boost a bad idea?

[focusmaniaczx3]

okay fine. let me lay out the limitations of the zetec. mileage does NOT matter. do a compression check. if all cyliners read within 5-10psi of each other then you are good there. for example if you get 145/140/140/145 then your compression is good. if you get 145/100/100/140 then you need to pull the head cause you probably have a bad hg or bad rings, do NOT boost. if the engine makes not knocking or ticking sounds then you are good to go. if your engine is making funny sounds or if its acting funny in any way, dont boost. you should only boost an engine that is in perfect working order. if you boost it you should stop at 250whp or 12psi, whichever comes first. the long and short of it is that the more compression your engine has the more power it will make with lower boost. old worn out engines have less compression than newer engines.

at this point if you want more power you will need a forged bottom end. this means pistons and rods. you want low compression pistons. you also need all the ARP fasteners you can get. you will need a strong clutch that can take the additional torque and you will need a limited slip differential. you could get maybe 300-330whp like this.

at this point you are maxing out the stock fuel pump. a kenny bell boost-a-pump will help your stock fueling system support about 360whp maybe give or take. take note that all this time for each power level you need bigger injectors and a stronger clutch to support the higher power level.

at this point if you want more power you need a return style fuel system or at the very least a surge tank. this is something that i struggle with explaining because i have a hard time understanding how exactly it works because ive never seen it done with my own two eyes yet. i will in a few short months though. but basically you cannot just throw a larger fuel pump in the gas tank and go with it. you have to set up a fuel return line and change a few things around and run a different fuel rail.

at this point you can boost as much as you want up to around 650whp/tq provided you have a clutch/injectors to hold it. after that you will need a billet crank because the stock one breaks. and also keep in mind that for progressively more boost the turbo costs more, clutch costs more, injectors cost more. its better to just know your power goal right from the start and go for it immediately rather than work your way up.

okay book done i think. have fun reading

[Energyblue98]

^this is true.

I'm running 209whp and 247wtq and havent broken yet. coming up on 172k miles.