you'd be better off with the y8 manifold with an ls TB. as for your mustang math, youve got the basics down, but there is so much more to the equation. a mustang has a huge torque advantage over a civic, so you will need to have a BETTER hp-weight ratio to make up for the lower torque-weight ratio. i run RIGHT next to the 4.6l mustangs, and i run about 14.8, so thats what you need to shoot for, not just the power to weight. oh, and i run next to them from a roll, and they get better launches, so you need to shoot for less than 14.8 to get them from a standstill.

 

No wonder your a Mod.[sm=grinangel.gif]
This man is like a God![sm=hail.gif]
Pure Genius Sacicons!


I must commemorate you. This is genuine no b/s here.

 

LOL, gods run 14.8




JK

 

are 5.0 mustangs of the early 90s faster than 4.6s?

 

I don't think so. I have seen 90's LX times in the high 14's and the 4.6's as low as 14.1, but I don't believe the latter unless it was the SVT or something. I used to have an '87 GT and it was supposedly around 15.1 so that's what I am shooting for.

 

the 4.6 is faster than the "5. slow"

 

i still think weight reduction is the best way to stretch that $1000 out. the biggest problem with making a car fast for cheap is that you really have to give up some amenities in order to get serious about it.

now about my next idea: i know, i know, i keep bringing up the fiero thing. so sue me.

you could buy a fiero gt with a manual tranny for less than $1000. (it must be a gt or 2m6, do not get a 4 cyl.) you might have to look around, but you aren't looking for a daily driver (you already have the civic for that), so crappy paint, no stereo, ect. is great as it will bring that price down. strip it DOWN. take out the spare, the jack, the passenger seat, the carpet, the door panels, the passenger and driver door glass, the headliner, all the interior plastic trim, the sunroof, the WW reservour, everything attached to the inside of the cockpit firewall except for the ECM, the whole A/C system, the heater motor, anything left of the stereo system, the trunk tub, ect.

you now have a 140 hp go kart with plastic body panels that should weigh well under 2000 lbs (my stock '84 2m4 only weighed 2200, the heaviest gt was only 2650 fully loaded). this should give you 1 hp per 14 pounds or better, plus it has good torque and RWD (mid engine RWD, i might add). since parts are hard to find for these cars, sell everything you removed on eBay for enough to buy a cheap lightweight set of rims and rubber. and give the damn thing a tune up, it's like 20 years old.

of course, you could do the exact same thing with a del sol or crx, but it would be hard finding one that runs for less than $1000. as a matter of fact, there are probably plenty of cars you could do this with, but i know the fiero pretty good so i'm kinda biased. you could even fight fire with fire and look around for a crappy 5.0 fox body, you might find one cheap enough, but it would probably need some work that would exceed your challenge budget.

 

somthing you might want to look into is a light weight crank pully. it will cut down on rotating mass and i think it opens up like somewhere around 3-7hp i might be wrong on that number but also it being lighter will help acceleration i have heard that it helps alot

 

I really like the Fiero. My buddy used to have the GT one with the V-6. That thing was awesome. But the point was to try to get my Civic down to 15's as an everyday driver. I don't mind losing some of the sound deadener but I want to try to keep stuff like the AC and the door panels. When it starts to get close I will have to cut some of the fat though, I can tell already.

I found some great deals on parts and I will be getting some of them on this weekend. I will post an update, but it's going pretty well I think.

Oh yeah, I have read too many bad things about changing the crank pulley. I thought about it though. Maybe if it gets close I will try it.

 

loose AC and power steering...get a taller Alternator pulley.


just some thoughts to throw around