Lightweight engine internals

Low return for dollars spent.

Forged pistons could easily be made that would be lighter and you could raise the compression ratio up some and that would bump the power some.

You could get some billet connecting rods made but unless you had them made from an exotic material like titanium then they wouldn't be any lighter, probably heavier.

The cams are hollow already so you won't get any lighter there but you could change the lift and duration for more top end power.

All in all unless you were building an all out race motor, it wouldn't be worth it.

Well whats the difference between Procharging, Turbocharging and Supercharging than? I know Supercharging leeches some power. But is there any Benefit of one over the other?

I know it is an expensive option, but I think it would be cool to have a mustang built like no one else does. To me thats almost worth spending as much on those parts as you would on the Procharger. Also if i do get the procharger eventually i dont think those parts would be making it run any worse. I just want it to Rev alot faster, to get the power to the ground sooner. I dont need another hundred HP out of this car, but id like it to deliver the power differently.

Johnny_Bravo86 said:

Well whats the difference between Procharging, Turbocharging and Supercharging than? I know Supercharging leeches some power. But is there any Benefit of one over the other?

I know it is an expensive option, but I think it would be cool to have a mustang built like no one else does. To me thats almost worth spending as much on those parts as you would on the Procharger. Also if i do get the procharger eventually i dont think those parts would be making it run any worse. I just want it to Rev alot faster, to get the power to the ground sooner. I dont need another hundred HP out of this car, but id like it to deliver the power differently.

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You might just want to get 3.73 or 4.10 gears and bump up to the 93 tune..I read the pro charger brings the v6 like 475 horsepower. This is a $6000 part. Im sure many of us would like an affordable, reliable, smaller turbo or charger that would add 50-100hp. But that doesnt exist right now.

That was another option for me. Pay STS or some other company to make me a smaller turbo set up. Since they could use my car as part of the R and D, they may make it not QUITE as expensive.

But again, i know nothing of F/I, nor the pros and cons of one system over another. Anyone wanna clue me in on the best set up for F/I? even though i havent ruled out spending alot of money to upgrade the internals, if the F/I is the cheaper route out of the box for another 50hp and and quicker revving engine, i may go that route first.

p.s. im not going to go that high of a gear, since im going to have to drive it on the high way 50% of the time.

The Procharger is a supercharger.

There is no "kit" for a turbo system, so it would have to be custom built. Also, along with a custom built system needs a custom tune which requires a shop that has the capability to make the tune and dyno the puppy. Chances are that the turbo'd system will cost much much more than a supercharged one, but as mentioned above, turbos make your Mustang more fuel efficient and output a lot of horsepower in the higher revs. Superchargers do in fact "leech" a bit of power off the engine, but that is output back in much bigger power. The end result of a supercharger is similar gas mileage or 1-2mpg less than stock, whereas the turbo'd system will cost thousands more and give you better gas mileage.

Johnny_Bravo86 said:

Im slightly hesitant to spend a huge chunk of money on the Procharger, mostly because i dont know the benefits VS. consequences of any F/I. So ive been debating getting lighter, one off pieces made, i.e. pistons, rods, cams, and getting light weight wheels and etc to try to reduce rotational mass.

That being said i have NO idea where to start or where to go to get this process started. Or how much it will cost me in the end. I think that if we can free up some weight to make our 3.7s rev alot faster and free them up a bit it would be so much more fun to drive!

So am i dreaming a bit much here? would it be a good idea to go this route? or should i just suck it up, and get F/I? any input would be welcome.

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I'm not sure how to put this without coming off as a jerk. I'm not trying to be, at all, so take that into account.

If you don't know the basics of modifying cars? Then don't spend anymore money on mods until you do. There is nothing worse than having someone else work on your car and it breaks down in the middle of nowhere and you don't know what to do, because you weren't involved with the build.

There is alot left in these cars before going to Forced induction. Try and squeeze everything you can with old school drag racer techniques. It's more fun and it'll sure cost you less.

blacksheep2011 said:

are STS turbochargers even worth it?

I know they work but on a daily driver , the filter is somewhere on the bottom of the car. So on rainy days ext would that be an issue?

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STS kits are complete garbage. I used to have one. It's a bargain bin product that you could build yourself for cheaper than what STS will charge you.

Johnny_Bravo86 said:

Well whats the difference between Procharging, Turbocharging and Supercharging than? I know Supercharging leeches some power. But is there any Benefit of one over the other?

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A Procharger is a supercharger. It's a centrifugal blower in lieu of a roots style blower like Kenny Bell or Eaton. It's driven by a belt. A Turbocharger is exhaust driven.

blacksheep2011 said:

turbos are harder to tune , but its more efficient.

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Depends on what you mean by efficient. There's plenty of trade offs. Don't believe the hype.

You can make any car have Forced Induction. It's all in the tuning. I don't agree with these mail order tunes alot of you guys are using. But that's for another thread. If you decide on getting FI make sure you have all your ducks in a row before hand. Because no mail order tune for a blower will ever really be right.

I'm going to echo Philly here; I really got the impression that you, the OP, have no idea what you are talking about.

Please do some research and figure out exactly what you are looking for and then come back and ask some questions on those topics. Read the threads on here and garner some insight into the various mods available.

I was the first to admit the i know nothing about F/I. Which is why i wanted to steer away from it. I just want it to rev faster. Less rotational mass, as far as i know, is the easiest way to get the results i want. Since there is little aftermarket support for our cars, I was going to have some custom made, fully aware that it would be expensive, borderline VERY expensive.

Im no guru, nor am i completely uneducated about cars. If it breaks down from a build thats been done, than odds are i wont be able to fix it unless im carrying more than some wrenches with me, which i dont.

Bottom line, i want 350 hp and 300ftlbs, and im willing to spend some decent change to get there. not 475. nor do i want 4.10 gears. Also not trying to be rude. just making it clear.

Johnny_Bravo86 said:

I was the first to admit the i know nothing about F/I. Which is why i wanted to steer away from it. I just want it to rev faster. Less rotational mass, as far as i know, is the easiest way to get the results i want. Since there is little aftermarket support for our cars, I was going to have some custom made, fully aware that it would be expensive, borderline VERY expensive.

Im no guru, nor am i completely uneducated about cars. If it breaks down from a build thats been done, than odds are i wont be able to fix it unless im carrying more than some wrenches with me, which i dont.

Bottom line, i want 350 hp and 300ftlbs, and im willing to spend some decent change to get there. not 475. nor do i want 4.10 gears. Also not trying to be rude. just making it clear.

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Hey bud, best thing for you to do is just go for it.

Find yourself a good race engine builder and have them build you the motor of your dreams, they can get the custom pistons and connecting rods.

Report back to us about the results, cost and resulting HP.

Once you have done all that then we will tell you, again, that 350 HP was only some basic bolt-ons away. And the aluminum flywheel will get it to rev quicker.

Sounds like a plan to me!

Please understand that there is a difference between what you are asking for, which is why the research is needed on your part to figure out how you are going to get where you want to be. Wanting the engine to "rev faster" is a bland statement. More power will certainly make it rev faster, as will gears. Now that it is clear you are simply looking for more power, it makes it easier for other people to make suggestions.

Have you looked into simply upgrading the exhaust (Headers/X-pipe/cat back) along with a tune and CAI? That combination will get you pretty damn close to 350 at the crank without ever opening the engine (read as a hellavu lot less expensive). There are also other things you can do to to reduce weight in the vehicle such as the aluminum drive shaft, flywheel, rear seat delete, removing the tire inflator thingamajig, etc.

If money really is no object, I suggest trading in the V6 for a GT. If you wnt to keep the V6 for the gas milage, then money is an object and we shouldn't be having this conversation.

You're here to learn. We all know that. But the problem is you're putting the cart before the horse.

IF money is no object? Then go for it. If this car is how you get around and you don't have a daily driver? Yea, you may want to rethink this.

If you want a quicker reving engine then a lightweight flywheel sure will help. Cams will also give you a more aggressive sound.

With Forced induction you're going to need alot to be safe. I don't blow up my cars because I have a ton of information available to me while I drive. My dash looks like the starship enterprise. But that's just one school of thought.

Other guys will just throw a blower on anything and hope the MAF can keep up. Problem is that if the engine goes too rich you'll ruin the rings and then next thing you know you'll be blowing out the dipstick because you're pressurizing the crankcase.

Start with bolt-ons and go from there. Take some weight out of the car, get some racestars, one-piece carbon fiber driveshaft, etc. Another option is picking up an older car and learning how to mod it. Say like an old Fox or F-Body etc.