Few questions

[Emanuel68]

I have been researching and getting opinions on the intake/exhaust system in my car. I have been questioning what components would make the most effective noticeable boost in performance. I have come to these components and i wonder if i am on the right track....

Cold air intake (of course)
Throttle body spacer
new throttle body/intake manifold combo (75mm)

My biggest question is will I need to get bigger heads to accommodate for the 75 mm throttle body? I also am wondering if this would be one of the best ways to get an efficient boost in acceleration. I have also toyed with the idea of Cams. I am looking for a little bit of input that will guide me to the righteous path of pony power. :lol:

[Joey5.4]

cold air is a good start, some people will vary opinions on throttle boddies, but I for one do not change them, and I have had some fast rides and tried throttle boddies and have always had better luck with stock ones, but some people have had good luc with bigger tb's. as far as a tb spacer... I definetly wouldnt waste money on one of them. thats just my opinion, and like I said other people may differ.

[horspwr]

If you want to improve acceleration and get the best bang for the buck, go with a set of 4.10 gears. CAI is always a good choice and a tuner.

[1low03gt]

Gears.....4.10's,and aftermarket H/X pipe,and cat back is a good place to start.
I would leave the cold air intake for last resort really,and if you decide to go with one,stick with pvc/plastic types,they don't trap heat.
Throttle body,don't waste your money,or leave it for last resort aswell,an upper plenum will help a little as they are improved over the stocker,unless you save yourself some cash by porting the stocker plenum yourself,and add an intake spacer,cause that is basically what the after market does in a way.They raise the roof,and have a larger diameter to allow more air,which can be done with the stocker like i already mentioned,but the other thing that the aftermarket does do,some shorten the length of the upper plenum aswell.

[stumbaugh]

I had good luck with my 75mm throttle body and plenum. If you are looking for some parts i have ALOT for sale.

I have a JLT fenderwell a cold air intake for sale. It's still brand new in the box. They are $220 new plus shipping, i will take $200 for it.

[Bigjht]

Gears.....4.10's,and aftermarket H/X pipe,and cat back is a good place to start.
I would leave the cold air intake for last resort really


+1, but also maybe 3.73 or 3.90 depending on what RPMs you want to be turning while cruising on the highway. I noticed a better throttle response rather than truly more power out of cold air and throttle body. I would only get those if you can find them in good shape used. JMO! Good luck with the choices.

[06MUSTANGGT24V]

I'm going to have to go with 1low03gt and say gears and exhaust, louder = faster....lol

[01LonestarBullitt]

I would also go with gears, tuner, and exhaust just for starters, but one other thing i would also throw in is a short throw shifter. I did all these little components without touching my engine so far and it made the world of difference. as far as gears go, i went with 3.73's cause i do alot of driving between city and highway and enjoy my mileage too much for 4.10's at highway speeds.

[sweet2kstang]

cai intakes are nice, but not a whole lot to gain. i personally perfer c&l, and absolutely hate jlt with a passion.

t/b- mile car, stocker is fine, a ported one will flow quiet a bit. if you want a different one, the stay with 70mm if you not going to do a whole lot. the inlet set up wont effect the heads tillyou go with a power adder or a strong build.

stock plenums are the choking point to the inlet system. the short side sucks and is the biggest down fall. a ported one will help a lot, aftermarkets fix the short turn issue.

the cat back is worth a couple hp, but getting rid of the 4 stock restrictive cats will net more power.

the t/b spacer wont do anything either, dont waste the $$$. i ran a t/b spacer and plenum spacer a long time ago, thankfully i didnt spen much at all on them.

there isnt a "bolt on" mod that is going to give you a lot of hp, its all collective.

[stumbaugh]

cai intakes are nice, but not a whole lot to gain. i personally perfer c&l, and absolutely hate jlt with a passion.

t/b- mile car, stocker is fine, a ported one will flow quiet a bit. if you want a different one, the stay with 70mm if you not going to do a whole lot. the inlet set up wont effect the heads tillyou go with a power adder or a strong build.

stock plenums are the choking point to the inlet system. the short side sucks and is the biggest down fall. a ported one will help a lot, aftermarkets fix the short turn issue.

the cat back is worth a couple hp, but getting rid of the 4 stock restrictive cats will net more power.

the t/b spacer wont do anything either, dont waste the $$$. i ran a t/b spacer and plenum spacer a long time ago, thankfully i didnt spen much at all on them.

there isnt a "bolt on" mod that is going to give you a lot of hp, its all collective.
Well, with a cold air intake like the C&L it draws heat in making it pointless. With the JLT or K&N being plastic it doesnt not draw in heat making it effective. Why do you hate the JLT so much, they are the best cold air intake's made in my opinion.

[sweet2kstang]

heat soak is something that is made a bigger issue than it really is. c&l will get warm, but as soon air starts to flow the temps drops (made of aluminum instead of steel). the air moves thru so fast that the temp of the tube is not really going to effect it, this has been proven over and over again. it takes quiet a bit of heat of the tube to really show much difference (hp wise) at all. the jlt is sh!^, they dont fit worth crap, heat sheilds could be made better by a 5yr old, set up is cheap, but i admit they do cool $h!^ with pvc pipe. in my opinon, they are one of the worst intakes out, i wouldnt run one on a lawn mower!

[Emanuel68]

Wow guys, thanks a bunch for the advice. I guess the next step is affording the mods.
Does anyone know a good mechanic in the Little Rock area? I will need a good contact to put my gears in. I also am wanting to get my heads ported and polished if you guys know anyone who can do that.

[Blackout_03]

P&p of the heads is a waste of time and money on a stock ish car. Nitrous or supercharger/turbo is the only way to make decent power


Intake, exhaust, tuner, gears, shifter and a good set of tires will make a good bit of difference. But after that's its on to some sort of power adder in my book

[Emanuel68]

I am only weary of SC the stock engine due to it reducing the lifespan of the engine. Is this an accurate concern? I have always heard blowers make a car last less than 30k miles once installed. I am assuming that means if you rag it hard and ect. Also, being a poor fellow as I am blowers are a bit out of my price range right now. I guess I am looking to do the most cost effective mods right now, and then top it all off with a SC.

[Blackout_03]

Depends on how you drive. If you rag your car its not going to last. If you get a SC kit with a good tune and the amount of boost that is recommend from that company you will have a fun car with great street manners. But with power come maintnce. Can't skip on oil changes and plug, fuel filter. Stuff like that.

Also....port/pol will not be cheap or easy to do.

[Emanuel68]

Thanks a bunch man, I'll make sure to consider all the ins and outs before I start going the SC route. I think for now a good tune and intake work may be my best option financially. I appreciate it.

[Joey5.4]

I would recommend sherwood performance for the gear installs. Randy put the gears in my car and he does awesome work.
As far as engine machine work, Rebel Racing in Little Rock I hear does good work, but If you wanted to take a little longer trip Kuntz in Arkadelphia is one of the best machine shops in the US, and so is Keith Kraft also in Arkadelphia. Porting the heads will give your HP gains, but is not cheap. Kuntz is around $700 for head porting, it would be useless to do that if you didnt change cams and springs and that would be around $700+, and plus labor if you have someone do it. but if you are going to have the head redone with all new valves,spring, locks, retainers, and p/p it would be cheaper to buy a set of Patriot, VT,ect...
As far as a blower decreasing life of an engine, there are several 03/04 Cobras and Lightnings thats running more than factory boost thats has 100k miles. Yea if you abuse it, the motor wont last but that is with any motor power adder or not.

[1985svo]

hey man i work at ALL OUT PERFORMANCE in Springfield Missouri. We can do custom SCT Tunes for your car. do some bolt on and come up and we will do a custom tune for your car. way better then any hand held tuner and for the most part its cheaper then a hand held and its set up for what u got.

[abdullaGT]

Do NOT get the spacer, it's pointless and takes up space, I got the bbk 78 mm 1 piece tb and plenum, and it gave me a nice increase. That, matched with the k&n intake, x pipe, and programmer, and you'll be set for a while. Once that's not enough for you, go with gears, i just ordered my 4.10's, i'll let you know how they do once i get them installed. Good Luck!

[stumbaugh]

Just spray the mess out of it and never look back!

[mloch4.6]

go with 373 gears full exhaust and a programmer you want make that much power with little bolt on's just leave em alone after you done that add a power adder and a drag radial and go sweep the streets

[QUARTER MILE MUSTANG]

There isn't really one single mod that will really give you a big bump in performance except a power adder, bolt ons are gonna be a accumulative effect. Cams aren't hard to do and aren't that expensive to have installed as long as you use NSR cams and you have someone who knows the procedure well do the install. The intake plenum and throttle body wont do much on a lightly modded car but it will on a car that has quite a bit of bolt ons. Gears are probably one of the first mods i see the most of. Gear ratio selection will all have to do with your daily use of the car, but fox bodies/SN cars tend to go 3:73,99-04 cars could go with either 3:73 or 4:10 and the S197's need the 4:10's. Jmo though.