For a daily driver would you guys "build" (cam, heads, etc) a 351W or would you put on a supercharger? I am planning on getting a new 351W FI for my 90 Bronco and want around 300 horse/ 400+ torque

 

peronally, id rather build upan engine than just slap a blower on a stock one. if you build it up first, you can go as wild (or as conservative) as you want. if its not enough, you still have theoption of adding a blower later. just my opinion, good luck!

 

Why not both? You could build the engine up and then later on throw the blower on it and get 400-450hp easy and still have pleanty of driveabilty. But, if you're playing it conservative, I'd say build it if you have the tools and know-how. If you want it quick and easy, get the blower. A 6psi Kenne Bell will run you about $3300 and with 6psi net you about 100hp which should bring you right up to about where your goal is.


Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Flowmaster Exhaust, Sunroof, Clear corners w/ Diamond headlights, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Justin - One Happy FTE Member

 

You can easily make 400hp/415ftlb out of a normaly asspirated 351w.

Edelbrock Performer RPM Heads
Edelbrock Performer RPM Cam
Edelbrock 750cfm Carb
Edelbrock Performer RPM Intake

MSD Dizzy/Coil/Box

Easy Power!!!

 

We're working with EFI here man.


Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Flowmaster Exhaust, Sunroof, Clear corners w/ Diamond headlights, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Justin - One Happy FTE Member

 

If you wanted to go carb, then Evan is right, more or less.

But playing with EFI follows similar lines. The 351W in itself is nice to put boost to because they already have low-comp pistons. This helps reduce the possibility of detonation.
Personally, my LX race car is carbed for the simple reason that it's easier to make go fast. Well, cheaper to build and easier for me to tune.
The truck that I'm wanting to buy and make into a 'sleeper' will be an EFI 351W that I'll probably slap a blower on. There are kits out there, such as the Paxton centrifugal kit, that costs $2200 and makes 6psi of boost, and can work with ALL stock components according to Paxton.
Now, centrifugal blowers make power a bit higher than the Kenne Bell 'roots-style', but the Paxton is a very user friendly kit.
To make that power N/A, you'll need heads at least, and a cam that will take advantage of those heads new flow potential. This in turn means that you'll need to have a chip burned for your speed density system to accept the new toys.
Both directions will probably benefit from a full exhaust as well.
Good luck,
Ben

 

Thanks everyone who has replied so far. MustangGT221 was right, you are working with a EFI guy here. I sometimes wish that I had a carb for simplicity sake, but I do like the EFI. Anyways how should I go about this? The 351W in my truck has 120,000 miles on it, so I know that it needs to be rebuilt before all these mods are put on.

So if my engine needs to be rebuilt I figure that anything that I want to do performance wise could be done at the same time. So would it be cheaper to buy the parts necessary to get around 300 horse, or slap on a supercharger?

I really do not need tons of power, but my 351W in my Bronco only came with 210 horse and 315 torque, and it seems like it has very little low-end power. 90% of my driving is in the city, so what I really want is more low-end power.

P.S. please keep in mind that I have emissions in my area so I have to keep everything legal


Thanks again!!!

 

Again, either route will work for you assuming that you don't use a monster cam on the NA setup. Also for both setups, there are the same draw backs including custom chip, needing to run premium fuel, etc.
The blower will net you 300 HP and 400-ish lbs/ft with no other mods, though I'd probably go with bigger injectors and pump just 'cause it's me. The manufacturers say you don't need to. And this way you keep a mild cam, like the stock one or one with a nice small profile that will be emissions friendly.
Going NA, I'd build a stroker like a 393, then heads like TFS or AFR, then a nice roller cam like a TFS stage II, 1.6 roller rockers, etc. This will net you probably 400+HP and 450+ lbs/ft.
The blower will cost you probably $3500-$4000 total including engine rebuild, exhaust, chip, blower kit.
The NA motor will cost $1300 for the stroker kit, figure 300-500 for assembly and another 600-800 for machine work, $1k for heads, 300-400 for cam/rockers, then chip and exhaust, so you're talkin' $4000-5000 again.
Good luck,
Ben

 

Well, I suggest the Kenne Bell blower because I think it's better for trucks over the centrifugal type. Unless you're making a truck that you plan to take to the drags a lot, I think the KB is better for the street/truck application. Trucks need low end power, and the KB starts building boost at 1500 and will have a full 6psi boost around 2500rpm i'm told. The centrifugal types won't make 6psi until 3500+ RPM if not in the 4500 range. The nice thing about a blower is that it only is being used when power is needed, so if you're cruising along the highway at 2500rpm there is little/no boost until you hit a hill and step on it and fly away haha. That also means that you're gas mileage will not suffer too much until you put your foot in it. It will act like stock until you step on it. Make sure the rest of your drivetrain is in good shape too. This is a tough decision to make. I think you'll find that building a motor is more rewarding but there is a bit of work involved. If it were me, I'd put the supercharger on it now, and then when the engine needs to be rebuild, rebuild it nice and strong so it's more reliable with the supercharger, and build it up slightly. There are many limitations here so it's hard to go crazy. Gas mileage will be out the window on a built 400hp engine, many smaller parts will be needed like fuel pump, injectors, chip for the speed density, etc etc etc....


Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Flowmaster Exhaust, Sunroof, Clear corners w/ Diamond headlights, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Justin - One Happy FTE Member

 

I Just thought of a good idea

Rig a 6/71 blower up with one of the stand-alone management Edelbrock Pro-Flow fuel injection systems.

Just kidding but if someone did it that would be SWEET!!! :-staun

 

All I have to say is thank god for desk top dyno. If you want you can send me the specs on what you want to do. Normally doing a simple casting mark removal port job and gasket port matching opens up a lot of free horse power. Also having the lower end balanced does alot. I know the cost is sometimes a little much but you can garantee that the engine will last longer and rev smoother. That way you don't have to spend an arm and a leg on a set of heads. Just my thoughts.

 

From what I understand, the Kenne Bell supercharger kit replaces the intake manifold. So if you're building a NA motor, I would guess that you would want to replace the intake manifold for something that would flow more, Edelbrock is the only company I've seen make one for EFI, so if you replace the manifold in the performance rebuild, and later decide to supercharge it, then you would have essentially bought the manifold for nothing. I somwhat agree with one of the other posts that said supercharge it now, then rebuild when it breaks. I'm debating the same thing myself, I want a better tow motor with more low end torque than the 302 that I have now. If I bought a supercharger, I would get the Kenne Bell because you don't have to rev the **** out of the motor to get the boost. Just my thoughts, hope they help.

 

>From what I understand, the Kenne Bell supercharger kit
>replaces the intake manifold. So if you're building a NA
>motor, I would guess that you would want to replace the
>intake manifold for something that would flow more,
>Edelbrock is the only company I've seen make one for EFI, so
>if you replace the manifold in the performance rebuild, and
>later decide to supercharge it, then you would have
>essentially bought the manifold for nothing. I somwhat
>agree with one of the other posts that said supercharge it
>now, then rebuild when it breaks. I'm debating the same
>thing myself, I want a better tow motor with more low end
>torque than the 302 that I have now. If I bought a
>supercharger, I would get the Kenne Bell because you don't
>have to rev the **** out of the motor to get the boost.
>Just my thoughts, hope they help.

This guy is dead on with this comments. And also it does replace the intake so be aware of that.


Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Flowmaster Exhaust, Sunroof, Clear corners w/ Diamond headlights, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Justin - One Happy FTE Member

 

Ok guys-
So if I go the supercharger route, what type should I get? Roots, whipple, etc? Like I said earlier I use my truck mostly in the city so I would like more grunt in the low end. Does one type of supercharger provide an advantage over the others in terms of low-end power? Sorry for so many questions, but I can’t wait to do this!


P.S. airharley- Thanks for the offer for the desktop dyno, just don't have any specs in mind yet
:-)

 

A Kenne Bell may be your best bet. It produces boost throughout the rpm range that a centrifugal supercharger (paxton, vortech) cannot do. I'm not sure what kind of non-centrifugal superchargers are out there, but I know the Kenne Bells are very reputable. May want to check with Whipple Charger, but last I checked, I don't remember them offering anything for the 5.0/5.8 Fords. Hope this helps