HP per dollar

[chad linkhart]

so i've been coming up with when and how to take my sta to the level it deserves and here is what i have so far.

CAI-$350-10hp

Tune-$400 from torrie-20-25hp

charge motion delete plates (08 only)-$250-10hp

frpp or nsr comp cam-$750-20-25hp

pypes shorty modified headers$240 -5-10hp

custom exhaust with high flow cats-$500-10-15hp

4.10 gears-$150-0hp but 10% but seat of pants feel.

total $2600 75-95hp or $34.66 or $27.36 per hp gain

a blower with install call it 8k is a min of $40 per at a 200hp gain where as if you build the na hp first you effectively lower cost per with the superchager because you will produce more at the same cost. 14.7lbs boost in theory should double na hp 9 times out of 10.

 

[Chris Castineira]

I think you're way high on your HP estimates. I would say 40-45HP increase at best on all the mods other than the blower. The V8 STA has something like, 290 HP stock. That would be over a ~30% increase from stock. Its hard to buy/make HP, you either have it or you don't. Not looking for an argument, don't want you to get your hopes up though.



CHRIS

 

[chad linkhart]

All of those gains are based on mustang gains and are flywheel hp which is pretty conservative considering most of those numbers are mustang whp gains. obviously a sta will have more drive train loss but from the factory there is a 8hp difference flywheel which i pretty much from the manifolds. i see no reason why 300whp (2wd) wouldnt be obtainable n/a. we'll see though.

 

[Richard L]

It's hard to make a HP decision without knowing exactly how horse power increase you want and how for what purpose you intend to use the extra HP? Also, your prices only include the cost of the parts and not installation....which is fine if you can do all the installations yourself and you are willing to donate your own time.



If you want more bang for your buck, the best route is Nitrous-Oxide Injection. It's fairly easy to add 75-100 HP without hurting the reliability of the engine. Initial cost is reasonable, installation is fairly easy with simple hand tools that most people have, and the vehicle runs as normal until you turn on the Arming Switch and put your foot into the pedal. Since the ST is a pickup truck, mounting the Nitro bottle in the bed is pretty simple.



Main drawbacks to Nitrous Injection is that you will need to have the bottle filled periodically depending upon how much you use the system. If you use it from stop-light to stop-light it will get expensive really fast, however if you only use it occasionally when rarely needed, it can be a very cheap, on-demand HP.



Nitrous injection is not a good choice if you want extra HP for towing or hauling heavier loads, or if you demand or require the extra HP for extended periods of time.



Of course the cheapest route usually requires that you buy a vehicle with the necessary HP from the beginning. It's always cheaper to buy the vehicle that best suits your requirements rather than trying to modify a vehicle to fit your needs.



...Rich

 

[chad linkhart]

Rich i agree that would be the simple route. But anyone can have a fast car that was purpose built for speed. I want to take the other road and make my "fast looking truck" actually respectfully fast. Do i expect 10s no but a low 12 or mid 11 would be a nice final number itll take a lot of $$$$ but hey you cant take it with you when yourbgone so may as well enjoy it now.

 

[Richard L]

To give your truck enough HP for 11 or 12 second runs, you will likely destroy any roadworthy reliability.



The truck is very heavy and would require all the possible HP mods you mentioned and then some to get the 500-600 HP necessary to move the truck down the 1/4 mile in 12 seconds or less. If you manage to get that much HP out of that 4.6 V8 you would need to replace the entire driveline since the transmission and rear end would never take that kind of HP...at least not for very long.



I would think that 14 second ET's would be a more realistic goal and would be considered a pretty fast truck. Even that would be very expensive, but the truck could retain much of it's reliability and driveability on the street.



...Rich

 

[chad linkhart]

i know the drivetrain ill be my weak link which lucky me for the rear end i already have a fix for when it comes time for that. the tranny on the other hand has been a issue. the 6r60 is very weak and has 0 aftermarket following. the most i can do with it is a 6r80 circle d converter which isnt going to help much. ive also read that swapping a auto in its place is a nighmare to get things to talk so i have been thinking maybe a 6sp. buy not sure if a manual would have the same issue. i wish a 09+ 6r80 would be a easy swap as far as getting everything to talk since its in the auto 5.0s it has a decent aftermarket.

 

[chad linkhart]

so after some digging i found some good backing to these numbers a guy on the explorer forum uin2it did a stock dyno came bacm at 231rwhp/223tq. thats right about 21% loss. the same truck with a nocturnal cai and Maf, tune,mufflers, high flow cats, zabteck tb, and underdrive pulleys put down 266rwhp/278tq thats 35rwhp with minor mods. so assume it stayed 21% loss that brings motor output to 337hp up from 292hp a gain of 45hp.so being conservitive and calling it crank hp for cams 20-25hp delete plates 10hp and shorties -10 thats on the low side another 40hp ready to go bringing total to 375 or so and a gain of 83 hp at $2600 if you can do labor or $31 per. here is a link.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/first-modifications.249359/

 

[Richard L]

Getting 375 HP from your 4.6 is a BIG, BIG stretch, but even if you manage to pull it off, you will still fall far short of your 11-12 second ET goal. That kind of power would only get you in at around 14 seconds at best.



Sorry but I'[m not seeing your dream as being very realistic. I don't think anybody else sees your dream of 11-12 second ET's or they would have chimed in by now.



...Rich

 

[chad linkhart]

miscommunication eventual is 11-12 seconds that includes FI for obvious reasons. my initial post was to show that for the first 75 or so of hp gain it was cheaper per hp to go na. $2600 for 80hp is $31 per. FI on the other hand will net you 200hp at a min of 8k or $40 per. this doesnt include install cost because bolt on wise i can do the work myself. for my goal of 11 i plan on cracking the motor open and forging not sure if i will stroke for the slight gain down low or not and either a custom rear mount tt or a tvs roush or a one off KB or whipple blower. and since the latter to chase 11s will also include the need for a beefy driveline and a money tree i'll be happy with the 80 hp gain in the mean time. again thats my bad on the miscommuntication. on another note do you happen to know if anyone has put a 6sp manual behind the the 4.6 i seen the coyote swap with the 6sp and would love to have one in my truck.