mustang v6 3.8

guys i need help.I just got my ass handed to me by a grandprix gt 2004.Do those cars really have 200hp? I don't have mods but I expected to win but lost bad three tims in a row.What can I do to mod my stang so this doesn't happen again.thanks

well, turbo or supercharger are the easiest fixes. other than that you can go with a bigger cam, intake, exhaust, headers, and some other things similar. one way to make a good difference right away is also to put bigger rear end gears in it, like some 3.73s or 4.10s. right now i think you either have 3.06 or something close not sure what that size is, or you might have 3.27s. you need to be willing to spend money though. its gonna cast more than 50 bucks. and do you have an automatic tranny? thats probably a big factor in why you lost, the manual 3.8 stang is quite a bit faster. and yes the grand prixs can be pretty quick. i think some of them are supercharged?

i believe there are also stroker kits out there for the 3.8

he has 2.73 rear end gears. they have 193 hp stock. some things u can do now is a cold air intake,underdrive pullies,gears,a comp. tuner and exhaust. if u want more u can get a cam(if u know how to install it)throttle body and a ported upper intake and maybe a throttle body spacer. what if ur price range right now?

it wasnt a supercharged grandprix but it was a gt which has 200hp.my mustang is standard but the grandprix still beat me pretty good.A lot of ford guys tell me that being my car is RWD and very heavy its not going to be easy to beat a 200hp FWD lighter car.My budget is about 1500 for now for mods.I guess you can't beat them all but as long as it wasnt a civic

i believe there are also stroker kits out there for the 3.8


The 4.2L V6 in the F-150 is the same block, so yes there are stroker kits:) My 01 is a 4.1L, I didn't bore it out to make that extra .1L. But I did add a cam and roller rockers alot of port and polishing work.


Right now, the largest stroker for the 3.8/4.2L block is 4.4L's. I have heard of one person hitting 4.6L but had oiling blowby issues.

If anyone is interested in stroking or making serious power with the the 3.8L/4.2L blocks, you want to go to this site for the parts.

http://www.moranav6racing.com/category.html?CategoryID=16

3.73 gears, a cold air intake, and underdrive pullies should get u a keeping up or a lil faster then the grand prix.thats a pretty good budget, do u want websites for mods or r u not sure if ur gonna mod it or not?

are u sure about it having 2.73s? i was almost positive they were one size larger... and i was already aware of the hp rating... also, your car isnt that incredibly heavy, about 3000 lbs. grand prixs are not light cars. just because a car is rwd doesnt mean its heavy either, that grand prix is actually heavier than your mustang, atleast based on info i found the curb weight of a 02 grand prix is 3390 lbs. i think one problem you run into is that im guessing your car is an automatic. cause if it was stick you should have beaten that car.

he has 2.73 rear end gears. they have 193 hp stock. some things u can do now is a cold air intake,underdrive pullies,gears,a comp. tuner and exhaust. if u want more u can get a cam(if u know how to install it)throttle body and a ported upper intake and maybe a throttle body spacer. what if ur price range right now?



If you stating he is making 193hp, that means he has a 2001/2002 V6 mustang, and they came with 3.27 rear end gears. the 03/04 got a slight bump in displacement to 3.9L's and they are 200hp, and 230ft-lbs of torque. They average curb weight is 3200~3400lbs for the V6, depending on options.

BTW the 99/00 V6's made 190hp and 220 ft-lbs of torque.

i thought it was 2.73 gears but im not 100% positive. he said his mustang was a 5 speed so i dont know why he got beat so bad.

are u sure about it having 2.73s? i was almost positive they were one size larger... and i was already aware of the hp rating... also, your car isnt that incredibly heavy, about 3000 lbs. grand prixs are not light cars. just because a car is rwd doesnt mean its heavy either, that grand prix is actually heavier than your mustang, atleast based on info i found the curb weight of a 02 grand prix is 3390 lbs. i think one problem you run into is that im guessing your car is an automatic. cause if it was stick you should have beaten that car.

his grandprix is a 2004 and it has 200hp.It does make sense that he beat me though cause even though my car is standard he's still got a lot less power lose than me.He's FWD and im RWD so his 200hp turns into a pretty close wheel horse power where as for mine I lose how much to my rear wheels.I know my v6 is slow compared to most but I didn't expect to lose that bad.My gears are 3.27 by the way.

silver stangs said he put down 172.8rwhp and 206.8rwtq when his was stock at 190 at the crank. i dont see how a pontiac could do much better then that. if u have a 2002+ ur probaly puttin down about 175 at the rear wheel.

his grandprix is a 2004 and it has 200hp.It does make sense that he beat me though cause even though my car is standard he's still got a lot less power lose than me.He's FWD and im RWD so his 200hp turns into a pretty close wheel horse power where as for mine I lose how much to my rear wheels.I know my v6 is slow compared to most but I didn't expect to lose that bad.My gears are 3.27 by the way.

i understand your thinking, but i dont think its correct.like neato said, if you have a stick your probably only losing 20hp or less. an auto tranny car will lose way more than that. being rwd doesnt hurt you all that much, it really doesnt. infact its better than fwd for getting off the line. im tellin you he cant be putting much if any more than 160hp to the ground.

How much is it to get those new gears? Also, cold air intake is fairly cheap to get isnt it?

Hello:

This post was linked from the Grand Prix forum. Needless to say, this caused quite a bit of chuckles.

Anyways, to answer your possible questions on the stock GP's.

97-03 The GT has the 3800 and puts out 200HP at 5200 RPMs. Engine also produces 225 lb-ft torque at 4000 RPM. Same specs for the 04'.

If you took on a GTP, 97-03 models carry the supercharged 3800 and that puts out 240 at 5200 RPM and 280 lb-ft of torque. 2004 GTP puts out 20 (260) more hp, same lb-ft torque.

Oh well, like one of our members stated, "They don't call it Pontiac excitement for nothing!"

Have fun putting new gears in and such.

How much is it to get those new gears? Also, cold air intake is fairly cheap to get isnt it?

go to mustangtuning.com. a cold air intake can be cheap, depends on where u get it and which one you get. you could find one on ebay for $40. might not be a very good one tho, but then again idk how much of a difference it makes where u get it.

jessep said what i already knew... the engines match up pretty closely. if you had a stick then you should have won because id be willing to bet he had an auto. did u ever think that maybe that GP had some mods?

some of my fav websites r http://www.moranav6racing.com/category.html?CategoryID=2 http://rpm-mustangs.com/cart/home.php?cat=259 http://www.mustangworld.com/ourpics/hcar/v6page.htm

Yeah possibly. You can do a lot to those 3.8L GM engines. Most of us on the GP forum have the 97-03 models though.

To blow out a similar engine with the FWD, heavier weight etc w/o mods would stump me without questioning driving skill.

You can put out an extra 100 horsepower on that motor with a few mods like with any engine. If you REALLY want to indulge, here is a thread wondering how much HP to get out of the GP on a budget restriction:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=162904&highlight=horsepower

Near bottom of page 2 are some simple mods (not bolt on supercharger kit) and the HP increase that it roughly does to the 3800.

Sorry, I am not trying to insult the driver or spark a trash talk war between two forums (please don't :) ), but skill is something to consider. I just don't race people since I don't know how to drive well at high speeds.

yea i was kinda thinkin the same thing.

yeah me2

jessep said what i already knew... the engines match up pretty closely. if you had a stick then you should have won because id be willing to bet he had an auto. did u ever think that maybe that GP had some mods?Grand Prix's only come in auto, so unless the GP had exstensive mods he was auto. Even if he had auto, I gurantee the guy had mods, because I love my GP but it couldn't kill a V6 'stang like that. Good luck with your mods though Plasmatic.

BTW, someone else said you said you have a 5spd but I couldn't find that post, so I'm just curious as to if its an auto or a manual so that i can have a definite answer.

go to mustangtuning.com. a cold air intake can be cheap, depends on where u get it and which one you get. you could find one on ebay for $40. might not be a very good one tho, but then again idk how much of a difference it makes where u get it.

jessep said what i already knew... the engines match up pretty closely. if you had a stick then you should have won because id be willing to bet he had an auto. did u ever think that maybe that GP had some mods?

He had a cold air intake from k&N thats it.I must say though his gp is fast cause on the highyway we were both doing 100 and when we floored it he blew by me pretty quick

Gradn Prix's only come in auto, so unless the GP had exstensive mods he was auto. Even if he had auto, I gurantee the guy had mods, because I love my GP but it couldn't kill a V6 'stang like that. Good luck with your mods though Plasmatic.

BTW, someone else said you said you have a 5spd but I couldn't find that post, so I'm just curious as to if its an auto or a manual so that i can have a definite answer.

you dont think your gp can beat a v6 mustang?

Grand Prix's only come in auto, so unless the GP had exstensive mods he was auto. Even if he had auto, I gurantee the guy had mods, because I love my GP but it couldn't kill a V6 'stang like that. Good luck with your mods though Plasmatic.

BTW, someone else said you said you have a 5spd but I couldn't find that post, so I'm just curious as to if its an auto or a manual so that i can have a definite answer.

my stang is standard.he really beat me on highway more than take off.take off he was a car length in front

you dont think your gp can beat a v6 mustang?
I might be able to beat a V6 'stang, but I wouldn't be able to beat it badly, it would definitly be a close race.

If he beat you worse on the highway then I think he has mods he's not telling you about, because the top end is the GP's weakness. Who knows, maybe he just has a factory freak of a car...

I might be able to beat a V6 'stang, but I wouldn't be able to beat it badly, it would definitly be a close race.

well im impressed with this guys gp /gt.its a 2004 but i dont think theres a difference from 2003?

I might be able to beat a V6 'stang, but I wouldn't be able to beat it badly, it would definitly be a close race.

If he beat you worse on the highway then I think he has mods he's not telling you about, because the top end is the GP's weakness. Who knows, maybe he just has a factory freak of a car...

we didn't race till we topped out on governor but at 100km's he pulled away fast compared to me .we stopped at 150

the v6 mustang only goes like 114 cuz the top speed is governed. wat u mean u stopped at 150? u talkin about 150 mph?

the v6 mustang only goes like 114 cuz the top speed is governed. wat u mean u stopped at 150? u talkin about 150 mph?

he was talking kph, and 150 kph translates to... about 93 mph i think

He had a cold air intake from k&N thats it.I must say though his gp is fast cause on the highyway we were both doing 100 and when we floored it he blew by me pretty quick

i assume this is also km/h, thats roughly around 60 right? 3rd gear?

I might be able to beat a V6 'stang, but I wouldn't be able to beat it badly, it would definitly be a close race.

If he beat you worse on the highway then I think he has mods he's not telling you about, because the top end is the GP's weakness. Who knows, maybe he just has a factory freak of a car...

im not sure how the top ends would compair, but they are similar engines from a quick glance, the gm engine is 3800 correct, i believe the mustangs is 3803. so almost identical size and they are both pushrod motors.

im not sure how the top ends would compair, but they are similar engines from a quick glance, the gm engine is 3800 correct, i believe the mustangs is 3803. so almost identical size and they are both pushrod motors.

Ya... I'll try to see if I can dig up some information on the top ends, seeing as digging up information is what I'm good at. Thats pretty much what I do since I have minimal knowledge when it comes to mechanical stuff. We'll see what I can turn up...

well im impressed with this guys gp /gt.its a 2004 but i dont think theres a difference from 2003?

Body design, yes. However, the engine is pretty much the same. They started putting the Series III 3800 in the 2004 (97-03 had the Series II) and primarily you get a better computer.

Body design, yes. However, the engine is pretty much the same. They started putting the Series III 3800 in the 2004 (97-03 had the Series II) and primarily you get a better computer.

And 5 more ft/lbs of torque if I remember right. I was thinking, maybe the guy had a reprogrammed PCM because that wouldn't be readily visible, and the skip-shifts it has programmed into it might make his top end better. Just a guess.

1995 Ford Mustang 3.8 9.9 17.3 (once again, tranny not specified)

Thats the same Ford site as last time. Stang00, I'm sure my fellow GP guys are getting tired of trading numbers, so lets keep the numbers in the Mustang thread this came from, because I'd still like to try to figure it out but the guys in here are getting tired of it. Post in the other thread if you wanna compare #'s with me.

ok so anyway... 94-98 is a completely different generation from 99-04. the 02 mustang in question here has over 40 more hp than that 95. and much more tq. and im sure that time is probably auto because you saw my times off car&driver for a 94 manual, which is basically the same car. a 99-04 3.8 mustang is much faster than a 94-98 mustang, the difference is huge. only reason i continued in there is because i didnt feel like that stang is getting represented fairly. of course you guys are gm guys and dont know the ford cars like i do... so its understandable. so im just trying to inject some knowledge into the discussion. as far as them getting tired of it. thats what the threads about isnt it. so if their tired of it then they shouldnt reply...

as you know from the conversation here, the mustang has 193hp, that 95 ur numbers are from has either 145 or 150.

yea that time was for a auto. where did u put the thread?

ok so anyway... 94-98 is a completely different generation from 99-04. the 02 mustang in question here has over 40 more hp than that 95. and much more tq. and im sure that time is probably auto because you saw my times off car&driver for a 94 manual, which is basically the same car. a 99-04 3.8 mustang is much faster than a 94-98 mustang, the difference is huge. only reason i continued in there is because i didnt feel like that stang is getting represented fairly. of course you guys are gm guys and dont know the ford cars like i do... so its understandable. so im just trying to inject some knowledge into the discussion. as far as them getting tired of it. thats what the threads about isnt it. so if their tired of it then they shouldnt reply...

whats the 0-60 times for a 2002 mustang standard?

7.2 sec. $1500 should get it in the low 6's

7.2 sec. $1500 should get it in the low 6's

what about a grandprix?

ok so anyway... 94-98 is a completely different generation from 99-04. the 02 mustang in question here has over 40 more hp than that 95. and much more tq. and im sure that time is probably auto because you saw my times off car&driver for a 94 manual, which is basically the same car. a 99-04 3.8 mustang is much faster than a 94-98 mustang, the difference is huge. only reason i continued in there is because i didnt feel like that stang is getting represented fairly. of course you guys are gm guys and dont know the ford cars like i do... so its understandable. so im just trying to inject some knowledge into the discussion. as far as them getting tired of it. thats what the threads about isnt it. so if their tired of it then they shouldnt reply...


The blocks are not any different, just the heads and intake.........which are interchangeable. meaning you can put 99+ heads on 83~98 engines and they bolt right up. Of course you need to use the newer intake too.

what about a grandprix? 8.5 sec. that would be a pretty good race for my car right now.

well a gp guy was saying the fastest hes seen a gp gt run in the 1/4 is a high 15. manual 99-04 mustangs run mid 15s. so it definatly shouldnt be a blow out either way.

i dont think a stock gp could run high 15's maybe the supercharged 1. my car is faster then gp's and id be doin good to hit low 16's.

well a gp guy was saying the fastest hes seen a gp gt run in the 1/4 is a high 15. manual 99-04 mustangs run mid 15s. so it definatly shouldnt be a blow out either way.

Sorry that I havn't posted recently, I've been at college and am still waiting for my laptop to get shipped here. A buddy in my dorm has a 2000 V6 Mustang manual. I'm hoping to get him to run me to finish this once and for all, but I won't gurantee anything. Its nice to be back on the forum again.