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Message: <blockquote data-quote="turion94" data-source="post: 1325870" data-attributes="member: 18482">Mass Air Meter/Throttle Body A larger mass air meter and throttle body are old standbys on 5.0s, but interestingly you'll get mixed reviews on them if you ask around. Part of this is due to the wide range of meters and throttle bodies available-it's easy to go too large on a daily driver Mustang. When that happens, torque is lost and not much top-end horsepower is gained because the restriction is somewhere else when just getting started with breathing mods.<img src="http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/t594/grn67dmc/how%20to%20article/m5lp_0208_09_tips_to_modifying_your_mustangintake_tube_zpsdc2191c3.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />On 5.0s, the mass air advice was most thoroughly given by GTR. "We use a C&L mass air meter, either 73 or 76 mm. If you have big plans in the future, go with the 76; if you are going after just a few bolt-ons, then the 73. The 76 supports more horsepower ... but the 76 is overkill with just mufflers and air filter. ... To retain low-end torque on a simple bolt-on car, stick with the 73. Besides, it's $20-$25 less expensive for the 73mm."Throttle bodies on 5.0s are less important right away, with the stock 55mm unit hanging in there until the exhaust and mass air have been improved. Even then, the vast majority of bolt-on 5.0s do just fine with a 65mm throttle body, and it's a rare street-legal car that actually needs more than a 70mm throttle body can flow. If you're going the light bolt-on route, especially with a heavy convertible or loaded-down stereo car with an automatic, get a 65mm throttle body after you've gotten the gears, pulleys, headers, and so on.<img src="http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/t594/grn67dmc/how%20to%20article/m5lp_0208_10_tips_to_modifying_your_mustangthrottle_body_zps42b7d679.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />On the other hand, prospective blower buyers with 5.0s would do best to buy a 70mm throttle body. This ensures adequate airflow, and the loss of driveability when off-boost is unnoticeable. In fact, 70 mm has become such a popular size that you almost have to work some to find a 65mm unit.Things are different with Two-Valve 4.6 cars. These higher-revving engines respond better to a larger throttle body than a 5.0, so you can make a throttle body a first purchase on a 4.6. The same holds true for an intake manifold. Ford Racing Performance Parts throttle bodies are obvious choices for 4.6 engines.Exhaust Headers are one of the first "larger" bolt-ons a 5.0 receives, and for good reason. The airflow choke on the 5.0 H.O. engine is the exhaust, especially the port in the cylinder head and somewhat less the crimped factory exhaust headers. It takes an aftermarket cylinder head to get rid of the lousy exhaust port, which is a superb bolt-on improvement, but more money and wrenching than we're talking about in this article. For now, stepping up to headers and an after-cat exhaust is the 5.0 game plan.<img src="http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/t594/grn67dmc/how%20to%20article/m5lp_0208_08_tips_to_modifying_your_mustangshort_tube_headers_zps0c7a6587.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />There are plenty of 5.0 header choices, but what you want for a bolt-on car are 1 5/8-inch unequal-lengths. They give the type of power boost you can use, are relatively easy to install, are widely available, and are the least expensive of aftermarket 5.0 headers.As GTR says, "The entry guy always goes to the unequal-length headers. We sell MAC and Ford Racing [Performance Parts]. The equal-lengths take longer to install, are more expensive, and kill low-end torque. Not a good first mod. The equal-lengths are good with forced induction and a big stroker, but they're hard on torque-not what you want for a 250hp engine. Save money and save your knuckles; just install the unequal-lengths."Everyone seems to bolt on an after-cat early in the game too. This is useful only to make more noise, so choose an after-cat system that makes the noise you like. Rumbling Flowmasters or humming turbo mufflers-take your pick, as the power difference at this modi-fication level is virtually nonexistent. Stick with a 211/42-inch diameter system to avoid a torque loss. Only serious forced-induction cars need expensive, cumbersome 3-inch exhaust systems. In fact, convertible Sunday cruisers probably do just as well with a 211/44-inch system, but everything you'll find is 211/42 inches, so have at it.Owners of 5.0s are heavily into replacing H-pipes these days, as the cars are typically over the Federal government's 100,000-mile hurdle and the original cats have nosed over in efficiency. Do not run off-road (non-cat) H-pipes! Yeah, they might make 10 more horsepower than a high-flow cat model, and they're less money, but we're all trying to breathe here, OK? Use a 2 1/2-inch high-flow cat H- or X-pipe on a bolt-on car. You stay legal, the air stays a lot cleaner, and you can make up the 10 hp in other ways.For the 4.6 crowd, exhaust is not quite as important because of the physical sizes of the large engine and tight chassis. To put it bluntly, if a short-tube header fits in a 4.6 Mustang GT, the header doesn't work (that gem came from a Ford engineer charged with developing Mustang exhaust, so he should know). To make a 4.6 exhaust work-GT or Cobra-a long-tube, four-into-one header is required. These aren't even close to legal on the street, so forget it. The oxygen sensors don't fit, the H-pipe must be changed-just forget it.Furthermore, the stock 4.6 exhaust manifolds are not that bad. Yes, they are a simple log design-and, yep, cast iron is heavy-but they seem to flow fairly well thanks to smooth bends, and they're quiet, leak-free units. Installing 4.6 headers is a total pain, too, what with having to lift the engine off its mounts and tight, knuckle-cutting clearances everywhere. Just hook up an after-cat rumble pack if you want, but don't worry about the rest of the exhaust on a bolt-on 4.6 Mustang.The exception is that there are good, high-flow, smog-legal X-pipes for the 4.6 cars, so you could go that route on an early, high-mileage 4.6. This is especially good if the stock cats become clogged, because they're power killers at that point.Head, Intake, and Cam OK, it's a stretch as a first set of bolt-ons, but Anderson Ford Motorsport was so persuasive in talking about the next step that we thought we'd mention where the bolt-on Mustang inevitably ends up.<img src="http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/t594/grn67dmc/how%20to%20article/m5lp_0208_12_tips_to_modifying_your_mustangcams_zps4e4c4be4.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />As Rick Anderson put it, "Start with the true and blue on the 5.0 cars: 3.73 gears, underdrive pulleys, better throttle bodies, after-cats, headers. From there, go to Twisted Wedge heads, then the N-41 cam [an Anderson Ford Motor-sport custom grind] ... and Track Heat, or the new Typhoon intake, 'cause it's so cheap."The N-41 offers good driveability and runs from 1,800 rpm, pulling hard from 2,800 to 6,200 rpm. It's a "neat-sounding little cam-one of our biggest sellers," Rick says. "And its piston-to-valve [clearance] is a bolt-in with the Twisted Wedge heads."In the heartland, such camming advice no doubt yields hard-running 5.0s, but it has to be a tough sell anywhere smog checks are the norm. Especially for the guy starting out, stick with the stock cam for best driveability, fuel mileage, and even power, until you absolutely have run out of every other trick.With the '96-'98 4.6 Mustangs, modifications are cut and dried between two distinct levels, says Rick. "The best thing is gearing, an after-cat, then an X-pipe, and then a K&N cold-air kit. After that, you have to do the heads and intake or go with a supercharger. The FRPP heads and intake are a good package."For the '99-and-later cars, Rick recommends the same starter package, "but with a better throttle body and better mass air (Pro-M 80mm) ... then the Bullitt intake off the Bullitt Mustang. It's more than the 5 hp that Ford claims...It allows more cam and head."Ultimately If you find yourself really enjoying the extra power from your 5.0 bolt-ons, then figure on changing the cylinder heads someday. Good heads are the magic key to substantially improved 5.0 power, so once you have the gears, pulleys, throttle body, mass air, and exhaust, you might as well start saving up for heads. Undoubtedly, you can add an improved intake manifold and gain around 12 hp, but you can bolt on heads and an intake and easily gain double that and likely much more.Heads and an intake will not only give substantially more power, but they'll also bring an extra 1,000 useful rpm over the 5.0s' agricultural 4,500-rpm power peak for a much more exciting and fun-to-drive powerband. And fun is what it's all about. Just the Facts, Man Kept to basics, the industry recommendations for a first set of bolt-ons are as follows:<img src="http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/t594/grn67dmc/how%20to%20article/m5lp_0208_14_tips_to_modifying_your_mustangmustang_modifications_zps389ca012.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />5.0• Rear axle gears • Pulleys • Headers • High-flow H-pipe • Cold-air intake • Mass air meter • Throttle body4.6 • Rear axle gears • Pulleys • Cold-air intake • Mass air meter • Throttle body • Intake manifold and cylinder headParts No One Mentioned Note that panel air filters, larger fuel injectors, adjustable fuel-pressure regulators, and many other useful parts were not mentioned by any of the shops we polled. It's not that these parts don't work; it's that they aren't as effective when paired with basic bolt-ons.They Said It All Mustang Performance "We have a 2001 GT with an AOD ... Steeda underdrive pulleys (and exhaust) runs 13s. We put a throttle body on and it hurt it ... blown might be different."Chicane Sport Tuning "Anderson Ford has a new set of cams (for the 4.6) ... quick, easy install, not like putting a cam in a 5.0; it's more of a bolt-on ... can do a real mild cam, something not too aggressive..."Dugan Racing "Best money spent is a gear change, of course ... Stock motor, the 3.55 is perfect on a 5.0, but if they do any kind of exhaust work or other bolt-ons, then I highly recommend 3.73s because they'll be turning more rpm.""Most of our business has been 4.6 stuff recently. Especially when Ford came out with the zero-percent interest for three years, they just sold like crazy for a while. We got quite a bit of customers on that.""On a 4.6, the headers ... we don't push just on motor. But on a supercharged application from dyno tests, we do know they make power. But for the cost and labor, just on motor, they're not worth what you pay ... High-flow converter pipes don't cost so much and work better than headers just on motor.""We've done a bunch of crate motor installs on 5.0s, GT-40Ps...It's a popular one. A lot of people are looking for the GT-40P head because it is relatively affordable and gives pretty good power ... with a Cobra intake and E camshaft, they really run good."GRC "On 4.6 cars, we can change the speedometer [gears] with the bigger [rear axle] gears...  We do it [speedo recalibration] through the chip. This is important with the lower gears.""Subframe connectors are important ... stop the flexing, keep the future of the car to protect it ... lowered or not. It's what holds the car completely together." GTR "Here in California, most guys are driving their cars [all year]. Most California customers shy away from gears, so they go to big mass air meters, pulleys, exhaust systems, high-flow H- or X-pipes with two cats instead of four- or six-cat stock systems. Then they'd get into an aluminum driveshaft because they're quick and easy.""Almost every customer is asking [about aluminum driveshafts] because the U-joints [on their old 5.0s] are at 125,000 miles, and new joints are halfway dollar-wise than a new shaft with new joints."The V-6 Thing A few shops mentioned the popularity of bolt-ons for the ’99-and-later V-6 Mustangs. Vastly improved over the earlier bent six machines, the late V-6s are great second cars that many owners inevitably want to spruce up.Because they are owned for cost, mileage, and insurance reasons, it’s not unusual to find V-6 Mustangs commuting 80-90 miles a day. This puts a premium on simple performance mods that don’t interfere with emission laws or drivability.Some of the favorite V-6 mods are as follows• C&L 73mm mass air meter, good for 9-10 hp. This comes with a high-flow air filter and heat/fan wash shield. • Pulleys, worth 8-9 hp. • Dual-exhaust after-cat kit from MAC. Bolts directly to the stock V-6 H-pipe; good for 8-9 hp. • 3.45 gears for the 7.5-inch rear axle. This ratio is good for lots of freeway driving. Or, for more acceleration, go with 3.73 gears. Often a Traction-Lok is added for an additional $200.</blockquote>