I understand the internal combustion engine is basically an air pump. Suck good air in, expel bad air out. The more efficiently this is done the more power. I understand the 5.0 2012- 2013 Mustang Gt is making an advertised 425 HP with the stock cast iron exhaust manifold / (shorty header) and California approved catalytic converters. I own a 2009 Mustang GT 4.6 L 3V 5sp. It is currently all stock. I am planning on doing FRPP cold air intake, 62mm throttle body, hi proformance intake manifold and the hot rod cams, and computer tune. I believe this could bring me up to about 400 HP at the flywheel. The question is do I need to modify the exhaust also to realize these gains.
09 GT Exhaust Question
- Thread starter 45AnnEdGT
- Start date
5 SP manual. Yes, the 400 HP would be nice. I believe the internals, (crank, main bearings, pistons etc) can handle 400-450 bhp with no problems. I don't beat on the car but it is nice to goose it here and there. Money saved on headers and new cats could be put into a 3.73 rear and maybe a one piece aluminium drive shaft.
The stock internals will hold roughly 550 RWHP on average before letting go or about 630 to the crank while the block is good to go to about 800 RWHP.
In order to reach your goal you have the basic ingredients but I would tweak some things. First off, I would ditch the FRPP CAI in favor of either the JLT 110mm CAI or the C&L Racer CAI as they have a much larger MAF and will get more air into the engine then the FRPP CAI which I believe is 84.5mm. I would remove the FRPP Throttle Body as you are only going to pickup maybe 2-5 HP with it and for that little HP it is not worth the money unless you want to just get it for looks. The stock Throttle body will flow more than enough cfms then you are going to ever need with your car. As for the intake manifold You can either go with the FRPP or the JPC intake manifold. I am not certain if you are aware but the FRPP intake and the JPC Intake move the power band further up into the RPM range so peak power comes on at about 6000 RPM but the car will pull like a freight train. You can use the Hot Rod cams if you want or you can go with the Detroit Rockers, they are both mostly sound cams but they do produce some good power gains.
To be honest I would add LTs to your package you will make more power this way and the sound is insane. The 3Vs with Long Tubes and a good exhaust sound great. The downside is the install is a pain in the ass but an experienced shop can do them no problem. Everything that you have listed above can easily be done by you without having to go to a shop to get any of it installed. It may sound intimidating but the FRPP Hot Rods are NSR cams and are surprisingly easy to install yourself but the Long Tubes you will want to save yourself the frustration and anger and just pay someone to do them for you. With the Long Tubes you should make around 350 HP roughly and without them around 330. The next thing to do is to get a good tune for the setup, I would recommend a tune from Lund but the Bama tune is a pretty popular tune because you get free tunes for life.
That being said gears will probably make one of the biggest impacts to your car then almost another other single mod out there. Because youa re a manual 3.73s are a popular choice but the 4.10s would be my choice but then again I am weird like that lol. The one piece driveshaft isn't really needed as it seems like you won't really be racing the car so it is almost a waste of money, true it will reduce the rotational mass on your car but so will a good set of wheels.
In order to reach your goal you have the basic ingredients but I would tweak some things. First off, I would ditch the FRPP CAI in favor of either the JLT 110mm CAI or the C&L Racer CAI as they have a much larger MAF and will get more air into the engine then the FRPP CAI which I believe is 84.5mm. I would remove the FRPP Throttle Body as you are only going to pickup maybe 2-5 HP with it and for that little HP it is not worth the money unless you want to just get it for looks. The stock Throttle body will flow more than enough cfms then you are going to ever need with your car. As for the intake manifold You can either go with the FRPP or the JPC intake manifold. I am not certain if you are aware but the FRPP intake and the JPC Intake move the power band further up into the RPM range so peak power comes on at about 6000 RPM but the car will pull like a freight train. You can use the Hot Rod cams if you want or you can go with the Detroit Rockers, they are both mostly sound cams but they do produce some good power gains.
To be honest I would add LTs to your package you will make more power this way and the sound is insane. The 3Vs with Long Tubes and a good exhaust sound great. The downside is the install is a pain in the ass but an experienced shop can do them no problem. Everything that you have listed above can easily be done by you without having to go to a shop to get any of it installed. It may sound intimidating but the FRPP Hot Rods are NSR cams and are surprisingly easy to install yourself but the Long Tubes you will want to save yourself the frustration and anger and just pay someone to do them for you. With the Long Tubes you should make around 350 HP roughly and without them around 330. The next thing to do is to get a good tune for the setup, I would recommend a tune from Lund but the Bama tune is a pretty popular tune because you get free tunes for life.
That being said gears will probably make one of the biggest impacts to your car then almost another other single mod out there. Because youa re a manual 3.73s are a popular choice but the 4.10s would be my choice but then again I am weird like that lol. The one piece driveshaft isn't really needed as it seems like you won't really be racing the car so it is almost a waste of money, true it will reduce the rotational mass on your car but so will a good set of wheels.
^^^^Agree^^^
When my car had a jlt intake, comp 127300 cams, tune, headers, o/r H and mid mufflers, it only laid down 334 RWHP. figure a 12% drivetrain loss (5 speed manual) and flywheel hp is 374. The % drivetrain loss is an estimate. Also I have 355 gears.
Price estimates via American Muscle
intake with tuner.......$620
Cams, hot rod..........$730
exhaust............$740-$1500
So you are in the ballpark of $2500. For about another grand, you can pick up a nice supercharger and be at the 450+hp at the wheels.
Just food for thought
When my car had a jlt intake, comp 127300 cams, tune, headers, o/r H and mid mufflers, it only laid down 334 RWHP. figure a 12% drivetrain loss (5 speed manual) and flywheel hp is 374. The % drivetrain loss is an estimate. Also I have 355 gears.
Price estimates via American Muscle
intake with tuner.......$620
Cams, hot rod..........$730
exhaust............$740-$1500
So you are in the ballpark of $2500. For about another grand, you can pick up a nice supercharger and be at the 450+hp at the wheels.
Just food for thought
: I understand the right to claim 400hp n/a, but at what cost......10k min. A supercharger will get you 480+ for half the cost and also the cool factor. But if you want to go n/a, come by my soon to be open shop. Mustangs only.