Cheap ways to add horsepower

I just got a used 1996 Mustang GT with manual transmission. I know there are tons of mods and ways to add horsepower. What are some of the easier, cheaper ways to add horsepower. Thanks.

Reply to
lmeadows
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Well.. adding hosepower isn't all that cheap. BUT some things you can do that will REALLY impact the way your car performs are: Sub Frame connectors and strut tower brace (if it didn't coem with one, my

95 had one from the factory) A Short throw shifter (I like the Steeda Tri-Ax) 3:73 gears in the rear end. Those few things are under a grand and will make it seem as if you have a brand new car under you.

Kate

98 Cobra Drop Top Everything modded but the engine... so far that is!
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Reply to
SVTKate

As Kate mentioned, get a Steeda Tri-Ax short throw shifter. It was one of the first mods done to my 98 Mustang GT & it's by far the best. I can't believe I ever managed with the stock shifter after using this Steeda Tri-Ax. It's unbelievably awesome. It can be found brand new on eBay for about $170 with shipping (mine was). Shop around. Gears (around my area) will cost me about $600 for parts + labor. I'm saving up for those. I have to get a new clutch soon (feels like it anyway) so I think I'm going to try a King Cobra clutch or a Steeda clutch kit (probably Steeda since I trust them so much).. I'll let you guys know how it goes. It'll be a few months at least anyway. I've got a heavy duty Steeda rear sway bar & Steeda subframe connectors on my list of things to get too (ordering from Gagan (mwarrior) of course b/c he provided best price).

Some say you can squeeze about 5hp from getting a K&N air filter & I hafta call BS on that. I wouldn't waste the money unless you're getting an entire cold air intake (MAF tube thing & all). BBK is a very good kind to get when it comes to cold air.

I thought about just throwing pieces in my car like you're considering doing... b/c it's fun to see HP gains, but I've learned (Jim Warman, JS, others) that the _OVERALL_ most financially smart way is to come up with a plan with what you want the car to do (1/8 mile, 1/4 mile, etc) and start planning out parts to achieve that goal. I suppose if you just want a little extra pep & feel you won't be craving power after that (yeah right we all do) then you could do a few "smaller" mods. Anyway.. good luck w/ it! Enjoy your stang!

-Mike

Reply to
<memset

Definitely a rear end gear, but find the gear that you will grow into for future growth, they are not hard to replace, but wasting money on them is not smart either.

A 355 or 373 work well, but anything above that tends not to be all that street friendly depending on a power adder if implimented in the future.

As for a shifter, test them out with a friends if viable. While some people like the steeda tri-ax others tend to like the pro 5.0

I would tend to agree with the poster above me about the air filter, I suspect 1hp maybe 2 if you were lucky but once again contingent on factors such as temperature, elevation, barometric pressure and others.

The cold air intake is often speculative as well, on NA applications Ive seen gains and sometimes none at all. On F-IND most assuredly.

-- Mustang

------------------------------------------------------------------------ Posted via HorsePowered.com - The Internets Premiere Ford Mustang Community.

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Reply to
Mustang

Bill S recommends a Grenn filter rather than the K&N.. says it doesn't oil up your MAF... I'm going to try one a little later on.

Kate

Reply to
SVTKate

It there were really any cheap and easy ways to add horsepower then the factory would have already done it. Most all of the bolt on stuff comes with price that is paid in terms of low end torque. There were two articles I read in a couple of car mags that might be of some interest. In the first the builders set about trying to bolt on 85 horsepower. After replacing everything they could on the top of the engine (Including the intake & exhaust.) they wound up achieving a little over half their goal. They ended up having to machine all the new parts in order to get the rest. (What this tells me is there is a little over thirty extra horses in the stock engine just waiting for you to come along and massage them out). The second dealt with a test of almost all the aftermarket manifolds on the market (for a

5.0) with respect to which one gave you the most low end torque. (A real important number when driving around town.) and it was discovered that the stock manifold was the winner. Bottom line, if you are planning on using this car as a daily driver you would be better served leaving the engine alone.

The chaises and driveline are other maters entirely. If you drive the car a lot in town you might want to go with some lower gears. They give you more acceleration off the line and better pulling power around town. (useful for towing and going up steep grades). Your mileage will suffer some on the highway so if you put a lot of miles on the car you should forgo this step.

Subframe connectors are a must have IMO, the car is tighter, rides is smother, corners better and stops straighter. Honestly the single biggest improvement you will ever make to the vehicle. (While your there you might as well brace the upper strut towers, lower K member, and rear shock mounts.) Another area of improvement is upgrading the brakes, I don't know if your car came with 4 wheel disks or not. SSBC makes a nice inexpensive rear drum to disk conversion kit. There is also a large number of different kits to make your existing brakes better.

Reply to
Ironrod

Before you go all crazy and spend what money you do have make sure the safety items are all good and the maintence items are up to date. There is nothing that I hate more is to see a new "used" vehicle coming into the shop to have add-ons when it is in desperate needs of TLC.

Reply to
Sustang

Reply to
Kathleen Selby

Good advice!

Kate

Reply to
SVTKate

Gears,were my fav.

Reply to
Mstngcnv96

Nitrous Oxide.

Reply to
Jimmy

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