Performance Add-ons

[Sixpak_one]

I bought the (5) speed Coupe new in 04. I didn't buy the GT that I wanted because I have (4) teenagers at home (insurance). Although this thing moves pretty good - alot better than I thought it would.

Any suggestions on changes/add-ons that would improve hp that are relatively low cost?

Thanks.

(ps and FYI - Sixpak is the name of our boat. It was derived from the idea of (2) parents, plus (4) kids packed on).

 

[ChrisYellowV6]

go to ebay and buy yourself a cold air intake kit
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2478347100&category=38634
that one looks good. i bought mine from ebay, works great, half the price of name brand. you may also want to consider dual exhaust, however if you do that, your teenagers will probably want to drive that car constantly, even if they dont already. lol. I would know, i'm 20 myself. lol.

oh and yes, the 3.8L cold air intake will fit on your 3.9 liter. i've been told. apparently the only differnce causing teh 1/10th of a liter displacement is a slightly longer stroke. thats gonna add around 10, the duals would add another 10 or so.

how old are your teens by the way? and are they guys or girls? lol...if they're guys they'll want the car to get girls...if they're girls they'll want the car...nevermind no matter which sex they are they're going to want the car to attract the attention of the opposite sex. lol.

 

[Sixpak_one]

Thanks for the reply ChirsYellowV6. The toy's mine and my kids don't touch it.... They are 19, 18, 16 and 14 - (2) boys and (2) girls. They do love it though.

Regarding the intake. Is that system able to accomadate the intake sensor inline housing?

 

[ChrisYellowV6]

ahh...give the girls my aim address. lol just messin.

ok you say "intake sensor inline housing"...you are talking about the MAF, or mass air flow sensor, correct? if you go to ebay type in 3.8L mustang cold air intake, that will bring up all the CAI's for our car. look for a BOMZ product. thats what I have. It should give you detailed instructions, but if not I can help you out there. I keep meaning to make a step by step guide for all my mods...havent had a chance though.

but yeah, if you look at the picture, you will see one of the pipes where it's squared off on one end, you bolt the MAF there, then hose clamp it to the gasket and to the pipe. its' a very simple design.

Post some pics of your car.....and your daughters too! lol j/k bout the daughters part.

 

[peyotesands]

ahh...give the girls my aim address. lol just messin.

Post some pics of your car.....and your daughters too! lol j/k bout the daughters part.

Down boy.

As for the original poster/question have the rearend gears changed. 3:73s for your 5speed are good (that seems to be the general rule around here)

 

[1kwik6]

An underdrive crank pulley helps alot. As well as a good dual exhaust system.

 

[peyotesands]

An underdrive crank pulley helps alot. As well as a good dual exhaust system.

Is it hard to install underdrive pulleys? I read a tutorial about installing them and it seemed like a pain in the ass.

 

[Sixpak_one]

Per ChrisYellowV6, I ordered the intake. But where's the best place to get the dual exhaust. I don't really want it loud though.

Thanks.

 

[GREENBIOCH]

Per ChrisYellowV6, I ordered the intake. But where's the best place to get the dual exhaust. I don't really want it loud though.

Thanks.

All these are good mods mentioned above, if you don't want loud stay away from flowmaster 40 series, I would go with a borla or magnaflow catback system for a nice low idle and a little bit of a rumble while driving. Stay with the stock cats and headers, you should be fine.

The best bang for your buck will be the UD pulley and the gears though. I have all these mods and I liked the gears the best and I was surprised at how well the Ud pulleys gave gains. One more thing you might want to do is a short throw shifter either a Pro 5.0 or a steeda tri-ax. There are both quality products, I have the pro5.0, you will also love this mod cause you get such a nice firm shift when shifting it feels great.

There is many mods but most of the ones mentioned are good for small gains and relatively cheap.

Cheers!

 

[Sixpak_one]

As for the original poster/question have the rearend gears changed. 3:73s for your 5speed are good (that seems to be the general rule around here)

Hmm... Rearend uh? I kinda like that idea. How hard is that to change? Generally?

 

[cobra232]

i wouldn`t try to tackle the rear myself. a good tranny shop can do it for about $350.00.

www.gefracing.com has good prices on a T-Lok $169.00. and their gears are $195.00. look in their ford performance catalog under 3.8 parts. you will also need to recalibrate your speedo also if you do the gear swap. a chip can take care of it ir a hypertech powertuner can do it also

 

[GREENBIOCH]

your gonna spend roughly around 700 bucks for gears and a tlok(helps get both tires spinning for when one tire loses traction, good for hard launches and getting traction when wheels lose grip, highly recommended when getting a higher gear ratio) for install and parts, don't cheap out on used gears either cause that spells trouble, do it right the first time, otherwise it costs more in the end.

like mentioned above I wouldn't try install yourself, even those that are comfortable mechanically don't usually attempt this. you need to be pretty exact with some measurements, otherwise you get the rear end gears whining because the teeth don't line up and reduced life, etc. Matching gears up would not be for a do-it-yourselfer mechanic like most of us here. Somethings I would say go for it, but that is too advanced for most.

 

[Rol224]

Well i just got my V6 a month ago..... put a flowmaster dual exhuast on ($350 + $60 put on) .... 10 horses isnt exactly noticable.....but the sound is amazing and the car sounds a WHOLE lot more powerful going through revs.....and not to mention they just straight up look cool

i'd say exhaust is a must-have....if you want to spend 700 get borla, saw one the other day and it had ooomph

 

[Ghostalker]

well rol224, if i were going to get exhaust, which i did, i would go for the MAC dual exhaust, its just as loud as the flowmasters, except it doesnt have that popping sound. my exhaust came to 299.99 with shipping included and the brackets. Did you actually pay a shop to put ure exhaust on rol224?!?!? Unless the flowmasters are dramatically different than the MACs then it should be an easy driveway job...
No, your stang wont sound like a V8, but i know alot of V8s that have alot less sound than my V6... i love that!