Performance Distributors has...
Performance Distributors has been electrifying automobiles for years now, and the company knows the 5.0L Mustang very well. PD supplied us with a set of its Livewires, an Inferno 2 ignition coil, and one of the company's Dyna-Mod modules.
Truthfully, we expected a bit more from the intake manifold and carburetor combination, and while we did pick up 2 mph, we're thinking a jetting change may be in order. Unfortunately we didn't have any with us, so we moved on to the Performance Distributors Firepower ignition system. Lucky for the Greek, he got to play crew chief and driver while we took the photos.
The factory plug wires were disposed of quickly, and we ditched the spark plugs as well. PD specified wider plug gaps (0.050 to 0.055-inch) with its Inferno 2 coil and Livewires, so we opened up a fresh set of Autolite 25s, gapped them to 0.052, and screwed them in. We also plugged in the Dyna-Mod and coil connections. The 5.0L immediately sounded better and revved faster upon start up, but would this translate to quicker elapsed times on the track?
Pulling out of the burnout box and up to the line, Xenos pulled the engine rpm to 3,500 and let the clutch out. The first 60 feet passed in a scant 1.91 seconds and he shifted each gear at 5,200 rpm. The Capri tripped the top-end lights in 13.98 seconds at 97.05 mph. That's the first time we saw a 97-mph trap speed, and we wouldn't dip below that the rest of the evening. On the next run, the 60-foot rose to 1.95 seconds, and the quarter-mile time followed at 14.04 seconds at 97.03 mph. We followed this with three 14.0s, and a hard 4,000-rpm launch netted a 1.88 60-foot time, along with a 13.94 at 97.09 mph.
While the mods this time around did not make a significant leap in performance as on our first outing, they have put us solidly in the high-13 to low-14-second range at 97 mph-a 0.2-second reduction in elapsed time and 2 more mph. We'll get ourselves a box of jets for the next time out at the track and see if that might wake things up a bit. We also have a complete true-dual exhaust system that we're going to bolt up to replace the factory Y-pipe, headers and 2.25-inch exhaust. In addition, we've picked out a pair of high-performance cylinder heads and a hot camshaft to get our carbureted 5.0L thumping.
The Inferno 2 coil was mounted...
The Inferno 2 coil was mounted on the front of the driver-side shock tower. This helps limit the length of wiring we have to run, and the position seemed to work well for the '87-'93 cars.
We wired the Dyna-Mod and...
We wired the Dyna-Mod and coil in such a way that we can unplug the factory Duraspark ignition and coil at the track, and plug the Performance Distributors setup in without much effort.
We opted to mount the Dyna-Mod...
We opted to mount the Dyna-Mod high and dry up near the hood hinge.
With a prime spot right next...
With a prime spot right next to the staging lanes, George Xenos made quick work of the ignition swap at the strip.
In order for the Dyna-Mod...
In order for the Dyna-Mod to work, we had to wire in this heat sink resistor.
Follow the provided instruction...
Follow the provided instruction to wire up the Inferno 2 coil. It's a piece of cake.
The Livewires are designed...
The Livewires are designed to work with the much hotter coil, and they look a whole lot better than the factory leads.
Performance Distributors recommends...
Performance Distributors recommends opening the spark plug gap to 0.050-0.055 inch.
We checked the ignition timing...
We checked the ignition timing one last time before going out. After the intake, carburetor and ignition upgrades, we dropped 0.2 second and picked up 2 mph in the quarter-mile. We're going to throw some jetting changes at the Holley 600, and then we'll get a bit more serious with our four barrels of fun.