Hi,
new to the forum,I tried searching for the answers to a couple questions,but couldn't find much of anything,it seems the triton v10 is somewhat obscure.

I am going to preface this post with a bit of a disclaimer. I am not your typical person for this type of forum,as I have been a solely Mazda and Nissan owner, I am looking at a 2003 e350 with the triton v10 that I would like to use for a drift van (yes I know,get it out of your system now...) but I would like to know a couple things about these vehicles before I pull the trigger on this one.

1: the van has the auto tranny in it right now,how much power will that take before it will start to give up on me?
2: I have seen f250s with the v10 have a 5 speed manual transmission, is there any way to put that into this van without a ton of custom fabrication? Is the stock f250 tranny even my best bet for my power goals (500wtq)
3: is there anyway to lower the suspension with a bolt on kit like coilovers or struts,or is that going to have to be custom fabricated?
4: I haven't been able to find almost anything on cams or heads,are there any aftermarket options available to get me to my power goals of 500wtq? I have a total budget for mods of about 2500

thanks in advance for any help,and yes,I already know how stupid it is to want to drift a van,it's just meant to be a fun project with the cool factor of a v10 drift van.

 

i have a 2007 E350 with the V10. I have some answers or at least some good input. Keep in mind mine has the 5speed automatic and I'm pretty sure yours is the 4sp auto. Otherwise they're about the same van. That leads us to your first question.

1. The auto transmission in mine is called 5r110 and is rated for 1100 horsepower: as specified by our resident transmission expert Mark Kovalski. I don't know what your transmission model is, but Mark would know it's rated power limit. In my opinion, your biggest challenge with the auto trans would be age/wear/etc.

2. I suspect you could attach the F series manual trans to the V10, but then you'd have to deal with lots of time/effort/parts in regards to the clutch pedal and shifter. Remember, your seating position in a van is very high.

3. Lowering E vans is a topic that arises here regularly. No one does it because no parts are available. Also, if you look under the van you'll see that the front and rear axles have very very little travel before bottoming out against the frame. If you were to lower it, you could get a couple inches but it wouldnt really be very useable on public roads.

Weve all talked and shopped for drop spindles (not available anywhere) and lowering springs (not a available anywhere) . Some people talk about bending the front axles but no one actually does it. There's definitely not enough rear suspension travel to flip the rear axle.

As as far as lowering it, you should plan on minimal results, or else modifying the frame.

4. V10 power adding is a little disappointing: most people go with a custom tune from 5Star and maybe a set of headers. Rear gears is great too. Especially if your van won't see public streets. A hundred people have been here talking about turbo and super chargers, but only one guys has done it. Cams and heads is basically non existent.

Smaller wheels and tires would give you more power and the lower ride that you want.

Keep us us posted what you decide.

 

Sorry, you must have misunderstood. 1100 horsepower will tear that trans to little pieces. It is rated for 1100 lb-ft of torque AFTER the torque converter approximately doubles the engine torque. So that's approximately 560 lb-ft at the flywheel.

The 2003 V10 van has a 4R100. That's a four speed. It is rated for 1000 lb-ft after the torque converter approximately doubles engine torque.

Installing a manual trans is possible, but not without a lot of fab work. This generation van never had a manual trans from the factory.

 

thanks for clarifying Mark.

560lbft torque is just a little bit more than stock tune. I think the v10 is 400-something bone stock. That makes me think a supercharger/turbo would be quite dangerous for the stock auto trans.

 

If you want to make a van for drifting, plan on maximum fabrication
Just make a tube frame and hang the body

 

I know you want a V10, but starting with a 3/4 or one ton van is not a good starting point in my opinion. If you want to stick with a van, I wold suggest a Dodge 1/2 ton van. They will most likely be easier to lower since they aren't a body bolted to a frame like the Fords. They are closer to unibody. I don't know if there are any kits available, but the Japanese have been lowering Dodge vans for years.

 

Well it turns out the van I was looking at got sold already,but if things look possible I may keep looking for another. I don't want to lower for stance or anything stupid like that,I want a lower cog and stiffer suspension for drifting so I don't roll it and have excessive body roll leading to snap oversteer.

the course I will be drifting at most is a skid pad setup, when I competed in my miata I didn't go above 45mph,so I don't think k I will need too much more power than stock,maybe a good tune,intake,and exhaust is all I will really need to make it do what I need.

I've never dried drifting an auto besides on snow,if I keep it in the pulling gears will that be fine for drifting or will that ruin my tranny?

thanks for all the info so far though

 

> I would like to use for a drift van

Ok, now I'm paying attention....

 

What do you mean by the pulling gears? I'm not familiar with that term.

 

Shifting, I think

 

I think he means putting the gear selector down into "1" or "2".
(Or is it "L"? I'm not in my van now...)

 

yes that is what I meant,i was brought up calling them pulling gears cause that's the only time you ever really use them

 

You can run in 1 or 2 without hurting the trans.

 

dont these newer electronic transmissions shift up anyway? Like as a feature to prevent killing itself?
i.e.: select the lowest gear and then WOT and then it shifts itself at high rpm..?

 

Some makes might do that, but Ford does not. You'll hit the rev limiter, but it will not upshift.