2001 grand marquis help

[iphearbunnies]

Im not really a car guy, so I don't know that much lingo. I have a 2001 grand marquis LS and I want to upgrade the performance, but I have no idea how. Any advice would help. Thanks

[sxcpotatoes]

Your best bet to upgrade the performance is to have dual exhaust put on. It's worth anywhere from 15-20 HP.

[Ziggy]

Needs MOAR info! How about a pic or two, show us what you're working with. What kind of performance are you looking for? Lots of potential upgrades, but it all depends on what you want to do with the car. More performance is pretty subjective. Personally, I'd like to get better performance in the braking and handling department. Researching those mods now.

[marquisman]

yes, more info! cause you might have shite rear gear ratio too. so that would be another good upgrade.

[Mercracer]

What are your performance goals?

[iphearbunnies]

What I'm.looking for is something that can make my car essentially a race car. I want to be able to switch gears faster, brake easier, and go faster than other cars I see. And I also want to but it in an actual race.

[johnunit]

making it a racecar will be difficult, as your car is NOT a vehicle many people turn into a race car. You could go to any number of companies or shops with a Mustang, Camaro, Civic, etc. and turn it into a car suitable for organized racing. Not so with your grand marquis.

However, there are things you can do that will make it faster, handle better, etc.

It's not cheap though. As a VERY rough guideline, if you spend your money right you might cut a second off your 0-60mph time (currently probably a little over 8 seconds) for a thousand dollars. This could be accomplished with a modified exhaust system and a tune, or a changed rear end ratio. A rear end ratio swap will change the actual gears in your rear axle, with the effect of giving you more "leverage" and therefore more acceleration in each gear, but causing the engine to spin faster at a given speed in a given gear. Depending on what rear gears you have right now and which you change to, this could cause a significant loss of fuel economy.


I don't mean to be a downer, but it's VERY common for a person new to modifying cars to find out the hard way that speed gets very expensive very fast.

[Mercracer]

What is your budget?

[johnunit]

Budget is important.


Also, is this a car you will be driving regularly? how loud are you ok with it being? Would you be willing to live with a harsher ride? Worse fuel economy? Where are you located?

[Mercracer]

making it a racecar will be difficult, as your car is NOT a vehicle many people turn into a race car. You could go to any number of companies or shops with a Mustang, Camaro, Civic, etc. and turn it into a car suitable for organized racing. Not so with your grand marquis...

I have to disagree. It is significantly more expensive when you step into the higher levels but it is no more expensive nor difficult to enter a Crown Vic into several sportsman classes of racing. Someone with a Crown Vic could easily dominate the 15 second or even 14 second index of NMRA True Street.
If things go well, I will be competing at either the 12 or 13 second index this year with a modest budget.

[Mercracer]

What I'm.looking for is something that can make my car essentially a race car. I want to be able to switch gears faster, brake easier, and go faster than other cars I see. And I also want to but it in an actual race.

Your Crown Vic is not a Mustang and will never be one. That being said, from the factory it already goes faster, corners and brakes better, and is cheaper to work on then many old "classic" cars which people drool over. People pay big bucks to update the brakes and suspension of a Galaxie or even Torino just to get to where the Panther platform is from the factory.
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Back to the most relevant question at hand.... What is your budget?
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The second most relevant question is.. Does this have to be your daily driver??

[johnunit]

I have to disagree. It is significantly more expensive when you step into the higher levels but it is no more expensive nor difficult to enter a Crown Vic into several sportsman classes of racing. Someone with a Crown Vic could easily dominate the 15 second or even 14 second index of NMRA True Street.
If things go well, I will be competing at either the 12 or 13 second index this year with a modest budget.

I was more assuming they meant road racing. Yes drag racing is something any mustang shop could accomplish, or the owner themselves if they're willing to learn.

[iphearbunnies]

Yes it is my regular car and no I don't care about how loud it is. Im doing this to show my car is a drag car it I build it right. I will not race illegally.

[Mercracer]

What is your Budget?????

[iphearbunnies]

My budget is not unlimited but its not scarce.