[PeDL2DaMeDL]

I'd like to increase horsepower. I don't want to post this in "2.0 mod" because modification is a universal topic. What is the most hp that anyone has managed to form in an I4 cougar? Now I do not want to spend an outlandish amount of money, I won't buy nitrous or a custom turbo. I want to find out about simple upgrades. I know there are a couple of intakes and a chip, what else have members done? What numbers have they produced?

 

[carsnrockmusic]

um...what are you askin exactly? ....would love to help but no matter how much i read that i'm not really understanding what you're askin....

hope this helps...

as far as i know seawulf has got the most hp that i've seen as far as numbers go...he's around 210 to the wheels....i know there's others who likely have more than that but i haven't seen numbers for them....if you want somethin more simple than nitrous and cheaper then you might as well not really try....nothin else will give you the kinda gains nitrous will and it's not too expensive or hard to hook up....check out the other threads in Zetec performance and see if there's somethin there you're interested in....

edit: as far as other cheap things there's cam gears, pulleys, iat mod, cams

 

[GrandMasterKhan]

basically without forced induction and/or doing lots of internal work HP will be hard to come by.

with basic bolt ons you can expect 30 hp or so. I/h/e

your question is pretty broad, so i dont exactly understand what your asking.

 

[ov3n]

if i remember correctly from VERY old conversations, jjennings when he had his i4 cougar got like 160hp to the front wheels

 

[Teflonworm]

So you want maximum HP but dont want to spent the money for it?? :crazy:


Ball park amount you'd wanna spend? How mechanically inclined are you? Do you plan on keeping the car for a while?

 

[needforspeed]

here is a list of bolt ons some vary on difficultly and cost
ZXtuner header$355 = 10 hp
Magnaflow Dual exhaust $345 = 8 hp
Esslinger U/D pulley $84.99 = 6 hp
Esslinger Intake cam 242 deg. @.050/.400
Esslinger Exhaust cam 227 deg. @ .050/.400 $251.99 each adding together about 16hp
Weapon R Trio pack intake $299 = 11 hp
total cost= $1551.97
total hp= 51
there are other things out there but this is what I could find as far as numbers provided by the retailers or makers
you could look at adding a Diablo chip some larger injectors and if you can find a throttle body that would help if anyone would like to add to this or have feed back on the products listed please fell free to add your .02 cents

EDIT: this would put your Zetec pushing 181 BHP :banana:

 

[tropiccougar01]

You forgot the esslinger Head package. ANd clutch and flywheel to hold the tranny together. And instead of the weapon R intake trio, go with a true CAI like the GMK CAI.

 

[needforspeed]

wasn't sure if those other intakes would work for the Zetec I had seen were customcougars was only offering the GMK for the V6 .

 

[PeDL2DaMeDL]

carsnrockmusic - i didn't mean to be asking a wide spectrum of questions. 210 horse from an i4 is what i wanted to know for one point. that's a lot of an i4! i didn't think it would even be that high? what do all of get for hp # out of your i4's??


Teflonworm - no, not really saying i want maximum hp and don't want to spend the money... basically wanted to know what needforspeed posted, figure out what my options were and how much those upgrades cost. i'd like to spend at the time $200 or $300 this spring for performance upgrades, i'm not mechanically inclined and i do plan on keeping my car - just bought it a few months ago.

needforspeed - thanks, that's what i wanted to know man. appreciate the time it took to write that out.

SO NOW... members have informed me that the cta intake would be best, plus it would be something i could install myself. would there be any other weekend projects that i could do myself or that wouldn't cost much to pay labor on?

 

[Teflonworm]

Well....easiest things are intake, exhaust. Intake will take ya like 15-20 minutes, exhaust maybe 40-50 depending on rust


You could probably pick up a cheap exhaust used or maybe a custom one form a local exhaust shop. I know I got 2 floating around in varying conditions. Easily can be cleaned up, but would need welded back onto the cars for installation :wave:

I would honestly say....for $200-$300, do suspension. New mounts, springs, etc...and you'll noticed considerable better drivability. $200-$300 is negligible performance boosting honestly on a 4 banger. No you cannot argue with me on this issue



Disclaimer: Teflon Time Table Does Not Include Prep Time, It's Assumed You Already Did It :wiggle:

 

[PeDL2DaMeDL]

WELL! I may decide to hook up an intake but its not like Ill get a hell of a lotta power out of that...does it usually add a louder tone/noise to the car? That would be the only reason I'd throw on a cta.

Again - If I wanted power, shouldn't have boughten a cougar...haha oh well...atleast our cars LOOK nice.

 

[needforspeed]

you can do the under drive pulleys for under a $100 that is quick and simple also you can pick up a set of #19 injectors for about $125 best thing I suggest is to look at zxtuner.com they have alot of stuff you can just bolt on and customcougars.com also has alot of different things as far as suspension that will help you get the power to the ground and he has ratings on dificulty of instalation that is really helpful. Another thing to look at is the MSD Blaster coil that is about $80 but if you do this I suggest you go ahead and replace the plugs and wires hell you might even think about changing the air and fuel filter to that couldn't hurt .

 

[Ness1216]

an intake really only works above 3500 rpm, you will notice a small jolt followed by an engine howling noise. You get a tiny bit of power but the sound makes it seem faster. I did intake first then went to exhaust I noticed a lot of hp gained with the exhaust, it also likes to rev a little higher. Im going to do some more performance stuff in late spring, but for now its suspension and brakes.

 

[PeDL2DaMeDL]

needforspeed thanks - see, i'm really just getting into the car scene the past year, i do know a few basic things but i'm not even familiar with what an underground pulley is...haha i feel embarrassed. someone told me earlier that there weren't headers available for the i4. i'll go check out zxtuner.com. what benefits will a msn blaster coil hand me?

Ness1216 thanks too - so you would say adding an intake to your ride added a "fast sound" or a louder tone? When I added my muffler I noticed INSTANT change. I could suddenly rev it to a lot higher RPM. I was impressed...that's not even replacing exhaust with larger piping or anything. I am happy.

 

[needforspeed]

under drive pulley's would free up about 5 or 6 hp
MSD coil well not really sure how to explain it maybe someone else could discribe the benefits better than I could . I'm affraid if I try and explain it I'll just confuse myself and give everyone else something to laugh at.

 

[diddy]

Originally posted by: needforspeed

Magnaflow Dual exhaust $345 = 8 hp
;

8 hp? wouldn't it be more like 3 or 4? and why would u wanna put dual exhuast on a 4 cyl? wouldnt you lose torque?

 

[needforspeed]

that is a good point, but like I said that is numbers posted by retailers or the makers . What I've noticed is that alot of the exhaust systems out there are pointed more towards the V6 than the I4 . I had my exhaust system made with 2.25" pipe and a Ractive muffler total cost on that was about $300 . not sure how much that helped but I can beat my brother in-laws stock V6 MTX

 

[PeDL2DaMeDL]

I'm glad someone else out there has owned a ractive muffler too...i got mine online at Sound Domain for half price, would have been 140 bucks. TOTAL - for install and muffler - $120...sounds great too! how do you like yours needforspeed?

 

[needforspeed]

I love mine but I got mine for $120 full price and the custom work on the exhuast cost $180 and I think it was the best $300 I've spent.

 

[carsnrockmusic]

i had split exhaust and was losing mad power.....single outlet, in my opinion is the best way to go....i got 2.5" piping all the way into a vibrant muffler for $100....shop around and make sure the shop that does it has mandrel pipe bending machine