Friday's upgrade discussion
Discussion
It's Friday, weather is brill and I'm thinking of upgrades again.
It looks like the most worthwhile upgrades for gaining more power are: stage 3 heads, stealth cam, ACT manifolds without cats.
On the basis that i probably can't justify doing all of this at the same time, is it worth changing the cam without upgrading the heads, and likewise, the ex manifolds without changing cam or heads?
Finally, my engine is producing circa 285bhp at the moment, standard except Mark Adams chip. What sort of power can I expect from the above and is it OK to keep the existing plenum set up?
Thanks!!
It looks like the most worthwhile upgrades for gaining more power are: stage 3 heads, stealth cam, ACT manifolds without cats.
On the basis that i probably can't justify doing all of this at the same time, is it worth changing the cam without upgrading the heads, and likewise, the ex manifolds without changing cam or heads?
Finally, my engine is producing circa 285bhp at the moment, standard except Mark Adams chip. What sort of power can I expect from the above and is it OK to keep the existing plenum set up?
Thanks!!
Errm..a 500 should already have @ stage IV heads I thought. Port matching quick & easy, or if you need any reworking I would have the guides shortened & profiled, a bit of nice un-shrouding in the chambers, open the throats a tad combined with the seat profile and have steel shims inserted for the chewed up spring seats. The heads are pretty good to start with. All the reputable folks will have their own versions of this work V8D, CRE, PeterB... not forgetting even DomPower 
Not sure I'd bother unless the heads were coming off or you had exhausted all other routes first though...
Certainly there are cars with bog std TVR BV heads that have made over 350bhp.
Not sure I'd bother unless the heads were coming off or you had exhausted all other routes first though...Certainly there are cars with bog std TVR BV heads that have made over 350bhp.
I agree with the long haired one, heads should be okay, I`d start with cam first depending on what you want out of the car, there are so many cam preferences with people on here, first port of call for cams would be Rob at V8developments.
give an aftermarket ecu some consideration as well
give an aftermarket ecu some consideration as well
I'd be inclined to go for the aftermarket ECU early on. A lumpy cam like a H404 makes for a miserable driving experience at low speed on the Lucas ECU.
Upgrading the plenum (mainly throttle body size) after the cam is another good move. Mine gained at least 60bhp from this.
I would be inclined to not bother with the ACT manifolds for now because I'm not convinced they have a high BHP gain per £ spent compared to the above, and while they look nice on my car, I had to spend a lot of time with rotary burrs etc to get them to fit nicely.
Upgrading the plenum (mainly throttle body size) after the cam is another good move. Mine gained at least 60bhp from this.
I would be inclined to not bother with the ACT manifolds for now because I'm not convinced they have a high BHP gain per £ spent compared to the above, and while they look nice on my car, I had to spend a lot of time with rotary burrs etc to get them to fit nicely.
Edited by dnb on Friday 24th April 21:16
Ever thought about exhaust manifolds? I understand, and am making a considerable investment in, tuned manifolds. Aren't I clive?
There are several reasons I'm going this route; essentially bolt-on so easy to revert to 'original' if required and the most important reasons - they look good and sound even better.
Two-wheeled freaks usually see exhaust mods as the first step to releasing more power - why don't normal people with four wheels?
There are several reasons I'm going this route; essentially bolt-on so easy to revert to 'original' if required and the most important reasons - they look good and sound even better.
Two-wheeled freaks usually see exhaust mods as the first step to releasing more power - why don't normal people with four wheels?
spend said:
Errm..a 500 should already have @ stage IV heads I thought. Port matching quick & easy, or if you need any reworking I would have the guides shortened & profiled, a bit of nice un-shrouding in the chambers, open the throats a tad combined with the seat profile and have steel shims inserted for the chewed up spring seats. The heads are pretty good to start with. All the reputable folks will have their own versions of this work V8D, CRE, PeterB... not forgetting even DomPower Not sure I'd bother unless the heads were coming off or you had exhausted all other routes first though...
Certainly there are cars with bog std TVR BV heads that have made over 350bhp.
Not sure I'd bother unless the heads were coming off or you had exhausted all other routes first though...Certainly there are cars with bog std TVR BV heads that have made over 350bhp.
Pasco said:
spend said:
Errm..a 500 should already have @ stage IV heads I thought. Port matching quick & easy, or if you need any reworking I would have the guides shortened & profiled, a bit of nice un-shrouding in the chambers, open the throats a tad combined with the seat profile and have steel shims inserted for the chewed up spring seats. The heads are pretty good to start with. All the reputable folks will have their own versions of this work V8D, CRE, PeterB... not forgetting even DomPower Not sure I'd bother unless the heads were coming off or you had exhausted all other routes first though...
Certainly there are cars with bog std TVR BV heads that have made over 350bhp.
Not sure I'd bother unless the heads were coming off or you had exhausted all other routes first though...Certainly there are cars with bog std TVR BV heads that have made over 350bhp.
clive f said:
Pasco said:
spend said:
Errm..a 500 should already have @ stage IV heads I thought. Port matching quick & easy, or if you need any reworking I would have the guides shortened & profiled, a bit of nice un-shrouding in the chambers, open the throats a tad combined with the seat profile and have steel shims inserted for the chewed up spring seats. The heads are pretty good to start with. All the reputable folks will have their own versions of this work V8D, CRE, PeterB... not forgetting even DomPower Not sure I'd bother unless the heads were coming off or you had exhausted all other routes first though...
Certainly there are cars with bog std TVR BV heads that have made over 350bhp.
Not sure I'd bother unless the heads were coming off or you had exhausted all other routes first though...Certainly there are cars with bog std TVR BV heads that have made over 350bhp.
I thought you weren't talking to me
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