Five Oh B gets blown...

[Five Oh B]

Brian - what's up with the cooler plugs? No one has suggested I do that. I think all I'd like is a shift light. I wouldn't have to take my eyes off the road to watch the tach.

 

Hi, Ruf, the HO kit like you have suggests dropping a heat range for plugs. The standard kit I have does not suggest colder plugs, but does recommend new plugs for engines over 12K miles. My car has 15K miles now, so I'm going to put in new plugs (very carefully so that I don't break any!). Keeping cylinder temps down helps prevent detonation and I don't have an intercooler, so I'm going to drop to colder plugs. I get a little bit of light pinging on hotter days, so I had to take out some timing (and give up a bit of power). I'd like to put that timing back in for more power and the colder plugs will take care of that light pinging.

 

Also, my original plugs are fouling a bit and loading up. Blowers are hard on spark plugs. The Brisk plugs (or Autolite HT0's) are supposed to be ideal for forced induction.

 

Shift light? What's that! I stick mine in drive and let the car figure out when to shift (6,400 rpm's). I never have to take my eyes off the road. I'm so not missing the Tremec 3650 I had in my '03 Mach 1 or the T45 I had in my '00 GT or the T-5 I had in my '89 5.0L LX.

[Five Oh B]

First: Congrats on going boosted!

Second: don't believe much from magazines lol.

 

I too am Vortech supercharged (HO kit), tuned to 450 at the wheels on stock pulley at 10lbs. Been on the car for going on 2 years now with zero issues other than failing smog the first time thru. Ran mine at the track back in Illinois on the stock tires from Ford and ran a 12.53@112. Switched to E/T streets and ran a 12.20@111 with a 1.74 60' time. Third run I was racing my buddies Viper, I left him at the line and was ahead of him and missed my 2-3 shift and got out of it. He ran an 11.90 so i'm certain I would have been right around there. Moved to Cali and tried running it at a track out here. Best I could muster out of it was a 12.54@112 launching at 4800rpm and hitting all my shifts with a 1.86 60'. Needless to say I was letdown about my track numbers but then I realized its not all about what it will run at the track, its how fun is it on the street. I still smile every time I drive the car. Don't get too hung up on numbers and remember the golden rule about drag racing, they never run what you want them too LOL. Enjoy the boost ...

 

Thanks! Good info. Seems like everyone with the intercooled Vortech is putting down 450+ rwhp. That's gotta be #'s from a Dynojet dyno? I've seen a few like mine done on a Mustang dyno and they also read much lower (again, about a 10% discrepancy). Also, the stick shift cars are more efficient than the automatics by design, so the stick cars get more power to the wheels anyway. Double whammy for the numbers for my car. Still happy with the automatic in this car, though. And like you said, I'm trying not to get hung up on numbers.

 

The only #'s that really concern me are timeslips from the dragstrip. Your 12.20 @ 111 is strong, and those 1.7-1.8 60' times are very good. I, too, have a set of sticky tires for track duty. I won't even consider running at the track on the street tires, as there is just not enough traction to make it fun. With the 4.10's, 4800 rpm stall converter, and blower, I think I should be running the same #'s you're putting down. Low 12's has always been my goal with this car, so if I'm there then I'm done modding. If I'm not there, then I'll be dialing up some more goodies.

 

I've still got the Vortech supplied, smog legal tune in my tuner for smog checks every 2 years. The custom dyno tunes will stay in the car the rest of the time. I hope I don't have any issues passing smog tests, though, as my car is a daily driver. Did you have to put in a really lean tune temporarily to pass smog?

[Five Oh B]

Also, my original plugs are fouling a bit and loading up. Blowers are hard on spark plugs. The Brisk plugs (or Autolite HT0's) are supposed to be ideal for forced induction.

 

Did some more research on spark plugs for our cars and ended up ordering a set of 3V0's from the Ford Racing Parts catalog yesterday. They were a whopping $140 for the set of 8! However, they are copper (not platinum) so they have much better thermal conduction and copper is said to be much better for high cylinder pressure (i.e. blower, turbos, nitrous). Platinum lasts much longer, but doesn't work as well with blowers, so I guess I'll be replacing plugs much more frequently now, but getting better control of spark in return.

[twobjshelbys]

Brian - what's up with the cooler plugs? No one has suggested I do that. I think all I'd like is a shift light. I wouldn't have to take my eyes off the road to watch the tach.

 

Kenne Bell suggests cooler plugs too. I haven't been through the trunk to see if SAI changed them.

[Five Oh B]

I summoned up the courage to install the new FRPP 3V0 spark plugs by myself this morning. After all the concerns about them breaking, I read the TSB very cafefully before starting. Car had been sitting more than 24 hours, so it was good and cold. 7 of the 8 came out very easily. The 8th one was very tough to remove, but did not break, thankfully!!! That 8th plug was fouled-looking and was the culprit to my slight/occasional misfire I'd been experiencing. Installed the new, cooler copper 3V0's, fired right up and went for a spin. No more misfire! I should've installed new/colder plugs, as recommended, at the time of the supercharger install. Oh well; you live, you learn. Anyway, it's all good now!

[RUFDRAFT]

Brian - you're a better man than me! After reading the TSB on plug replacment, I'll let my tech change mine!

 

My setup has been flawless for 11 months now, so I'm not going to rock the boat yet.

 

We don't have emissons testing yet out here in the country, so no worries about the cat-less exhaust! :happy feet:

[Five Oh B]

Brian - you're a better man than me! After reading the TSB on plug replacment, I'll let my tech change mine!

 

My setup has been flawless for 11 months now, so I'm not going to rock the boat yet.

 

We don't have emissons testing yet out here in the country, so no worries about the cat-less exhaust! :happy feet:

 

I was half tempted to let our shop do the spark plug swap, but I have never once in my life paid anyone to change my plugs. Heck, when I was a young lad cars required tune-ups every 6 months (plugs, cap, rotor, condenser, and points). Even on old OHV V8's that were tough to access the plugs, I still couldn't bring myself to pay someone to do my tune ups (including the plugs). However, the new 3V V8's and their fragile spark plugs are certainly a good reason to consider having a professional do the job.

 

Looking long term, now that I'm running copper plugs (to keep the supercharger better sparked), I'll be changing plugs yearly. Hopefully, the anti-seize compound makes all 8 come out super easy next time.

[Five Oh B]

Finally, at long last, I got to a drag strip to see how the car runs with the supercharger. Just got home a little while ago...

 

My first run (and my best of 11 runs tonight) was 12.57 @ 110.18 mph. I'm nowhere near a scanner right now, but here's how the timeslip reads...

 

R/T = .062

60' = 1.866

330' = 5.273

1/8 mile = 8.082 @ 86.97 mph

1000' = 10.525

1/4 mile = 12.577 @ 110.18 mph

 

This was at Bremerton Raceway in Washington (just west of Tacoma, WA). My first time ever at that track, and first time ever racing with the supercharger. I got plenty of traction every run, but could not get a 60' better than a pair of 1.85's all night. Had a run in the 12.60's and lots of runs in the 12.70's - most were over 109 mph.