Good question. The most serious limitation to getting more go from the SHO is the front wheel drive. As the car accelerates faster, more weight is transferred to the rear (non-driving) wheels; thus, whereas the available force of friction increases with a RWD car, it decreases with a front wheeler like the SHO. The SHO also has a nasty torque steer at about 5- 6000 RPM even in stock form, which more torque could make completely unmanageable.

Scott Chan's take: "I disagree with the generalization that a few guys in garage can improve upon the engineering work of the Factory. The Factory engineers have a set of priorities to meet. The aftermarket has the potential to improve certain aspects of performance by altering the design criteria and priorities. Obvious trade-offs might include cost, noise, low- end performance, durability and reliability, emissions, ride comfort, fuel consumption, etc.

That said, one must realize that Ford and Yamaha did an outstanding job on the SHO. The 3.0 L Yamaha motor produces 73 HP per liter, ranking it one of the highest specific-outputs of any US-legal production cars in 1989 (There are many equivalent or better high-tech motors in 1994). By comparison, a '94 Mustang GT produces only 44 HP/L and a Corvette LT-1 cranks out 53 HP/L. The message is that there are no dramatic gains that can be bolted on to a street SHO. [Ed: Not inexpensively, anyhow--cams and head work (on the engine, not the driver :-) will likely be necessary for much improvement beyond 290 HP or so.]

And keep in mind that many radical modifications actually sacrifice performance across part of the range in order to optimize the upper end. Items such as hotter cams and low-restriction exhausts, often reduce low- and mid-range torque and power. [Ed: Exhausts don't seem to be a problem in this respect--perhaps the cats provide enough backpressure on the low end?.]

When evaluating power modifications, it is important to have objective measurements. Merely making more noise is not a sign of actual performance increase. Timed 0-60MPH or 25-60MPH acceleration runs, or expensive dyno testing are objective measures.

Some SHOtimer's experiences with piece-wise upgrades seems to be disappointing. It is suggested that upgrades must be done to both intake and exhaust in order to get measurable gains."

[How much torque can the transaxle stand?]