What's next?

[TheRealStubot]

Hi!

I'm a relatively new member of this group. I have a red '95 GT, 5 speed. I've done a little work on the car, new posi/3.73s, new trans, etc... basically just stuff that's wearing out on my 77k mile daily driver.

While the GT runs strong, it's just not fast enough. I'm deciding which mod to perform next. I think I would benefit from exhaust most at this point, but would like to ask each of you what you would do in my situation. The engine runs good, with the exception of the axles, the entire driveline is new. Otherwise it's bone stock. I'm considering a Flowmaster Cat Back ( American Thunder )... What would you do?

Jeff

[BBATCO1]

Spray the piss out of it!!

[bk_breaker_svt]

I second that.....If u are looking for speed, go power adder.....best bang for your buck would be to spray it.....

[Fatstang]

But if you don't wanna go with Nitrous nor a supercharger. Change that mid pipe(H) out, it has restrictive cats. Get like a Magnaflow or Bassani or even a BBK x-pipe, then get your cat back. I have a bassani X-pipe w/cats and the American thunder flowmasters cat-back, it sounds great and i got a lot of thumbs up on it, but flowmaster aren't the best performing system, but best sounding IMO.

[TheRealStubot]

Thanks for the input! I've considered the exact mod you're talking about, but I've heard horror stories about replacing the cats and getting all sorts of check engine lights and other associated emissions problems. Did you experience these?

Jeff

[Greg@GLD]

Thanks for the input! I've considered the exact mod you're talking about, but I've heard horror stories about replacing the cats and getting all sorts of check engine lights and other associated emissions problems. Did you experience these?

Jeff


You will not have that problem because our cars don't have four O2 sensors, we have only two. Ours are also FORWARD of the cats, no worries there. You obviously aren't going to pass emissions with no cats but the car will run great w/o them. I run a MAC prochamber and Flowmaster American Thunder cat-back, the MAC product is kinda crappy as far as quality (I have had it welded by the seams twice and my car is never driven in winter)

If you can find a used one, the FMS EFI Extender will help your car pick up a little too...

[Fatstang]

Thanks for the input! I've considered the exact mod you're talking about, but I've heard horror stories about replacing the cats and getting all sorts of check engine lights and other associated emissions problems. Did you experience these?

Jeff

No, no check engine lights what so ever. You'll be fine. I'm not sure what kind of mid-pipe your 5.0 has, but mine had 4 cats with the 4 O2 sensors. the Bassani and other aftermarket mid-pipes come with just two free flowing cats. The pipe has outlets for all four O2 sensors so it's like the stock set up, minus 2 cats and no lights will come on. You can get them on Ebay! Unforntunatly sine your car is pre `98, the emissions will be done on the rollers. On mine, i can actually run without cats and still pass if i had MIL eliminators(for the O2 sensors), because they just do an onboard diagnosic and go off by what the computer says. Headers might be an idea for ya to, but again, it may hurt your emissions, but i'm sure there is someone on this site that has that setup and can tell you if you'll be ok for emissions. LoL :burnout:

[jdsgallops]

The cheapest things to do next that will net you a nice gain are the pulleys and a CAI. Adding both of those and my msd box and coil I gained about 2.5 mph. The pulleys are a no brainer. I was not a CAI fan, but I needed space to mount my coil so I bought one. I was flabbergasted at the change in the car. Since the engine comparments are tighter on the 94-95 cars they seem to be real hot. Picking up the cooler air from the fender really made a difference, though I think in my case it partly has to do with the hot humid weather we have here in FL. I have less than $175 between those two items, great bang for the buck IMO.

[TheRealStubot]

You might wanna consider suspension work and/or sticky tires. Doesnt pay to add more power if you can't get what you have to the ground......

The stock suspension is a bit loose, and traction is always a problem. But where to begin? New springs, shocks, arms, subframes??

[TheRealStubot]

If you can find a used one, the FMS EFI Extender will help your car pick up a little too...

What's that?

[Fatstang]

[QUOTE=TheRealStubot]The stock suspension is a bit loose, and traction is always a problem. But where to begin? New springs, shocks, arms, subframes??[/QUOTE

I would change you upper and lower control arms. Now which ones, that's a tough one since there's so many out there. I have Steeda aluminum lowers and Alston Racing uppers. I like them, they're fine for my application. Here are a few brands, Steeda, UPR, BBK, D&D, Lakewood, Ground Pounder. I bet people will add to the list of what you need, what kind of budget are you on?

[TheRealStubot]

Exactly. Whats your budget, and what are your goals? Drag, Auto-X, etc?

I hear alot of good about HPM's Mega-Bite arms, though they are pricey. I have Southsides, Ive always had good results with them. You will also want to have your torque boxes welded up while youre under there with it all apart, the also make "Battle Boxes" which go inside and reinforce.

Budget? :)

My goals, wow, that's a tough one. Street/Strip I guess, until I get another car. Street manners should be good, I'm an old man and I still demand some comfort. I'm not afraid to spend some cash on this.

Jeff

[pearlpony5.0]

If your going to put an exhaust on i would put full mac exhaust. I have mac on my car and everyone says that my 5.0 doesn't sound like everyother mustang with flowmasters rolling down the street. But besides the exhaust i would change out the computer because the 94 and 95's 5.0's have weak computers. And as for the suspension change the uppers and lowers. And i would highly recomend subframes and if your going to run slicks or a tire of that sort i would also recommend axles bcause the stock axles are to weak to handle a slick. I've watched to many people snap stock axles on a slick.

[Ghost]

Budget? :)

My goals, wow, that's a tough one. Street/Strip I guess, until I get another car. Street manners should be good, I'm an old man and I still demand some comfort. I'm not afraid to spend some cash on this.

Jeff

I have the D&D solid upper/lowers and they are not bad at all

they just dropped the price down to like 179 for both upper and lower

and then I would get some sub frame connectors

I have the maximum motorsport ones and I love them

[Nick 1]

If it hasn't been done yet, remove air silencer, bump timing, K&N air filter, synthetic engine oil, cold air intake, underdrive pulleys. Then upper & lower control arms, & drag radials for traction. More idea's available depending on your goals. These are the basics to put you in the right direction.


Nick1
:D

ps: Run 93 octane with the bumped timing.

[TheRealStubot]

If it hasn't been done yet, remove air silencer, bump timing, K&N air filter, synthetic engine oil, cold air intake, underdrive pulleys. Then upper & lower control arms, & drag radials for traction. More idea's available depending on your goals. These are the basics to put you in the right direction.


Nick1
:D

ps: Run 93 octane with the bumped timing.

WHOA! Nice list! Thanks Nick1!

Where's the air silencer?

Bump timing how much? I'm assuming you mean advance timing.

The cold air and the K&N can be taken care of in one step?

I always run 93. If I run crap gas, the car knocks something fierce!

Jeff

[Fatstang]

WHOA! Nice list! Thanks Nick1!

Where's the air silencer?

Bump timing how much? I'm assuming you mean advance timing.

The cold air and the K&N can be taken care of in one step?

I always run 93. If I run crap gas, the car knocks something fierce!

Jeff

The air silencer is a rubber hose that runs along side the airbox, the diameter of it is maybe the dia of you pinky finger. But if you get an aftermarket cold-air-intake, you are going to remove the entire airbox and intake hose anyway. Alot of people get CAI that goes into your fendor wall, and it comes with a K&N filter or very similiar.
Steeda makes a timing adjuster that bolts onto your crank pulley, you can find them on EBay for $75-$125. Normally they say on a NA car, bump it between 12-15*, mines at 14 degrees.

[TheRealStubot]

Normally they say on a NA car, bump it between 12-15*, mines at 14 degrees.

This doesn't mess with the ECC?

Jeff

[MAT88GT]

no
the ecc adjusts timing in addition to the initial advance

everything previously stated holds true...devise a plan of attack and work towards a finished goal...expect to spend 2x the amount of the parts

[Ghost]

you dont need a timing adj cause you have a 5.0 only the 4.6 mod motors need those if your car is pinging with less then 93 oct gas there is a chance the timing has already been bumped up

[Fatstang]

Oh yeah, i forgot you had the 5.0. Does it have a distributor? I'm not sure(lack of expereince), but can't you advance/retard timing by rotating the distributor cap? But shop around, see what prices you can find, Ebay can be your friend, there's a ton of mustang parts on there. I know there's a lot of directions you can start with, but IMO, i would go full exhaust first. there's nothing that's going to bring a bigger grin to your face when you first turn the key on your 5.0 with new, larger, louder, performance exhaust. I love the sound :cool:

[TheRealStubot]

Oh yeah, i forgot you had the 5.0. Does it have a distributor? I'm not sure(lack of expereince), but can't you advance/retard timing by rotating the distributor cap? But shop around, see what prices you can find, Ebay can be your friend, there's a ton of mustang parts on there. I know there's a lot of directions you can start with, but IMO, i would go full exhaust first. there's nothing that's going to bring a bigger grin to your face when you first turn the key on your 5.0 with new, larger, louder, performance exhaust. I love the sound :cool:

Yes, it does have a distributor.

In the old days, you used to hook up a timing light to the #1 plug wire, then point it at the balancer and twist the cap to set your initial advance. Those were my Chevy days *gasp*

I agree with you on the exhaust. My exhaust is STOCK and also it's starting to fall apart. I don't know if I want to spend a small fortune on a stainless steel exhaust, or go cheap with aluminized mild steel. I have to drive the car in the winter, and this is my dilemma at this point. I figure an aluminized mild steel exhaust will be good for a few years at most, when you consider the winter aspect. Factory stainless is on there now, and it's 10 years old and still together. I would also like to go with full length headers, but then I have emissions to worry about. Also in my old age, I've become more picky about little things like not losing my hearing on a trip longer than 20 minutes. In my younger days, I had a Datsun 280Z ( Yeah, I was a ricer ) and it had a full length header, and a 2 1/2 inch pipe for an exhaust. No muffler, no cat, no resonator, just a header and a pipe. Talk about loud! My neighbors hated me! But a drive of more that 20 miles was a chore, cause the exhaust just numbed your whole body, ears first. I'm not into that these days. So I want an exhaust that is not much louder than stock until you hit half throttle.

[Fatstang]

Yes, it does have a distributor.

In the old days, you used to hook up a timing light to the #1 plug wire, then point it at the balancer and twist the cap to set your initial advance. Those were my Chevy days *gasp*

I agree with you on the exhaust. My exhaust is STOCK and also it's starting to fall apart. I don't know if I want to spend a small fortune on a stainless steel exhaust, or go cheap with aluminized mild steel. I have to drive the car in the winter, and this is my dilemma at this point. I figure an aluminized mild steel exhaust will be good for a few years at most, when you consider the winter aspect. Factory stainless is on there now, and it's 10 years old and still together. I would also like to go with full length headers, but then I have emissions to worry about. Also in my old age, I've become more picky about little things like not losing my hearing on a trip longer than 20 minutes. In my younger days, I had a Datsun 280Z ( Yeah, I was a ricer ) and it had a full length header, and a 2 1/2 inch pipe for an exhaust. No muffler, no cat, no resonator, just a header and a pipe. Talk about loud! My neighbors hated me! But a drive of more that 20 miles was a chore, cause the exhaust just numbed your whole body, ears first. I'm not into that these days. So I want an exhaust that is not much louder than stock until you hit half throttle.

I have Flowmasters and they sound great(aluminum). Magnaflow is a little quieter. Dynomax makes a good exhaust i hear. Headers may fail you on the Hydracarbs, but i i know a guy with a `95 GT with BBK short tubes, Bassani X-pipe w/cats and a Flowmaster cat-back. It sounds great and i think it's a smog legal too! Maybe you can find a winter beater for a few hundred bucks to save your car from the salty midwest roads :thumbs_up LOL

[MAT88GT]

if you keep aluminized exhaust clean it will last a long time...go to www.mustangexhaust.com and find something you like as far as sound

[Fatstang]

Jeff, let us know what your first move will be, just curious what brands/parts you are going with. LOL. :shifter: :burnout:

[TheRealStubot]

Thanks for all the support!

I'm considering a cold air kit, and I'm looking at UPR's. Has anyone installed a UPR Cold Air Kit? Do they fit? It looks tits, but is it worthy?

Jeff

[Fatstang]

Thanks for all the support!

I'm considering a cold air kit, and I'm looking at UPR's. Has anyone installed a UPR Cold Air Kit? Do they fit? It looks tits, but is it worthy?

Jeff

If you plan are getting a CAI kit, then i suggest to get a 70mm throttle body at the same time. The CAI will make extra power, but it may be power that won't be felt as much as a bigger exhaust. I have a BBk 70mm TB and a MAC cold air intake, the intake is metal and does get hot as hell. To solve that problem, i bought a roll of 2"x15' "Cool Tape" and wraped the pipe to keep it from getting hot. Now, right after i drive it, i can pop the hood and touch the intake pipe and it won't burn my hand, it really keeps the heat from absorbing. the tape can be found like at a Lee's Auto Parts for $13. Some cold air intake are ceremic coated to cut down the heat as well. Another good plastic intake is Densecharger.

[Ghost]

I have the densecharger on my 2000 and my buddy has one on his 94GT

[Fatstang]

Make the car breathe better, go for exhaust, you can always get CAI and a TB off EBay at a great price.

[TheRealStubot]

Jeff, let us know what your first move will be, just curious what brands/parts you are going with.
After speaking with John at Fast Times Performance and Auto, he recommended I get an exhaust before the old exhaust FALLS APART. So it's all arranged, I'm taking it in middle of this week for a new Flowmaster 2.5 American Thunder cat back.

I also ordered the 13" Cobra brake upgrade, with Slotted/Crossdrilled rotors, and Braided Stainless Steel lines.

AND the Moroso CAI won't fit my 95, so I went with UPR's CAI. I haven't installed any of it yet, but it's all ordered and on the way here.

I'm ready for some better timeslips!

[Ghost]

After speaking with John at Fast Times Performance and Auto, he recommended I get an exhaust before the old exhaust FALLS APART. So it's all arranged, I'm taking it in middle of this week for a new Flowmaster 2.5 American Thunder cat back.

I also ordered the 13" Cobra brake upgrade, with Slotted/Crossdrilled rotors, and Braided Stainless Steel lines.

AND the Moroso CAI won't fit my 95, so I went with UPR's CAI. I haven't installed any of it yet, but it's all ordered and on the way here.

I'm ready for some better timeslips!

I wish you luck on the upr stuff

I ordered some stuff awhile back from upr and it took 4 weeks to get it and they have the worst c/s I have seen yet

[TheRealStubot]

I wish you luck on the upr stuff

I ordered some stuff awhile back from upr and it took 4 weeks to get it and they have the worst c/s I have seen yet
No kidding?! I have a UPS tracking number, and they claim it's on it's way and on time for being here tomorrow. I ordered it last week.

Jeff

[Ghost]

No kidding?! I have a UPS tracking number, and they claim it's on it's way and on time for being here tomorrow. I ordered it last week.

Jeff

thats great :banana: :banana:

at least your not going to get the shaft the way I did I know I will never order anything from them again. Its not because how long it took its cause everytime I talked to them they swore it was going to ship that day and then a week later it still did not ship

after 4 calls and the last saying I was going to take my money else where did it ship 3 1/2 weeks later so by the time I got my stuff it was over 4 weeks from the time of order.

when they said I would have it by the end of the first week(i ordered by phone)

[Fatstang]

I wish you luck on the upr stuff

I ordered some stuff awhile back from upr and it took 4 weeks to get it and they have the worst c/s I have seen yet

Don't try to scare the guy Tony :burnout:
UPR isn't bad, it just seems to take long cause they are located in Florida. But in Tony's situation, they must of been on back order without telling him, which is bad customer service, but it happens. I bought my shifter and Spherical bearings from them with no worries. Good to hear that you are already upgrading more than one area. You'll like the sound of the Folws. :rockon:

[Ghost]

Don't try to scare the guy Tony :burnout:
UPR isn't bad, it just seems to take long cause they are located in Florida. But in Tony's situation, they must of been on back order without telling him, which is bad customer service, but it happens. I bought my shifter and Spherical bearings from them with no worries. Good to hear that you are already upgrading more than one area. You'll like the sound of the Folws. :rockon:

that my be true

but they I talked to when ordering said they were in stock and would ship that day since I ordered at 10 in the morning and it took them 3 1/2 weeks to ship :mad: :mad:


I have talked to a few people that got stuff from them it seems like its 50/50 when it comes to stuff that

but I will say they do sell good products its just there customer service SUCKS A BIG ONE :lew:

[TheRealStubot]

Good to hear that you are already upgrading more than one area. You'll like the sound of the Folws.
I'm a little leery though. I really don't want my neighbors keying my car or letting all the air out of my tires cause I start the car at 7am and wake them all up. AND I don't want to have to wear headphones when I go on a trip, you know what I'm sayin? So I'm rollin the dice here bigtime. John said it shouldn't be too bad since I still have my OE Cats and Headers.

Jeff

[Fatstang]

I'm a little leery though. I really don't want my neighbors keying my car or letting all the air out of my tires cause I start the car at 7am and wake them all up. AND I don't want to have to wear headphones when I go on a trip, you know what I'm sayin? So I'm rollin the dice here bigtime. John said it shouldn't be too bad since I still have my OE Cats and Headers.

Jeff

You'll be fine crusing down the HWY, i have (noisy)4.30 gears and i'm at 3000 @ 80mph so the pipes are singing, but nothing too loud that you can't talk over. What kind of shady neighborhood to you live in that people would do such a thing? :thud: Anyway, a lot people should be up for work or school by then, i have no problems firing up mine 7am with the nieghbors, but i just take it easy and accelerate slow and shift like at 1500-2000 in the neighborhood.

[Ghost]

you will be just fine with the flowmaster a/t cat back it wont be as loud as you think

with the stock h-pipe in place it going to be only a little bit louder then stock

I know I had it on my old 95GT I was disapointed of how stock it sounded :mad:

I think a good setup for noise and power would be a good catted mid pipe(x or h) and magnaflow catback(not the magnapacks)

I have the mac porchamber mid pipe and dumped magnaflow muffs and its not loud at all
steves car is louder with the catted bassani x-pipe and flows :banana:

[TheRealStubot]

What kind of shady neighborhood to you live in that people would do such a thing?
Man, I live in the great neighborhood of BayView. And 99.99999% of my neighbors are absolutely cool. However, next door to me, there are some new people that moved in beginning of this month, and they're excelling at pissing EVERYBODY off completely. For example, they park their cars so they take up 2 spaces ( crooked ) and they knock over the garbage cans in the alley all the time. Saturday night, they threw a massive party and were making all kinds of noise till the wee hours. Nobody reported them, this time. Anyhow, they set my car alarm off 2 or 3 times a week, the alarm says the shock sensor tripped, and I have a 2 stage sensor too. So either they're smacking my car, or something. I've found no visible damage. The new neighbors look like nice enough people, there's a couple and another guy. The couple have a Sebring vert and the dude has an Explorer. Anyhow, they're making a great impression at least.

[TheRealStubot]

I think a good setup for noise and power would be a good catted mid pipe(x or h) and magnaflow catback(not the magnapacks)
I looked at those, and they're friggin GLASS PACKS! I had a '69 Chevy pickup truck that I put Hooker headers and these glass pack header mufflers that bolted directly to the collectors. Then about 2 feet of 2.5 inch pipe, a 45 degree elbow and about 3 feet of 2.5 inch pipe. As you can tell, this was before emissions were being taken seriously ( in WA state ). Anyhow, this truck sounded like a rail dragster coming off the line. The pipes exited right in front of the rear wheels, but they might as well have been in the cab of the truck. If you drive that truck more than a few blocks, you were deaf in both ears for the rest of the day.

I looked at:
SLP's Loud Mouth - WAY WAY too loud! But very sexy sound!
Magnaflow - Glass packs
Bassani - Nice but a little too much $$$
Borla - Great sound, but entirely too much $$$
Dynomax - I don't remember why I didn't like these
Flowmaster - Best bang for the buck.

[Ghost]

I looked at those, and they're friggin GLASS PACKS! I had a '69 Chevy pickup truck that I put Hooker headers and these glass pack header mufflers that bolted directly to the collectors. Then about 2 feet of 2.5 inch pipe, a 45 degree elbow and about 3 feet of 2.5 inch pipe. As you can tell, this was before emissions were being taken seriously ( in WA state ). Anyhow, this truck sounded like a rail dragster coming off the line. The pipes exited right in front of the rear wheels, but they might as well have been in the cab of the truck. If you drive that truck more than a few blocks, you were deaf in both ears for the rest of the day.

I looked at:
SLP's Loud Mouth - WAY WAY too loud! But very sexy sound!
Magnaflow - Glass packs
Bassani - Nice but a little too much $$$
Borla - Great sound, but entirely too much $$$
Dynomax - I don't remember why I didn't like these
Flowmaster - Best bang for the buck.

for one you are wrong the magnaflow muffs are not glass packs they are a reg muff

the magnapacks are a straight through muff just like a glass pack and they are loud
but are still not glass packs

[Fatstang]

You going in the right direction and you should be happy with your progress, but i bet you won't stop there, you'll want more goodies in the future. When's the car going intop the shop?

[TheRealStubot]

for one you are wrong the magnaflow muffs are not glass packs they are a reg muff

the magnapacks are a straight through muff just like a glass pack and they are loud
but are still not glass packs
Oops! Terribly sorry, I have looked at so many exhaust systems in the last few weeks, I am getting them confused. I did however find a system that had glasspacks or something very similar to the them recently.

Jeff

[TheRealStubot]

You going in the right direction and you should be happy with your progress, but i bet you won't stop there, you'll want more goodies in the future. When's the car going intop the shop?
I called John at Fast Times yesterday, if he gets the parts in today, then I take the car in tomorrow morning, otherwise Thurs morning.

[Ghost]

Oops! Terribly sorry, I have looked at so many exhaust systems in the last few weeks, I am getting them confused. I did however find a system that had glasspacks or something very similar to the them recently.

Jeff

the one that is most like a glass pack is the slp loud mouth cat backl

theres no need to be sorry :beer:

[TheRealStubot]

the one that is most like a glass pack is the slp loud mouth cat back
I called SLP on the phone and asked them a bunch of questions, and when I was done with that call, I was happy and ready to plunk over the $$$ for a loud mouth. After that, I was chatting with John at Fast Times and he talked me out of it saying that he put a Loud Mouth in a Camaro and it's just sooo loud, the owner cannot listen to the stereo when he's driving through town. He also mentioned that the quality of the SLP stuff could be a lot better too.

Honestly, I think they sound great, but not for my daily driver. For a weekend warrior, I would go Loud Mouth, just because it matches my personality.:rant:

[Ghost]

I called SLP on the phone and asked them a bunch of questions, and when I was done with that call, I was happy and ready to plunk over the $$$ for a loud mouth. After that, I was chatting with John at Fast Times and he talked me out of it saying that he put a Loud Mouth in a Camaro and it's just sooo loud, the owner cannot listen to the stereo when he's driving through town. He also mentioned that the quality of the SLP stuff could be a lot better too.

Honestly, I think they sound great, but not for my daily driver. For a weekend warrior, I would go Loud Mouth, just because it matches my personality.:rant:

when it comes to quality I would go with bassani and or magnaflow and same gos for power

[TheRealStubot]

I was warned...

I get home last night and there's a pair of boxes waiting for me. A big one, and a a little one. The big ( and heavy ) one is my 13" Cobra brake upgrade kit. The small one is my UPR CAI kit.

I open the CAI and there is no instruction sheet, or even a diagram of how the thing goes together! There are some tapered rubber tubes, and a slightly curved pipe that could go 2 ways, and is not obvious which way is right! I'm going to email them later on today, or maybe call them to see if there is some help available. I am going to make a step by step instruction sheet myself and post it here in any case.

I dunno if I'll do it for the brakes though, that's pretty straightforward and well documented elseware. My Haynes manual shows explicit detail of how to remove the single piston caliper and how to install the 2 piston caliper. Also there is detailed instructions on how to bleed the system. Baer's site has a great tutorial on bedding the pads and breaking in the rotors.

[Want Notch]

Doesn't that bear kit require bigger rims for clearence?

[TheRealStubot]

Doesn't that bear kit require bigger rims for clearence?
No it's a actually an FMS kit, or FMS parts. I have 17s, there shouldn't be an issue. The rotors are HUGE looking though :D And the calipers are huge too!

[Ghost]

congrates its always nice to come home and see those brown boxes it makes ya feel like a kid on christmas :banana: :banana:

[TheRealStubot]

congrates its always nice to come home and see those brown boxes it makes ya feel like a kid on christmas :banana: :banana:
Yeah it does. I would have felt much better if there was some instruction or diagram detailing how to put the damn thing together. But I suppose it can't be that tough.

[Fatstang]

A cold air intake is fairly simple to install. It's almost self-explaintory. Dive into it and if you get stuck, i'm sure someone here can walk you threw it if not myself.

[TheRealStubot]

Self explanatory maybe. there are some goofy rubber tubes that are tapered, also the top elbow looks like it can go 2 ways, which way is right? There are some connections on the top elbow that it's not readily apparent what they go to. It looks like one of them goes to a temperature sensor. And I honestly don't know where the other goes, maybe a PCV valve??

[Fatstang]

Take a look at my Photo Gallery, i have one pic of my engine and you can see the two blue hoses of the intake, one goes to the PCV and the other to the upper intake. On your's there may be a hole somewhere on the opposite side of the cold air tube as well, that's for the air temp sensor if you car has one(`99 and up didn't). I'm guessing your UPR intake goes into the fender wall, if so, here's the PITA part. You have to jack the car up and remove the tire and the wheel well palstic. this has to be done when installin the filter to the intake elbow.
I found this HOW-TO article, maybe this can assist you, LoL.
http://www.mustangworld.com/ourpics/fcar/coldairmac.htm

[TheRealStubot]

Take a look at my Photo Gallery, i have one pic of my engine and you can see the two blue hoses of the intake, one goes to the PCV and the other to the upper intake. On your's there may be a hole somewhere on the opposite side of the cold air tube as well, that's for the air temp sensor if you car has one(`99 and up didn't). I'm guessing your UPR intake goes into the fender wall, if so, here's the PITA part. You have to jack the car up and remove the tire and the wheel well palstic. this has to be done when installin the filter to the intake elbow.
I found this HOW-TO article, maybe this can assist you, LoL.
http://www.mustangworld.com/ourpics/fcar/coldairmac.htm
Thanks a TON. My car, a 95, is like totally the black sheep of the Mustang line, except for maybe the Mustang II's :D It looks like I have a totally different setup than the tutorial you sent me to ( thanks BTW ) and your gallery pix. However, The tutorial explains what all the hardware is in the baggie, and how it generally needs to go together. I should be able to put it together now. Sooo... I should be able to put it all together first nice weekend I have off.

[TheRealStubot]

Update: Fast Times installed the Flowmaster Cat Back this AM. All I can say is, YEAH! The tone is deeper at idle, almost silent between 2000-3000, and gets really sweet after that. It's as close to perfect as I can describe. On the freeway, it's very quiet, in fact I noticed that I have a lot of tire noise for the first time, so it may even be quieter than the stock in that range. The guy that did the installation noted that I had an exhaust leak, which I interpreted as a miss at high RPM's. That's gone now.

I mentioned to John that it's nice and quiet and he said as long as the OE cats are in the system, it will be quiet. So I guess I need an off road X-Pipe now, and some decent headers. :burnout:

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. I'll stop this madness when I have to install a roll cage to race it, so it may be a while...

Jeff

[Fatstang]

Update: Fast Times installed the Flowmaster Cat Back this AM. All I can say is, YEAH! The tone is deeper at idle, almost silent between 2000-3000, and gets really sweet after that. It's as close to perfect as I can describe. On the freeway, it's very quiet, in fact I noticed that I have a lot of tire noise for the first time, so it may even be quieter than the stock in that range. The guy that did the installation noted that I had an exhaust leak, which I interpreted as a miss at high RPM's. That's gone now.

I mentioned to John that it's nice and quiet and he said as long as the OE cats are in the system, it will be quiet. So I guess I need an off road X-Pipe now, and some decent headers. :burnout:

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. I'll stop this madness when I have to install a roll cage to race it, so it may be a while...

Jeff
That's great to hear Jeff that you're happy with the flows. Once you break them in more, they will get slightly louder, but you may not even notice it. You'll be surprised on how much pick up you'll gain once you install an aftermarket x-pipe. Again thanx for the update and letting us know your progress :shifter:

[TheRealStubot]

That's great to hear Jeff that you're happy with the flows. Once you break them in more, they will get slightly louder, but you may not even notice it. You'll be surprised on how much pick up you'll gain once you install an aftermarket x-pipe. Again thanx for the update and letting us know your progress :shifter:Funny you should say that. John actually told me depending on mods, dumping the OE cats should net a gain of up to 30HP! That sounds like cheap horsepower... $150 = 30HP... five bucks a horse!

[TheRealStubot]

UPDATE:

Last night, I managed to rip out the air cleaner and install the UPR CAI. This was fairly easy, thanks to the tutorial. I got a nice big scratch on it :( but it's functional.

This morning, while driving to work, I revved it out to like 5000 and when I shifted, it backfired once and the Check Engine light came on. The car was not fully warmed up, but was close, then later on, when it was fully warm, it backfired again but the check engine light did not come on. I mentioned this at lunch to another motorhead ( my boss ) and his response was that I need to disconnect the battery to reset the computer. He said it needs to "relearn" everything. While this sounds hokey, I'm going to try it, because I've got nothing to lose. What is going on here? Did I lean up the mix too much?

Between the new exhaust and the CAI, I notice some seat-of-the-pants changes. First of all, it got louder, not a lot, but noticably. I can hear the car sucking air, like in the old days when you took the air cleaner off and could hear the air going into the carb. I seem to have lost some down low grunt, but gained in the upper end. This isn't a bad trade off, I am just used to tons of low end torque, and I'll need to adjust my style a bit. The car feels quicker, but it could just be the rich, "muscle car" exhaust overwhelming my senses. I need to get some time and head to the track to be sure of this.

Jeff

[Fatstang]

UPDATE:

Last night, I managed to rip out the air cleaner and install the UPR CAI. This was fairly easy, thanks to the tutorial. I got a nice big scratch on it :( but it's functional.

This morning, while driving to work, I revved it out to like 5000 and when I shifted, it backfired once and the Check Engine light came on. The car was not fully warmed up, but was close, then later on, when it was fully warm, it backfired again but the check engine light did not come on. I mentioned this at lunch to another motorhead ( my boss ) and his response was that I need to disconnect the battery to reset the computer. He said it needs to "relearn" everything. While this sounds hokey, I'm going to try it, because I've got nothing to lose. What is going on here? Did I lean up the mix too much?

Between the new exhaust and the CAI, I notice some seat-of-the-pants changes. First of all, it got louder, not a lot, but noticably. I can hear the car sucking air, like in the old days when you took the air cleaner off and could hear the air going into the carb. I seem to have lost some down low grunt, but gained in the upper end. This isn't a bad trade off, I am just used to tons of low end torque, and I'll need to adjust my style a bit. The car feels quicker, but it could just be the rich, "muscle car" exhaust overwhelming my senses. I need to get some time and head to the track to be sure of this.

Jeff

You boss is right. When i did my CAI and throttle body, i had the battery disconnected(1hour). give the car some time to learn it's new mods. Next, go for a new mid pipe, get an X-pipe. Headers would be a nice touch, but it'll be louder, but not obnoxious. You should be ok after that. :D

[TheRealStubot]

You boss is right. When i did my CAI and throttle body, i had the battery disconnected(1hour). give the car some time to learn it's new mods. Next, go for a new mid pipe, get an X-pipe. Headers would be a nice touch, but it'll be louder, but not obnoxious. You should be ok after that. :D
I HATE it when he's right! :D

I have to get the brake upgrade done before anything. But I already have the parts, I just have to get it in to Fast Times and have it done.

Next on the agenda... Well, I want to run it! I want to see improvement. Then I may go with the X-Pipe and headers. I also want to strengthen up the suspension, so I'm thinking sub-frames, upper and lower control arms, and shocks/struts/coil overs. When the car was up on the rack, I looked at the rear suspension and saw some crazy looking little shocks going front to back near the rear brake rotors. The driver side had all sorts of rust on the chrome rod, and didn't look like it was doing anything. What's the story on those?

[Fatstang]

I HATE it when he's right! :D

I have to get the brake upgrade done before anything. But I already have the parts, I just have to get it in to Fast Times and have it done.

Next on the agenda... Well, I want to run it! I want to see improvement. Then I may go with the X-Pipe and headers. I also want to strengthen up the suspension, so I'm thinking sub-frames, upper and lower control arms, and shocks/struts/coil overs. When the car was up on the rack, I looked at the rear suspension and saw some crazy looking little shocks going front to back near the rear brake rotors. The driver side had all sorts of rust on the chrome rod, and didn't look like it was doing anything. What's the story on those?

Those are the "quad shock" set-up that Ford uses. I suppose to help eliminate wheel hop. But once you get some good upper and lower arms, you don't need that second "front to back" shock (the smaller one). I keep mine on since my car is still new. If you do all that suspension work, the car will be ready to hook and rip. :shifter:

[TheRealStubot]

Those are the "quad shock" set-up that Ford uses. I suppose to help eliminate wheel hop. But once you get some good upper and lower arms, you don't need that second "front to back" shock (the smaller one). I keep mine on since my car is still new. If you do all that suspension work, the car will be ready to hook and rip. :shifter:Hmmm... I've heard of the quad shock thing, but assumed it was a system where there are 4 shocks on the axle, like the off roaders do. 2 together in a row. It's an interesting arrangement, but it looks like the secondary pair of shocks is shot.

Thanks for the info!

Jeff

[Fatstang]

Jeff, I'm glad you are learning a lot here on Mustangs. When you upgrade to aftermarket shocks, they will only come one shock to a side, a lot of aftermarket shocks do not include (some do, stock set up), the quad pair, because once you have a good shock in there, and/or control arms, they are not necessary. I plan to go with adjustable Strange shocks when it comes down to it, i think they are like $65/ea. Did you disconnet your battery? Did you see if the back firing continued along with the SES light?

[TheRealStubot]

Jeff, I'm glad you are learning a lot here on Mustangs. When you upgrade to aftermarket shocks, they will only come one shock to a side, a lot of aftermarket shocks do not include (some do, stock set up), the quad pair, because once you have a good shock in there, and/or control arms, they are not necessary. I plan to go with adjustable Strange shocks when it comes down to it, i think they are like $65/ea. Did you disconnet your battery? Did you see if the back firing continued along with the SES light?
I haven't done the battery thing just yet. I will soon though. I hate reprogramming all my radio presets! :D So far, it's only backfired twice and given me a check engine once.

I haven't looked at shocks much. There are so many out there, it'd be difficult to determine which ones would be best. I thought strange did mostly driveline stuff ( axles, gears, housings, spools ) are they into shocks now too? I had some Koni gas shocks on my ricer mobile ( Datsun 280Z ) and they were amazing.

Jeff

[Fatstang]

Yeah, i thought Strange did axles only, but my friend told me more about them and they make good quality stuff. Koni are a great brand name, also QA1, but that's more money. I don't need new shocks and struts for a while, but i would get 70/30 Strange Struts and Strange 8 way adjustable shocks. It will be a good street/strip combo.

[TheRealStubot]

This morning I had Fast Times install my new front brakes. OMG what a difference! It's like a new car. The old brakes were glazed and warped, so stopping was always a chore. The new brakes are smooth, and much more predictable. I haven't done serious testing of the new brakes yet, just a little subdued driving, not my normal ripping around. The pedal pressure is much reduced, and the "jiggle" is totally gone.

Of course, now the rears need to be replaced :)