4.6 sohc automatic: best bang for buck on a budget ?

[fiveoho]

hey guys,

thought id travel over here to the 4.6 world for some insight. i have a buddy of mine with a 96 gt automatic vert. the car is immaculate with 75,000 and is bone stock minus a K&N drop in air filter. the owner wants more power and im dying to help him. aesthetics is not much of a concern right now, just some performance. the car is garage kept and only driven on nice days. he doesnt want to spend a ton of money nor does he want to run blistering times at the track ( he probably will never go ). he just wants the car to have a little more pep to it.

o, here is some ground rules

-the motor can not be opened up, nothing more than a intake swap ( it still has the orignal - yikes! )
-the exhaust can not be loud. this is a his and hers car. its all stock now
-no turbos, superchargers, nos


my suggestion to him for the first mod is a gear. what came factory in a 96 auto car? 3.08 or 2.73? im sure a 3.73 swap or even a 4.10 would really wake the car up and put the powerband where it needs to be.

my second suggestion was full exhaust and get rid of all those cats and restrictive factory mufflers.

he's threatning to sell the car and i hate to see him get rid of it just because the thing is so freakin clean. getting hard to find a clean stock mustang. i think if he would put a little money into the car , i think he would enjoy it more

advice and help appreciated. thanks guys!

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

As a fellow owner of a 96 auto (and i've done every single bolt on outside LT's + PI stuff), there's not a whole lot to make it "fast" without getting down and dirty. I'd say keep the cats if you don't want it to be overly loud (and smelly for that matter). Stock gears are 3.08's, i went 4.10's then 3.73's. 3.73's are good for a peppy daily driver, 3.90's for even more fun, 4.10's for a car that sees the track once and awhile and has enough rubber to put it down. Only intake worth it will be the PI intake manifold, CAI/TB+Plenum are all not really worth the time/money.
I'd say catted mid-pipe, (x pipe if straight through muffler, H if chambered), a catback, tranny cooler, 3.90s, PI intake manifold, possibly underdrive pullies, then suspension (springs/struts/FLSFC). Then brakes! these stock brakes suck
LT headers if he has the time to put em in, that and PI intake will be the biggest improvements.

You can buy virtually all of that used and wont have a problem with parts quality (just double check a used PI intake manifold and also make sure it's the aluminum crossover).

 

[fiveoho]

thats for the info man. since this guy has a completely stock car, the mods you listed above, especially the gear swap and exhaust would be a noticeable difference i would think?

also, it being a automatic car it should respond well to a programmer i would think

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

thats for the info man. since this guy has a completely stock car, the mods you listed above, especially the gear swap and exhaust would be a noticeable difference i would think?

also, it being a automatic car it should respond well to a programmer i would think

the programmer, perhaps. After the gear swap (although it wont calibrate the speedo on pre99 cars) - it will help reschedule the shift points for the auto after the gear swap since the auto will be fooled otherwise - like mine is now - i have a handheld Xcal II, but the tune on it if for my cams too. So i need to wait.

 

[fiveoho]

3.73 or 4.10 on a 4.6 auto?

gas prices keep climbing....3.73?

 

[deftsound]

3.73 or 4.10 on a 4.6 auto?

gas prices keep climbing....3.73?

4.10's FTMFW

especially if its an auto, 4.10's are the only way to go....

 

[d98gt]

The 3.73s in my NPI automatic are the perfect gear for the track.

I notice you don't want to open the engine up, though I suggest you slap in some pi cams (can be had CHEAP) while installing the pi intake. Great power to be had for a small amount of money.

 

[98COBRA281]

+1 pi cams, see sig

 

[scupking]

1. 3.73 gears (great all around gear)
2. J-MOD
3. Tranny Cooler
4. Aluminum drive shaft
5. Xcal II or III
6. Magnaflow Catted X pipe
7. The regular Magnaflow mufflers (quietest after market muffler)


Also he might want to think about some FRPP B or C springs for a drop and
blistein shock and struts.

 

[fiveoho]

4.10's FTMFW

especially if its an auto, 4.10's are the only way to go....

lol - sorta figured id get that answer

 

[fiveoho]

i'll mention the cam/intake swap. i got a feeling i know what i will hear..."NO!"

They are BIG on keeping this thing as stock as possible. also forgot about magnaflows being super quiet. thats a good quality quiet muffler that definetly be better than the stockers.

-what is the J-mod?

-can you buy a stock replacement intake that isnt plastic and can be used with the factory NPI heads that will perform better?


thanks guys for the help

 

[Gearbanger 101]

I notice you don't want to open the engine up, though I suggest you slap in some pi cams (can be had CHEAP) while installing the pi intake. Great power to be had for a small amount of money.

And how exactly do you suggest he "slaps" in a set of PI cams without opening the engine up? The valve covers need to come off, as well as all of the accessories and front timing cover, (unless he has the proper tensioner tool which very few auto places carry and even fewer people know how to use), and the top end of the heads need to come apart. For most people, it would be easier to do a complete PI head swap than it would to just install the cams.

I kinda just skimmed through the rest of the suggestions, but if it hasn't been mentioned yet, a good torque converter stalling in the 3,400RPM range will really turn this thing into a different breed. The combination of gears and converter will wake the car up more than anything else besides a power adder at this point. It would be nice to be making a little more power along with the drivetrain mods, to really see their full potential though.

 

[d98gt]

I didn't mean for it to sound like he could...which is why I added though I guess I could have worded that better =)

As for it being easier to complete the head change compared to the pi swap--I'll have to disagree. The pi cam swap isn't a very difficult swap (and this is with leaving the front cover on) and can be done in a few hours if the tools are handy. Though I acknowledge you saying for most people

 

[d98gt]

i'll mention the cam/intake swap. i got a feeling i know what i will hear..."NO!"

They are BIG on keeping this thing as stock as possible. also forgot about magnaflows being super quiet. thats a good quality quiet muffler that definetly be better than the stockers.

-what is the J-mod?

-can you buy a stock replacement intake that isnt plastic and can be used with the factory NPI heads that will perform better?


thanks guys for the help

I suggest reading up on the Jmod at http://tccoa.com/articles/tranny/index.html Great mod for the auto

As for the stock replacement--there is a NPI intake that has the aluminum crossover (so that it doesn't break/leak) though isn't a better performer compared to the stock plastic one. Like an idiot, I put an NPI alum intake on my car instead of going the PI route when mine cracked

 

[98COBRA281]

i did my cams with the front cover on , i have pics if you wanna see

 

[justinschmidt1]

Without touching the engine a 3500 stall and a set of 3.73s would make it a differant animal