engine question

[Tod]

ok, i've been thinking of how to go about finishing my engine off with the power i've always wanted, and of course the first thing that came to my mind was a blower. i'll be satisfied with an output in the area of 320 to 380hp. but in asking Unit on his take on it, he told me i could get pretty close to that with some changes in the intake, heads, and cam and forged pistons with an intercooled blower running about 6psi. so with 400+ possible by upping the psi i'd be even MORE pleased (who wouldn't).

Kells recommendation; forged pistons, intercooled blower at 6psi, clean up the heads and then intake would be all i needed, but i'll probably up the psi to 8. Unit, if i left anything out or didn't read you right i apologise and please correct me.

so i'd like to know what you think about this and please add any recommendations on what else should be done. and does anyone know what all of this might run in price?

i hope i didn't put anything up there that sounds stupid or completey wrong, seeing i still have severely poor knowledge regarding components and pieces of the engine and what goes where and what they all do heh. again thanks for any help.

What do you have now??

[Tod]

i'm completely stock except for a K&N filter and some Flows underneath, so yea, pretty much completely stock.

Oh boy... I'm assuming you have a 93-95 5.0. First off if you are planning for close to 400hp, you might want to start looking around for a good tranny and clutch. If you want to add heads then you got to start thinking about roller rockers and maybe new valve covers and a spacer for the intake(depending on the covers you get). You will want to take a look at some new injectors, bigger maf, tb, tb spacer(unless you get a cobra intake), fuel pump, afpr, fasteners. Changing cam? You may want to start looking at new timing chains. You're going to tear down the shortblock to change pistons? You may as well start looking at rebuild kits. Don't forget you need gaskets. Other things to consider.. headers, h-pipe, water pump.. (it may start getting warm under there) radiator, fan... your rearend may start clunking, I'm fixing to have my rearend built now(parts ordered). I'm not trying to scare you but... one mod leads to another(trust me on this).

Blowers.. As long as you stay mild on the boost the stock pistons should be ok. I've heard of many people ordering a cobra sb and running 6-8#s of boost.

How much are you planning to spend?

[Tod]

well, 400+hp would be a luxury if that's what it adds up to. reading some of the threads in here make me wonder what the heck horsepower will end up being thrown at the rear wheels depending on what setup is used. as far as money goes, it's not really an option seeing as this is a long-term project and it will happen when the funds are attained (lowly contruction worker heh).

i'm not taking the car to the track so it's not a race-inspired setup that i'm looking for. just an every-day-it's-not-snowing daily driver that can hold it's own with authority on the public roadways. this project may not be completed until next summer or fall so i don't have a deadline. and i can understand that comment on "one mod leads to another" because once you start, you want more and more done to improve your ride.

now, i've been told that the setup i mentioned at the beginning of the thread will/should work without risking the well-being of the engine block and other vital components of the car, especially with an intercooled supercharger and forged pistons which will both be an absolute must to begin with. as well as upper and lower Cobra intake, pullies, gears, short throw shifter, GT40, and later the cam work. and by next month it'll have new headers and an offroad h-pipe to help underneath and i've already got 2.5" 2-chamber Flows. i also want to change hoods to something i can make functional to help get cool air underneath, and best case scenerio, let the warm air out, even if it means making scoops "functional" with my own 2 hands. keeping the engine cool when having a blower would seem like the most important thing to do so the engine doesn't blow.

if i must, i can simply keep the boost at 6psi. only 8 if it can be done 100% safely regarding the engine block not blowing up. that's alo why having an *intercooled* supercharger is a must.

The point I was trying to make with "one mod leads to another" was not so much as a want, but a need.

I started out with a blower on a stock engine. If I were to do it all over again I would definitely do the engine first(heads, cam, intake). I think that would satisfy you, for a while atleast.

Since you aren't volunteering this info... What year car do you have and how many miles?? heeh

[juiceman]

if you have no plans on racing this car you dont need to make 400 hp so why not start out small. i have a question for you and anyone else who wants to build a motor, what do you need 400 hp for ? what will it do? does anyone actually know about hp and proper use or need? anyway, the more you get into the motor the more it will cost so go small and see how you like it as time goes on.

Everyone doesn't build their car for the race track, its personal preference. I actually built mine up because I got sick of the other 5.0s and LS1s and LT1s for that matter kicking my butt on the street. When I've taken my car to the track, it was only to gauge the street performance.. sway bar is still intact..

I actually would have come out alot cheaper if I was building it for the track and if that was the case, it sure wouldn't have been a vert I was building.. it would have been a notch

[Stroked408]

Tod,
talk to Ron Robart or Cory Roth at Fox Lake about making hp. You do not need a blower to make 400hp,plus with using a blower a lot more tuning issues come to mind.

Not that I am knocking a blower,but have you heard the noise they make,especially with an aftermarket cam in them?

Like Juice said 400hp is a lot of power for a street car,lot of power,sit down draw out a plan for how long you want this to take,a lot of guys give up on long term projects because things are not happening fast enough.

Make up a good solid realistic plan,talk to some people,get opinions like you have done and then have at it.

What's wrong with making say 280-320 and hitting it with a shot of gas in the 75-125 range? Just as much fun.

I agree, that is why I said head-cam-intake. I actually suggested the same thing to botieeater last week.. strong engine combo and a little shot of gas.

Tod, if you want to hear what an a-trim sounds like.. click on 'my 89lx' and click on the video clip and turn your volume up, its really that loud. I actually like the way it sounds without the blower better.

I think around 300hp would make him happy but if he wants more after that... whose to say its right or wrong?

[Coupe5oh]

Yea 300 hp would satisfy me for a while, with 400 forget about the t-5, but for daily driving, and no racing it might last, but who wants 400hp to not race? one upgrade leads to another, would also need suspension, or it would twist away from you.