is a PI intake worth it without the heads?

firechicken93 · May 13th, 2011, 12:42 AM

I have a 5speed 96 gt with cold air, underdrive pullies, nos fuel pump, 373 gears, and full exhaust and the thing is slow! it has about 120k on it. I want it faster but i am not confident enough to do a PI head swap, i know i could do the intake and maybe cams. Is the intake actually worth it? i've heard it adds about 15hp but i want to hear from you guys what your experiences have been with PI intake swaps.

canada_gt · May 13th, 2011, 01:47 AM

i heard the full PI swap has gains of 50 to 60 hp with heads and intake

sharkbait · May 13th, 2011, 02:24 AM

The intake swap is worth a good 20 on its own

DsmDave · May 13th, 2011, 03:44 AM

ive been thinking about doing this, maybe ill do the intake and either search for a set of heads or go with good ported heads. I heard the full swap makes more power than an actual pi motor cause of raised compression

cruizer · May 13th, 2011, 06:11 AM

I would say that the full swap makes about 40-50 untuned and can make 60 with a tune. Just by going from what I've seen. I never put mine on a dyno. Tuned it myself

WhiteNoise · May 13th, 2011, 07:29 AM

What is included in just the intake swap?

cruizer · May 13th, 2011, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by Kodysteeler43

What is included in just the intake swap?

Just swapping the intake manifold. Change to PI intake gaskets that have to be modified slightly. Here is an old writeup. NPI to PI Intake Swap...

sharkbait · May 13th, 2011, 11:36 AM

the intake swap is pretty easy. You get a noticable gain 4000+ rpm

jeffery08 · May 13th, 2011, 12:08 PM

i have an 02 pi motor in my 96. is the lower end of a pi motor better then the stock 96
if so what would be the difference? i know everyone gets the intake and heads but what about the rest of it ?

sharkbait · May 13th, 2011, 12:45 PM

Its the same bottom end.

The 96-98 have flat pistons and more volume in the head while the 99-04 have dish pistons and less combustion chamber space in the head.

There both weak as shit though

97S281 · May 13th, 2011, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by sharkbait

Its the same bottom end.

The 96-98 have flat pistons and more volume in the head while the 99-04 have dish pistons and less combustion chamber space in the head.

There both weak as shit though

The 96-98 have a 12cc dish and the 99-04 have a 17cc dish.

97S281 · May 13th, 2011, 02:16 PM

Originally Posted by sharkbait

There both weak as shit though

sharkbait · May 13th, 2011, 02:53 PM

My bad. I should have known seeing as i have my half a piston infront of me lol

whiteboy05 · May 13th, 2011, 04:08 PM

i did the pi intake swap an i noticed i differents in the upper rpm range

zdkel · May 13th, 2011, 07:54 PM

Originally Posted by firechicken93

I have a 5speed 96 gt with cold air, underdrive pullies, nos fuel pump, 373 gears, and full exhaust and the thing is slow! it has about 120k on it. I want it faster but i am not confident enough to do a PI head swap, i know i could do the intake and maybe cams. Is the intake actually worth it? i've heard it adds about 15hp but i want to hear from you guys what your experiences have been with PI intake swaps.

It's like baby steps. We have similar set ups and I installed a PI intake first, the change was nice. Then 3 months later I installed PI cams, also a nice change. But again you will want more (well I do). So now I am shopping for PI heads and maybe a slightly better than pair of cams. But part of my reasoning is I think my valve seals are leaking a little now (puff of smoke out of the tails periodically).

Changing cams (and I removed the front cover) take a little bit of know how. I feel like another day (working) by myself and I could have gotten the heads as well.

Good luck with it.

firechicken93 · May 14th, 2011, 05:16 PM

i'm gonna go for it, i've read a bit about the swap and i'm pretty sure i can tackle it in about a day. I found a complete 99 intake and throttle body/plenum for $100. if i grab it should i use the 99 tb or stick with by 96 tb?

zdkel · May 14th, 2011, 05:21 PM

you could use either throttle body

May 13th, 2011, 12:42 AM	#1
firechicken93 Newbie 1996 mustang gt slooooowwwww Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NC Posts: 46 iTrader: 0 reviews	is a PI intake worth it without the heads? I have a 5speed 96 gt with cold air, underdrive pullies, nos fuel pump, 373 gears, and full exhaust and the thing is slow! it has about 120k on it. I want it faster but i am not confident enough to do a PI head swap, i know i could do the intake and maybe cams. Is the intake actually worth it? i've heard it adds about 15hp but i want to hear from you guys what your experiences have been with PI intake swaps.

May 13th, 2011, 01:47 AM	#2
canada_gt Regular 1996 mustang gt Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Squamish B.C CANADA Posts: 116 iTrader: 0 reviews	i heard the full PI swap has gains of 50 to 60 hp with heads and intake __________________ 1996 gt new motor and hopefully more POWA 1988 5.0L lx sold

May 13th, 2011, 02:24 AM	#3
sharkbait Hooo Ha Ha 1997 Mustang GT 11.65 @ 115 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pasadena MD Posts: 9,743 iTrader: 10 reviews	The intake swap is worth a good 20 on its own __________________ 410rwhp 520rwtq @ 12.9 psi

May 13th, 2011, 03:44 AM	#4
DsmDave Enthusiast 2001 Mustang GT Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Poughquag NY Posts: 979 iTrader: 2 reviews	ive been thinking about doing this, maybe ill do the intake and either search for a set of heads or go with good ported heads. I heard the full swap makes more power than an actual pi motor cause of raised compression __________________ bbk longtubes, bassani x, borla stingers, AM intake,bbk throttle body, Under drive pullies,Zex wet 125hp kit SCT Tuned by bama and drag radials, drag springs, agx shocks, lower control arms, subframe connectors MM+Cleavage Club #26

May 13th, 2011, 06:11 AM	#5
cruizer Regular 1998 Mustang GT 13.046@107.49 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Lapeer and Detroit, Michigan Posts: 443 iTrader: 0 reviews	I would say that the full swap makes about 40-50 untuned and can make 60 with a tune. Just by going from what I've seen. I never put mine on a dyno. Tuned it myself __________________ 98 Mustang GT 13.795 @ 98.87 N/A Main mods: PI Swap, 3.73 gears, E85 My Mark VIII and T56 swap

May 13th, 2011, 07:29 AM	#6
WhiteNoise Enthusiast 1997 Mustang GT Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Western Maryland Posts: 691 iTrader: 0 reviews	What is included in just the intake swap? __________________ Mods: MAC o/r H, SCT tuner, CAI, short throw shifter, dash LED conversion Upcoming: Suspension build (Spring/Summer 2012)

May 13th, 2011, 11:36 AM	#8
sharkbait Hooo Ha Ha 1997 Mustang GT 11.65 @ 115 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pasadena MD Posts: 9,743 iTrader: 10 reviews	the intake swap is pretty easy. You get a noticable gain 4000+ rpm __________________ 410rwhp 520rwtq @ 12.9 psi

May 13th, 2011, 12:08 PM	#9
jeffery08 Newbie 96 mustang gt n/a Join Date: May 2011 Location: saint Simmons island GA Posts: 12 iTrader: 0 reviews	i have an 02 pi motor in my 96. is the lower end of a pi motor better then the stock 96 if so what would be the difference? i know everyone gets the intake and heads but what about the rest of it ?

May 13th, 2011, 12:45 PM	#10
sharkbait Hooo Ha Ha 1997 Mustang GT 11.65 @ 115 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pasadena MD Posts: 9,743 iTrader: 10 reviews	Its the same bottom end. The 96-98 have flat pistons and more volume in the head while the 99-04 have dish pistons and less combustion chamber space in the head. There both weak as shit though __________________ 410rwhp 520rwtq @ 12.9 psi

May 13th, 2011, 02:53 PM	#13
sharkbait Hooo Ha Ha 1997 Mustang GT 11.65 @ 115 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pasadena MD Posts: 9,743 iTrader: 10 reviews	My bad. I should have known seeing as i have my half a piston infront of me lol __________________ 410rwhp 520rwtq @ 12.9 psi

May 13th, 2011, 04:08 PM	#14
whiteboy05 Regular 2006 Mustang gt N/A Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Houston TX Posts: 131 iTrader: 0 reviews	i did the pi intake swap an i noticed i differents in the upper rpm range __________________ Airaid Cold air, Sct tuner, X-Pipe ans Zex Wet Nitrous Kit

May 14th, 2011, 05:16 PM	#16
firechicken93 Newbie 1996 mustang gt slooooowwwww Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NC Posts: 46 iTrader: 0 reviews	i'm gonna go for it, i've read a bit about the swap and i'm pretty sure i can tackle it in about a day. I found a complete 99 intake and throttle body/plenum for $100. if i grab it should i use the 99 tb or stick with by 96 tb?

May 14th, 2011, 05:21 PM	#17
zdkel Regular 1996 Mustang GT Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Riverview, Fl Posts: 372 Blog Entries: 2 iTrader: 0 reviews	you could use either throttle body __________________ 96 GT - PI Intake & cams, O/R h-pipe, Flowmasters - 40s, Short Throw Shifter, 3.73 FRPP gears.

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