This was another thought that came to mind to break the 400HP barrier without NOS.
What's the basic idea behind NOS? Pure oxygen going into the cylinder with the nitrous to cool. The more oxygen (air), the more gas that could be pumped into the cylinder, hence, more power.
Can not the fuel system be upgraded, such has been done with the Cobra 4.6 with higher lb injectors, fuel rails, fuel pump etc.?
If this could be done on the 5.4, a suitable fuel system upgrade, combined with the smaller blower pulley, good exhaust and MAF, with upgraded TB, and an upgraded ignition control would not their be a considerable power increase all through the RPM band?
The smaller blower pulley at the higher RPM's is dumping more pressure into the engine that the original application was designed for, but if more fuel was allowed into the system, would harmonically combine.
I know, just dreamin', right?

Cheers


------------------
2000 Lightning (Red)
SHM Chip and Mass Air
SHM Blower Pulley
378.2 @ 5100 HP
445.0 @ 3600 ft-lb (before pulley)
Kill Count = 28 suckers picking rubber off their teeth.
SHM powered - www.seanhylandmotorsport.com

'99 Cobra - SHM engine, Vortech supercharger, and to many other mods that my wife don't know about.

 

Sure it could be done! This is basic hot-rodding. Simple in theory...more difficult in reality.

Obviously, more air needs more fuel and spark to make power. If the MAF was recalibrated (or better yet the PCM was reprogrammed) for larger injectors, then an injector swap is not a problem. Pushing more air through the engine by speeding up the blower is a thought, but whether or not the stock blower is up to the task may be an issue. Worst case...upgrade the blower! Boost from one blower does NOT necessarily = boost from another blower...at least not power production-wise. The more inefficient blower will heat up the air charge too much and then you're literally just blowing "hot air". Power gains will not be seen. You'll have to retard timing too much in order to keep detonation at bay. It's best to get the right blower for the task.

This leads to another potential obstacle...the heads/cams. I don't know if these items left in stock form would keep you from 400hp. I don't know enough about them. But, if everything is too restrictive to get the air into the motor (even with the blower working harder), then you need head work and to take advantage of that, a set of cams to go with it.

On great way to get extra power is to make the engine more efficient at higher rpms...where airflow is much higher. If you could get the L motor to thrive, and be efficient, at 6000rpm, you'd be bound to pick up some decent power right there.

All this just to say, I don't believe it's as simple as bolting on a smaller pulley and feeding more fuel to the fire and upgrading the ignition. But the idea is fine. My 5.0 Mustang makes over 3x its original stock power (speaking of rwhp here). There's nothing left to it that's stock, except the motor is still a 302"-based engine. But, like you propose, its all a combination of air, fuel, spark...and the right amounts of each.


------------------
Wes Tarbox
90 LX 5.0 (10.69 @ 134.7)--597rwhp/590rwtq
96 Cobra (12.63 @ 114.5)--390rwhp/441rwtq
99 Lightning (13.20 @ 103.3)--362rwhp/444rwtq
00 Expedition XLT 5.4
http://members.aol.com/Wa2fst/index.html

 

One thing that has me concerned about the mod motors is the appearent lack of intrest in boring and stroking them. Is it not possible or feasable? It really bugged me when Ford backed off on the cubic inches(or liters) when they went into production of these. The 7.4(460) was replaced bye the smaller v-10, the 5.8 was replaced by a 5.4 and the 5.0 was replaced by a 4.6. Just think what a 5.8 or larger v-8 mod motor would run like. It would make a little more sense if ford offered the V-10 in all truck,suv models or if the V-10 was larger like the V-10 Dodge. Think about the 1st Gen Lightnings running in the 10's. Do you expect a 99-00 to be going that fast anytime soon? Maybe it will just take 10 or 15 years for them (mod motors) to catch up with hot rodding technology. Hope not, Im getting to old for this. :-)

Mike

 

ksmike

I think Ford went with smaller displacement to achieve better fuel economy to comply with the EVER-INTRUDING-GOVT standards. The overhead cam seems to have allowed the same or better power at a lower displacement. All manufacturers seem to be doing this. Look at our L's; 330 cubic inches and mid 13's with a 4750 lb brick. Believe me, the overhead cam setup has a lot to do with getting so much from not to big a motor. Also, it's normal for the aftermarket to take about 2 years or more to catch up with performance parts. So far, we L owners are REALLY fortunate that the mods we do seem to do a lot compared to other hod rods in terms of bang-for-buck. How many F-bodys get .4 to .5 off times with a chip alone. I, for one, have never seen one.

 

I always shudder at the idea of turning the supercharger faster than stock. From the Ford F150 Workshop Manual under diagnosis and testing of the supercharger:
(p. 303-12-6) "Supercharger overspeed: Check for correct supercharger pulley. An aftermarket pulley may turn supercharger too fast and could result in supercharger seizure." The repair procedure: "If seized or binding, install a new supercharger." A big inconvenience now, a nightmare after the warranty runs out.

Mark

-----
'00 Lightning (no mods)
'79 Corvette (425hp 12.7 @ 109)

 

I'm with you Mark.

I've been running Vortech centrifugal blowers for a long time, and have done numerous installs on 5.0 Mustangs, etc. Those things can be tuned to make some serious power with the right motor, but I see guys overspinning them all the time...and then they complain that the supercharger stinks (whether it be Vortech, Paxton, etc) b/c it blew up on them.

People don't realize that overspinning it just heats up the air charge to the point where the blower is out of its efficiency range. While it may be pushing a bit more air, the air charge temps are so high, it will make little to no more power. But, it WILL sacrifice reliability in a huge way.

I don't know much about the Eaton blower on these trucks to really make an educated comment on running a smaller pulley. I've read what people have said, but have no firsthand experience.

------------------
Wes Tarbox
90 LX 5.0 (10.69 @ 134.7)--597rwhp/590rwtq
96 Cobra (12.63 @ 114.5)--390rwhp/441rwtq
99 Lightning (13.20 @ 103.3)--362rwhp/444rwtq
00 Expedition XLT 5.4
http://members.aol.com/Wa2fst/index.html

 

Put an old GEN 1 LS-6 454 in your truck. At 10.50 compression they made about 600 hp with an 850 Holly and a good exhaust, but at torque at an equal amount I doubt the stock transmission would hold up long if you could find a bellhousing for it.
This is a little yellow mustang running at LSR. I've seen it turn a 5.12 in the 1/8 mile. Sounds like a sewing maching gone beserk. It has a chevy big block with a blower. Really fast........... All it takes is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
noelvm