The Mods are starting

arc23usn

Registered
well with christmas over, a fat pay check tomorrow, cash in the bank, and tax return coming up, I'm going to have a couple grand to spend on parts for my Mark VIII. I'm Starting off with 3:73s, a shift kit, torque converter, and a tune. 3:73s are a no brainer, but idk where I should purchase the shift kit, tc, or tune from. ive been looking up on scp and boc, as they seem the popular markVIII aftermarket suppliers. But any recommendations specifically for the tc, shift kit, and tune?
 
Lonnie (BOC) has the best TCs and tunes...I think he also sells shift kits. He may discount multiple purchases.

No knock on Bill (SCP), he has great stuff and good service, but I got a bad TC from his supplier, and they told me to pound sand when I said anything about warranty. 'Bulletproof' almost never means 'bulletproof', and these guys vanish after the 1 year warranty is up. Good tranny and TC suppliers are hard to find...most of them tend to cut corners.

Finally, stuff from Reinhart automotive is hit and miss, and despite what he or his site says, you can forget about customer support once you have the product. I actually got TWO bad trannies from him.

I've spent thousands with each of them, so I guess I've 'been around the block'.
 
Lonnie's Blue Oval Chips' site is temporarily down due to a malicious hacker, but he is still one of the definitive experts on the Mark VIII drivetrain and tuning. He just moved into a new shop but can be reached via email at lonnie AT blueovalchips DOT com.

Look at Baumann for a good shift kit. ;)

Have you considered a "J-mod"?

You really want nothing less than a 3500 stall converter. I recommend 4.10s, but it seems you've got your mind made up for 3.73s. :)
 
You will not be happy with 3.73 gears.
When my car was N/A I installed 4.10 gears in it and it was not enough for me but currently I have blower and I am happy with them.
 
i can't go with 4:10s, too much highway driving, its ten miles just to get to town from base. plus ive been happy with 3:73s in other cars i have driven.
3500 stall? i was thinking 3200 tops, my plans for this car are very mild in the performance department.
I don't really know much about the J-mod, but it looks like I'll add it to my list.
 
i can't go with 4:10s, too much highway driving, its ten miles just to get to town from base. plus ive been happy with 3:73s in other cars i have driven.
3500 stall? i was thinking 3200 tops, my plans for this car are very mild in the performance department.
I don't really know much about the J-mod, but it looks like I'll add it to my list.

No offense to JP, but he's addicted to 'speed' ;).

3.73 is as high as I would go on a daily driver...it is the same ratio they used in the Cobra Mustangs of the day, so it must have been a good compromise.

And again, I've got a 3000 stall in mine, which is good for a daily driver, but I can see a higher stall as being okay also. A great compromise in this area is Lonnie's (BOC) carbon fiber lock-up converter at 3500 stall, then you get the best of both worlds. You'll need to work with him when you reprogram your shift and lock-up points, but once you get that dialed in, the car will behave mild mannerly at low throttle (the lock-up will resemble a manual transmission), and throw the rpms up when you punch it; (the lock-up at higher rpms will also resemble a manual as it will transfer more power to the wheels.) The converter comes in at almost $1000, but you WILL get your money's worth.
 
3.73 is as high as I would go on a daily driver...it is the same ratio they used in the Cobra Mustangs of the day, so it must have been a good compromise.

96-01 Cobra's had 3.27's
03-04 Cobra's had 3.55's

But, of course, they had manual tranmissions. ;)

BTW, I have 4.10's and a 3,600 stall TC in my LSC. :cool:
 
I've got 3.73's and I'm very happy with them for my DD and occasional trip to the track. I don't know if she could handle more, and I do take her on lots of road trips. Besides, you can always get a second one later and go higher :)
 
If you go over to the TOCCA site there is a great write up you should spend time understanding about the J Mod and what is involved. It is something that you can do yourself with modest mechanical skills and tools. Be sure to also get a good Trans Cooler (Plate type) by Hayden or B&M. On your gear selection don't get too wigged out on the 4:10 gears, they won't be that bad on gas compared to the 3:73's. Even in my SC car I still get 20MPG on the road at 70-75 MPH (it has 3:73's). Definitely add a new Drive shaft also with either gear.
 
96-01 Cobra's had 3.27's
03-04 Cobra's had 3.55's

But, of course, they had manual tranmissions. ;)

BTW, I have 4.10's and a 3,600 stall TC in my LSC. :cool:

Hmmm...okay. I was told by someone on here that the Cobras had a 3.73 at one time.

Stupid me for listening to that...
 
The 4.10's were fine in my daily driver. I drove it to Florida with 4.10's and still got 21 mpg. 3000 rpm at 80 mph is typical for a V6 powered SUV, and that's about what you get with 4.10's in a mark.

If you have a LONG commute, more than about 30-40 miles each way, i'd say you should consider less than 4.10's, but with my 20 mile commute, 4.10's were perfect. And I took the car up to about 140 on the highway with them. Only difference was the car got there faster.

If you like high speed, track down an MMC driveshaft. You need it with gears.

For the converter, higher stall is better WITH very aggressive lock-up. 3500 stall would be fine (I had 3200). But you DO want the converter to lock up under WOT. You also want it to stay locked unless you're stopping or launching. I loved the way my car drove after Jerry originally tuned it - very aggressive lock-up, felt like a manual. Only fault was it occasionally wouldn't unlock fast enough on a stop and the engine would stall. But I did like having the ability to cruise around at 25 mph or less and have it actually lock.

I had a PI converter back in the day, but I hear Lonnie has the good **** now. Give him a call.

For the shift kit - i'd skip it and go with the modifications Jerry outlined. That info should still be on the TCCOA site. All Ford part numbers and just a few holes to drill. It IS a shift kit, but no worry about quality of aftermarket parts, or lack of R&D. I'd rather go with Ford stuff recommended by someone who knows his ****, than with something some tranny guy recommends based on "it shifts harder" with no engineering knowledge. Some of the shift kits will recommend some changes that are very bad ideas - read the J-mod stuff even if you do plan on an aftermarket shift kit, so you know at least some of what NOT to do when you install the shift kit.

I don't know what year your car or your trans is, but if it's a '98 I wouldn't even bother with a shift kit. Even with the other years, 90% of the shifting is based on programming. But if it's not a '98, get in there and do the accumulators and "while you're at it" do the j-mod.
 
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I should clarify. The reason I like my 3.73's isn't related to gas mileage, which actually the tune made up for or more than made up for. For me it's road noise, maybe my choice of tires, but mostly my damn loud exhaust. Which I love. But sometimes on a long trip I miss some of the quiet that I used to have with the lower RPMs.
 
I should clarify. The reason I like my 3.73's isn't related to gas mileage, which actually the tune made up for or more than made up for. For me it's road noise, maybe my choice of tires, but mostly my damn loud exhaust. Which I love.

For me it's the loud tire chirp and sideways movement when your car hits 2nd gear... :D

and your damn loud exhaust... :D

:D -J
 
my cars a 96 by the way
im gonna go with the 3:73s, my car gets about 20.5mpg highway right now, but shes in need of a full tune up, which ill do when this group of parts is ordered. So for the t/c you guys seem to suggest the 3500 stall, any suggestions on what company? BOC's site is still down so i cant look at any of their t/c's. The tune i'll prolly get from BOC, since thats from what i found everyone here likes.
now the question is shift kit? jmod? or both?
hopefully by the end of the week i can get everything ordered
 
Your current fuel milage is really on the low side, so you need to go thru the car and do all the tune up stuff before you try and mess with a mail order tune. I would also get your O2 sensors (Primaries) changed out as well. Lonnie has written many times around here that no tune is going to help a neglected car, and it is those cars that create issues when it comes to diagnosing a problem with the computer accepting a tune. Simply get all the electrical fuel and air stuff up to snuff first.
 
I'm sure Lonnie is one of the best when it comes to mail order tunes - but I don't do mail order tunes. In order to get it right, the tuner has to drive the car. Shift points and such are the big issue here. Also, I prefer to verify that any changes to the air / fuel mixture do not result in an unaccaptably lean mixture. A lot of the mods that people would do earlier on would just shift the car lean to make a little more power - and that's not good. I wouldn't worry about that too much with Lonnie, but I'd still find a reputable local SCT dealer and get my car dyno tuned.

Last "chip" I got for the lemons car had some shifting issues - and our instructions were pretty simple. No 1st, no 4th, all we wanted was second and third, and it had to hold on to gears like no other. Goal was to minimize shifting and maximize trans longevity. But to get that right without test driving the car is still tricky - the car ended up doing some weird **** at times on certain parts of the track, and we resorted to using manual second for much of the course.

While we may be on the topic - does anyone have an old SCT chip for an EEC V car that they'd be willing to give up on the cheap? They fried ours last year by pouring beer on the dash.
 
While we may be on the topic - does anyone have an old SCT chip for an EEC V car that they'd be willing to give up on the cheap? They fried ours last year by pouring beer on the dash.

And by "they"... you mean "I" right? :D

:D -J
 
No, the organizors of the lemons race penalized us for a nonexistant rule near the end of the race. We had a non-required cap removed from a fuel can before the driver was out of the car. The penalty was beer on the dash. It dripped on the chip (protruding from the computer) and fried it. Car died. Pulled the chip and it ran.

Got one? I have a guy who'll flash it for us for free. Just need a cheap chip.
 
No, the organizors of the lemons race penalized us for a nonexistant rule near the end of the race. We had a non-required cap removed from a fuel can before the driver was out of the car. The penalty was beer on the dash. It dripped on the chip (protruding from the computer) and fried it. Car died. Pulled the chip and it ran.

Got one? I have a guy who'll flash it for us for free. Just need a cheap chip.

wait wait wait... the penalty was that an open beer was left on the dash? :D
And no one drank it?

That should be the penalty for many many thing... :D

Speeding... beer on the dash :D
Parking on the sidewalk... beer on the dash :D
Drinking while driving... beer on the dash :D

:D -J
 
OK not sure why the mileage is so low cause when i owned it she was getting well over 26 to a gallon on the highway and average 20 with the around town driving,tuneup was done in june and and the car was never neglected ie; only got prem gas never run on a race track and lucas oil added at every oil change.
 
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