Well, your shop teacher doesn't know much about the six.sLiPpY said:Hi, i was just given a (AUTOMATIC (yea... i know... :sosad: )Mustang for my birthday/christmas/congrats on the license...
I'm looking into modifying some of the parts to performance parts, and was looking for some information on what to do right off the bat.
I've been told to modify 4 things to start out
1. Put in a cold air intake.
I was told to look at K&N, but after browsing the forums, i've noticed a lot of you have different brands, etc. Please guide me on the advantages and disadvantages of certain CAI's. My auto teacher also told me that some of the intakes are actually pointed down towards the road, or backwards towards the engine block, so I really don't know a lot about cars, anyway, just help me out with what the best options for that would be please
2. Change exhaust system
They've told me to change(or add?) exhaust headers coming out of the exhaust manifold to enlarge the amount of exhaust coming off the engine, and then add a dual exhaust... now, i've also heard that i need to change the body if i'm getting dual exhausts because the v6mustang bodys are only set up for single... is that true? and if so, how would i go about converting a single to dual exhaust (PLEASE keep in mind, i'm RETARTED when it comes to cars, and probably won't understand what you mean by X or H pipe. Also, do i need 2 cat's, one for each pipe? would'nt that LESSEN horsepower?
3. Performance chip
They told me to go to a dealership and have them custom make a performance chip for me, preferably one that takes off the governor that everyone complained about on mustangs lol. I don't really know anything about chips, but someone said to get a diablo chip... i don't know where to find them, and im lookin for the best deal, so once again, any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
4. Throttle body
I don't know anything about this, or even what it does, but my auto teacher said this should be swapped out for a performance part...
Thank you a thousand times for offering me your help and reading my post, I'm really glad to become a member here.
-sLiPpY
1st thing you need is a budget, 2nd thing you'll need are goals. From that you can put together a plan.
CAI - do you want best performance, best performance AFTER other mods, looks (As in Chrome), or cheapest.
Best all around intake is the DenseCharger www.tunableinduction.com www.demolet.com or www.densecharger.com (1 of those will work). Best with NO OTHER mods is the K&N FIPK II.
JLT looks promising, too, but I haven't seen any numbers.
The densecharger will support 250+ hp, the K&N will start to restrict performance around 225 hp at the wheels.
For looks, you can go for one of the chrome intakes, but heat sink will kill your performance on hot days, and when the engine gets hot - then they won't perform any better than a K&N drop in filter.
Underdriver pulleys should be one of the 1st things you do. They extend the life of your accessories, will give you better mileage, and free up the MOST hp of any mod short of tearing the engine down.
You're not going to flow any better than the tubular exhaust manifolds already on the car without a better cam & flow through the heads. Headers are a wasste of time, unless you do a port and polish, valve job, and swap cams, or you're running N2O.
Going to dual exhaust after the catalytic converters will free up some hp, but if you go larger than 2.25" on the diameter, you'll LOSE hp & tq, because you've moved the powerband out of the ability of the cam to make power. If you want to make more than 250 hp, go with the 2.5" pipes, and suffer until you can do the P&P work, and swap cams. THe cats don't hinder flow on the six, in fact the danger is flowing too much and losing low end hp & tq. LEave the cats alone.
1.8RRs work well. they generally run 250 dollars or so, and on a bang for buck scale are slightly behind the Underdrivers and a good intake.
Chip - It's not needed until you get 3+ mods on the engine, otherwise you've spent a lot of money (if you buy it new) for 5 hp. THe stock computer is pretty elastic in it's programming. Just remember to disconnect the battery after your mod, then drive it like he** the next 6 times you start the engine.
If you get a CAI + Exhaust, you can consider it, otherwise, save it for later when it'll mean something.
Throttle-body - not necessary until you've done a LOT of mods, or you're running N2O. You can lose hp by swapping to one that's too big, because you'll lose intake velocity, and create dead spots in the intake.
Next, get a GT or Cobra takeoff rear sway bar (or any other sway bar), you'll get better traction off the line, and you'll be able to put the power down more effectively in turns.
You should also get subframe connectors, to preserve the body integrity, and the above reasons.
hope that helps!
