95 5.0 easy performance mods

[nadx]

looking to boost the performance a little but I am not knowledgeable at all in mechanics. any advice on what you would do first? this 5.0 doesn't run like it once did. bought it new, then had kids, dad bought it off me, now its back in my stable after his passing a few years ago. im slowly restoring it. easy mods I have done so far 4 brand new tires lol, windows work again, next on the list is a new radio, interior is still nice, exterior not so much, it has the standard odometer problem, its black and a 5 speed btw photo is in my front yard

 

[shovel]

People hate to hear this but fix the things you know are wrong first. Even "boring" things like your odometer. Addressing deferred maintenance and neglect will almost always end up finding a few ponies that went missing over the years.

Video game tunes don't do much... close to nothing in fact.. on engines that have fixed cam timing, fixed intake geometry and a distributor ignition so if you have any plans to do anything tuning related just skip straight to a full ECU replacement like pimpxs or holley so you can eliminate the MAF and adapt to any other hardware performance adjustments you might do in the future.

By far the biggest improvement in performance I felt on my 94 5.0 was fixing prior neglect. The second biggest improvement was in replacing the intake manifold with a higher performance manifold. That means the whole manifold, not the throttle body and not some silly dust and hot air funnel.

Beyond that I know what's worked well for me and why but people argue until the end of the universe about exact recipes so.. yeah maintenance before mods I'll stand by that forever.

 

[Daryl]

That’s a helluva front yard!! But ditto… fix the odo, etc first… then we’ll help you go broke with the mods! LOL

 

[Snorky]

People hate to hear this but fix the things you know are wrong first. Even "boring" things like your odometer. Addressing deferred maintenance and neglect will almost always end up finding a few ponies that went missing over the years.

Video game tunes don't do much... close to nothing in fact.. on engines that have fixed cam timing, fixed intake geometry and a distributor ignition so if you have any plans to do anything tuning related just skip straight to a full ECU replacement like pimpxs or holley so you can eliminate the MAF and adapt to any other hardware performance adjustments you might do in the future.

By far the biggest improvement in performance I felt on my 94 5.0 was fixing prior neglect. The second biggest improvement was in replacing the intake manifold with a higher performance manifold. That means the whole manifold, not the throttle body and not some silly dust and hot air funnel.

Beyond that I know what's worked well for me and why but people argue until the end of the universe about exact recipes so.. yeah maintenance before mods I'll stand by that forever.

That pink mustang is sick

 

[Musturd]

That pink mustang is sick

Iris metallic

 

[Snorky]

Iris metallic

Should have repainted red car iris.. or deep violet. Some obnoxious color you never see

 

[Musturd]

Should have repainted red car iris.. or deep violet. Some obnoxious color you never see

I really wish I bought the deep violet 95 years ago was an export car too with a Vortech blower . I was a kid and it was auto for 7k instead I bought a black 2v 5 speed . What an idiot.

 

[Snorky]

I really wish I bought the deep violet 95 years ago was an export car too with a Vortech blower . I was a kid and it was auto for 7k instead I bought a black 2v 5 speed . What an idiot.

Such a cool whip

 

[Musturd]

Such a cool whip

Yea talking like 18ish years ago car was nice 6pt roll bar 3 or 4 subs in the trunk basically I’m retarded and didn’t buy it cus it was purple and auto .

 

[GTamas]

The second biggest improvement was in replacing the intake manifold with a higher performance manifold.

Does switching the stock HO manifold to the Cobra one, on an otherwise unmodified 94 GT car make any improvements? Is the intake the bottleneck on the stock car so to say?

 

[Musturd]

Does switching the stock HO manifold to the Cobra one, on an otherwise unmodified 94 GT car make any improvements? Is the intake the bottleneck on the stock car so to say?

The gains from a cobra intake aren’t worth the swap . Cobra intakes a bottleneck too . The cobra cars only make 30hp more then a regular 5.0 and that includes the gt40 heads .

 

[shovel]

Does switching the stock HO manifold to the Cobra one, on an otherwise unmodified 94 GT car make any improvements? Is the intake the bottleneck on the stock car so to say?

My 94 GT was stock when I got started and yes it absolutely changed the car particularly above 4000 rpm, with the stock midpipe, stock heads/cam/rockers, stock throttle body and stock MAF.

Since then I've replaced the midpipe with a catted BBK and added 1.72:1 rockers but those didn't make as big a difference. I guess like oil and tires and favorite restaurants everyone has a different experience and talking about it doesn't matter so do whatever you want.

 

[Snorky]

Yea talking like 18ish years ago car was nice 6pt roll bar 3 or 4 subs in the trunk basically I’m retarded and didn’t buy it cus it was purple and auto .

The auto would have deterred me. Then again black and silver deterrs me more than an auto. Lol

 

[Snorky]

Does switching the stock HO manifold to the Cobra one, on an otherwise unmodified 94 GT car make any improvements? Is the intake the bottleneck on the stock car so to say?

Heads and the cam are the biggest bottle necks.. then the intake following that

 

[Musturd]

The auto would have deterred me. Then again black and silver deterrs me more than an auto. Lol

I’ve 5 speed swappped so many mustangs by now I’ve lost count

 

[shovel]

If you watch the video I linked up there, the ~20% difference in flow efficiency between different intake runners (validated by the white residue in the collector tubes from the two cylinders predicted to be leanest) indicates that there's more to dislike about the HO intake than just raw peak flow.

 

[GTamas]

If you watch the video I linked up there, the ~20% difference in flow efficiency between different intake runners (validated by the white residue in the collector tubes from the two cylinders predicted to be leanest) indicates that there's more to dislike about the HO intake than just raw peak flow.

I watched it and that's exactly what made me thinking. I plan to keep the car mostly stock, but those lean cylinders are surely not ideal.
BTW, I liked your video on lowering suspension geometry.

 

[shovel]

Thanks I appreciate it!

 

[TrickVert]

Your mods list will be determined by your end goal for the car, and then the size of your wallet. Some people are happy with a well-running/driving stock car, some have to go fast enough that their ears bleed. (I'm somewhere in the middle.)

Fix what's not working and do a full tune-up and fluids change, then I'd start with subframe connectors (full-length), gears (3.73 with your 5-speed), a snorkle-ectomy, cat-back exhaust (just for the sound/fun of it), and a new-edge brake upgrade. A slight lowering is never a bad thing, either, in my opinion. Your shocks/struts are likely on their way out anyway. From there, money and time are your limiting factors.

EDIT: I forgot to mention replacing the shifter handle. No performance improvement, but it makes driving the car more enjoyable. I like my Steeda Tri-Ax.

Enjoy!

 

[Mustang5L5]

Does switching the stock HO manifold to the Cobra one, on an otherwise unmodified 94 GT car make any improvements? Is the intake the bottleneck on the stock car so to say?

When my Fox was stock, i put a 1993 cobra intake. I absolutely felt the gains over 3-4K RPM. Pulled harder.

That, and 3.73 rear end gears were probably the two best bang for the buck mods I made. However the 93 cobra intake was $399 when i bought it.