I inherited a 1990 Cartier in great condition a few years ago. It now has about 129k I love the car, but have lamented it's lack of power. Does anyone have some relatively inexpensive ideas? I plan on getting a K&N Air Filter. Do the chips really work? What would anyone suggest? My exhaust is dual into single....can this be changed to dual, and is it very difficult?
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High Performance from 1990 TC Cartier?
- Thread starter BangorTC
- Start date
V-Tally
Dedicated LVC Member
changing to dual exhaust shouldnt be too hard, most muffler shops will do it, i got quoted 450 in NYC for a catback on a 2000 TC.
abe_lincoln78
Active LVC Member
Here's what you should do. . . .
The engine has got to go. Its one of the biggest factors in your car's slowness. If you can get ahold of a 5.0 HO out of an 89-93 mustang or Mark VII you'll see a 50% improvement right there (literally).
Next, focus on the exhaust. When you swap the engine you're going to have to swap the H-pipe if you want headers anyway so just do the whole thing. I prefer an H pipe with high flow cats and 2.5 inch tubes all the way back. Listen to some mustang sound clips and choose the muffler you feel is best for the sound you want. You'll see an easy 30hp improvement over the stock 5.0 HO right there.
If you really want to light the tires, get some Roush 240 heads. You can expect to see almost 100 extra horses out of that swap alone. You'll still want to go to the HO short block though as it has a much better cam and forged aluminum pistons.
I don't know what the HO's are going for now but when I built one for my 89 TC I got the engine (blown) from a junk yard and rebuilt it with new pistons and a new crank for $1500 total. I also replaced some other items like the water pump.
The engine has got to go. Its one of the biggest factors in your car's slowness. If you can get ahold of a 5.0 HO out of an 89-93 mustang or Mark VII you'll see a 50% improvement right there (literally).
Next, focus on the exhaust. When you swap the engine you're going to have to swap the H-pipe if you want headers anyway so just do the whole thing. I prefer an H pipe with high flow cats and 2.5 inch tubes all the way back. Listen to some mustang sound clips and choose the muffler you feel is best for the sound you want. You'll see an easy 30hp improvement over the stock 5.0 HO right there.
If you really want to light the tires, get some Roush 240 heads. You can expect to see almost 100 extra horses out of that swap alone. You'll still want to go to the HO short block though as it has a much better cam and forged aluminum pistons.
I don't know what the HO's are going for now but when I built one for my 89 TC I got the engine (blown) from a junk yard and rebuilt it with new pistons and a new crank for $1500 total. I also replaced some other items like the water pump.
Over2tonsofFun
Active LVC Member
Well any thing is possible, how much are you willing to spend. speed costs, how fast do you want to go.
Tim
Tim