Best bolt-ons for LOW-END power on a 4v

[markt1968]

Best bolt-ons for LOW-END power on a 4v?

Everyone knows the plethora of mods for our cars that add power. Pulleys, timing adjusters, intakes, MAF's, throttle body's, headers, exhaust, x/h pipes, chips, etc, etc. There are a handful of mods that will increase power across the band, but many mods sacrifice low-end power for gains in the higher RPM's.

What bolt-on mods will yield the best LOW-END (dyno-proven) power on a 99/01 4V?

 

[Solid Snake]

Although it doesn't any power, gears are a MUST for Cobra's. Just give an example, I test drove an 01 Cobra a few months ago with pullies and mufflers. The car fast with great power. Then, I test drove it again after the owner installed a set of 4.10 gears. I could have sworn that it was a completely different car. It simply amazed me how much the gears affected performance.

If you want more low-end grunt, gears are the way to go

 

[markt1968]

I understand that gears will put you into the powerband quicker, the question is:

"What mods will gain you extra HP or TQ on the LOW-END?"

 

[1996COBRA]

PLASMA BOOSTER... a buddy of mine put a plasma booster ignition on his car and it gave him somewhere around 15RWHP lower in the RPM band. Peak numbers were only 3RWHP higher, but it was significantly greater in the lower RPMs.His TQ numbers were also higher but I'm not sure by how much. He dynoed two weeks before the 'PB' and the day he installed it. Hope this helps out a bit.

 

[99SVTAddict]

Long tubes will pick up the torque down low and mid way....a must.
Gears make it "seem" like you doubled your torque...but if you don't have gears, I would get those first.

 

[isdnmatt]

2nd the gears. There really isn't a large variety of mods available for the low end. Unless you go with a Roots blower , but I'm done with waiting for KB.

 

[Saleen4971]

go with a Roots blower

i 2nd that!

 

[Bob Cosby]

Excepting power adders, pretty much nothing.

I gained 2 RWHP over the entire powerband with a Plasma Booster.

 

[Mr.DOHCtor]

Another vote for the gears. They multiply your torque and you'll definately feel the difference. Nothing less than 4.10's on a 4v.

 

[mikew1000]

Turbo will pick up some low end power. My dyno was 360rwhp but 425rwtq. This is with an exhaust leak, bad tune and more problems than I could mention.

 

[markt1968]

Gears are great, but they don't add horsepower and the question was, "What mods will gain you extra HORSEPOWER or TORQUE on the LOW-END?"

So far all we've heard about is a Plasma Booster, which one person claimed 15rwhp and another 2rwhp, slight discrepancy there.

99SVTAddict, thanks for the suggestion on the LT's, but do you have any data to go with it?

And forget the power-adders for now, obviously SC'd or Turbo'd will do the trick, so exclude those for now.

Out of the bolt on mods that are available today, which ones make the most HORSEPOWER and/or TORQUE on the low end. They don't have to be outrageuos gains, just as long as you are not losing HP or Torque. Surely somebody has some reliable information on this?????

 

[missouri_guy197]

Long Tubes...I don't have any before and after dynos yet(the numbers in my sig are pre-LT), but there's definately more pull in the lower end of the RPMs now that they are on there...

And as said before, gears don't give you actual horsepower, but they multiply the torque factor making the car seem a lot stronger at lower RPM's...

But other than that, there aren't many boltons for our cars that boost low end power...These cars are great breathers and they shine at the top of the RPM band...Now if you really want to get crazy, new cams will give you HP and Torque wherever you want it depending on the profile of the cam...but those aren't boltons by a long shot...

 

[sirhisss]

Gears are "torque amplifiers" That will give you low end "grunt"

In theory long tube headers should give you additional low end horse power.

Other "bolt ons" for low end would be custom long runner intake with turbo or supercharger.

The 4.6 is a "square" motor (bore and stroke same) meaning it is built more for high rpm rather than low end torgue.

Compensate with gearing for the low end and increase your overall power across the power band and enjoy the ride.

 

[Solid Snake]

I understand that gears will put you into the powerband quicker, the question is:

"What mods will gain you extra HP or TQ on the LOW-END?"

My bad. I suppose some LT's, O/R H-pipe, or plasma booster should add some actual power down low

 

[pony23]

I put on LT headers and I got a very flat torque curve through the rpm range. But they did hurt the torque up top. Look up (went to the dyno on friday) in the past message board for the results.

Also the Mach 1 cams are supposed too give you more low end torque too ( I don't know the exact cam specs). You have basicly the same engine minus those cams. They are cheap at about $150 a cam and the stock valvetrain is fine. That is why the Mach 1 gets good times at the track.

 

[COBRA90GT]

My bad. I suppose some LT's, O/R H-pipe, or plasma booster should add some actual power down low

Read Cosby's statement in this thread. Everything but the Plasma Booster would be somewhat beneficial.

 

[markt1968]

Longtubes sounds like a good option down the road.

I am interested to hear more about the Mach 1 cams though. What kind of HP gains can be expected with the Mach 1 cams? $150.00 each, that's a considerable savings over the $400.00 per cam prices I've seen on other cams, especially when you multiply it by 4! Anyone make the swap to Mach 1 cams yet?

 

[pony23]

There is no horsepower boost from the Mach 1 cams. The engine has the same HP numbers as the 99 - 01 Cobras. It gets you more lower end torque and a better torque curve.

 

[markt1968]

I put on LT headers and I got a very flat torque curve through the rpm range. But they did hurt the torque up top. Look up (went to the dyno on friday) in the past message board for the results.

Also the Mach 1 cams are supposed too give you more low end torque too ( I don't know the exact cam specs). You have basicly the same engine minus those cams. They are cheap at about $150 a cam and the stock valvetrain is fine. That is why the Mach 1 gets good times at the track.

I read your thread "went to the dyno on friday', you have a nice flat curve for horsepower but it does look like torque is a little low. BTW, how much did you pay for your LT's if you don't mind me asking?

There is no horsepower boost from the Mach 1 cams. The engine has the same HP numbers as the 99 - 01 Cobras. It gets you more lower end torque and a better torque curve.

Maybe the Mach 1 cams would make up for the low torque numbers you are seeing?

Okay, now they I've got some feedback, let me update my original question.
What bolt-on mods will give you better performance across the entire RPM range? AND what mods will HURT you in the upper RPM's?

 

[missouri_guy197]

There is no horsepower boost from the Mach 1 cams. The engine has the same HP numbers as the 99 - 01 Cobras. It gets you more lower end torque and a better torque curve.

Well, here's a dyno chart overlapping a stock 01 Cobra and a stock 03 Mach1 done on the same dyno, 700 miles on the dial for both cars...

Looks like the Mach1 cams have a lot on the Cobra's cams...The Mach peaks at a lower RPM and has HP gains all the way across the board...Not to mention the huge gain in low end torque ...

Got that graph from this thread...

http://www.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=287859&highlight=Mach1+Cobra+Dyno