Help me decide what to do next

[Jason915]

What I have done so far is in my sig. I want to do something that will give me the bigest performance improvement possible for my set up that will be cost efficent. I Know cylinder heads should be on the top of my list but I want to get some other things on first like gears, possibly an intake and TB, larger injectors. I was thinking of 3.73's or 3.55's soon but then I was also thinking of spinning the blower for more boost and putting a power pipe and going with larger injectors. How much would a set of 1.7 RR's help with my set up? My goal with this car is to have a fairly mild combo that is driveable but will run mid to low 13's here at 6200' of altitude.

[Chris_H]

I feel your pain with the elevation. Although I am not as high up as you are, I am at 4100' so I know what its like to be starving for air. Me personally, I would go with the gears. I added a smaller blower pulley (2.75") a powerpipe, and an F-150 pulley and I only see 7psi on a good day. The powerpipe didn't get me anything but maybe .5 psi. You have a job ahead of you getting that thing into low to mid 13's at that elevation. I have run a best of 13.4 with exhaust, gears, suspension, intake, and the blower setup. Thats not to say you can't do it, its just we are so much more challeneged to get there!

Chris

[5150 LX]

I second the gears, 3.73's would suit you best at this time.

[Jason915]

3.73's it is then. Maybe I'll just go to the J/Y and find an exploder, ranger, or F-150 w/ some 3.73's.

[5150 LX]

The gears are fairly cheap new, shop around & they can be had for $150 or less. Just make sure that you take the car to a shop who is very well versed in setting up the 8.8. Best thing to do is to check around & see who's recommended by local racers.

I'm on my 3rd set of gears and the 1st two guys that installed the others didn't set them up correctly.

[Jason915]

I was going to set them up myself, I have done GM C-Clip axles and they are pretty much the same as Fords. I will need a Block Gauge Kit though to measure Pinion depth. Not a problem though my brother will split the cost $300.00 with me and that'll come out cheaper than the labor charged by a shop. I don't trust shops to install Ring and Pinions because they hardly ever set the depth right also I have seen certain shops set crush sleeves with an impact gun. It’s a shame when you pay out the butt hole for a professional job and then you get a noisy gear set or something. Just look at all of the guys on the Corral that have had gears installed and had nothing but noise and problems. That is why I made my dad (a mechanic by trade) teach me how to set up rings and pinions, although I have no experience with the 8.8

[5150 LX]

You should be good to go then and yes I agree that the vast majority "mechanic/technicians" will not do it properly. I got lucky and have a local guy here that does them perfectly for $150-175.

[Jason915]

Thats a great price, the Diff shop here in Colo Spgs charges $350.00 for labor and they'd be about the only ones I'd trust.

[fanglemeister]

I would go with
1) Gears. I like 3.73s for the track or a weekend warrior, but 3.27s for a stock cammed daily driver are very nice overall.
2) 65mm throttle body and Edelbrock Performer intake manifold.
3) bigger brakes! (Something you need, and you know it.)
4) I'd sell the C&L & get a Pro-M + an eec-tuner or tweecer.

The 1.7 rockers won't help stock heads much because stock heads don't flow any better at lifts above .45". Any gains would be due to less friction and slightly more aggressive valve opening.

[Jason915]

Thanks fanglemeister, thats is the kind of response I was looking for, yes I know I do need brake upgrades. I do have the 73mm lincoln/svo calipers though.

Thanks

[5150 LX]

Brakes are only needed if the shut down area isn't sufficient, lol. Then they have gravel if all else fails.

[Chris_H]

Jason, and anybody else for that matter who is looking for new gears for cheap. Diversified Products Marketing sells brand new FMS gears for $139. Worth taking a look at. Pg. 61 November 2003 5.0 & Super Fords. (734)459-0130 When I bought my 4.10's back in Jan, that included shipping. Hope this helps.

Chris

[Jason915]

Thanks Chris, thats a steal for FMS gears. How do you like your 4.10's? Is it a daily driver?

[Chris_H]

To be honest, since we bought my wife's Trailblazer last June, I have been driving the 92 Cavalier every day. I got tired of putting over 200 miles a week on the Mustang just to go to and from work, let alone school too. I still drive it to work on Fridays and any errands I need to do on the weekends. I drive it to the track (75 miles one way) from time to time, even with the ET Streets on it. I love my 4.10's, should have gone with them the first time instead of the 3.55's. It is so easy to break the tires loose in 2nd gear even with the ET Streets. Wouldn't have it any other way. Glad I could help with a cheap price on the gears! Just saw the same ad in my MM&FF that I got today. Pg. 27. :santa:

Chris

[5150 LX]

I agree 4.10's kick A**, I missed mine but I had to drop it back down to build it up more if ya know what I mean. I used to smack the rev-limiter @6200 about 150-200ft short of the 1/4 mile mark.