I have bought a lightning intake, complete, from eBay and now want to fit it to my 2000 5.4L engine. The engine is fitted to my Cobra replica. I expect that there is more to this modification than just bolting the Lightning intake completely onto the engine. Can someone please point me in the right direction?

Thanks
Pete

 

It'll bolt on but there are many other issues...

Will you use the blower? If not, what will you do for the inlet to the manifold?

If you use the blower there are lots of other parts you'll need plus the compression issue...

 

I think the main thing is that the lightning has Lower compression pistons than the regular 5.4L. THis is to compensate for the boost.

 

Thanks... where can I go to learn the rest of the issues please? And what options do I have to handle the compression item? This is all new to me so I have a lot to learn.

Yes, I do intend to use the blower, but want to make sure I get it right. The learning curve is the interesting challenge I have right now.

Thanks
Pete

 

to run a blower with pump gas, you will want a compression ratio of around 8.5:1. the lightning has a stock CR of 8.4:1. the lower compression comes from the use of dished pistons.

your motor may or may not have a cast crankshaft (which you don't want). if it has a forged crankshaft, you could replace the pistons with some dished pistons, and you might want to put in forged rods if you plan to up the boost over the factory setting for more power. you also need to figure out the accessories and the blower crank pulley as well.

you will need the PCM (computer) from a lightning as well as a wiring harness to hook up all of the electronics. many people say it is just easier to buy a whole lighning motor to swap in.

you can find some of the parts you need used on some lightning message boards.

that will help you get started, but it is no where near a full list.

 

Many thanks. I appreciate the good advice. I do have the intake with S/C now so will do the work to make it happen. It's just learning and effort...

I assume I have a cast crank at present as the 5.4 is standard. If I leave the S/C at standard boost, will this be a major issue? The car will weigh just 1100 kilos so the load is much less than an F150 which is almost twice the weight. Also with all that torque I expect the wheels will spin before we break too much motor. What do you think?

The accessories and blower crank pulley is quite easy to sort out, as is the blower drive from the pulley - I can make a bracket to hold the idler pulleys and the tension pulley easy enough. I am looking for a blower crank pulley now as well as the adaptor to attach it to the current crank pulley.

Problem with the Lightning PCM is that they are all auto trans and I have a manual (standard?) gearbox. Does anyone know of someone who can modify the PCM over there in the USA please?

Many thanks again for the info.

Cheers
Pete

 

the pcm shouldn't be a problem. there is at least one L that has had a t56 put in it.

i would be nervous about breaking the crank, but you could always give it a shot. most of the accessory brackets and idler pulleys should be available from ford.

 

if you plan on beating it pretty hard you might want to go ahead and get some forged rods. If money is not too big of an issue grab a set of ported heads as well. Of course if it were me and I was building a 5.4 I'd get a set of 4v navi heads and build a turbo motor... but thast just me

 

depends on how much boost you want to throw at the engine. If you are going to use more than 6# of boost (stock Lightning is 8#) I would highly recommend lower compression pistons. If you are changing the pistons, you might as well change the connecting rods. Even a cast crank will be plenty strong. The weak point is the conecting rods

Without changing the pistons (keeping the higher CR) you will get less performance and much more problems.

Do it right, or not at all.

 

Turbo would also you get a blower under the hood an permit easy use of 4 valve heads. Agree on forged rods and better to go with forged pistons. A lot of low mileage used forged L pistons on this board. Cast crank will work, but relatively cheap steel cranks can be had.

 

Many thanks for the advice guys. It is much appreciated. With your help I will finish with a nice 5.4 supercharged Cobra replica with an ugly bump on the bonnet (hood) to cover everything and probably around 480 HP and 750 NM torque in a car weighing 1100kg.

Now to get to work on all this good advice.

Best Regards
Pete