[bearmeat]

I was wondering what compression everyone reccomends to run between 8-10 lbs of boost. When I was talking with Vortech and ProCharger rep's they told me they reccomend 8.5:1. I was thinking that was kind of low, and wondered if hey say that to be safe. I am building a high performance 308, and I am not cutting any corners. I was also wondering how much horsepower a normal 302 can handle? And if you add a girdle how much more can it handle. Thanks alot for your help.

[hotwheels]

8.5 is pretty good choice......you can get away with 9.25 or so......just need to keep your ear's open for detonation........600hp is the max on a stock 5.0.........if you are going to have your 308, like 11 to 1, i again, would just becareful, don't go over 8 psi....

hotwheels of insanemustangs.com

[NoSlow5oh]

On a stock shortblock I wouldn't take it over 500. A stud girdle will help to strengthen the block but will do little to help the rods or pistons. If your not cutting any corners I would look into replacing the whole rotating assembly with forged components. Maximize the flow characteristics of your heads, intake, and cam first, and then a low boost supercharger will substantially increase horsepower and keep reliability up there. 8.5:1 compression is kinda the standard for a forced induction motor. You must decide on what you want out of the motor. The lower the compression ratio, usually the lower the hp and torque down low. My car has 9.85:1 compression and it still doesn't have any torque down low, but it does make good power up top, where I wanted it. But, then again, because of my high compression ratio, I must use an intercooler to keep temps to a minimum, along with extra cooling, timing retards, etc. Let us know what kind of power you want to make out of the motor. I must ask also, a 308? Why?