I'd like to get some headers for my 1996 Mustang GT.

But I if I get headers, and a high-flow catted X-Pipe, will I still be smog legal?

If the answer is yes, what kind of headers would you recommend? And what HP/TQ gains am I going to be seeing?

 

Have you done a pi swap, if not i would do that first and wait on the headers..

 

Explain?

Not sure what a PI swap is.

 

performance improvement intake.. the main different between your model and the 99's and up.. one of the best mods you can do

 

how much does one of them cost and also how hard is it to instal a cam shaft... and what is the dfference between stage 1 and 2 cams????

 

well.. first things first.. you have 2 cams for sohc and 4 for dohc.. because you have 2 heads. The difference in the stages is going to be in the different duration (how long a valve is open) and the lift (how wide the valve is open). Obviously the bigger and wider it's open the better exhaust and intake air can flow. But this also has negative effects such as the loss of down low power, higher gas mileage, smog issues. If you want huge cams I'd recommend having the rest of the mods to go with them, it's not always true that a bigger cam will give you the most horsepower, it can sometimes hurt. And installing cams can be hard or it can be easy to some people. If you don't know what you're doing then DON'T do it. You actually take the heads off to install these. Depending on which cams you wanna go with you might also be replacing valves and such.

 

If I had a non-PI car, I would DEFINATELY do a PI Head and cam swap. You can gain as much as 100 rwhp with the right combo and certainly 50 - 60 if you stay inexpensive.

The swap is a lot cheaper on your car then mine and with the savings associated with buying say a 1996 over a 2000, you can bring your car up to snuff for a reasonable cost.

 

hey guys sorry to butt in here but this subject is right up my alley...i am planning on doing a pi headswap soon with an aftermarket cam...from what i heard the pi headswap and the vt stage 1 cam is the best way to go for maximum hp gain. yeah i realize the cost of this setup, but is this the best bang for the buck?? thanks

 

What parts should I be looking for? And how much will it run me?

 

any just to help anyone out this pi headswap is the cheapst ive found so far with EVERYTHING needed to make the install (besides the cam obviously).
http://www.parkwayperformance.com/2vheadswap.asp

 

VT stage one or Comp 262's would work well with a head swapped car.
They will both make good usable power with a stock bottom end.
It would be reasonable to expect a 75 rwhp gain with that combo.
A head swapped car will have a higher compression ratio than a stock PI car.
I think it is 10.3-1 I would do the head swap before the headers if cost is an issue. The headers alone won't make much difference on a stock car. But once you have upgraded your intake, heads and cams the headers will help a great deal.
I gained around 10-15 rwhp and 20 ft. lbs. of torque with my headers. Some of that gain no doubt was removing the cat's. I will see a bigger gain from my cams due to the headers.