[3.8Coastie]

There has been a lot of questions about some of the basics as well as some of the more advanced mods for our mustangs. I am not a pro or anything but i do have some knowledge to share. This is a basic overview of the most talked about topics to i wont go into extremely deep detail. Please no arguments in this post. Its for the new people so dont post opinions, only facts. If i am wrong about somethin i have written then feel free to correct me.


Exhaust
The components of your exhaust system are the Headers, Mid-pipe, Catalytic Converters, Mufflers, and of course, the pipes. the headers start the exhaust flow. they bolt straight up to the engine and are the first thing your exhaust runs through. long tube headers will give more hp than shorties, and the long tubes go with s/c, shorties go with turbos. if you arent going to s/c or turbo your car and want more hp then get long tubes. The mid-pipe is the second phase of your exhaust system. stock its a y pipe that connects the two headers to a single pipe. when getting a dual exhaust system you will change this y-pipe out for an x or h-pipe, wich either will do fine. if you have emissions tests then you have to get an x/h-pipe with cats, if no emissions then you can get one with no cats but you will have to get MIL eliminators so you wont get a check engine light. finally after the cats (or no cats for no emissions tests) you have what is called a cat-back system. its the final stage of your exhaust and what gives you the sound. pipes come from the end of the x/h-pipe and run into your mufflers which can produce the sound you are trying to go for. after the exhaust runs through the mufflers it will runn out of some more pipes and through the exhaust tips completing your full exhaust system

Intake
There are two main types of intakes, cold-air intake (CAI) and ram-air. CAI takes cool air from the fender-well and runs it through the mass air flow meter (MAF) to the throttle body to the intake manifold and then into the engine. the ram-air is a similar process except the air is sucked in from the hood and the goes into a large airbox then sent to the MAF and follows the rest of the normal intake path. you see more gains with the ram air system than the cold air due to more air being forced into the engine. CAI is the most common, however, and the cheaper of the two.

Under Drive Pulley (UDP)
this replaces your stock pulley with a smaller one, enabling your other pullies to spin faster. the faster your pullies spin the more compression in your engine and the faster you will run... these are extremely helpful in the acelleration process

Flash Tuner/Performance Chip
these reprogram your stock computer chip to allow for better settings with shifting, gas mileage, and being able to tune your car to the mods you have. the flash tuner is more helpful than the chip due to being able to tune your car after every mod you put on it.. but nothing beats a professional dyno tune. there are many types of chips and tuners so you will have to research for yourself and find the best one for the mods you have and are going to have

Gears
gears can be a big help in accelleration. the higher up in numbers you go the faster you will jump off the line, but your top end speed will be hurt. these go in the rear axle and should be put in my professionals... or by someone who knows what they are doing

T-Lok
this locks your back axle so we wont get that crappy one wheel spin. this helps greatly for traction and no more on wheel burnouts for us. these can be burnt up, but only in rare cases and when you just pound the shit out of the poor thing

Bolt-Ons
Basically what it says. they are mods that can simply be bolted on with simple hand tools. you do not have to be a professional to put these on but some knowledge of how things work on the engine is helpful. these products are what makes up the basic engine mods due to the simpleness of installation and price... but if you get into the heavey modding they can become more expensive... but i wont go into that since this is a basic help-guide

Forced Induction (FI)
FI is a hugely popular mod due to the amazing power gains you can get. These products are pricey but with the horsepower you can produce with them, it is definitely woth it. there are three types of these.

1. Superchargers (S/C)
A favorite among 6ers and v8's alike due to the availability and ease of installation. a good kit will run you a lil over 4K but you can get an good hp jump with it. S/C come in different styles, roots and centrifical. roots blowers are the ones that come on cobras, saleens, and rouchs. they work best in the lower rpms giving the extra boots at the jump. centrifical S/C work better in the higher rpms and have awesome top-end. s/c are belt driven. that means that they simply spin the belt faster and produce the hp that way. they are always running so there is no lag, but since it is belt driven, it takes some hp to run itself

2. Turbochargers
Turbo's are more common on imports than domestics but are starting to become more popular with the 6ers and v8's. Turbos run off your exhaust and then force the exhaust back into the engine producing their boost. Turbo's are normally more expensive than s/c due to now many places having them for sale. Turbos also have lag before they start producing boost. this is due to the turbine inside the turbo having to spool up to force the exhaust back into the engine. the turbo may have lag but it doesnt have a belt on it to restrict any boost, therefore, when you have a turbo and a s/c running at the same boost, the turbo will produce more hp

3. Nitrous Oxide
Nitrous is the last type of FI. When it its sprayed into the engine, it makes the oxygen lighter and able to have more compression into the engine. it can be an instant 50 - 150 hp at the touch of a button. there are many different set ups for nitrous. for further explanation on this i will borrow what ChrisJ said about it.. props to him on this one

WOT Switch = Wide Open Throttle Switch...Only allows the nitrous to be activated when at Wide Open Throttle

Window switch only allow the nitrous to be activated between set rpm ranges (3000-6200 for instance)

fuel pressure safety switch will shut the nitrous system down if the fuel pressure drops below a set psi...Usually 35-50psi...

Momentary switch allows the nitrous to spray only if the other 3 components of the system are satisfied...

again thanks to ChrisJ for that.. and i hope he doesnt mind that i borrowed it

Forged Internals
This is a little later in your modding but needs to be done before FI. Forged Internals replaces your stock internals with ones that can handle a lot more compression. You run a huge risk of blowing your engine if you are running FI and no Forged Internals. There is a lot of cases where people have not blown their engines running stock internals and FI but it is not recommened. To do this mod you will need to take your engine to a shop that rebuilds engines.. unless you have everything and the know-how to do it... but this is a beginners guide some im guessing that you dont have that knowledge.. yet

I believe i have covered the basic and most common questions with this post and i hope it hleps a lot of our new additions to ModdedMustangs.... good enough for a sticky maybe? maybe? lol thanks for reading!!!

[97TunedMustang]

hate to be a stickler but.. nitrous is not actually a form of forced induction because it doesnt actually create "boost" in the intake plenum. It is pulled in by the vaccum of the running engine however it can still add a lot of hp

[ChrisJ]

Originally Posted by 97TunedMustang hate to be a stickler but.. nitrous is not actually a form of forced induction because it doesnt actually create "boost" in the intake plenum. It is pulled in by the vaccum of the running engine however it can still add a lot of hp

The "Forced Induction" should be changed to poweradder...

[trueballerisme]

can some1 new like me tune their own car with the program? but GOOD WORK!! thanks

[trueballerisme]

about the forged internals, wut r they?

[3.8Coastie]

Originally Posted by ChrisJ Originally Posted by 97TunedMustang hate to be a stickler but.. nitrous is not actually a form of forced induction because it doesnt actually create "boost" in the intake plenum. It is pulled in by the vaccum of the running engine however it can still add a lot of hp The "Forced Induction" should be changed to poweradder...

yes it should have been Power Adder but i couldnt think of that when i was writing it... and i was gonna put nitrous serperate but just decided to put it with the other power adders.. i didnt catch that in time but thanks!

[97TunedMustang]

no biggie. just givin ya a hard time. nice write up though

[3.8Coastie]

Originally Posted by 97TunedMustang no biggie. just givin ya a hard time. nice write up though

haha i figured
thanks though... i hope it helps people

[ChrisJ]

Its a pretty good write up...Good job...

[3.8Coastie]

Originally Posted by ChrisJ Its a pretty good write up...Good job...

thanks

:award

[Sa-WaitNoMustang900Turbo]

good post/idea, but it needs some reworking in a couple areas. I havent read all of it. something that did notice was the explanation for how udp's make hp, not to be too harsh, but its just plain wrong. And part of the gear thing too. I do think we need a sticky on the bolt ons though, so people have an idea of what we are talking about when they ask questions, all other car sites im a member of have those. It makes things alot more efficient.

[CyberPrey]

Under Drive Pulley (UDP) this replaces your stock pulley with a smaller one, enabling your other pullies to spin faster. the faster your pullies spin the more compression in your engine and the faster you will run... these are extremely helpful in the acelleration process

correction should be made as

Under Drive Pulley(s)
These are a single or set of pulley's that are designed to slow down your accessory items like your alternator, powersteering, air conditioning, and water pump. They do not ADD horsepower, but the FREE UP horsepower. By slowing down your accessory's, you actually allow more horsepower to be directed to the drivetrain allowing you a better performing car. Be careful on your selection of UDP's, as there are "good" sets and "bad" sets. Some of the cheaper and less reliable ones will be made poorly causing them to bend/warp and eventually fail. There are other poor sets that will actually slow down your accessories to the point where they will not function properly at idle. Get a good set from a company with a good reputation.

2. Turbochargers Turbo's are more common on imports than domestics but are starting to become more popular with the 6ers and v8's. Turbos run off your exhaust and then force the exhaust back into the engine producing their boost. Turbo's are normally more expensive than s/c due to now many places having them for sale. Turbos also have lag before they start producing boost. this is due to the turbine inside the turbo having to spool up to force the exhaust back into the engine. the turbo may have lag but it doesnt have a belt on it to restrict any boost, therefore, when you have a turbo and a s/c running at the same boost, the turbo will produce more hp

Minor Corrections
2. Turbochargers.
Turbochargers are more common on imports than domestics, but are gaining in popularity. A Turbocharger is run by directing your exhaust through a turbine, which in turn forces a compressor to spin up and force air in/through the intake system. Depending on the design, size of turbine, size of compressor, and your motor there can be a slight delay before boost begins to be built. This is commonly known as "Turbo Lag". Turbo's are more complex and expensive to install on vehicles, but do build up more horsepower as they do not take any engine power to run. A Turbocharger system is also able to have its boost level adjusted externally, where as a supercharger is not. Pound for Pound, a turbocharger will outperform a supercharger, but at the cost of being more complex and more expensive to install. While intercooling (the cooling of air AFTER the forced induction unit and BEFORE it goes into the motor) is optional on some Superchargers, it is almost a requirement with turbochargers due to the fact that a turbocharger unit gets much hotter and hot air is not as effective at building horsepower.

[CyberPrey]

er... not complaing.. just helping add to the thread

It would be VERY nice to see something like this stickied at the top

[chevy_killer]

Originally Posted by trueballerisme about the forged internals, wut r they?

they are your crank.connecting rods, and pistions....they are way stronger than stock....so if you plan on running n02 or s/c, turbo you need forged internals because your bottom end is under alot more stress and more prone to break down

[chevy_killer]

Originally Posted by trueballerisme can some1 new like me tune their own car with the program? but GOOD WORK!! thanks

yes you can tune your own car with a programer...all it does is ask you questions and you pick the answer....it is very simple (even a caveman can do it)

[trueballerisme]

can some1 new like me tune their own car with the program? but GOOD WORK!! thanks

[itschristorres8]

Originally Posted by trueballerisme can some1 new like me tune their own car with the program? but GOOD WORK!! thanks

yes

[HMUSN]

Originally Posted by chevy_killer Originally Posted by trueballerisme can some1 new like me tune their own car with the program? but GOOD WORK!! thanks yes you can tune your own car with a programer...all it does is ask you questions and you pick the answer....it is very simple (even a caveman can do it)

i wouldn't say all that.

tuning with pre-programed tune is very easy. it's plug and play.
all you do it plug it in and hit download
( after you pull your fuel pump and fan fuses and turn off all accecories of course)

tuning by yourself is another ball game

you have a lot to worry about if you don't have tuning skills

[Tony_90fox]

this could be just me, but when any of you put on your u/d pullies, did you notice more TQ. For some reason, my car became more torqey, Not a word but you know what i mean.

[kerry]

the nitrous oxide isnt quite right either

"even though the gas itself is not flammable, it delivers more oxygen than atmospheric air by breaking down at elevated temperatures, thus allowing the engine to burn more fuel and air. Additionally, since nitrous oxide is stored as a liquid, the evaporation of liquid nitrous oxide in the intake manifold causes a large drop in intake charge temperature. This results in a denser charge, and can reduce detonation, as well as increase power available to the engine."

so the "N" in NO2 is removed leaving just pure oxygen. it really doesnt have to do with the nitrous being lighter than oxygen.