thinkin about a 4.6? 96-98

[Daniel50]

I have had a 91 5.0 with basic bolt ons and nitrous and a 94 5.0 with h/c/i and the rest of the basic bolt ons. then i bout a lifted 2000 4wd dodge ram and i want a mustang back very bad. i thinking about going newer again and pickin up a 96-98 mustang gt.

1) what are the pro's and con's of thse cars?

2) i know the heads and intake suck on the 96-98 gt. do 99+ heads and intake bolt on directly to these cars and smogable?

3) how much power can the bottom end support untoched? and how much can the block support with a forged rotating assembly?

4) what are you guys running with basics like gears, longtubes, midpipe, catback, pulleys, throttle body, mass air, cold air kits?

 

[triggz]

I have had a 91 5.0 with basic bolt ons and nitrous and a 94 5.0 with h/c/i and the rest of the basic bolt ons. then i bout a lifted 2000 4wd dodge ram and i want a mustang back very bad. i thinking about going newer again and pickin up a 96-98 mustang gt.

1) what are the pro's and con's of thse cars?

Very comparable to the 99-04's, there are only a few minor differences. Just about everything for 99+ will work on them. Biggest con you will notice is parts are much more expensive compared to the 5.0.

2) i know the heads and intake suck on the 96-98 gt. do 99+ heads and intake bolt on directly to these cars and smogable?

There are simple kits which make bolting on the PI heads a very simple task. I dont know how it would do with emissions, but I cant see it being much off from stock. It will basically be a 99+ with a slightly higher compression ratio.. you will need to tune it though.

3) how much power can the bottom end support untoched? and how much can the block support with a forged rotating assembly?

450rwhp is generally where you get into running on borrowed time. That's the limit of the block as well and IMO would not be much point in doing a forged rotating assembly without upgrading the block as well. The forged DOHC 4.6's in the 03-04 cobras can easily handle 600rwhp though.

4) what are you guys running with basics like gears, longtubes, midpipe, catback, pulleys, throttle body, mass air, cold air kits?

3.73-4.30 gears your pick (FRPP parts highly recommended)
Kooks, hooker, lots of complaints about MAC though
MAC prochamber, dr gas X pipe, BBK, many choices here..
Catback is pretty much just your sound preference. Dynomax racebullets make good power though.
Stay away from any piggyback style pulleys
FRPP throttle body is a good part
Stock MAF is fine
JLT, BBK, K&N intakes are good

 

[Dusstbuster]

The stock 2v block can handle more than 450hp...I believe there are people running stock blocks w/ forged internals pushing 600hp. The only real issue limiting power on the 2v engine is the rods/pistons.

 

[GToddyT5]

For the additional cost of the headswap, a 99+ GT can be had, unless you're firm on the styling of the 96-98.

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

4) what are you guys running with basics like gears, longtubes, midpipe, catback, pulleys, throttle body, mass air, cold air kits?

depending on tires and driver, I'd say 13.8/9 - 14.1
these cars need PI, they do well w/ it due it making higher compression than 99+'s.

 

[GToddyT5]

The gain from the compression bump isn't much at all.

 

[Dusstbuster]

The gain from the compression bump isn't much at all.

It's the main reason the full PI swap nets the same/more HP than a stock PI car and is the main reason for all the added HP over just doing a PI cam/manifold swap.

 

[jivepepper]

The block itself can handle a 1000+. Its rod and pistons that are crap.

 

[Dusstbuster]

I'd say 1000 is pushing it. Can some stock blocks handle it? Yeah probably...but once again you'd probably be on borrowed time before you cracked it in half.

 

[Wes8398]

It's the main reason the full PI swap nets the same/more HP than a stock PI car and is the main reason for all the added HP over just doing a PI cam/manifold swap.

It's been debated SO many times it's sickening, but I've seen dyno comparisons and read magazine articles, and read tonnes of forum posts from people like Johnny Langton, etc (modular depot forums) and it's been proven that PI heads only net you a MAXIMUM of another 10HP over just a pi cam and intake swap. This 10HP more is mostly due to the compression change. I wish I remembered where the articles were, but anyone who's intensively researching the topic will come across them. The NPI heads really weren't a bad design, according to lots of posts and articles I read. It's mainly the intake and cam design that were poor. If one's plan is to go with some type of forced induction, then NPI heads are actually better to stay with on an NPI car, because of the compression difference with the PI heads on the NPI motor. There are lots of different applications and what works best for those given applications varries greatly. But a relatively stock NPI car compared to another relatively stock NPI car does NOT see the majority of it's gains from the PI heads. Infact, it's minimal. And some people would argue that the compression change is infact a negative.

 

[Dusstbuster]

It's been debated SO many times it's sickening, but I've seen dyno comparisons and read magazine articles, and read tonnes of forum posts from people like Johnny Langton, etc (modular depot forums) and it's been proven that PI heads only net you a MAXIMUM of another 10HP over just a pi cam and intake swap. This 10HP more is mostly due to the compression change. I wish I remembered where the articles were, but anyone who's intensively researching the topic will come across them. The NPI heads really weren't a bad design, according to lots of posts and articles I read. It's mainly the intake and cam design that were poor. If one's plan is to go with some type of forced induction, then NPI heads are actually better to stay with on an NPI car, because of the compression difference with the PI heads on the NPI motor. There are lots of different applications and what works best for those given applications varries greatly. But a relatively stock NPI car compared to another relatively stock NPI car does NOT see the majority of it's gains from the PI heads. Infact, it's minimal. And some people would argue that the compression change is infact a negative.

I don't know if you were trying to back me up or misread what I said, I'll just assume you were backing me up because I'm pro C/I swap and "anti" full H/C/I swap just for that fact. NPI heads + PI everything else > full PI swap

 

[TweekedGT]

My last dyno run was 452rwhp on a Mustang Dyno, so about 532fwhp. This was with a 5.0 forged modular stroker assembly in my original 96 block so you can throw the whole week block issue out the window. With full bolt ons before the supercharger I was running about 295rwhp on a Mustang dyno with stock 2004 PI heads, PI intake, and VT stage 2 N/A cams, throttle body, plenum, underdrive pullies, and cold air intake.