cheap ideas for improveing power

[PaleBlue90]

i kno installing better gears will help but what else can i do besides exhaust?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

horsepower takes time and money. dont expect anything from just a cat-back exhaust. if your looking for easy, bolt-on power, there isnt much to be had. your pretty much limited to a header from a newer 2.3, maybe an underdrive pulley, and thats about it.

if you want to get serious, larger throttle body, port matching and a serious polishing, cam (if you can find one). or do a 2.3 turbo swap.

 

[PaleBlue90]

thanx sludge, i really didnt expect to gain alot from a cat-back. what year headers should i hunt for? were could i find a underdrive pully? and were can i find a larger throttle body? i have heard that a cold air intake messes and skrews sensors, is that true? i have heard the same for the K&N filters.

 

[levi18175]

Man, you really don't need to tear that deep into the engine to gain fuel economy. All you need to do is get the air and fuel to and from the engine as efficiently as possible. This can be attained, mostly, with bolt ons. I know alot of people will deny this and say it is a waiste of time, but trust me, I've been there and done that. I would start with a cold air intake (true cold air, non of that short ram bull-shit) and a complete exhaust package. There are several discussions about headers, but after that its mainly up to the sound you want for the exhaust. As long as it has mandrel bent pipes and a high flow cat (if any cat). After you get the air flowing better, you could change out your cam, and get the fuel into the cylinder a little more efficiently, but thats a bit of a tear into to manage that, not that you can't do it, its a simple task most anyone with a little experience can pull off. A fuel cooler can make a difference as well, if this is chosen to be done, make sure it is mounted in a place with plenty of air flow, cooler fuel burns better. Then all you would have to do is ignite it. Accel makes performance coil packs for the DIS 2.3 (the goofy one with 8 plugs), you can match that with a set of 8.8 plug wires and a healthy set of plugs. All that can shoot your mileage up, so long as you KEEP YOUR FOOT OUT OF IT. The biggest reason you hear people saying that they didn't get any economy out of their rides is simply because the drive them a little harder after they mod them.

 

[Simple_serf]

He asked about power...not fuel economy.

The most restrictive part of these engines is the head. This is generally why bolt ons do even less on these than some other engines.

The intake it has stock is a cold air intake, The cat (plural if you have two, Cali emissions vehicles do) should never be removed (as levi mentioned possibly doing), both because it's illegal, and because the engine management uses a downstram O2 sensor.

Fuel cooler....uhhh....because wasting $$$ is fun.

And the stock motorcraft coils are going to light the fuel up just fine.

Going turbo is probably going to be the best bet for getting large amounts of power out of this engine, in which case, the 2.3t is a good swap.

 

[Dave R]

I'll give you that freeing up the intake and exhaust systems has some benefit but...

After you get the air flowing better, you could change out your cam, and get the fuel into the cylinder a little more efficiently, but thats a bit of a tear into to manage that, not that you can't do it, its a simple task most anyone with a little experience can pull off.

The cam is more about air than fuel, remember that old 14-1, or so, rule?

A fuel cooler can make a difference as well, if this is chosen to be done, make sure it is mounted in a place with plenty of air flow, cooler fuel burns better.

Umm, no, unless your going to chill the fuel significantly below ambient temp.

Then all you would have to do is ignite it. Accel makes performance coil packs for the DIS 2.3 (the goofy one with 8 plugs), you can match that with a set of 8.8 plug wires and a healthy set of plugs.

Again, no, the stock ignition system is more than capable of lighting off the mixture, even forced induction engines don't need an Accel coil. Any good set of wires and a set of factory recommended plugs will be fine.

KEEP YOUR FOOT OUT OF IT. The biggest reason you hear people saying that they didn't get any economy out of their rides is simply because the drive them a little harder after they mod them.

Best advice yet.

 

[PaleBlue90]

thanks guys for all the feed back

 

[levi18175]

I'll give you that freeing up the intake and exhaust systems has some benefit but...


The cam is more about air than fuel, remember that old 14-1, or so, rule?


Umm, no, unless your going to chill the fuel significantly below ambient temp.


Again, no, the stock ignition system is more than capable of lighting off the mixture, even forced induction engines don't need an Accel coil. Any good set of wires and a set of factory recommended plugs will be fine.


Best advice yet.

Im not wanting to get into any argument on here, it's a public forum to post what you have to say.

I mentioned a cam, simply because a longer duration cam will allow mor air/fuel into the cylinder. This can be done without tearing into your motor all apart.

The ignition system upgrade is a highly suggested idea. Yes it is true that factory coils, pugs, and wires will ignite your fuel. The difference is how efficiently it ignites. Sounds petty and ignorant, but think about it a minute, most factory coils fire at around 30,000 to 40,000 volts. Thats a hot burn, and it will ignite the fuel usually right before the top dead center, the fuel goes boom and the hot exppanding gases shove the piston downward. Now if the fire is hotter, it will actually ignite faster, and more efficiently, shoving the piston with a bit more force.

If you don't believe me try an experiment. Rig up a factory coil, a plug, and wire to a freshly charged battery, place a set amount of iron oxide lets say .5 ounces, and ignite the powder. It will burn fairly quick, but theirs that second of stutter before it ingulfs. Now rig up the same thing only replace the simple coil with a higher output and a healthier plug, or if you have one laying around an msd box. Light the same size pile of powder and look at the difference. It's all about heat. There is hardly an lag between the initial spark and the explotion.

I used to think the same way, but all that time I spent in the pits at the IRP taught me quite a bit.

 

[Simple_serf]

Ok, let me first say that I am not trying to come off as an ass (I reread my last post, and it wasn't the most pleasant of posts)

The reason I say that the coils won't matter too much is that electronic ignition coils generally fire much hotter than a standard points coil. Additionally, you have two plugs per cylinder firing when you would "need" the higher voltages.

Lighting off powder is completely different than lighting a compressed charge in a cylinder.

I still say that the stock coils will be more than appropriate for paleblue's needs.

Cam might be helpful, but with a restrictive head, any increase will probably be hindered.

 

[Dave R]

The ignition system upgrade is a highly suggested idea. Yes it is true that factory coils, pugs, and wires will ignite your fuel. The difference is how efficiently it ignites. Sounds petty and ignorant, but think about it a minute, most factory coils fire at around 30,000 to 40,000 volts. Thats a hot burn, and it will ignite the fuel usually right before the top dead center, the fuel goes boom and the hot exppanding gases shove the piston downward. Now if the fire is hotter, it will actually ignite faster, and more efficiently, shoving the piston with a bit more force.

Once the flame front has left the vicinity of the plug it is completely irrelevent how "hot" the spark is/was. An accurate fuel mixture will not light off any faster or burn any better once a certain minimum voltage threshold is reached. The factory coils are above that point now. Buying "higher energy" coils is like pissing in the ocean, yes, your adding volume but, you will never see the level change. Now if you were running 20-25+ pound of boost I might agree but, even then a factory coil works fine.

But, the OP can buy what ever he wants.

 

[Will]

Yeah, the ONLY good advice here is to keep your foot out of it. But that doesn't improve power.

 

[levi18175]

OMG, I seriously can't believe that you guys are super moderators. Think about this simple fact. If upgraded ignition systems such as higher output coils, and multi-spark ignitons systems didn't work, wouldn't those companies be starving for money (look at the pathetic tornado air campaigne) How can Accel, MSD, Crane, Mallory, Pertronix, and even Proform GUARANTEE that there will be an improvement in performance. Half of the mentioned even go as far as to guarantee improoved dyno results.

The simple truth is that higher voltage improoves ignition, and creates a more efficient burn. Your dealing with hundredths and thousandths of a second, the more efficient you light the air/fuel mixture, the more time the gases have to expand, thus creating more power.

 

[Dave R]

Why would they be starving for money when there are plenty of people willing to throw their money at them to fix something that isn't broken?

 

[BlackBII]

How can Accel, MSD, Crane, Mallory, Pertronix, and even Proform GUARANTEE that there will be an improvement in performance.

They GUARANTEE that there will be an improvement in power simply because it sells their product, making them money. There are some people who buy these marketed "Power Improvements" which is why they aren't starving for money.

Sure, theoretically having a hotter spark than required will make a motor more efficient, making a more complete fuel burn, but with a fuel that won't burn any hotter, somewhat useless you would think. Key Phrase" MORE THAN REQUIRED.

Putting a hotter burning fuel will create more power because of a more powerful explosion. A hotter spark with the same fuel, useless.

I am not trying to make arguments, but taking into consideration your extreme inability to effectively make a good argumentative statement because of a conjured "fact" with "dyno proven performance gains" from a marketing campaign that makes more money than me or you simply because of "believers", I feel the need to converse.

 

[Ozwynn]

OMG, I seriously can't believe that you guys are super moderators. Think about this simple fact. If upgraded ignition systems such as higher output coils, and multi-spark ignitons systems didn't work, wouldn't those companies be starving for money (look at the pathetic tornado air campaigne) How can Accel, MSD, Crane, Mallory, Pertronix, and even Proform GUARANTEE that there will be an improvement in performance. Half of the mentioned even go as far as to guarantee improoved dyno results.

The simple truth is that higher voltage improoves ignition, and creates a more efficient burn. Your dealing with hundredths and thousandths of a second, the more efficient you light the air/fuel mixture, the more time the gases have to expand, thus creating more power.

Dude, let it be. You are not going to out engineer Will or Dave R or AllenD or Micheal Gross (when they chime in) all 4 of them individually have forgotten more about engines than most of us learn in a lifetime. The reason why the Afore mentioned companies sell they're stuff is because idiots think having those afore mentioned products make them cooler (kinda like adding more stickers and a phat wing makes your car go 200 mph) and you want to get down to it between me and Will we could build a Diesel engine that would smoke just about anything out there and diesel doesn't even use coils, plugs, and plug wires...............