5.0 Performance Upgrade Options.

[Tomm1468]

Hey all, I recently upgraded my 2000 ranger 3.0 with a 2000 explorer 5.0. The engine is essentially brand new, machined .030" over, new pistons, stock crank and cam (though they only have eighty thousandish miles on them.) it also has a performance tune on the computer, anyway. I've recently been finding myself wanting a little more power out of the engine. The first thing on my list is torque monster heads, as I've heard its not even worth considering upgrading anything on the engine until the crap exhaust manifolds are addressed. Other than that, I've read a bunchhhhh of other forums and it seems no one can really agree what some solid upgrades would be for this engine. i would like to maybe get 100 more HP out of it, so ive been searching for cam options, and head options, but just don't know what I'm really looking for anymore. any help would be much appreciated.

P.S. I knew that 3.0 was terrible, but didnt realize how bad until i got this 5.0 in. i was getting 12mpg unloaded in the city, and was barely able to tow anything with the 3.0. the 5.0 feels very similar to the 4.0 i had in my previous ranger when towing things, but has a little more pep when traveling around unloaded, also I've jumped up to about 17mpg around the city unloaded.

 

[rubydist]

The first things that needs upgraded will be the valve springs. The stock Explorer cam is pretty lazy and the stock valve springs are very weak, so they cannot handle any kind of performance improvement. Then, you need a decent cam. Something like an E303 will be a large improvement over stock, but it will not get you 100 hp. And you are correct - you will not see +100 hp until you upgrade the exhaust manifolds, no matter what else you do. And if you get a good hp bump, you will need larger injectors and the associated tune changes. One of the issues with most aftermarket cams is they have too wide of lobe separation - for your 306 you will need to stay right at 110 degrees or you will ruin low rpm torque and efficiency.

If you want to put aftermarket heads on it, I would suggest AFR Renegade 165. You won't get any benefit from larger ports than those have and it will hurt low rpm torque to go larger. With aluminum heads, you can run over 10:1 compression on pump gas so you want the smallest combustion chambers you can find in those heads.

 

[Tomm1468]

Are my stock pushrods going to be the right length for those AFR heads and new cam? Also, are there some aftermarket rocker arms that are quieter than my original rockers ?

 

[2drxploder]

I'm running bcam,1.7 roller rockers, 347 in a 99 ranger, w tm headers. Was not happy with it. Switched to a carb manifold, distributor, and a holley sniper 1st gen. WOW what a difference! They recently released a 2nd gen sniper efi, don't know much about it though. Something to think about, and opens cam options, better timing control, fuel control, 2-step, and so on

 

[rubydist]

Yes, any roller rockers will be better and quieter than the stock parts. Pushrod length will depend a lot on how much the block gets decked to be flat, so you will want to put it all together dry and test-fit a stock pushrod for length and then order the correct length.

 

[Tech-man]

I'm running bcam,1.7 roller rockers, 347 in a 99 ranger, w tm headers. Was not happy with it. Switched to a carb manifold, distributor, and a holley sniper 1st gen. WOW what a difference! They recently released a 2nd gen sniper efi, don't know much about it though. Something to think about, and opens cam options, better timing control, fuel control, 2-step, and so on

Going from Sequential EFI to a Sniper(TBI) is a step backwards as far as fuel systems go, hmmm.

 

[2drxploder]

Think what you want. My tbi will be happy with any cam/head combo. For roughly 600hp. Try that with an expo ecu running things. It can work, but will cost alot more than sniper. Plus I have 2-step, nos controls, and several other options available with it. Not saying it's right for everyone, but I really like it. Ya Sequential is better, but the expo ecu is very limited. They r popular amongst the foxbody crowd too. Terminatorx from holley is an option too if you want Sequential injection. All for about the cost of decent explorer for a parts vehicle. Those ecus are 25+ yrs old.

 

[bobbywalter]

couple guys i helped install the snipers on and fi techs have gone back to carbs.


i went to the terminator x, because it was reasonable....but it is not as efficient as the stock setup for the ls engines.

 

[Tomm1468]

alrighty, so my pickings are as follows.
1. AFR 165 cc street heads. - AFR-1399
2. Ford E303 cam. - FMS-M-6250-E303
3. Trick Flow 1.6, 3/8 stud rocker arms - TFS-51400510
4. whatever size push rods I need.

This seems like it would probably be a decent set up with the torque monster heads.
I have some 24lb injectors picked out, but wasn't sure if it would be best to just go for higher, like 39lb injectors. (though, im not sure where i would find 39lb injectors that would fit the 5.0).
also, at what point do i need to upgrade the fuel pump ?

 

[Tomm1468]

anyone have thoughts on ATI bolt on supercharger for the 5.0 mustang ?

Procharger 1FB012-SC1 94-95 5.0L Mustang GT / Cobra High Output System with P1SC (Non-Intercooled)

Where it all started: the venerable 5.0L Windsor. When Ford introduced factory fuel injection on the 1986 5.0L Mustangs, the barn doors were flung open to a new era of bolt-on performance. It was just a matter of time before these boost-friendly engines were realizing the real-world horsepower...

www.lethalperformance.com

 

[bobbywalter]

36# is what we used to use. left N/A that would be a solid setup....possibly pushing those 24 pounders past the line.


with the supercharger a holley efi setup would be decent. definitely will need to upgrade fuel system.

as long as you buy good injectors you will be able to tune idle pretty good with a holley.....the factory explorer should get it done with a good tuner though.

 

[rubydist]

24# injectors will safely support 325 hp. You are unlikely to see more than that with the setup you have selected.

 

[Bigmatthew86]

Fox body superchargers don’t work because they don’t line up with the explorer pulleys. Sn95 is much closer but still not right. I’m waiting on valve springs to come in so I can change cams. Why the ford cam? In all my research they are old tech & there are much better options at this point.

 

[2drxploder]

couple guys i helped install the snipers on and fi techs have gone back to carbs.


i went to the terminator x, because it was reasonable....but it is not as efficient as the stock setup for the ls engines.

Sniper has a bad reputation. I had a bad unit out of the box. 2nd unit just fine, love it. Been the dd for over a month, while the 250 gets repairs. A proper install is essential. Looking back I should have got the termx. I have a full-size bronco I'm reviving, May put sniper on it and get termx for the ranger who knows

 

[rubydist]

Fox body superchargers don’t work because they don’t line up with the explorer pulleys. Sn95 is much closer but still not right. I’m waiting on valve springs to come in so I can change cams. Why the ford cam? In all my research they are old tech & there are much better options at this point.

I thought the length of the sn95 accessories and the length of the Explorer accessories were the same.

If you want to learn about cams, watch some David Vizard on youtube. The E303 is the only semi-decent one of the bunch, but most of the aftermarket cams have way too wide of lobe separation.