


na or not.

 

[iBones]

I didnt think about the extra gear at all, wow, thank you for the heads up.

As for the lower control arms and power to the pavement related tweaks, what do you suggest? Im a bit confused as to what to do about that.

Anything else for mods to get a little better(or alot) performance? Im curious as to what my options are.

 

[05horse]

upgrade to 4.10s


or just admit that shes better:kooky:

a dyno tune. bigger cai. like said weight loss.


but why does it matter so much? get a snealy pete nitrous system. good for 1/10th a second

 

[iBones]

I'm not asking because it "matters" so much as I'm just curious, thats all.

I also just wanted to see if anyone had any mods I could pick up for some better performance, thats all. Im curious about the control arms and shocks struts, as this seems like a decent investment.

 

[drag101]

im actually kinda surprised that she beat you stock. your comparing your 193hp vs her 210hp. So the jump isnt that much, and i would think that the extra weight of the convertible woulda made it a closer match....
either way a big reason why her car is smoother is its newer. No matter how much we love our new edge mustangs you gotta remember that its 6 years old now, its not gonna feel like a new car.
for power adders,
1. throw on some shorty headers (if you havent already)

2. a new throttle body is a great support mod for a cai (itll help you get the most out if it)

 

[05horse]

lcas are nice, i like to think that they helped me out

 

[Guest]

im actually kinda surprised that she beat you stock. your comparing your 193hp vs her 210hp. So the jump isnt that much, and i would think that the extra weight of the convertible woulda made it a closer match....
either way a big reason why her car is smoother is its newer. No matter how much we love our new edge mustangs you gotta remember that its 6 years old now, its not gonna feel like a new car.
for power adders,
1. throw on some shorty headers (if you havent already)

2. a new throttle body is a great support mod for a cai (itll help you get the most out if it)

Shorties and a TB really doesn't do much for a unmodified 3.8L.
The stock manifolds flow just as well as any of the shorty headers on the market. If you are going to do headers, do longtubes.
A throttle body will only give you a bit better throttle response. Unless you are doing major forced induction, skip it. Shine1stang used his 97 turbo car's stock 56mm TB until he was pushing 500rwhp.

 

[05horse]

im still on my stock tb.