I have been thinking about putting some money into my car and was wondering what you would recommend. I know that a lot of people say that cool air intake kits are good cheap power, and also a dual exsost system can give you a lot of immediate power, basically just giving my engine more power. Basically ill probably have the car for 3 or four more years and want a few more horses, but don’t want to put much over 1000 dollars into it, what would you suggest upgrades.
Thanks

 

gears/nitrous!

 

Exhaust/Gears/Tune

It'll be a little over a grand, but its worth it.

CAI doesn't give you jack really...

And for a decent nitrous setup..you'd be spending over a thousand on it.

 

nitrous and a tune. Stop there.

 

im not really interested in getting involeved with the gears, it tends to be a long and messy job, but what do u mean when you say tune? Are you talking about a chip for the computer, or something else. Also should i throw out the idea of cold air intake, or is that a good idea?
thanks

 

Yep as stated through out the thread, Nitrous will be the best bang for the buck mod as far as gettting the most power for the least amount of money. You should tell us what you plan to actually do with the car. I saw your budget was around $1000 but are you into carving some windy roads up, drag racing, autox...knowing what you want to do with the car will help you plan out how to mod your stang much better then just buying parts, and not getting to enjoy them to their full potential.

If you are into autox or weekend crusises through country back roads then gears, exhaust and suspension mods will be much more enjoyable for you then nitrous would be. Also a good set of tires will let your stang stick to the road and pull through tight corners no problem.
If you are into drag racing then nitrous would be great, it's their when you want it, but if you don't need the power you just turn it off.

As far as intakes and exhaust being effective dont' expect much more then 5hp gain on the top end of your power band, it will feel like you lost power, but it was just moved up further in your power band, and the gains will be up their. Underdrive pulleys are good for about 5-10 hp. also, tunes(computer chip reprogrammers) are 5-10hp as well, so if you do all that, expect maybe 20rwhp total gain.

 

yes thats great advice i really appriciate it, im the kinda guy who likes to just drive my car, i love the sound of the engine and i live in the country so its great to take out on a nice drive and push it a little.
I really never thought about the gear change before and think thats a great idea, plus they probably need replacing anyway, because im getting a slight howl from the back when im in the 50's.
For me noss is probably wont happen, just because i know it can be hard on your engine, and i really dont need serious power, i just want alittle more, so like you said the chip, and duals might be best for me because i love the sound of the engine and a little more power might do me well.
If i did the gears, i know getting the parts would be cheap but as far as installing them, im really not sure what kind of a job it is, and ive heard it is a real pain. So if i did gears, would i be better off doing it myself, with my uncle who would be able to help alot, or taking it in and making sure they did it real well. I really appriciate the help
thanks

 

well that is good to know, and since you are just more of the leasurly back road driver the best mods for you would be:
1. Dual Exhaust - will give you a nice tone from your engine and let you enjoy the car more
2. Gears - will give you that added performance you are looking for - don't install them yourself, get a shop to do it
3. Tuner - will give you added power, and is necessary to recalibrate your speedo for the gears.
4. Suspension mods - something such as springs, CC plats, and maybe if your budget allows some sway bars. This will let you get through the corners a bit faster and will make the drive more fun, plus the springs will get rid of that 4x4 look our stangs have.
5. Underdrive pulley - a few ponies more, nothing wrong with that, and you can put it on yourself.

 

yes that sounds like a great list to me, what do you mean by underdrive pully's, does that have to do with the belt system?

 

yeah, an underdrive pulley just replaces your crank pulley with a smaller one, either 25% or 42% their isn't any noticeable power difference between the two sizes(25 or 42), maybe 1-2hp.

here is a link to them:
http://www.rpmoutlet.com/musv6asp.htm

 

sounds good i really apriciate it thanks