93mkviii
Dedicated LVC Member
hey guys i am looking for the best mods that will total up around 500, i thinking of chip and pullies. any other suggestions.
what mods for $500
- Thread starter 93mkviii
- Start date
kustomizingkid
Dedicated LVC Member
Do a tune up first if you haven't yet, trying to do performance mods to a car that isn't running properly is pointless, plugs, good wires, O2 sensors, etc...
If you want some cheap exhuast mods just cut the mufflers off of your stock exhaust and enjoy. It sounds pretty good and if you have tools or the connections you can do that mod for cheap to free.
You can also do a few different types of Cold Air intake for pretty cheap, either bolt on a cone filter and build a heat sheild, or you can put the filter in bumper using an elbow.
A tune is a good way to improve your car, but do your research before running out and buying a blanket tune.
If you want some cheap exhuast mods just cut the mufflers off of your stock exhaust and enjoy. It sounds pretty good and if you have tools or the connections you can do that mod for cheap to free.
You can also do a few different types of Cold Air intake for pretty cheap, either bolt on a cone filter and build a heat sheild, or you can put the filter in bumper using an elbow.
A tune is a good way to improve your car, but do your research before running out and buying a blanket tune.
kustomizingkid
Dedicated LVC Member
On a side note, pull out your ECM and check the computer code. If you have an early build 93 ( assuming you have a 93 based on your screen name) that you might have really good tuning already. The early 93 were known for being the fastest of all the factory Marks.
k9t8m
Rollin' Twankies
I agree with everything Brandon said. The #1 thing you need to do is give it a real good tune up before any mods. Synthetic fluids, oil, trans, and gear lube. Also change brake fluid, power steering fluid, engine coolant, and just for good measure top off the washer fluid. Plugs and wires will also need attention. Plenty of choices out there, for the money i prefer MSD, but for about the same price ford racing wires are also available. I have ran Autolite 764 plugs in all my marks, and they have always worked out great.
Dont go with UD pulleys. They are not worth the trade off. The marks have to many electrical components to power.
Gears can be done for right around $500. You just have to look for good prices.
Exhaust is one of the cheaper, and better mods that can be done. Like anything else, you could spend quite a bit on exhaust, but you can also do it on the cheap. I drove my 95 with no mufflers (still had the cats and resinator) for 4 years and absoutely loved it. Great sound, felt like more power (could have just been in my head), and the polished stainless tips I had looked much better than stock. You will definately turn more heads with exhast on a lincoln than any other mod.
Chip is good, but if you dont have any other mods they are kind of a waste in my opinion.
Sensor lowering the car improves handling and really improves the look.- Its also free.
I would at least remove the air intake silencers, all 3. That will help out with the airflow.
Another mod that is worthwile is the HID upgrade. With new hallogen housings, and aftermarket HID kit, you should still be in the $500 range. If you have ever driven at night with the stock hallogens you will know exactly why i am suggesting this. I will NEVER go back to hallogens. I do know a member on another board selling a complete factory set of HID's for under $500 also. PM me if interested.
Jmod can also be done on the cheap. its a fairly easy do it yourself mod that can be done in a couple hours. There is plenty of info here about that. just do a search.
This should be enough to keep you busy for a while. Keep us updated on the progress. Before and after pics are always good.
Dont go with UD pulleys. They are not worth the trade off. The marks have to many electrical components to power.
Gears can be done for right around $500. You just have to look for good prices.
Exhaust is one of the cheaper, and better mods that can be done. Like anything else, you could spend quite a bit on exhaust, but you can also do it on the cheap. I drove my 95 with no mufflers (still had the cats and resinator) for 4 years and absoutely loved it. Great sound, felt like more power (could have just been in my head), and the polished stainless tips I had looked much better than stock. You will definately turn more heads with exhast on a lincoln than any other mod.
Chip is good, but if you dont have any other mods they are kind of a waste in my opinion.
Sensor lowering the car improves handling and really improves the look.- Its also free.
I would at least remove the air intake silencers, all 3. That will help out with the airflow.
Another mod that is worthwile is the HID upgrade. With new hallogen housings, and aftermarket HID kit, you should still be in the $500 range. If you have ever driven at night with the stock hallogens you will know exactly why i am suggesting this. I will NEVER go back to hallogens. I do know a member on another board selling a complete factory set of HID's for under $500 also. PM me if interested.
Jmod can also be done on the cheap. its a fairly easy do it yourself mod that can be done in a couple hours. There is plenty of info here about that. just do a search.
This should be enough to keep you busy for a while. Keep us updated on the progress. Before and after pics are always good.
driller
Dedicated LVC Member
My advice for all those modding a Mark VIII - for the first mods it should be gears, chip and dual 2-1/2" exhaust. Definitely more than $500 but definitely the big 3 in my opinion. If you have to only do one - I want to say do the chip first. It will be the most bang for the buck and everything else will be enhanced by it. 
93mkviii
Dedicated LVC Member
Thanks for the replies, ok I have done a tune up (change fluids, seafoam) the car has nology sparkwires and it does have a hid upgrade with lsc lights, the car runs good except for shifts(why i want a chip) it has an exhaust and the silencer is removed. my car is one of the early 93's i havent got the chance to look at when the engine was made but on the side of where the driver door closes its dated 05/1993 so its one of the early ones.
now i might do air intake and chip + accessories or if i do gears and jmod it will it get better with shifting/studdering while normal driving because if thats the case gears and jmod will the the way to go. now i thought gears would be around 800, give me some tips on where to get the parts guys(i would really look into gears if i can get it for $560 parts and labor). im also interested in lowering the car from the back .5-1 inch and the front 1-2 inch i tried looking at the tech articals (kinda confusing) is there a more visual thread on here you guys recommend. thanks for your input guys
now i might do air intake and chip + accessories or if i do gears and jmod it will it get better with shifting/studdering while normal driving because if thats the case gears and jmod will the the way to go. now i thought gears would be around 800, give me some tips on where to get the parts guys(i would really look into gears if i can get it for $560 parts and labor). im also interested in lowering the car from the back .5-1 inch and the front 1-2 inch i tried looking at the tech articals (kinda confusing) is there a more visual thread on here you guys recommend. thanks for your input guys
93mkviii
Dedicated LVC Member
My advice for all those modding a Mark VIII - for the first mods it should be gears, chip and dual 2-1/2" exhaust. Definitely more than $500 but definitely the big 3 in my opinion. If you have to only do one - I want to say do the chip first. It will be the most bang for the buck and everything else will be enhanced by it.
hey driller kinda off topic but where did you get the covers for the wires in the engine, my car seriouly would look better with those and how much did it cost you
kustomizingkid
Dedicated LVC Member
5/93 as a build date would put you at a later 93... 93 cars with a 92 build date have the best tuning.
How does it not shift how you want it too?
Are the shifts sloppy, or does the car rev out or not shift like it should? I wouldn't expect a tune to magically fix your trans if its going out, and tunes have been know to actually kill older transmissions. I would do a jmod and replace the accumulators first, then see if you still dislike how the trans shifts.
As far as gears go Max has a sale right now for the whole deal for a great price, and it includes a tlock. If you are going to do gears don't unless you get a tlock. I got everything from Max for a little over $400, and have been pricing installs at around $300-$400, putting the total cost to $700-$800. I chose gears as my first mod, and would recommend it to anyone, I was just trying to play in your $500 budget range.
Sensor lowering can be a bit confusing and there are a lot of threads on it. I plan on doing it to my car in the next week or so and will take a bunch of pics...
How does it not shift how you want it too?
Are the shifts sloppy, or does the car rev out or not shift like it should? I wouldn't expect a tune to magically fix your trans if its going out, and tunes have been know to actually kill older transmissions. I would do a jmod and replace the accumulators first, then see if you still dislike how the trans shifts.
As far as gears go Max has a sale right now for the whole deal for a great price, and it includes a tlock. If you are going to do gears don't unless you get a tlock. I got everything from Max for a little over $400, and have been pricing installs at around $300-$400, putting the total cost to $700-$800. I chose gears as my first mod, and would recommend it to anyone, I was just trying to play in your $500 budget range.
Sensor lowering can be a bit confusing and there are a lot of threads on it. I plan on doing it to my car in the next week or so and will take a bunch of pics...
k9t8m
Rollin' Twankies
Sensor lowering a car is alot easier than the articles make it out to be. Once you get a basic understanding of how the air ride works, you can pretty much figure it out on your own. Here is what I used for both the marks i sensor lowered.
http://www.markviii.org/LOD2/sensorlowering.htm
http://www.markviii.org/LOD2/sensorlowering.htm
93mkviii
Dedicated LVC Member
shifts are very sloppy and it shifts too early into gears(only a chip can fix that so im confused on what to do gears or chip) and i look forward to your thread on lowering your car
Rich88LSC
Dedicated LVC Member
Definitely dont do gears with a trac lok. You will probably need a chip to get the car to shift where it should with the gears though. I would wait until you could do gears a trac lok and a chip at once. If you get a chip first you will have to get a new program when you get the gears anyway.
Rich88LSC
Dedicated LVC Member
If it's really that bad you might have tranny trouble. If not the jmod will help firm up the shifts. A chip if the only way to change shift points. Again if you swap gears the shift points will need to be changed again. So if you do the chip first you will most likely be paying for a new program if you already have a chip. Not a huge deal but something to think about if your on a budget.
I say for the $500 do exhaust, intake tricks,and a good tune up.
Gears are a bit more then $500 and most effective if you do the trio at once. (higher stall, Gears, Traclock)
It will go from night to day, most tranny shops will hook you up if they do more then 1 srvice at a time, like drop the tranny for the stall and J-mod, then get into the rear end.
Gears are a bit more then $500 and most effective if you do the trio at once. (higher stall, Gears, Traclock)
It will go from night to day, most tranny shops will hook you up if they do more then 1 srvice at a time, like drop the tranny for the stall and J-mod, then get into the rear end.
kustomizingkid
Dedicated LVC Member
I'm a little concerned 93 that your trans has the problems not your tuning... If you go WOT what rpm does it shift from first to second?
I would drop the pan and do the jmod and change all the accumulators, and then see how the trans does. I just know that my 98 shfits on the 1,2 at a little under 6 right now and I wouldn't say it needs a tune desperately... and that's on a 98 with the worst of the factory tuning.
I would drop the pan and do the jmod and change all the accumulators, and then see how the trans does. I just know that my 98 shfits on the 1,2 at a little under 6 right now and I wouldn't say it needs a tune desperately... and that's on a 98 with the worst of the factory tuning.
Just to let you guys know he is my brother, and he drives the 93 Mark VIII in the family. It has 160K from what i remember. the transmission problem he is talking about is that, it sometimes hick-ups between 1-2 Shift. I would have to ask GMAN if he had the transmission upgraded to a 98. So any ideas on what might be causing the hick-ups? Its up to tune and drives fine other then the hick up it gets sometimes. I also hate that it goes into 4th on 37 MPH. I told him to get a chip and UD pulleys but told him to post it on LVC first to see what he would want to do with his money. After The post on the JMOD recently on the site, i wouldn't do it because it would be a hassle if you mess up. we would need someone that knows how to do it with us.
kustomizingkid
Dedicated LVC Member
So its your bro huh, we wouldn't steer him in the wrong direction...
I will say this in absolute terms:
IF YOUR TRANS DOESN'T SHIFT RIGHT WITH A FACTORY TUNE AN AFTERMARKET TUNE WILL NOT FIX YOUR PROBLEMS!
Sorry for shouting... bit I really feel like this needs to be stressed, tuning does not fix mechanical problems with a car. With bone stock factory tuning the trans should shift right, no if and or buts about that. If it does not shift right the problem isn't tuning related, its sensor or mechanical related.
Aftermarket tunes are known to kill transmissions when they are already weak, so get the trans issue resolved first, then start modding.
I will say this in absolute terms:
IF YOUR TRANS DOESN'T SHIFT RIGHT WITH A FACTORY TUNE AN AFTERMARKET TUNE WILL NOT FIX YOUR PROBLEMS!
Sorry for shouting... bit I really feel like this needs to be stressed, tuning does not fix mechanical problems with a car. With bone stock factory tuning the trans should shift right, no if and or buts about that. If it does not shift right the problem isn't tuning related, its sensor or mechanical related.
Aftermarket tunes are known to kill transmissions when they are already weak, so get the trans issue resolved first, then start modding.
MarkVIII93
Dedicated LVC Member
GET 4.10s!!! you will be happy you did. Stock gears kill these cars. You will absolutely run mid 14's.
Markviiiedrea
Speed Bump
I dint like 4:10s but that me I'm going to build 3:73 when I'm rich.
have a tune when you have gears, it will be more noticeable.
have a tune when you have gears, it will be more noticeable.
driller
Dedicated LVC Member
MarkVIII93
Dedicated LVC Member
Why 373? these things can EASILY and comfortably run 430s and 456s.. Hey. personal preference though. If I was makin OOGE power id run 355
k9t8m
Rollin' Twankies
3:73's were my choice because I drive on the highway alot. I need to go 80mph and i dont want to be running at any higher rpm than I have to. 3:73's were a great upgrade for me, but after making the 800mi trip to Carlisle this year. Im really glad i didnt go 4:10.
