'94 5.0 Mustang performance mods questions.

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Aftermarket SC kits are sometimes hit and miss when it comes to daily driver reliability. Even at 6psi I don't think stock 19lb injectors and the stock fuel pump would be up to the task safely. Sure they might work but is it worth the motor to go cheap?

SC kit of your choice will need to address these issues. Injectors, Fuel Pump, and tuning is the most important. Blown applications require very good tuning or the motor will suffer. The Hypertech is far from up to the task. Your bro needs to have a custom chip burned along with a full on Wideband Dyno secession to work all things out.

Before I would go straight to a SC, I would open the exhaust and intake up.

Longtubes, mid pipe and catback along with a Cobra intake and 3.55s would be a good starting point before the SC. My friend has been doing mods to his 95 5.0 for awhile now and he's sitting at 363rwhp.

All boltons, mid headers, ported stock intake, blower cam, ported heads etc, Procharger @ 8psi.

His intake @ mid headers are hurting him as a H/C blown 5.0 should reach around 400rwhp.
 
quote:

Longtubes, mid pipe and catback along with a Cobra intake and 3.55s would be a good starting point before the SC.

Ditto.

While I wouldn't run shorty headers with stock E7 heads and thier bottleneck exhaust ports, I agree that longtubes will increase power.

I have *heard* that Powerdyne stuff is junk. I don't know much about SC parts though, as I never had plans to go that way.

If you are asking which part will make the car faster, gears or SC, by all means choose the SC! Gears will make a SOTP improvement, but you won;t see much on the timeslip (a few 10ths). An SC will make a difference you can feel and measure, even with the 2.73 rear.

For a lot less money though, I'd go the 3.55/Cobra Manifold/Longtube route first if it were my car.
 
So the blower is a good way to go, but have to do it right. Needs more research. Well, hey, anybody know a good blower for this car? Are there any with their own self contained lube oil that don't tap the engine oil pan?

Also, a car crafting accquaintance said:
quote:

Ford is no longer producing the Cobra manifold. He could get Ford's GT-40 intake manifold though, which is an upgrade from the Cobra.

 
Hello TallPaul,

If I was your brother, like I said before.....I would do the simple (and cheap) bolt ons first and then later if he has the $$$$ get an ATI intercooled Procharger.
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I haven't heard anything bad about the Powerdyne, but I have seen some 5.0 Mustangs with bolts-ons & a Procharger that were mid 12's. Just remember that you will also need 24 Lb injectors and a 155 LPH fuel pump if you run any amount of boost.

3.55 gears are great for a street car and with a 5 speed Mustang, you will see a big difference....with an Auto trans Mustang, you won't see much. Since you brother's Mustang is 5 speed, he should be able to run 13.6 - 13.8's with bolt ons. I also had a Cobra intake, 1.7 roller rockers and an Adj FP reg and went low 13's.

The Cobra & GT 40 intake are 'almost the same thing. Super Ford magazine dyno'ed both intakes and there was only a 2 HP difference. The reason why I bought the Cobra intake, cause it was $180 cheaper. Supercharging is safe, but you can't go overboard with 12 PSI on a stock motor, thats how people blow head gaskets.
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The best place to buy used (cheap) Mustang parts is the Bargain Trader, next to the Auto Trader magazines. They always have tons of parts for sale.
 
Don't look at the kits considering the fuel pump, the fuel pump in his car is likely original and I would not trust a boosted engine to a 11 year old pump. As far as the limits of the engine you will probably be best to research that on a model specific site, I know some Mustangs came with forged pistons those would be more tolerant. The injectors they might get by with if they use an enrichment injector setup seperate from the stock fuel injectors.
Computer controlled cars can adaprt to a lot BUT getting the computer retuned is still a good idea to get the most out of your modifications, actually depending on cost for that application is it often a very good begining mod with the rest of the car basically stock.
 
My brother recently got a '94 5.0 Mustang with only 40,000 miles. It has a 5 speed stick and 2.73 rear end. He says it came with Flowmasters, K&N filter, and a Hypertech chip. He wants to increase the performance.

So here is the deal, bro is looking into a Powerdyne supercharger (likes that it does not have to tap the oil pan but is self lubricated). They have 6 lb and 9 lb boost options. It is the same unit, but different pulley sizes and the 9 lb comes with an upgraded fuel pump and chip for $400 more to get 105 to 110 more hp.. The 6 lb is suppose to use the stock pump and gets 75 to 80 more hp. Either one is supposed to work with the stock 19# injectors. He wonders which one to get and whether his chip is going to be ok with it. Car already had a hypertech chip when he got it. I was thinking the 6 pound boost would be best as he does not want to stress components too much and he always could upgrade by buying the fuel pump and other chip and pulley.

Now, not only his questions, but also how it all relates to Novadude and LT4Vette's advice quoted below from a previous discussion about this car.

So Novadude previously said:
quote:

Headers are a waste! Sure, the stock parts LOOK like they would really hurt flow, however, people with stock engines seldom see ANY gains by replacing them with aftermarket "shorty" headers. Longtubes are worth something.

Having messed with one of these cars for the past 4 years, here are the BEST bang-the-buck mods I would do if I was starting over. They are listed the order I'd do 'em.

1. Underdrive crank pulley. 75% of the gains of a full 3-pulley system with none of the headaches (charging system problems). Got mine through ASP for ~$40.

2. Gears. 2.73s are just too tall. 3.55s would make a HUGE difference in the "feel" of the car. Mine is an AODE car with 3.27s. IF he had an AODE, I'd say get a Torque converter before or instead of gears. My torque converter gave a better reduction in ET than any other single part I have added.

3. Tuning. 94/95 EECs have a lot of problems with the OEM calibration. Rumor has it that hypertech chips and the like make it worse! Look up a company called "SCT custom tuning". These are the guys that burned my chip, and it worked wonders to help eliminate the part throttle pinging. They also did lots of stuff on the chip to help the AODE work better, but that does not apply in your case.

4. Atfermarket H or X pipe. The OEM 4-cat pipe is the most restrictive part of the exhaust... not the headers, and not the catback. I am running a Magnaflow catted H-pipe (gotta keep the feds happy).

5. Intake manifold! Yes, that's right... intake manifold. The OEM GT lower intake is very restrictive. I am running a ported lower on mine with the stock upper manifold. Gave noticable SOTP gains. The Cobra or Edelbrock Performer manifolds would likely work even better.

6. Heads. Huge gains to be had from aftermarket cylinder heads.

After that, I would then start considering Headers, Throttle Bodies, and MAFs. Honestly, I do not feel that these parts are worth it on a stocker, as the heads and intake are the real bottlenecks.

Tell him NOT to waste his money on any of the Cold Air Intake kits... they are more hype than anything.

My 104k mile car went 14.49 @ 95.2 last November with nothing more than the following mods:

1. Pulley
2. H-pipe
3. Catback (FRPP)
4. Ported lower intake
5. 2600 rpm stall tq. converter

Everything else was 100% stock, including the airbox and paper filter.

Novadude also said, "The recipie posted by LT4 vette is a proven way to go... I'd start with the stuff I mentioned above, and work your way up to the full list in LT4's post." LT4Vette's "recipie":
quote:

Spend your $$$ on simple bolt-ons. I had an Off road H pipe, mufflers, Mac 1 5/8 headers, pullies, 3.55 gears, Cobra intake, bumped timing, Crane 1.7 roller rockers, adj FP regulator, K&N air filter and went 13.12 @ 102 MPH. I had a 1990 LX 5.0 and wished I didnt sell it.

Now I sent the above advice to him, but somehow he has gotten on to the supercharger idea. I would think the supercharger should more or less overcome all the intake inadequacies of the stock Mustang (though the upgrades may help some anyway), so the supercharger might be a pretty good idea, but (and this is a big but), since a supercharger boosts more with more RPM, would the stock 2.73 rear end not negate a sizeable chunk of the supercharger's benefits? So, I am inclined to think maybe he needs to get the rear end up to a 3:55. Now if he only did one thing (supercharger vs 3:55s) which would be the best overall upgrade?

Thanks

[ July 13, 2005, 12:35 PM: Message edited by: TallPaul ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by LT4 Vette:
Hello TallPaul,

If I was your brother, like I said before.....I would do the simple (and cheap) bolt ons first and then later if he has the $$$$ get an ATI intercooled Procharger.
smile.gif
I haven't heard anything bad about the Powerdyne, but I have seen some 5.0 Mustangs with bolts-ons & a Procharger that were mid 12's. Just remember that you will also need 24 Lb injectors and a 155 LPH fuel pump if you run any amount of boost.

3.55 gears are great for a street car and with a 5 speed Mustang, you will see a big difference....with an Auto trans Mustang, you won't see much. Since you brother's Mustang is 5 speed, he should be able to run 13.6 - 13.8's with bolt ons. I also had a Cobra intake, 1.7 roller rockers and an Adj FP reg and went low 13's.

The Cobra & GT 40 intake are 'almost the same thing. Super Ford magazine dyno'ed both intakes and there was only a 2 HP difference. The reason why I bought the Cobra intake, cause it was $180 cheaper. Supercharging is safe, but you can't go overboard with 12 PSI on a stock motor, thats how people blow head gaskets.
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With 3.55's and street tires what do you do with first gear? My '90 LX 5 speed with 3.08 gears is stock other than Flowmasters. With any street tires I've used on the street it has traction problems in 1st. You have to "drive it out" at about 1800 rpm and add trottle as traction allows. I can't imagine what it would be like with 3.55's.

Now if you were running a slick that was taller then stock on a surface that was sticky I could see it...
 
I had 255/40ZR17 Bridgestone RE 71 tires in the rear on 17x8" wheels, so the car hooked up pretty well, plus I am very near sea level (so my ET & MPH will be better than guys running in higher altitudes)
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If my car was on a DOT 'cheater' slicks or a super soft SCCA tire....then I would have been in the high 12's.

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I have a math formula from a Hot Rod magazine that you will be able to get your HP as long as you know your car's Total weight (with driver) & your MPH at the strip.
 
The newer cars are better than my old one I know, since it's running on 15" wheels. Welcome to 1990.
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At the time, I ordered it intentionally with 3.08 gears to work with 225/50 X 15 tires for autocrossing. Given it was stock, I couldn't use larger wheels and any shorter gearing and first becomes useless with the short tires.

I've never taken my car to the strip, but I think you ran decent times for a car that's pretty stock. I think Patman used to have a Mustang too. Then all you guys went over to the dark side...

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I'd be interested in the formulas you have. IM or email me if you think about it...
 
I would be REAl careful about using an aftermarket chip with a supercharger that it isn't programmed for. You probably will have way too much advance at boost, and will destroy engine parts.
You don't need good heads with a supercharger [yes, of course there will be some benefit].
A cold air intake [vs. hot underhood air] is very beneficial.
 
FWIW, I had an 87 GT with an 8psi Paxton and I ran it for 4 years with no problems. I ran the stock injectors and the stock tune, and had the timing set to 10 degrees, but running a mix of race fuel all the time to keep detonation away.

With a race weight of just over 3000lbs, it's best ET was 12.16 at 112mph, with a 1.59 60ft (on slicks)

The engine was bone stock! I had 3.55 gears, Mac 1 5/8" unequal length shorty headers, hollowed out stock cats, and a 2.5" Mac exhaust with Dynomax mufflers.

It shocked me how well that car ran with no internal work on the engine at all.
 
Thanks for all the input everybody. I think he is more interested in having some fun with it than actual drag racing and so the 3.55 may not be much of a priority. I think most of the advantage of a 3.55 is going to be out of the hole (if you can get traction). He says it can easily break em loose with the 2.73, so I guess the supercharger route would be good fun with the right components (injectors, pump, chip). The supercharger should overcome much of the poor intake and even exhaust. He can always add the intake and exhaust upgrades later. I would guess the 6 pound boost would be a safer bet, but he needs to research brands of supercharger for the best quality.
 
Paul, when I went from 2.73s to 3.55s in my Mustang, the car was still stock, and it was much easier to launch with 3.55s than with 2.73s! I found with 2.73s the car would bog out of the hole, but with 3.55s you could launch just off idle and it wouldn't spin badly at all, even when the track wasn't hooking very well that day. I cut 3 tenths off my 60ft time with that one mod alone. Every 5.0 Mustang should come from the factory with 3.55s, it makes the engine feel 50hp stronger too, since it's way more responsive at all speeds with this ratio. So even if someone isn't into drag racing, this gear swap will give them an excellent bang for the buck.
 
Can't run a powertech chip with a blower on a mustang unless the chip is tuned for the blower. Powerdyne SUCKS!! Go Vortech or ATI. Another option would be Kenne Bell. A stock 5.0 with just a stock blower kit will perform well with an inline pump because the Ford ECUs are so tuner friendly. All the kits come with a fuel management unit, which basically closes of the fuel return line under boost and jacks up fuel pressure. Kind of a band aid but it works pretty good; especially on 5.0s.
 
Thanks. I kind of get the impression that he needs both a gear and a supercharger. The gear gets it out of the hole (as Patman experienced) and without abuse to the drivetrain, whereas the supercharger gets it once you are moving.

Well Drew, you just may have something there. I never heard about Powerdyne, but hear about Vortech all the time. He would do well to go with a reputable company.
 
Don't worry about the pistons. IF it is tuned right, he will have two 2.5L I4's before he has 9 pistons. There is a guy on turbomustangs that beats the crap out of stock blocks for fun.


For upgrades. If he wants a blower, get longtubes

I would suggest against running the 19's with an FMU. Some people do it without problems, but people have problems. What happens when a hose comes undone or blown off and 19's at 38 psi is all you have.

Look into Explorer parts. The intake is about the same as the Cobra, and the earlier Explorer heads were gt-40. The later ones were GT-40P's and require different plugs and some research on LT's. I know that most LT's worked, but I think that changing plugs was a problem. I had an explorer intake without internal EGR, which I think is what hte 94-95 stangs have. I was getting ready to send it to get it ported by TMOSS, then pop it on my stang, but it got sold(thankfully), so the intake got sold for about a $20 loss.

Gears. Most boosted people I know are running 3.27's or 3.55's for the track. If he isn't going to live life a 1/4 mile at a time, keep the 2.73's. Boost first, then see what he wants to do. His LSD shouldn't be having any problems yet, so there really isn't a reason to crack it open.
 
Currently own a 92 Fox body. Had a Vortech V1, then a Powerdyne, now running a 349 n/a. My Powerdyne setup was a BD11a head unit, Powerpipe, 9 psi head unit pulley and a 7" crank pulley, and that was pretty much maxxed out for that setup. Wanting more than that would have necessitated a different supercharger.

That's pretty low mileage for the car, good deal.

You can't run that chip with a blower. The timing curve is such that the engine will detonate with a blower. He could do a few simple mods like remove the filter box baffle to move a little more air, boost static timing to 14 btc, and give the engine a good tuneup. I'll wager that chip isn't doing much but increasing the timing, anyway. Mail order chips are almost worthless.

First mod he should do is a set of 1 5/8 unequal length shorties and a good performance midpipe. Equal lengths are not worth the hassle and burned spark plug wires. LT's are better than shorties, but it all depends on what you want to spend and how much hassle you're willing to deal with. I don't remember what TB size the SN95s came with, if it's 65mm then leave it alone. Otherwise, a 65mm throttle body is a good idea. A C&L or Pro-M style MAF will let the intake breath better.

Gears are a worthwhile mod as well. 3.55s are great all around gears for mileage and performance. You really don't need more gear since the factory engine signs off early.

After that you get into another intake, cam, rockers, heads, etc etc. You can improve the intake and exhaust parts attached to the engine fairly easily and gain impressive power and torque.

Don't forget more power/torque from the engine beats up the clutch and tranny. The factory clutch won't last long behind a supercharged engine, and the T45 tranny will lose it if he tries a lot of speed shifting or drag style launches.

The factory injectors and fuel pump in the car might support the 6 psi kit. I don't like the idea of jacking fuel pressure on those 19s with an FMU. 24's with an FMU would keep the fuel pressure a little lower and help the fuel pump flow more fuel. Make sure you get a bypass valve setup, regardless of blower displacement. Even with the 6psi kit the air surge from a closing throttle body will beat the **** out of the internal belt. If the factory SN95 fuel pump is 110 lph or better than that's good enough. I know the factory Fox body pumps were 88 lph, and they couldn't handle squat. I would definitely get at least 24 lb injectors and a better fuel pump with the 9 psi kit. The Powerdyne is a good street blower. As long as you understand its limitations then you'll be okay. Some guys overspin the head unit and blow the bearings and internal belt. A 9 psi pulley and even up to a 7" crank pulley will keep the impeller rpms under the max limit. I would not, however, buy a Powerdyne kit new. I would look into something in the same price range by Vortech or Paxton. I don't think ATI has a blower in the basic pricerange like Vortech and Paxton do, but I could be wrong. You can find some great deals on used performance parts at Corral.net. Probably find everything you want or need there. Check that or Ebay before buying retail.
 
If you can turn a wrench, I'd swap cam, heads for AFR 165's or 185's and intake. Get good headers.

It'll trounce the supercharged setup, and you can do it in steps. Then when you are done, put the supercharger on. A centrifugal supercharger won't produce much if any boost off idle.

http://airflowresearch.com
also check http://fordmuscle.com (much better forum for performance fords.)

Check out the dyno pages. Those numbers are pretty accurate.

Eric
 
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