Jakee's 4.0 SOHC Build up discussion and motivation thread

[Xan]

I am really a advocate of the headers. I believe that most on these forums don't understand how hard it is to get 10hp or higher.

I can't think of any car they wouldn't benifit from headers. its the start of your exhaust system... my buddy has a header on his ford probe, its his daily driver he knows it not fast but it atleast has a little more power now to get up to highway speeds.
the reasons some mustangs don't get much from them is that some of thier manifolds (i stole 94 manifolds/headers and put them on my 3.8) are header styled allready.

AFboy143:
You notice its like 1 or 2 people hounding him about it? the only reason i agreed last time is i want to see his numbers because i just wanna see where hes at now and what hes gained out of doing alll the work. That and hes said he was going to the dyno like 10 times now

 

[techieman33]

Personally, I couldn't care less about dyno numbers, my mounty will never see one that's for sure. I much rather see numbers from the track, at least those are real numbers, not just something a computer spits out.

 

[Xan]

Personally, I couldn't care less about dyno numbers, my mounty will never see one that's for sure. I much rather see numbers from the track, at least those are real numbers, not just something a computer spits out.

ooh good point, americruise is coming to town and they ussaly have open drags. I'm hoping to get out and race some yukon or blazer or durango or something

 

[techieman33]

ooh good point, americruise is coming to town and they ussaly have open drags. I'm hoping to get out and race some yukon or blazer or durango or something

I guess I'm lucky in that respect, I have a 1/4 mile track just a few miles from my house, and it's open at least one night a month for street legal drags.

 

[Jakee]

I'm going to dyno.... Eleven!!

 

[rocket 5979]

Somewhere in the neighborhood of x.. MPH. Now, if that tells you anything, then good, if you don't believe it then good, if you want to see proof, you will.

Jake, were three digits used in the x.. here just for example purposes?

 

[jah81592]

With this said, I would just like to add that I do not think people on this forum give Jakee enough props on what he has done. I know personally, he has saved me time and money by doing the mods first then telling us how he did it. Everytime I have PM'ed him, he always replied promply and made sure I got everything right. Hell, he has one of the longest threads on this forum where he shares everything he has done on his truck and most of the time all I see is "I want to see dyno results". Well props to you Jakee for everything you've done for us. Its much appreciated.

My thoughts on the whole dyno thing:

I am a college kid who drives a Ford Explorer, not a race car driver who drives a drag-only mustang or Nascar. If I can feel the difference, Im happy. I dont need a dyno to tell me if Im happy with a mod or not. Of course this also is mixed with common sence. Will I feel a difference with a Tornado in my intake? If so, then it's probably in my head. But will I feel a difference with headers or a off-road Y pipe? Probably so. My thing is I cant justify the price of headers for our truck to the gain you get which is why I havent done it. For $400, Id make sure Im going forced induction first before I spend that on a mod.

For example, the Y pipe jakee helped me build, it feels the same under 3k RPMS, but above that it feels like it pulls much harder than before. This is seat of the pants talking. Do I need a dyno to tell me what I feel? No, I know what I feel and that's all that matters to me. I've been driving the same truck for 4 years now, Im pretty sure I know how my truck performs. I could understand you guys getting on him if he said "I just gained 20 hp!" but everything I see he simply states he feels the difference OR it was a well worth mod. Forums are meant for owners to share their ideas/thoughts with other owners. If you want hard evidence and such, pick up a FF&MM mustang or something to that effect. Most of the guys on here mod their trucks for fun, not for a career. Get off the guy about dynoing. He'll do it when he wants. In the mean time, why not throw him some congrats on sharing to the explorer community everything he has done. I know he's helped me a lot !

This is what I have been trying to explain the whole time. If you really want to know what your truck is doing go to the track and get the #'s. This will be a more accurate reflection as to what your mod did. I have gotten no top end hp and torque from certain mods but have increased in average power and the particular mods actually pick me up more than a part that is just a top end charge.

Props to Jake as I have seen from the beginning what he is trying to do. As a vendor and Jake as my customer(not just because he's a customer), Thankyou for what you have done and the information you have shared with us.

 

[jah81592]

I can't think of any car they wouldn't benifit from headers. its the start of your exhaust system... my buddy has a header on his ford probe, its his daily driver he knows it not fast but it atleast has a little more power now to get up to highway speeds.
the reasons some mustangs don't get much from them is that some of thier manifolds (i stole 94 manifolds/headers and put them on my 3.8) are header styled allready.

AFboy143:
You notice its like 1 or 2 people hounding him about it? the only reason i agreed last time is i want to see his numbers because i just wanna see where hes at now and what hes gained out of doing alll the work. That and hes said he was going to the dyno like 10 times now

You are completely right. The Mustangs,even with long tubes, with marginally at best, pick up more than 10hp. But if you look at the torque range(which the 4.6L so desperately needs),just swells. You feel this. The manifolds aren't so much of a restriction at the top side just the physical inability to scavage in the mid-range and this is why the headers give so much butt dyno feel. Topside,ehhhh. Not exceptional but an increase. Middle I guarentee you will see & feel increases due to the scavenging. This is a very worthwhile investment. Pricey yes,but worthwhile. Hence my reasoning for making it a final bolton.

Another thing to remember is that we have 6cyl engines and 10hp is alot with a 6-pot. Just think Honda guys are spending big money for 5-10 hp. Simply because of the engines physical sizing and laws of physics.-jh

 

[jah81592]

211 more till 1500 posts. Cant wait!

 

[Jakee]

Jake, were three digits used in the x.. here just for example purposes?

Just an example and I didn't put the number there cuss I want to be SURE, even with the "inaccurate" way of testing, it let's me know roughly.

Then again, the first time I'm at the track, I'll probably be learning how to drive again.

 

[Jakee]

I wouldn't worry with a tune that Doug made for you.

Good luck .....

I would.

 

[rocket 5979]

Just an example and I didn't put the number there cuss I want to be SURE, even with the "inaccurate" way of testing, it let's me know roughly.

Then again, the first time I'm at the track, I'll probably be learning how to drive again.

Yeah, you will have fun at the track. I must say that even though I enjoy going to the track still, it was much more exhilarating when I was going for the first few times.

Yes, I find I do have to recalibrate the way I drive when at the track with either one of my vehicles. Going from N/A to nitrous on the LS is a whole different ballgame of driving, and so on with the X too.

 

[Jakee]

Should I just try and launch like I do on the street, or should I "ease" into to it; Make a couple of passes to find out what RPM I can launch from without spinning to bad?

I have a feeling that I could get all the advice in the world, and when I get up to the line, I'll punch it and spin the crap out of them...

 

[rocket 5979]

Should I just try and launch like I do on the street, or should I "ease" into to it; Make a couple of passes to find out what RPM I can launch from without spinning to bad?

I have a feeling that I could get all the advice in the world, and when I get up to the line, I'll punch it and spin the crap out of them...

You will just have to get to know your X from that standpoint. No one on here will be able to tell you how to launch your vehicle on that track under those conditions.

Yes, there are some guidelines to usually be followed but it usually works out best for you to experiment on your own with different launch techniques. What I would reccomend you try first is to barely back into the water box (if you have an LSD rear) and do a 5 second burnout to clean the crap off the tires and heat them juuuuuust enough to make them a tad more sticky. Then pull up to the line and stage. Make sure that you stage so that you are just bareeeeeeely breaking the second beam (illuminating the second light) and then stomp on the brake while revving your engine to about 2,000 rpms. When you see the third amber light illuminate then let off the brake while smashing the gas. I really doubt you will have much, if any, traction issues as you are not pushing allot of power yet.

Once you get used to practicing track ettiquette and know your way around the pits, timeslip stand, staging lanes and so on then you can settle in and start trying different launch techniques to see which one works best. Try launching while stalling as high as possible before rolling through the beams, try launching from a standstill without stalling at all and various ones in between. I suggest that you just damn near hotlap your truck at first keeping your engine at full operating temp for the first initial runs at the track until you get a feel for what launch you think might work better. This will allow you to get to know your truck without having to wait hours upon hours for cool down of your engine between each run. It will also be more consistent this way as long as you give your engine similar short cool down times while idling hood open (5 minutes) and then go out again.

After you got an idea then let your truck cool down for a while with your hood open (1-3 hours depending on how hot it is outside) go grab a hotdog and A beer and sit down for a while and try not to laugh too much at the ricer kids racing. Take your truck out and when waiting in the staging lanes keep that engine off as much as possible so that you are not hot again by the time you get your next run in. You will want to make sure that your engine is a little warm though, just not anywhere near hot. Couple all this together with a few times at the strip and your ET's should reflect it.

 

[Xan]

Should I just try and launch like I do on the street, or should I "ease" into to it; Make a couple of passes to find out what RPM I can launch from without spinning to bad?

I have a feeling that I could get all the advice in the world, and when I get up to the line, I'll punch it and spin the crap out of them...

Do the 2wd expos really spin them that bad? i mean if they do get some bigger tires i just can't imagine them spinning worse then the V8 S10 i used to have. Sure break stands but just off the line punching it? Do you got the limited slip or are you one wheel wonder?

 

[Jakee]

My traction problems are because I have an open rearend. Yes, off the line punching it, i've been able to break them loose to the point where I'm almost over reving. However, I haven't drove the truck like that in awhile, it really depended on what surface I was on. What I do is brake stand to warm the tires up. Then I can launch at around 2200 without getting too much tire spin off the line. What ever position the pedal is at making the engine rev to 2200 is what I have to leave it at when letting off the brake. Once I get rolling I can mash on the gas at a fast even pace. All that is reflected in the 0-60 times I posted. However, most of my testing is on a Rough concrete slab that's around 1 mile long and pretty level. So, I'm able to get better traction on it, as opposed to some street surfaces, let alone a track surface.

 

[Jakee]

Check this thread out. More doubters that didn't believe me, and the traction problem. This is when I was almost completly stock, but I'll admit the road was not the best surface to launch on.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162880

 

[jah81592]

My traction problems are because I have an open rearend.

I have a 31T Trak Loc sitting in the shop. Also has the exciter/abs ring...direct bolt in. Maybe a minor setup nothing much.

 

[Jakee]

I have a 31T Trak Loc sitting in the shop. Also has the exciter/abs ring...direct bolt in. Maybe a minor setup nothing much.

i just have to find my way to alabama now.... ;(


James - How streetable is that rear-end you have? Is it better than a Traxloc in your opinion? Does it whine when turning or so on?

 

[Xan]

I'd say to get better track times and drivability you might wanna upgrade your rear tires to something like a 265-285 radial and get a performance street tire on there with a sticker compound (not too sticky cause the softer you go the faster they wear). Not only will you get better traction but your handling will benefit from this too. Not only that you could benefit from lowering . (i'm assuming you don't do off road stuff).