[Hammer]

Sorry to disagree with some of you, but I don't see the modular motor going anywhere anytime soon.

I'm not as technical as Unit, and he certainly does have some very valid points. But I do have experience of my own...

I own 3 Mustangs:
2 5.0s and a 4.6

In a stock setup, the 5.0s and the 4.6 have similiar red-lines, but to be honest, you can FEEL the 5.0 work harder, vibrate more, and just plain strain as it gets to around 5k. Every stock 5.0 I've ever been in does this. Does this mean that you can't easily modify the engine to change that? Certainly not. My point is, stock for stock, the modular setup is more conducive to power in the high end....

While the 4.6's days may be numbered, the modular motor is going to be here for a while. Spray-bore techniques will soon be giving us the new modular 5.0s (actually 4.9).

Ford has gone "full-bore" so to speak with the modular setup. Just look at the money invested in the FR-500 and its counterparts. At this point, it doesn't matter wether the modular motor was created\designed for performance or not. This is the direction Ford has gone, and I don't see it changing anytime near the horizon.

Has anyone ever ridden in a stock 83 5.0? A MASSIVE 175 HP is on tap at the crank.... and people poke fun at the early modular motors.

The 5.0 has had just as many growing pains as the modular, many drivers of today were never able to have the pleasure of driving a "red-hot", "massively horsepowered" 83 GT to know just how far the engine and the car itself had come...

The stock 2nd gen 4.6 GT puts out more horsepower and goes faster in the quarter than any stock 5.0 Mustang GT before it.
Ford has had the modular motor in a performance vehicle for 7 years, and look how far they've come. (Lightning\03 Cobra)

I love to hear folks tell me how weak the modular's bottom end is...

Folks, I've been through every problem you could possibly imagine with the early model 4.6. (exploding intakes, anemic heads, crappy busted T-45, and so on...), but guess what has held up to nearly 55,000 miles of:
450 hp at the crank?
8 lbs of boost?
lots of hard driving?
insane amounts of track passes?
You guessed it, my stock, "glass jawed" bottom end...

This 5.0 vs. 4.6 stuff ripped through mod madness last week, and I deleted the thread because folks couldn't seem to get along. I hope this doesn't happen here.


As far as answering your question, I think the 5.0 will be in the performance scene for quite a while longer. It's potential and ease of modification is just too great....

Will the modular set-up eventually replace the 5.0 in the performance arena?
It's definately possible....