Motors: Mach1 vs. GT

[xxxBlakexxx]

There are quite a bit of axles being broken on GTs. The combination seems to be 4.10's and slicks. Of course, there are many that have gone for dozens of even hundres of starts with that combo with no problems.

How much can a motor handle is really a loaded question. Ford tests all there motors at WOT for 300 hours straight. ANYTHING that you do to a motor adds additional stress to the engine, transmission and even suspension. I have read stories about GT motors putting down over 500 hp but I would doubt that they last very long without engine modifications.

As the engine goes up in power, there will always be different limiting factors such as fuel pumps etc... You just have to know what these things are and change them as you add power.

Keep this in mind, most nitrous experts believe that an otherwise stock GT engine can handle somewhere between 100 - 150 hp boost from Nitrous. The fuel system is usually the first limiting factor. But the motor and drive train can generally handle this boost. In reality a 150 HP boost from nitrous probably translates to about 80 - 120 rwhp depending on the system that you use. This is why the range that I stated above is so wide as nitrous systems vary and the claimed hp is different from company to company. With nitrous too you are not always putting the car under that heavy load.

How much hp can the motor handle? Depends on how much you drive, how hard you drive, and what components are upgraded. But, the car will surely have a reduced life expectancy and require over-haul sooner.

Stock GT's put out about 225 rwhp right? I think that going to about 300 rwhp is about the safe maximum but that is pretty hard to do NA without NO2. Go any higher and you need a blower which requires other mods.

Personally, you can see my mods below. My 4.10's are going on April 8th. And, I plan to add NO2 soon. I don't plan on any other mods at this time. I basically have an "if it breaks, I will fix it" attitude knowing that it is simply not cost effective to upgrade everything at once. As things break like a clutch, I will simply upgrade to a more substantial one. Same with brakes etc.. I may do something with the rearend, though, only to avoid other callateral damage.

Sorry to ramble, but I kept comming back to this post as the phone kept ringing.