Upgrades for 4.6 V8 XLT 2003.

[Blanketman]

why not use metal piping??

 

[rocket 5979]

that would take alot ...like, everything forged internally engine parts everything else custom like port and polishing ...remote mount turbo with at least 23 pounds of boost (i.e. 23psi)...you would need some sort of race tranny in a X to handle that kind of power... the factory one would just break probably from the stress...maybe a 50 shot of nitrous just for a little extra when all said and done after proper dyno'ing and such then i think you could easy see 400 hp...what are those stock BTW? like 260 or 270?

This is the most ridiculous post I have seen in a while. Going by what you posted in posts #6 and #8 it is apparent that you have ZERO clue about this 4.6 V8. Kyle it will only take about 9-10 psi on a supercharger to hit 400rwhp on a 4.6 V8 in the Explorer. Hell 2.5 years ago I hit 400rwhp in mine with a semi-aggressive tune and 8.5psi boost on the Kenne Bell and just supporting mods. With proper tuning the stock 5R55W transmission will hold it. I would not recommend that the OP goes much more than 400rwhp before upgrading his stocker bottom end and transmission though.

I do not know where in the heck you got in your head that it would take 23 psi of boost from a turbo and a built bottom end to hit 400 horsepower in the 4.6 V8. Hell, 23 psi on a turbo and a built bottom end would be hitting more like 600+rwhp rather than 400 horsepower. Actually 600rwhp is a conservative number when looking at what a turbo setup on a built bottom end will see with 23 psi of boost even on stocker heads and cams.

I would not have gotten on your case so much here except that you are so so far off base here it is not even funny.

To the OP, just do the boltons for now and see if you are happy with that. You will not be beating any TBSS's anytime soon unless you go with full boltons and H/C's or a power adder.

 

[rocket 5979]

ok, ive gone ahead and bought a full blown magnaflow exhaust package, and am looking for a CAI that is not metal or curvy, now im looking at some tuners on ebay, will a superchip flash paq allow me to custom tune myself? how about this little number?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SCT-...3007171QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116


if not, does anyone have any recomendations?

Have a professional do your tuning for you unless you really know what you are doing. The X3 SF3 will not allow you to custom tune your truck yourself, it will allow you to set a few end-user preference settings and that is about it. Also that X3 SF3 will not allow you to do as much with the tuning compared to if you got a regular X3 unit which will allow both SF capability as well as custom tuning. For $389 you can purchase from someone like James and get the X3 unit and custom tuning as well. A much better deal and from a reputable person too.

 

[zerodevil]

thanks for the help rocket, Who is this james fellow and how might i get in touch with him?

 

[rocket 5979]

thanks for the help rocket, Who is this james fellow and how might i get in touch with him?

James Henson at HensonPerformance.com. He is a vendor here.

 

[bigapple]

This is the most ridiculous post I have seen in a while. Going by what you posted in posts #6 and #8 it is apparent that you have ZERO clue about this 4.6 V8. Kyle it will only take about 9-10 psi on a supercharger to hit 400rwhp on a 4.6 V8 in the Explorer. Hell 2.5 years ago I hit 400rwhp in mine with a semi-aggressive tune and 8.5psi boost on the Kenne Bell and just supporting mods. With proper tuning the stock 5R55W transmission will hold it. I would not recommend that the OP goes much more than 400rwhp before upgrading his stocker bottom end and transmission though.

I do not know where in the heck you got in your head that it would take 23 psi of boost from a turbo and a built bottom end to hit 400 horsepower in the 4.6 V8. Hell, 23 psi on a turbo and a built bottom end would be hitting more like 600+rwhp rather than 400 horsepower. Actually 600rwhp is a conservative number when looking at what a turbo setup on a built bottom end will see with 23 psi of boost even on stocker heads and cams.

I would not have gotten on your case so much here except that you are so so far off base here it is not even funny.

To the OP, just do the boltons for now and see if you are happy with that. You will not be beating any TBSS's anytime soon unless you go with full boltons and H/C's or a power adder.

jesus dude i know 23psi is only something someone with 4 cylinder civic mite use but u need to calm down... your facts r pretty straightforward but u just love getting on everyones case... take a chill pill

hes rite though man... it wont take too much to get u around 400 if ur already sporting the V8... dont overdo the boost and keep it safe and u should be good to go

 

[rocket 5979]

jesus dude i know 23psi is only something someone with 4 cylinder civic mite use but u need to calm down... your facts r pretty straightforward but u just love getting on everyones case... take a chill pill

I only get on peoples cases when they say really stupid things.

 

[Blanketman]

so why not use metal in cold air intake?

 

[rocket 5979]

so why not use metal in cold air intake?

Don't worry about whether you should use a metal or plastic CAI tube. Allot of people claim that the metal tubes conduct heat better than plastic and thus raise the intake temps which reduce power. The thing that those people do not realize is that the air is flowing through that tube so quickly that there is not allot of time for heat transfer to take affect. It still does occur but the affects are minimal. The metal vs plastic debate should be one of the last factors to take into account when picking a CAI of your choice. Power gain will be very similar between the two. There are more important items such as pricing and appearance.

 

[Blanketman]

i will be making my own custom cold air intake
so trying to find some advice on it

 

[jah81592]

My recommendation is why try to reinvent the wheel? MAC offers excellent options and so does K&N if you would like to use that product as well. I sell both but only list the MAC on my website. Please remember these kits have been "engineered". The intake is important but more importantly note that all fuel, spark, shift schedules are affected by the maf meter. Altering, strange placement etc will affect fueling. As far as tuning I would recommed the X3 Powerflash part# 3000, it comes pre-loaded and can also be custom tuned. I sell these loaded with 3 tunes for $389. If interested contact me. Thanks-j

 

[zerodevil]

so, how much of a "poping" sound will the magnaflow give off rather than a flow master? and how hard is it to rig a flow master to fit?

 

[SnookMan]

so, how much of a "poping" sound will the magnaflow give off rather than a flow master? and how hard is it to rig a flow master to fit?

I have no idea what the others are talking about as far as "poping", but I just installed a MagnaFlow catback system and LOVE it!!!!! There is no poping, and just a very nice low deep aggresive tone. My buddy has true dual magnaflows on his Crown Vic and a H pipe and we both agree my Ex sounds better. He thought I bought a borla system or something. Honestly, it sounds great and install is a breeze. Took me about 45 minutes to line everything up and bolt it in.
I also just put on a K&N FIPK kit that I got online for $208 shipped to my door. Again, love it. Definately made a difference in sound, and noticable throttle response teamed with the exhaust. Truck responds 100% better with exhaust and intake. But I also did some little things like plugs, synthetic fluids, low temp thermostat, water wetter, etc. Next thing is a custom tune from either Bama Chips or Henson Performance.
It's funny when you hear all these motor heads talkin HP, HP, HP!!!!! HP always isn't the answer. I use to love beating the V8's here in Miami from the lights with my 64 VW bug....Yes folks, a 64 VW bug. Use to get the front almost off the ground and chirp damn near every gear out the hole. Of course I had some work done, but it wasn't even close in HP to what our 4.6L is running stock. My buddy has a 90VW Jetta running low 12's.....He "might" have 300hp, all on a 100% stock bottom end with only 15psi. All custom piping though and tune.
These motors have alot of potentional and getting them to breathe is the key. Do your bolt on's, see how she responds........if it makes you happy, you got what you wanted. If it doesn't, you already laid down the groundwork for the next step, supercharger/turbo... My ole man has a 5.9L RT Durango with a powerdyne supercharger running 6psi, stock bottomend as well as tranny. Thing is a HP beast, shreds tires till 3rd gear.........My Ex will beat it. : I

 

[zerodevil]

awesome, just picked up a K&N and Magnaflow off of ebay for around 730 shipped (remember im in alaska now lol), im hoping this will give me the "umph" im looking for. after that im going to get a tune from hensonperformance,

 

[zerodevil]

hmm

well, have installed the K&N and the magnaflow. The truck sounds like a BEAST, but performance gains were not entirely noticable...although its throttle response is MUCH faster and smoother, and it might just be me, but the shifts feel smoother as well....i squared off with a dodge durango 2005 with the hemi, and we were pretty even, i lost the 1st (he caught me by supprise and had a lead, the 2nd i won by a good margin)...but im not entirely satisfied with the performance of the truck, would a good tune do me some good? do i need a tune realy tap into the engine after the mods? is there anything else i can do to boost HP with out dropping 4 or 5 grand on a supercharger?

 

[SnookMan]

well, have installed the K&N and the magnaflow. The truck sounds like a BEAST, but performance gains were not entirely noticable...although its throttle response is MUCH faster and smoother, and it might just be me, but the shifts feel smoother as well....i squared off with a dodge durango 2005 with the hemi, and we were pretty even, i lost the 1st (he caught me by supprise and had a lead, the 2nd i won by a good margin)...but im not entirely satisfied with the performance of the truck, would a good tune do me some good? do i need a tune realy tap into the engine after the mods? is there anything else i can do to boost HP with out dropping 4 or 5 grand on a supercharger?

A custom tune is going to really mke a noticable difference........by custom I mean a tune from James @Henson or Doug @ Bamachips......Tunes from places like Jet and Hypertech really only stiffen up shift points and are barely noticable.
I'm waiting on getting the tune till I have all my bolt on's in order. I just purchased a HIGHLY ported and polished mustang throttle body and upper plenum. I picked up the combo from a guy that claims the port and polish will flow as good or better than a aftermarket 70mm system, yet at a fraction of the cost. If you're interested, the guys name is Jerry and his email is....plenum1@sbcglobal.net
He charged me $115 shipped, but if you want different options the price will be different.
Another good mod to look into is the granatelli "pro series" coil on plug kits. From what I've found on line they boost spark by as much as 400% over stock, and can acheive gains as much as 15 hp. Kind of expensive thought at $480, but stock replacements are $350 or so. What you should do is do some reading on the mustang forums. This forum is waaaaaay more conservative it seems as far as modding, and more into offroading. When you get on the mustang forums you will see how many mods are possible, and the sort of gains you can expect. The 4.6L V8 is a breather, you gotta open up all the restrictions and let her breathe! Good luck

 

[zerodevil]

thanks

thanks, i also noticed that the magnaflow did not replace the catilitic converter, would there be any use in upgrading to a racing CC? how about emisions issues? ive been looking at a new throttle body(anyone know the size of it? i think it was a 70mm on mine, fuel injectors (40lbs from venom), mass air sensor (dont know if mustang and explorer share on that one...do they?).

 

[rocket 5979]

thanks, i also noticed that the magnaflow did not replace the catilitic converter, would there be any use in upgrading to a racing CC? how about emisions issues? ive been looking at a new throttle body(anyone know the size of it? i think it was a 70mm on mine, fuel injectors (40lbs from venom), mass air sensor (dont know if mustang and explorer share on that one...do they?).

There is zero reason to go with bigger fuel injectors until your stocker ones are maxxed out. Unless you are running one hell of allot of mods then that will not happen. The MAFS is not really worth upgrading yet either as you will not see much gain for the money spent; especially when you consider that you will need a full custom retune for your truck which is more expensive than just a canned tune for your boltons. The MAFS and injectors only really need to be upgraded when you max them out. If you are having lean spikes occur in the upper rpms when WOT after doing allot of mods to your X then start concerning yourself with the MAFS and injectors. For now the MAFS and injectors would be one of the last places to put your money at this time.

 

[SnookMan]

There is zero reason to go with bigger fuel injectors until your stocker ones are maxxed out. Unless you are running one hell of allot of mods then that will not happen. The MAFS is not really worth upgrading yet either as you will not see much gain for the money spent; especially when you consider that you will need a full custom retune for your truck which is more expensive than just a canned tune for your boltons. The MAFS and injectors only really need to be upgraded when you max them out. If you are having lean spikes occur in the upper rpms when WOT after doing allot of mods to your X then start concerning yourself with the MAFS and injectors. For now the MAFS and injectors would be one of the last places to put your money at this time.

I agree 100%........Stock injectors are fine, waste of money and GAS to go larger right now.. If you want a major gain in HP, buy some headers and a bigger TB and plenum. I gave you an email address above for a guy that does custom porting an polishing on the stock mustang ones...These will bolt right up with NO modification other than plugging up a vaccum line that isn't needed on the Explorer. I would recommend going that route, as you only have minimal mods and it also saves a few bucks in the process..By the way, stock throttle body is 65mm

 

[SnookMan]

By the way, Rocket.................what is your truck running 1/4 mile? with and w/o NOS of course.