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so im shooting for 450whp in the future... how to get there?

14K views 102 replies 12 participants last post by  ZXthrizzle05 
#1 · (Edited)
well im starting to shop around for what i need for 450whp. i was asking a question over in a Massive thread
here ---v--- about a clutch

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=281747

and it got me thinking. tons of people have hit this power mark in the past. ive looked into it in the past kind of half hearted like but never really retained any of the information because i never really thought i would do it. well now its starting to look like i am going to do it so its information gathering time. i have a good idea of what i will need but im sure there are things im overlooking which is where you guys come in. those of you who have done it before and have suffered through the heartache and all the hours of busted knuckles and bruised heads can help me now just cut through all the bull and go strait for the prize instead of figuring it out on my own along the way spending thousands of dollars and hours that i dont have to and that i frankly dont have to start with.

the plan for getting there is simple. i have the basic focus power turbo kit with the turbonetics super60. in a few weeks im going to put this on my car with the stock motor and run it at 10-12psi for a few months or maybe even a year or so. it just depends how long it takes me to get the motor built. over that period of time i am going to acquire a junk yard zetec. i can get one for about $150. i bring it home and put it on an engine stand and build the crap out of it. once everything is done i will take a few days doing the engine swap. pull the stock motor out, swap some little things from the stock motor to the built motor like A/C, P/S, and any other miscellaneous bits and pieces. wire in the boost a pump, bolt up the exact same turbo kit and crank the boost up to as much as the turbo can make without making too much heat. i figure that will put it around the 330whp mark maybe. at the same time as the engine swap i will pull the fidanza flywheel off the stock engine and put it on the built one and pair it with whatever clutch i choose that will fit the bill for my FINAL HP goal. this will be the last time the motor or tranny gets pulled unless i break something so i want to get the right clutch in the car the first time. i already have a torsen LSD in my tranny. i will then drive the car in that configuration for a few weeks or maybe months until i am satisfied that the engine is solid at which point i will go down again to receive a return fuel system, bigger turbo, bigger intercooler, and much much more boost. at this point i hope to have attained my power goal.

this is what i have so far that im going to need... i think
donor engine on a stand. im just using block, crank, and accessories (A/C, power steering, etc) cook and clean the block, balance the crank to 9k rpm
all ARP that i can get
OEM main and rod bearings.
return fuel setup for big boost
focus power turbo kit
eagle rods
supertech 9:1 pistons
FRPP head
top speed intake manifold
aftermarket cams
crower springs and retainers
adjustable cam gears
dry sump oil system
and a clutch to take the juice

now we get into hypotheticals.
i plan on running the biggest down pipe that i can. 3.5 or 3inch i think is the biggest ill be able to pull off and keep my A/C. i will run it into an electric exhaust cutout that will pipe the exhaust out right in front of the passenger side front tire and when the cutout is closed it will pipe down to a 2.5 inch custom exhaust. im keeping the car quiet and low key unless i nail it and open the cut out at the flip of a switch. good or bad idea?

i need to track down a clutch to take that amount of juice. and 450whp is my goal on PUMP gas. who is to say that i dont decide to get a race gas tune? i might end up making well over 500whp. i have easy access to 110 octane. roushturboedzx3 seemed to really like the clutch in the massive speed thread that i linked to. any feedback on that clutch in this thread or the massive thread would be excellent.

cams. i would love to run different cams. i know the stock cams work fine with boost but good lord it will make me crazy just knowing all the work that has been done with the car but im still running stock camshafts! i think mcnews used to make some custom turbogrind cams but are they even still around or available? if not then what cams would work well with what im planning?

not going to lie, im a little concerned about running eagle rods with this much power. its just a feeling nagging me in the back of my mind but i cant shake the feeling that i read at some point in the past that eagle rods cant take but about 400whp. is that right or am i being paranoid?

what turbo and intercooler should i upgrade to once im to that point? i dont have a brand preference really but this wont be a track only car so an intercooler that you have to keep ice in wont fly. i still plan on driving this car. maybe not as a DAILY driver but at least on the weekends. right now im just running the standard focus power kit with an old turbonetics super60. is there anything else i would have to change with the kit once im to that point? i mean i think it would be NICE and maybe a bit more efficient to run larger piping but if enough boost gets forced in there i can still get the same power numbers with the smaller pipes. obviously ill need BOV and wastegate springs. but would i have to change the entire BOV and WG out or could i get away with just the springs?

i cant really think of anything else right now. if there is anything i missed then please by all means pipe in. i need information. i want to pick the cleanest, cheapest, and most efficient path to my goal but i cant do that if im blind and i am blind as a bat without information.

and by the way im updating this first post as plans and the shopping list change and mutate and adapt. this is going to happen one way or another. it just might not happen the way that i thought it would in the very beginning.
 
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#68 ·
It happened on my car when i made 500 on stock head and cam but i made stupid torque. On my head cams 600hp dyno 4 pulls and it never lifted. i over torqued my arp bolts also.
 
#69 ·
ill be running a FRPP head with crower springs and retainers and may or may not be running stock cams. is it just an issue with the stock head being more restrictive forcing you to run more boost to make those numbers? also do you remember what you torqued the bolts to?
 
#70 ·
It's not just boost, it's a combination. You could run high boost, but if your tune is crap and you don't make much power, prolly won't lift the head. Jim was making retarded torque, like near 500 ft-lbs. THAT is what lifts the head. Extreme cylinder pressure.
 
#71 ·
I dont feel its normal at all , I never lifted my head on either car or any of my customers cars
Excessive Cyl psi can come from other things as well like the tune , are you using your stock knock sensor ?

A bigger stud isnt going to hold the head down more unless your stretching the studs which I doubt your doing , measure your studs and see if your stretching them it would be measureable

I have seen a few of the 1000HP Focus engines and they didnt have larger studs either

Tom
 
#74 ·
okay i got a couple here. first: who the hell has a 1000hp focus?
second: how much power are you shooting for on 35psi? jesus that will put you in the 700s will it not? got a billet crank?
 
#76 ·
For me the studs are extra insurance.
Probably going with a different intake and not see 35psi not sure yet but around 600-620. @36 psi did 596whp with a bad coil and 2-3 vac leaks once, it over boosted due to WG line coming off.
 
#78 ·
Ik I can barley hide my 430 Clydesdale horses under my hood. I can only imagen 1000 horses. Tails and mane's would be hanging out everywhere....lmao
[giggle]
 
#84 ·
^^^ what he said. im just getting all my details strait before i go nuts ordering a bunch of stuff that i dont need. i haven't even had a chance to put the turbo kit onto my car yet but hopefully i will have time for all of this in the coming weeks and months. first i have a 93 SSEi bonneville i need to finish. im down to minor bugs and what not to be done. hopefully i will finish it next saturday. after that i need to get my SVT put back together so i can start it up as a daily again and then after THAT it will finally be time to put the turbo kit on the zx3. after that ill daily between the SVT and zx3 until i either blow the stock motor in the zx3 forcing me to accelerate the build or until i amass all the parts over a few months to do the swap and up the boost sometime near the middle of next year. i would like to have all this done by july next year. and while i am amassing parts building the motor on a stand i will be doing a full restoration on my 71 C10 pickup. my grandpa bought it new, sold it to my dad who sold it to me but now its rusting away and i refuse to let it go. too much sentimental attachment but this is a backburner job that might be done over the course of a few years. i just have too many projects cooking at once to completely finish any one of them over a relatively short period of time. not to mention that i constantly get drafted into helping over a dozen friends and family with their projects and as a result i barely have time for my own.

edit: wow i just realized that came out kinda like a rant. i DO feel better now tho LOL
 
#85 ·
I was just going to say damn lol that's a lot of stuff. [ohcrap]
 
#87 ·
everything you got going on lol [wrenchin]
 
#89 ·
i wish i could get laid off again for about 3 or 4 months so i could collect unemployment and get caught up on everything. the only problem is that i am terrified that if that happened i wouldnt be able to get my job back or couldnt find another one that i enjoyed as much or that pays as well. [dunno]
 
#95 ·
oh crap! how muuch torque were you making with the stage 4? was it a clutchmasters?
Yes it is, today started slipping. It's a combination of factors that made it give up. I'm after some extra power and want to make sure it lasts longer and have a better grip.

oh yeah and i haven't even gotten to put the turbo kit on the zx3 yet. life and work have been kicking my ass so bad the last few months that i have not even gotten to finish the bonneville yet and only got to spend a few hours one day trying to sling the SVT back together. no compression, likely bent valves... YAY!
Tough one!! GL! :(
 
#93 ·
oh yeah and i haven't even gotten to put the turbo kit on the zx3 yet. life and work have been kicking my ass so bad the last few months that i have not even gotten to finish the bonneville yet and only got to spend a few hours one day trying to sling the SVT back together. no compression, likely bent valves... YAY!
 
#97 ·
ive HEARD that the twin disk is easier to drive on the street than the puck clutch but the only person i know of that ever ran the twin disk is jim and he dont have that car anymore and im not sure who it went to... would also like to know what kind of life can be gotten out of one of those twin disks. if you can squeeze 30-40k miles out of one of those i think it would be worth the extra coin. or i might just be dreaming, i dunno. is that kind of longevity even possible with such a high hp application?
 
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