What exactly does a performance chip do?

[supraman1379 10+ year member]

Its a 3.0 liter and i was told magnaflow was good for a deeper sound and good flow.

And how much would i spend in your oppinion if i did a few mods that would improve it the most?

 

[Lil Poot 5,000+ posts]

yeah magnaflow is a good nice sounding exhaust. if performance is what you're after, avoid flowmasters, though they do sound nice on most vehicles. hooker also makes nice exhausts, thats what i use. if you just do the muffler, itll run you 50-100 bucks plus the welding, if you do a catback with mandrel bending, probably 200-250.

headers are nice to have but they aren't cheap, good ones for my car are 300-600. i imagine you could probably score a nice set for 2-400. thats a v-6 right, not an inline 6?

cold air intake, if just do what i did and make your own. i spent 40 on the k & n filter, about 20 bucks on 3.5 inch pvc and a 90 degree bend to test fit it, then about 30 on 3.5 inch aluminum tubing and had my neighbor weld it. if you buy one its likely going to be 100-200. (go with a k & n filter)

gears are a good cheap way to pick up a lot of acceleration, do you know what gear ratio you have now?

before you start doing this type of stuff, it never hurts to freshen up the engine (new plugs, wires, distributor, oxygen sensor, pvc valve, things like that)

dont skimp when you get plug wires and especially not if you get a new distributor and ignition, go msd.

i dont really know what type of budget you're trying to stay in, or i could be a little more helpful, making cars fast can get very, very expensive. take my word for it lol

 

[supraman1379 10+ year member]

Trust me i know that it can get expensive. I hang around drag cars alot. But Im not sure what gears are in it. Would it help if i told you that the ***** shifts like the cop cars do, dropping like 300 RPMs at max when it shifts?

And lets just say I wanted to spend 500 bucks.....what would that get me?

Also I was doing a catback exhaust for 275.

I might be able to get some cheap headers at a swap meet but if not theres always ebay. LOL.

Im not looking for something thats is wicked fast, but just something to have a lil more power.

 

[Lil Poot 5,000+ posts]

i would do the exhaust and cold air intake, followed by headers if you want more.

by gears i meant gear ratio. my car came with 3.23's which are good for a daily driver, would rev about 1400 rpm on the interstate going 70. now it has 4.10s which accelerate a lot quicker, but it revs about 2400 at 70. i didnt know exactly how steep they would be, i dont really have a first gear anymore. its basically just a tire spinning gear. if i start in first from a stop, i have to shift to 2nd about 15 mph if im getting after it, less for normal driving.

and i can't floor it, to keep traction i give it about half or 2/3 gas in first. the best balance seems to be 3.42 or 3.73 gears, but those are chevy ratios. i've never owned a ford.

dont expect a lot of improvement though, you'll probably feel it, and will definitely hear it, but i'd say you'd be lucky to pick up more than 10 or 15 hp with exhaust and a CAI. probably another 5 or 10 with the headers. if you dont have the cash to get good headers, wait and save up more. dont get ebay or swap meet junk unless you know what you're looking for. dont want to choke up your nice new exhaust with some shitty headers.

once you do that, maybe look into an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and pick up a timing light if you dont have one, start doing a little tuning, learn about how your engine works. you'd be amazed how much of a difference a good tune can make.

 

[supraman1379 10+ year member]

ALright ill look into it. Thanks alot

 

[supraman1379 10+ year member]

i would do the exhaust and cold air intake, followed by headers if you want more.
by gears i meant gear ratio. my car came with 3.23's which are good for a daily driver, would rev about 1400 rpm on the interstate going 70. now it has 4.10s which accelerate a lot quicker, but it revs about 2400 at 70. i didnt know exactly how steep they would be, i dont really have a first gear anymore. its basically just a tire spinning gear. if i start in first from a stop, i have to shift to 2nd about 15 mph if im getting after it, less for normal driving.

and i can't floor it, to keep traction i give it about half or 2/3 gas in first. the best balance seems to be 3.42 or 3.73 gears, but those are chevy ratios. i've never owned a ford.

dont expect a lot of improvement though, you'll probably feel it, and will definitely hear it, but i'd say you'd be lucky to pick up more than 10 or 15 hp with exhaust and a CAI. probably another 5 or 10 with the headers. if you dont have the cash to get good headers, wait and save up more. dont get ebay or swap meet junk unless you know what you're looking for. dont want to choke up your nice new exhaust with some shitty headers.

once you do that, maybe look into an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and pick up a timing light if you dont have one, start doing a little tuning, learn about how your engine works. you'd be amazed how much of a difference a good tune can make.

By a good tune, what do you mean by that.

Sorry if i ask too many questions but I have nevder really known much about performance stuff when it comes to cars. SO please tell me what kind of tune you would do

 

[guy022077 10+ year member]

Wouldnt a boost controller do the same thing?

well its does more then just that but this is the point...it remaps fuel, adjusts timing blah blah blah...but yes if you do a mbc you still have more to do to get the car running right

 

[Lil Poot 5,000+ posts]

by a good tune i mean first making sure you are in tip top running condition, plug change, oil change, maybe transmission or differential fluid, pcv valves, oil and fuel filters, all that good stuff.

2nd half of a good tune is getting the air/fuel ratio and timing set just right. not hard to do with a multimeter, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, and a timing light.

 

[Alpineinstaller 10+ year member]

bottom line= chips and tuners are only good for cars with big engines and diesel trucks I have installed chips and tuners in both cars and trucks the ones for gas trucks and cars are A WASTE OF MONEY you will barely get anything out of it.

 

[cheeseburger35 10+ year member]

i'd just like to add something about the flowmaster comment...

i've had a few different rides and i've ran a couple different exhausts.. first my 79 chevy truck with dual 40 series 3" flows (pretty strong small block 355)... i ran glasspacks, gibson, and edlebrock mufflers.. before i tried the flows.. and the 40's made the best improvement

now my last truck was a 92 chevy with a 350... and after each improvement i got a gain... hooker ceramic coated headers, K&N, flowmasters, and a chip...

my new truck (sig) is a 95 dodge ram hemi... i tried a magnaflow on it first.. and liked it.. but prefered the sound of a flowmaster.. so i sold it to a friend and had a super 40 on it last week... and it is ATLEAST as strong as the magnaflow... both 3" mufflers.. so flowmaster isn't as bad as you say.. i'm not saying it's the top of the line.. but it's a great muffler with the best sound IMO

i'm actually planning on putting a hypertech programmer on my truck too.. the local hop-up shop has ran them on a dyno and have had nice numbers... if i remember right on his hemi he picked up like 50hp .. with a single 3" flowmaster super 40, k&n 77 series intake kit, mass air flow sensor, and a hypertech....

that's what i plan on doing to my hemi.. i've already did the exhaust.. and now i'm saving for the intake..

 

[Polecat 5,000+ posts]

changing of gas grades does nothing if other mods have not been done. It actually can hurt, getting the gas to combust at the wrong rate.

I added the Hypertech Power Programmer to my stock Tahoe, K&N filter assembly and added Flowmaster exhaust....I could feel the difference in power..........

I am a firm believer in chips............

 

[OnYrMrk 10+ year member]

Im a SCT (Superchips Custom Tuning) dealer. What engine? 4.0 or 3.0 ? Well i would do a tuner not chip. Alot easier to deal with and when you want differ tunes then a can email them to you. I can do 3 differ tunes. 87/93 octane tune and if you want another one for smething else. the tunes actually make the vehicle run ALOT more efficient thats how you are able to gain more horsepower and torque along with better gas mileage. Better throttle response is a plus as well. what exactly are you looking for? Do yuo have any mods right now?

what do you have for a 95 Lincoln Mark VIII with the 32v 4.6L?

 

[Dj Perico 10+ year member]

I heard good thangs about the xcal2. I'm thinking of getting one for 1999 Ford Contour. Just have to find a good price on those.

 

[jimmclrk1 10+ year member]

Dude... bamachips.com

I got an Xcal custom tuned by Doug, and it's bad ***. Go to Rangerpowersports.com and search bamachips. Very solid product, and Doug is a great guy to work with.

 

[Dj Perico 10+ year member]

I found these to sites. I should be ordering mine next month. http://www.brenspeed.com/

http://www.hypillauto.com/