Need Help, Lightning Questions!!

[zombie_46]

Hi new to the site, looking for some help I have a 2004 lightning, here are the mods k&n air intake, accufab throttle body, c&l upper intake, 6lb crank pulley, xcaliber 2 chip, full exhaust from manifolds back (high flow cats 2 1/2" with X pipe), 2800 rpm PI converter, some crappy valve body, 26'' mt drag radials. WHAT IS A GOOD VALVE BODY TO BUY AND WHERE TO GET ONE???? also wondering what my 1/4 mile et would be and hp estimate? What is the highest hp stock lightning motors can put out safely? OH and one problem i am haveing my truck under wide open will bog down at 4800 rpm, drops 300rpm then goes threw the rest of the rpm range with no problem and shift fine, happens in every gear! had to replace motor and every thing was stock except the valve body and converter and still had a problem, could this be a Valve body issue and has any one ever herd of this happening? Thanks for any info Adam

[Blurry94]

It might be running out of fuel at higher RPMs, which will cause it to lose a little steam at WOT.

[zombie_46]

Ya that was one of my original thoughts as wel but i put a fuel psi gauge on it and ran the truck and fuel psi was in operation level and didnt drop down when the truck bogged! Could it be the maf getting pegged?

[Blurry94]

It's possible, if you have the Xcal programmer, then you can download and run livelink on your laptop. This will scan/log and display engine and transmission info. If the air meter hits 4.65 volts before the shift, then that's a good indicator.

[zombie_46]

YA I am a ford tech at the local ford shop and can use a wds and monitor pids so if the maf hits 4.65v before it shifts i need to upgrade the maf to 95 mm?

What other things would one want to monitor?

[Blurry94]

The air meter, itself, has the potential to output battery voltage. I seem to remember the limit being 4.65 or 4.87; if the MAF voltage stops increasing with engine speed, and the A/F ratios start going lean right after that, then that's a good sign that the air meter is out of range.

[ckirwan514]

this is what you are looking for "Factory Tech Accumulator Valve Body by Gregg Evans"
also you should have your truck dyna-tuned you have enough mods to make it necessary if not you could hurt the motor= apx-$5000.00 to fix

[zombie_46]

Thanks for info on valve body, my programer was tuned for my mods but not with a dyno, would that be about the same or should i have it dyno tuned? What kinda hp and 1/4 mile times should i expect? Any one know the top hp before a stock motor is damaged?

[ckirwan514]

with the mods you have done and a 6# pulley you have about 16psi of boost. You need to get a dyno-tune. the mail order tunes can screw your motor up, you need to get the f/a ratio set correctley for your area and 93 or 92 oct. fuel. guessing at a tune can be deadley. should only take two pulls on the dyno to get it right.

[Stewart_H]

The OEM 90mm MAF pegs the voltage at 5.00 but that doesn't take into account a slim safety envelope most L guys like to have.

Some say rule of thumbs is anything over 4.9x and you should look at getting a MAFia or SCT Big Air 2400/2800.

A 4.9x in warm weather might be ok, but it can mean a blown motor in cold air, under the right conditions with the mods to push it.

As for your HP/ET estimates, there are so many variables, and individual trucks vary so much, just about any guess would have a wide margin for error. With your mods, one would think at least 400/420 at the low end and maybe 430/440 at the high end? Really, any guess is kind of pointless until you get it on a dyno because even two different dyno jets could give you different readings.

As for your ET, again, depending on track prep, weather, altitude, suspension, tires and rims, etc, etc, any guess would be a crap shoot. But if you held a gun to my head, I'd guess high to mid 12's, depending on your 60' footers.

At for a valve body, Factory Tech is the most popular, but Mark at LFP sells a good one, as does Level 10. I know BTS sells VB's for the PSD's, but I don't know if he also sells them for L's.

Max HP/TQ on a stock engine? That all depends on your tune, and the gremlins in your engine!

The rods on these engines are the weak link when it comes to pushing more power. They work great for the OEM power they were made to handle, but unlike the rods in the Terminator Cobra's, they don't hold up as well when pushed harder.

There are guys who have vented their blocks with as little as 400+ HP because their tune was too aggressive. And there have been guys who have pushed it over 500 hp because their tune is spot on, and not aggressive. But I know what you're looking for, and again, rule of thumb (aint that just sooooo subjective? lol) is 450hp with the right tune, and MAF upgrade, and you SHOULD be ok.

Stewart

[Silver Streak]

It sounds like the PCM might be set up to lock the converter at 4800 rpm in every gear.

I would say the safe limit on power on a stock engine is about 360 hp since there have been plenty of stock 01-04 models spit the rods out. Some of them will take a ton, some won't. You bolt on the mods and roll the dice.

I've got the FTVB in my truck and love it. Next to the Panhard bar it was the best $200 I spent on the truck.

[Stewart_H]

Originally Posted by Silver Streak

I would say the safe limit on power on a stock engine is about 360 hp since there have been plenty of stock 01-04 models spit the rods out.

It doesn't mean it's never happened, but I've never heard of a single Lightning, of any year, throw a rod and chunk the block, without modifications.

A stock engine venting because of the rods? Please, again, not trying to discredit you, but please list a source so this can be verified.

Stewart

[Silver Streak]

All you have to do is spend a few hours on nloc.net and you'll find plenty if their forum still has threads from that far back. I've been in the Lightning game for 6 years and kept up with them before I got mine. Right after I got it there were a ton of people on nloc that blew their stock motors. It made me wonder if I made a mistake buying my truck. I know of two people locally that blew their stock engines. One was on the way home from the dealer, the other had some miles on it. A stock one blew up at Lightning Fest 1 on the roadcourse, don't know if it was a rod or not, but it was messy and it rode a hook home.

[Stewart_H]

Originally Posted by Silver Streak

All you have to do is spend a few hours on nloc.net and you'll find plenty if their forum still has threads from that far back.

Again, I need to reiterate (because you can't hear a persons tone in a post) I'm not challenging you, just asking for verification because this was the first time I'd heard someone claim an unmodded, stock engine threw a rod. So with that said (posted? LOL) I've been on nloc and SVT P for years and haven't ever read one post or thread about a stock engine giving up the ghost, without the reason being mods done to it, or lacking any mods, misuse (lack of oil, wrong octane fuel, etc) of the owner. But it aint like I read every single thread, ya know? But blown engine threads usually get my attention, like most L guys.

The threads go back a loooooong time at nloc. I'll do some searching, but in the mean time, if you can locate a thread with this occurrence, please post the info.


Stewart

[Silver Streak]

I poked around on there last night a little bit and only found stuff back to 2002, but I didn't have time to do a lot of looking.

As I said, there were two in the Tulsa area that I know of. The Tulsa alotment for 01 was 19 trucks, I ordered number 2 and had the first one delivered. When one blew an engine a few weeks later I didn't worry too much. When another blew a few months later it got my attention.