Pros and Cons of different Mustang models
 

hey guys, can someone give me a breakdown as to what model years have the best engine for modding and drivelines that can handle it! for instance

'96-98 GT

'99-04 GT

5 speed in all

basically i want to know how much power the car can take before i start breaking stuff.......rearends, axles, engine! thanks

Dusty

96-04 GT's all have the same basic rear-end. 99+ have a bit longer axles and 3.27 gears. For trannies, 96-01.5 have the T45, 01.5+ have the TR3650.

99+ 4.6's come with better heads/cams/intake, but they can be swapped onto the 96-98 motors.

Planning on launching on slicks?

thanks for the reply man, i was beginning to wonder if anyone here mods their rides...lol! i may launch with slicks in the distant future but prolly the farthest i'd be for the for while is drag radials!

so was there problems with either of the trannys? is one better than the other? do you know what gears would come in a '97 GT 5 speed? thanks

oh ya and i forgot to add, whats the deal with the '94 and '95 GT's with the 5.0? are they capable of being made reliably fast? thanks

Haha, ya I'm not sure why people aren't responding here...

I'm really not sure about how much power the T45 or TR3650 can handle.

3.27's were an option in 97, I assume 3.08s were stock? (anyone else?)

94/95 5.0s had the hyperthingy pistons, so they couldn't take NOS or boost quite as well as the 92 and prior versions. They had the T5 tranny, which is kind of hit and miss. Some guys go through 4 T5's at 350hp, others put 450hp through them for years - probably has a lot to do with how hard the cars are launched, etc.

anyone else want to chime in here?... :)

The '96-98 GTs were pretty weak, unless you do an upgrade to PI heads/intake or engine swap, you're wasting your time. For good power, get a '96-'98 Cobra, or '99-present GT/Cobra. The '94-95 GT 5.0s had hypereutctic pistons, which can only safely handle up to 120shot of nitrous, or 8psi of boost, although many have run more with no problems, when properly tuned. All 4.6s have those same pistons though, so you're kinda limited on what you can do unless you get a '03-04 Cobra, which have cast pistons and are much stronger, all '96-04 Cobras have forged cranks, which are super-strong. Basically you can make 400ish hp on stock internals. Transmissions all depend on how you drive/race, any Mustang tranny is pretty weak, but not bad considering what we put them through, the strong ones are the 6sp T56 which come in '03-04 Cobras, but can easily be fitted to an older car.

Get yourself a good old reliable foxbody :tup

Buy a 03/04 Cobra...$2000.00 in mods, 480RWHP and 11 sec 1/4 mile times in a 4000lb car :D
and you wont be disapointed... :chacha:

Other then that..stay away from the 96 GT..that car is a dog..I had one..even after several thousands spent on mods it was a giant turd at the track with a sad 14.2 @ 101MPH
They got better after that. :tup

yeah get a nice foxbody!


:tup :tup

87-93!
:tup

fox body :thumb1:
1989-1993 mas :thumb1:
fully built ass kicker mabey 15k :thumb1:

My fully built 97 Cobra ass kicker is under 15k so far :thumb1:

Fox body...87-93... :4:

You did mean to say thath the 03/04 Cobra's have forged pistons, right? heheh :)

The strongest of the bunch, engine-wise is the 03/04 Cobra. They have a stronger rotating assembly (forged everything) and the blocks can handle close to (and some people have gone over) 1,000RWHP on stock internals, which is TWICE what that of an 87-92 block can handle.

The Hypereutectic pistons in the late 92+ cars somewhat limits your power output because, as many people have already mentioned, you can only run moderate spray/boost on them. They are very fragile and can shatter under detonation. Forged pistons are MUCH more forgiving, but not as good for emissions (not to mention more money) which is part of the reason Ford stopped using them. Forged piston motors require looser clearances because the pistons expand when they get hot. Hypereutectic pistons have a very high silicon content and thus don't do that. Thus, the use of Hypereutectic pistons allow the engine to be built with much tighter tollerances, which help with emissions and keep the car "cleaner".

The mod motors also have cracked-powder rods (except the 03/04 Cobra) which are no where near as strong as forged rods and cannot handle spray/boost any where near as well as even the old fox rods.

The rotating assembly in the Fox cars (87 up to early 92) is stronger than the block; they have forged pistons and rods with a cast crank. The blocks have a tendency to split at around 500RWHP, some people have gone higher and gotten away with it, others have split them much lower.

The 03/04 Cobra also has the strongest transmission of the bunch (T56) but its also the most expensive to buy. It also comes making the most power.

I'd say go with either a 87 - 93 fox body or a 94 - 95 GT. The foxes have been proven time and time again and the 94 - 95 models give you the 5.0 with a much more comfortable ride. And they handle great and have alot of the upgrades you would normally do to a fox body. The early 4.6 were not great but it's the same as everything the more money you throw at it the faster it goes. IMO the best mustang is the 03 Cobra, so if you have the cash the choice is obvious.