Intake & Exhaust

From my readings it would appear that one can extract another 30+ hp from the '94-95 GT's by bolting on either a '94-95 Cobra or GT 40 intake and a 65 mm or 70 mm TB. Is this likely? Will the heads, cam and exhaust headers need to be changed also? I would also guess that an aftermarket computer chip would also be needed at this point. What I'm aiming for is a progression of mods that will give significant gains in power and torque while supporting the install of a supercharger at the end.. I would like to see a high 12 low

13 second car before the supercharger. Can the costs be kept below $2000 w/o the supercharger?
Reply to
Richard
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A few words of advice... take them as you will.

A bigger intake on the '94-95 GT probably won't give you 30+ HP. It may help some, but it may also come at the expense of bottom end torque. The '94-95 Cobra or the GT-40 intake with a matched throttle body (not sure what the opening is on either intake) will give you some power over a stock engine... a larger (Trick Flow Track Heat, for example) intake will probably just cause driveability problems and lower bottom-end torque on a stock engine. The intake can be swapped on without changing any other components.

The computer will not need to be chipped to take advantage of an intake, exhaust, or even a cam or head swap, provided that the MAF meter isn't running in saturation (you're pulling more air than it can accurately monitor). That condition is doubtful even with all of those components changed. However, a custom burned chip based on dyno tuning will allow you to maximize your investment.

The supercharger throws another wrench into the works. We went through this debate with a couple of the members of this group not a year ago. Basically, a car meant to be blown should be built with that in mind. Things that give big numbers on a N/A car will not necessarily help a blown car. High compression ratios will gain N/A power, but spell disaster for blown cars. Therefore, even if you leave the bottom end stock but swap the heads to ones with smaller combustion chambers, you will have effectively increased the compression ratio. Also, camshafts should be chosen to match the engine, and cams can be spec'd for a blower.

Again, a lot of the situation depends on track bite. You're building a street machine that's set up to drag race from the sounds of things, and could care less about attacking a twisty course. Put money into the chassis. Support the body with a cage (required for convertibles running

13.99 and faster anyway). Consider a more drag race oriented rear end suspension setup. Consider a weight loss program. Buy slicks/drag radials and learn to launch with them. Consider having the automatic it rebuilt to handle the excess power, and also include a transbrake and a manual shift valvebody. I'd say gears but you already have 4.10's. This should be plenty for the 5.0.

There's a lot more to going fast than just making big power. Buzz Haze is probably my hero and mentor on this. Anyone running a totally stock long block 5.0 Mustang into the high 12's deserves some credit for doing his homework.

I'd get a set of drag radials and practice launching and driving what you have now. Before I'd go any farther on the power, I'd make sure that what you have is controllable and that you can get it to the ground. 400hp blown Mustangs are great, but if you can't put the power to the asphault, it's all for show.

After that.. find yourself a good set of aftermarket heads (aluminum if you wish to lose some weight, just get the good head gaskets made for dissimilar metals), the Cobra or GT-40 intake, and full exhaust from headers to tips... preferrably long tubes if you can get ahold of them. Make sure the heads have the same size combustion chambers as stock heads do to keep the compression ratio at the same area (may be able to modify it some to enlarge if necessary) to keep it blower-friendly. Get a blower-friendly cam as well.

I wish this sport was cheaper... ;-)

JS

Reply to
JS

JS: I agree with everything you stated except for the transbrake. Unless the car is going to be a dedicated race car, and run in the Super Pro class (NHRA) or the TOP or MOD class (IHRA) a transbrake will be illegal. The transbrake can not be used in the street class in both NHRA & IHRA or the Heavy class in NHRA. If you are caught using a transbrake in a class that don't allow it, and trust me, they will know the first time you launch the car, you will be banned from racing at any events sponsored by that sanctioning body. Personally, if you don't have a race ready drive train, I don't recommend using a transbrake. I recommend learning to footbrake your launches before going to a transbrake. It will definitely help improve your reaction times. As for Buzz, yes, he did one heck of a job his first full season of racing. He sought out people with experience, and asked questions and he paid close attention to what they told him, and the result was the "Rookie of the Year" award.

Pintobro

Reply to
Pintobro

Thank you JS for your thoughtful response.

Actually, I was thinking of both a quick and nimble car if that's possible.Which begs the question as to whether the suspension can be modified to handle both. I'm going to assume that there are trade-offs but that in the end I could still be pleased with the results.

Reply to
Richard

Pintobro -

Thanks for the clarification... I'll remember that if I ever build a drag-oriented car.

Always thought it'd be fun to launch a transbrake-equipped ride. :-)

JS

Reply to
JS

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