Just bought a 28' enclosed race trailer for my drag car........

Bringing it home empty, my truck was struggling lol

Its all stock 93 F-250 extended cab 4x4, 7.3l, E40D......has 33x12.50 tires don't know what gears.

Does bigger exaust make much of a difference on these trucks? It seems restrictive as hell...has alot of pressure on it from 2 feet away it really blows your pants leg at the tailpipe.

Any suggestions? my load is about 9 thousand pounds.

 

Exaust and intake will help and A turbo would realy help also if you have a pyro you could try adjusting the fule screw but its real easy to burn up an N/A motor with too much fule.

 

Turbo, exhaust, IP, Ram intake

 

More air in/more air out always helps. Also a turbo works exceptionally well. I had same problem as you and that's what I did. I'm very happy with my rig now. Tom

 

got any links or can you lead me in the right direction?


What should I do now? I can't afford the turbo right now......

 

Propane baby!

 

The 7.3 only has 180 Hp stock, and an enclosed trailer has a LOT of wind drag. A turbo is the single biggest improvenemt you can make, but depending on what your truck has right now, there may be other smaller things you can do.

Since you have 4wd, I won't ask what gears you have,

Is your exhaust system stock?

Does your intake still have the soup bowl in it?

Turbo kits can be found for $2000-$2500 new or as cheap as $500 used, depending on type and condition (Ebay).

 

yes on stock ex. and yes on the soup bowl. It is 100% stock.
What gears do I have?

I really don't want to mess with a turbo on this thing I can't afford it right now....I know once I get into it it will nickel and dime myass and I don't have time either. Racing season is here.

 

I don't know what gears you have. But since you have 4wd, swapping to a different ratio would be involving and expencive compared to a 2wd, so it doesn't really matter what you have.

If you have the soup bowl still in the truck and you don't mind a SLIGHT increace in engine noise than cut it out of there immediately. You can chisel the spot wields off, or take a zip blade to the bowl, but it is worth between 5-10 Hp. Add a ram air intake and that will also help your power and MPG slightly. Then replace the stock exhaust with a with at least a 3" pipe with a free flowing muffler to match. It still won't be nearly as good as a turbo, but will make a noticable difference.

For used turbos, this is how cheap they can be sometimes: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Banks...spagenameZWDVW

Since its an Ebay listing, the price of this unit will go up, but I did get my ATS turbo kit for $200 cash nearly complete. If the kit is complete, you can install it over the weekend.

 

what about something like this? does it look good?

http://www.gohypermax.com/ProductDis...7-0e06877bb507

 

It would probably work well. I can't tell you specifically how it would work, because its not used very often and Banks or ATS are usually the preferred brand. Maybe some one else will chime in with their expereince with the kit. I have heard that it is harder to install, but have no first hand experience.

Something else to consider is if the turbo is wastegated or not. If it is, it will have more boost at lower RPM, and in general more backpressure with higher EGTs. None wasegated (like hypermax) turbo kits will generally run lower EGTs, but at the expence of lower RPM boost. My ATS 088 (none wasegated) system needs the engine to be at or above 2000 RPM to get any real boost (usually 5-7psi). Both Banks and ATS now only offer a wasegated turbo.

What RPM/speed are you towing at?

 

A turbo is the best option for getting enough power from your truck to tow that trailer at a reasonable speed up any hill. Any other mods that you do to the intake, ram air or exhaust are not going to make much of a difference.

Without a turbo, get ready to be passed by everyone and anyone pulling that trailer. And with fuel at almost $4 a gal, its going to cost you there as well. Do what you can to save your pennies and nickels, and plan on a turbo at the next off season.

Jason

 

Don't think that turbo kit will work on your truck its designed for International S series trucks that have a lot more room they do make a kit specificly for Ford F-series http://www.gohypermax.com/Catalog.as...2-90f6cb3dcca2 and they seem to be a bit cheaper.

 

You could look at putting a smaller diameter tire back on it. Stock size is 235/80R16, which would be around 2 inches less. That would bring the RPM up into the powerband a little more. It would give you around 200 more RPM. My 89 pulls much better at 2500 than 2100. Fuel milage is no different and you have a little left for grades and passing. This would have the effect of more gear. It would be a cheap and easy thing to try......Don

 

A three inch exhaust will help with the torque, the stock exhaust does create to much back pressure.
A see through muffler will also help a bit more, but it will be a lot louder.

As far as the intake goes, that over the battery intake has a tiny intake area.
When looking at intake solutions though, you have to remember that the cooler the air is the better.
Ram air will help while driving down the highway, even if it does little more than overcome the filter restriction it is still putting more air where you need it, in the cylinders.

As you look at the intake and exhaust, remember you are trying to get 424 cubic feet of air a minute through those systems when you are at 3300 RPM.

But as said before, the biggest bang for the buck on a diesel is a turbo.
There is no other way to get that much air into the engine with that small amount of parasitic loss.

More air in, more air out is the key to diesel performance.

Since you are using this as a tow vehicle, I would also think about a pyrometer to monitor exhaust gas temps.

Another site to look at for turbos.
www.atsturbo.com
Click on Ford
Click on turbo systems
Click on 7.3 IDI