cheap mods

[lightin rod]

ok first things first im kinda dumb when it comes to these newer cars my experiance is with carbraters and simple stuff. i have a lot of what seems to be dumb questions im young and dumb.

ok i just got my car runnin right and am wanting to do some simple mods to piss my friend off who has a honda del sol and thinks its the greatest cause it would keep up with a my car actually it would beat it comin off the line but havnt tested since i fixed it. neway what are same cheap mods that are worth the money other than a k+n filter thats what screwed up my car in the first place. so any ideas would be great thanks

[flewthecoupe]

Forgive me for knowing what year and what engine you have.

[lightin rod]

oh oops i have a 94 LX with the 4.6 sorry bout that wasnt thinkin bout that see young and dumb

[jworm420]

There isnt a hole lot of chep HP gains on a t bird. I dont know what you did to mess your car up with a K&N filter but that is a good start... i made my own system for about 50 bucks and the cone filter now sits behind where the passanger side fog light should go, but i have no fog lights so i guess you could say its like ram air. Definitly an exhaust system, the factory exhaust systems on the t birds are poorly designed. I put a flowmaster cat back system on and had a frend bend up a custom down pipe and that gave me a lot of power... the next thing i would tell you to do is go to a 373 rear end gear that will give you more of a difference in acceleration than just about anything you can do to the car.

[4ss4s1n]

First of all,welcome to the t-bird forum.

Secondly,there are a lot of mods for around $100 bucks. Let me list just a few.

KN filter. -- www.knfilters.com/
Shift Kit -- www.transgo.com/
Underdrive pulleys -- www.marchperf.com/

These are just a FEW mods available for the T-Bird. Just remember that the number one place to visit for t-bird info is www.Tccoa.com.There you will find many other mods and technical info,as well as a forum dedicated to Thunderbirds.

[CamaroSSBoy346]

remove silencer, then get an APC Intimidator cone filter. (Cheap, and just as good). Get some march 1150 u/d pulleys, hack off the mufflers, and replace them with straight pipes, but i've heard some bad stories about transgo (and B&M) for the 4r70w shift kit. I'd reccomend a J-Mod. Cheaper, easier.

[lightin rod]

thanks guys the kn filter plugged my mass air sensor preventing it from working causing the car to be gutless. I am pretty shure it has a 3:73 gears in the rear end i read in the chiltons book the factory limited slip was a 7.10 or sumthin and mine has a 8.8 rear end thats limited slip my brother got in it and said it has 3:73 gears, it also has shift kits in it i guess shortly before i bought the trans went out and they replaced it with a whole new one and beefed it up so ill look at the things u recomended and go from there if u have anymore ideas im all ears thanks again

[lightin rod]

hey jworm420 u said u custom made your exhaust. where did u start from and how did u deal with the cats and sensors for them?

[jworm420]

Unless the person who owned the car befor you put in 373 gears i beleave the stock gears are 323's. I know a guy that works at a muffaler shop and i had him custom bend a down pipe, he would not put it on for me though because i had him bend it with out cats, cats are more restriction and restriction is a problem with the birds. he made spots for me to put the o2 sensor's in it though. Ask around at some muffler shops and you might be able to get one custom bent, but if you have them do it with out cats you may not find anyone to do it. you can buy highflow cats though, just go to www.tocca.com, and you should be able to find them there.

[4ss4s1n]

Thanks for that camaro,I couldnt remember the name so I just went the next thing that popped in my head,transgo.

About hacking off the mufflers,ive heard that this causes you to lose a few pounds of low end torque.About how much do you lose anyway?

[thunderbird muscle]

I have noticed no loss in torque!

[lightin rod]

all right thanks guys. Im not shure I want a whole lot of hp gains right now i am still getting use to the power of this car i went from a 4 cyl. tempo to this car, I broke my head rest in my car cause it snaps u back in the seat so hard when it kicks down, but i wanted to do the things that have been recomended on here.. I think im goin to put an exhaust on next, after I fix my brakes.
Do u think it would be wise to buy a flowmaster kit and put high flow cats on?
It has shift kits and a aftermarket rear end already.
What do u think about computer chips? any thoughts? always open for suggestions. thanks
I know it dont make any sense sayin i broke my head rest but want to try computer chips.

[Scott Long]

Computer chips are a waste of money, you'd be better off getting on a dyno and having someone reburn or "flash" your factory chip in your EEC module behind you passenger side kick panel.

Stock should have 3.27 gears. How many RPM's is your car at in OD at 70 mph? I can figure out your gear from that reading.

I have flowmasters and no cats on my bird and it sounds awesome, I have a 3.8L V6 SC and I bet the 5.0 would sound even better. I love the sound of the 5.0 engine.

Don't try to race an SC yet. I raced a 92 TBird 5.0 LX Sport w/ my stock automatic 90 SC and pulled him off the line and ran away from him. It was embarassing. He did slightly better than the 4.6L LX I raced. It was a 94. It was quick once it got moving but had NO low end power.

I have 3 SC's one 5-speed w/ mods, one mostly stock auto, and one I'm putting a 460/C6 in.

[Figori]

Originally Posted by Scott Long

Computer chips are a waste of money, you'd be better off getting on a dyno and having someone reburn or "flash" your factory chip in your EEC module behind you passenger side kick panel.

Stock should have 3.27 gears. How many RPM's is your car at in OD at 70 mph? I can figure out your gear from that reading.

I have flowmasters and no cats on my bird and it sounds awesome, I have a 3.8L V6 SC and I bet the 5.0 would sound even better. I love the sound of the 5.0 engine.

Don't try to race an SC yet. I raced a 92 TBird 5.0 LX Sport w/ my stock automatic 90 SC and pulled him off the line and ran away from him. It was embarassing. He did slightly better than the 4.6L LX I raced. It was a 94. It was quick once it got moving but had NO low end power.

I have 3 SC's one 5-speed w/ mods, one mostly stock auto, and one I'm putting a 460/C6 in.

Good Lord, you make me sick... I just want the 6-speed Saleen tranny for my 4.6... *whines*

[Scott Long]

Here's my 92 5-speed.



Haven't had it to the track since it runs pig rich and I know if I lean it out I'll get more power. I think the 160 t-stat keeps the computer thinking its in warm up mode so it dumps too much fuel. I got new 02's last month, so I guess I'll change the t-stat back to a 195 till I get my computer custom flashed and dyno tuned.

Its got a K&N 9" cone filter, ZR Motorsport cold air intake, 10% overdrive blower pulley, 160 t-stat, catless down tube, flowmaster force II exhaust system, b&m ripper shifter w/ t-handle, eibach lowering springs, 17" cobra rims, 3.27:1 gears (stock was 2.73:1), brass synchros in rebuilt trans. I gotta get some underdrive pulleys for it, a raised blower top, bigger throttle body, headers, and a bigger intercooler. I am gonna put a 75 hp shot of nitrous on it next summer also.