How to gain hp quickly?

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Barracuda

Barracuda

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Boss-Barracuda
My dad owns an 06 v6 mustang ( I know what youre thinking " its garbage its a v6" ) but in fact it does have some pretty good balls.

what i need to know is what is the best way to gain some hp for a low to moderate price. things such as:

ECU: Is a new one expensive? what would be the best brand to buy? where could i get one tuned for maximum power?

Dual exhaust: How much would it cost to get it done? ( this is definatly going to happen in the future because two pipes run down from the engine but ford just decided dual exhaust is to good for a v6, how gay )

Air Filter: I already checked this out. K&N wants $250 for a filter thats going to only gain 7hp :grumpy:

any suggestions would be great, thank you for your time :D
 
While I don't have any specific hp numbers to back this up, I can tell you from personal experience that a Superchip will probably do a good job of improving the feel of the car. (at least it does on 4.6 Fords)

But unfortunately I can't find a Superchip or other tuner for your 4.0 V6. Maybe if you hold out a bit.

Pulleys, synthetic fuel, a stock K&N or cloth replacement filter, and (if you are up for it) lower gears in the rear would be a good start. Then tires and a torque converter would be the next steps (although they are either more costly or more involved).
 
Nothing minor you do to the 4.0 would really give it any guts, ranging from dual exhaust (whicc might add 1 BHP on a good day) or any air filter mod (as you said, expensive for what you get). ECU would work, but without an easy program to use like a Superchips system you are flirting with disaster. The cheapest way to make any noticable feel in BHP would probably be forced induction (expensive, but with noticable results) or NAWS (impracticle, expensive and dangerous, but with very noticable results).
Screwing with the tranny may very well be the cheapest way to make the car faster, unless you find a way to mess with the ECU that is practical and doesn't ruin the engine.
 
How about underdrive pulleys, I did some looking at the different exhaust and it looks like if you a V6 you will have to stick with single exhaust. Also 7hp for a cold air kit from K&N is actually good. A company called Diablosport offers a Flash Tuner, its $439.00. But what my dad says is ( by the way he is a mustang expert ) definitely do the underdrive pulleys and the K&N cold air kit and another cheap way to get a lot of power is to add a Nitrous system. Now some questions for you that might help the rest of us, is it a stick or an automatic and is it a convertible or a hard top.

And Skip0110, what is synthetic fuel? if you mean synthetic fluids the car comes with them stock.
 
There are a few way you can do it, but some I dont recommend:

Under-drive pullies

Super chips plug-in tuner

Exhaust system (cat-back or headers and all the other junk)

Intake with a non K&N (or something a little less than 250 bucks)

And for the grand dady of them all, a shelby pro charger

350hp to the wheels
 
I'd have to go with forced induction. Intake and Exhaust mods do give an appreciable amount of power... something like 15-30 hp over stock... great for small engines, but for bigger engines, you're spending as much or more for a smaller payback, percentage-wise.
 
It is a stick and its not a convertible. If it was either, i wouldn't bother because automatics and convertibles are just :yuck:.

Thanks for the suggestions. My dad was talking about a supercharger and something to do with the carborater ( don't know how to spell ). he was half joking but it was something he wants to consider.

the dual exhaust does sound possible to me though. all it does is join into one pipe near the middle of the car. If you bought a gt's exhaust and rear bumper ( id switch out the back thing so it doesn't say its a gt, dont want to be a faker ) and just install it i think that would work. Im pretty sure that they wouldn't have seperate chasis's for the normal and gt just for the exhaust, but i may be wrong.
 
Ive always wondered how much power you would gain from an oil change.
Im pretty sure its not like GT4 where you gain a magical 10-20bhp but I still like to hope, any gain is good in my little 1.4. All Ive noticed from an oil change in my car is that the car is smoother and my most recent change has also made the engine much quieter.
 
Diablomonkey
And Skip0110, what is synthetic fuel? if you mean synthetic fluids the car comes with them stock.
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D'oh, I meant fluids.

TEAMDiablo3
Thanks for the suggestions. My dad was talking about a supercharger and something to do with the carborater ( don't know how to spell ). he was half joking but it was something he wants to consider.
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Well that engine is EFI, however if you are very careful and know what you are doing you can port the MAF.
 
Slick Rick
Ive always wondered how much power you would gain from an oil change.
Im pretty sure its not like GT4 where you gain a magical 10-20bhp but I still like to hope, any gain is good in my little 1.4. All Ive noticed from an oil change in my car is that the car is smoother and my most recent change has also made the engine much quieter.
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Maybe 3-5 hp, depending on how heavy the old oil was and how light the new one is.... that's over the horsepower "regained" from getting fresh oil. It's not just the synthetic - mineral thing, it's the weight of the oil itself. going from 15w40 to 10w30 or lower frees up the engine a little, but thinner oil isn't very good for old engines that have been thrashed a lot.
 
Not helpful, I know, but... The top two mods to any car should be:

Advanced driver training. Knowing how to use 200hp is better than not knowing how to use 250hp.
"Performance" tyres. Being able to get 200hp onto the ground is better than not being able to get 250hp onto the ground.
 
opendriver19a
There are a few way you can do it, but some I dont recommend:

And for the grand dady of them all, a shelby pro charger

350hp to the wheels
Click to expand...

i recommend that one :sly: and for a little extra fun a hint of nitrous
or run royal purple oil cause i heard it frees up some extra horsepower
http://www.royalpurple.com/techa/whyrpa.html (copy link and paste in address bar) they claim an extra 3% gain in horsepower and fuel consumption is lowered by 5%
 
The royal purple sounds like its the easiest and most affordable option at the moment.

sad part is, my parents are thinking about getting rid of her :( . its on a lease and its too much a month to pay for ( even being just a standard v6 mustang ) because we are not doing so well financially. I know your probably saying " why are you thinking about upgrading a car on a lease, isn't that against the terms " yes it probably is, but when we bought it my father was making more money so we were planning to keep it (and what dealer would turn away a better car anyway). Its not official but its really going to suck if we do have to give it back .
 
You didn't mention you were on a lease. In that case, you probably can't do anything except change the oil, according to your contract.
 
yes, but like i said, if everything goes well in the next couple of months and we don't have to give it back, then we can upgrade it. when the lease is over, then we just buy it.

It sucks that my parents have two fords, a mustang and a windstar, and the mustang is the one thats on a lease :grumpy:. I keep telling my parents the windstar was a mistake to not lease because its had problems ($2,000 because McPherson struts let out and were out for so long we needed new shocks too, and the exhaust connection had to be re-welded or whatever they do because it was raddling)
 
i can provide the best answer on this page. your question is how to get the best performance per dollar. my answer is simply do an OEM tune up. OEM parts are cheap and if you really want a motor you can modify for power in the future financed with more than a piggy bank, having a healthy engine is very important. if you try to modify a tired engine with somthing worthwhile like forced induction, you will probably only make decent power for a short time before you complely rock that old lump into the ground. how many miles does the car have on it? you will be suprised the gains you can so by just taking proper care of your car.


make sure you have clean filters
fresh oil
decent factory spark plugs
decent factory wires
a good distributor cap
a good O2 sensor
etc.
a bottle of fuel injector cleaner wouldnt hurt

now grab a timing light and set the timing to stock spec. mark that spot. now advance the timing a few degrees and go for a test drive. drive with the windows down and if possible drive next to a solid things like concrete barriers. listen for detonation. it will sound like sharp tapping noises. try lots of heavy throttle driving in all RPM ranges. if you hear nothing, advance the timing another few degrees and continue testing. remember to use premium fuel. you should be able to make some cheap power that way 👍
 
Famine
Not helpful, I know, but... The top two mods to any car should be:

Advanced driver training. Knowing how to use 200hp is better than not knowing how to use 250hp.
"Performance" tyres. Being able to get 200hp onto the ground is better than not being able to get 250hp onto the ground.
Click to expand...

Actually I agree with you Famine (and was intending to post much the same); unless the bhp gain is purely for 'bragging right' its n ot going to make you faster that the two areas Famine has already mentioned.

Better tyres will allow you to accelerate, corner and brake better and knowing how to use it will make you faster. Aside from making sure the car itself is in good condition of course (descent oil, well maintained, etc should all be the norm) before any major changes to the car.

Uprating the airbox and exhaust will do very little in terms of actual bhp gains, but can help improve engine response. However most of the anecdotal performance gains people claim in these areas are down to the car 'sounding' faster.

Any major upgrade, such as forced induction, should of course be looked at with an eye to what other areas of the car will need to be changed. Rarely can you simply slap a big turbo on and just run with it, so a healthy does of research is needed first. Its a bit pointless using a big turbo or 'charger to ram a shed load more air into the engine if the injectors can't keep up, all you end up doing is running lean and major engine damage is a common result.

Regards

Scaff
 
I say upgrade teh chasis (ARBs, shocks....ect) improving how a car hnadels will make it more fun even if it has 100 BHP
 
Make your car lighter. You not only get a faster car but it's better for the car in general ==> (less wear on...), better for your suspension, better for your tires, brakes etc... and you get a better roadability.
 
lmracer
fresh oil
decent factory wires
etc.
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Decent factory wires? You mean HT leads? I dont think HT leads affect HP much. With the oil, not just fresh oil but a lighter weight i.e. 10w50 to 5w30 you would probably notice a difference. And skip0110 was saying earlier a switch to Fully Synthetic oil would help performance too that is if your cars less than 10 years old though...
 
Slick Rick
Decent factory wires? You mean HT leads? I dont think HT leads affect HP much.
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you are thinking to squarely. replacing the plugs and wires will improve the flow of the charge. a more consistant, hotter charge will combust the fuel far easier. thus burning off carbon residue better, and keeping your engine operating at peak performance.

not to mention better combustion of the higher octane fuel that will be required after you follow my directions to advance the ignition
 
Ahhh, the bigger picture
So how much would you gain, About 5-10bhp? The fuel economy probably wouldn't get worse either....win/win :)

Ohh, you could also skim the cylinder head to get a higher compression ratio.(not sure thats a cheap and quick method though)
 
probably not, but the tune up is. i dont think it would gain much horsepower. probably only move it closer to stock. (you would be suprised how low of a horsepower number your car actually generates) you would feel the biggest difference this way though hands down.
 

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