Headers? Chip? ...? 302 Upgrade
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2007
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From: Germantown, MD
Headers? Chip? ...? 302 Upgrade
I want to open up my old stock 302. I've installed a 2.25" true dual exhaust with no cats and glasspack mufflers. I've also installed 2 cone air filters, one for each throttle body. Now what? Should I go with a chip, or headers, or a cam...or what?
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Martinsburg, WV
Headers and a cam sound good, those two cone filters arent working as well as you would think. Probably sounds good though under WOT I would bet. They are doing nothing but picking up the hot turbulent air off of the radiator. The OE intake system was more of a cold air than what you have now. I would look at fabbing up a system to get the filters closer to cooler fresh air. If you really want to breathe better on the cheap, get a set of 87 up truck heads, the part # starts with E7TE. Then grind out the A.I.R humps in the exhaust ports.
Postmaster
Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Out of here
If the glass packs you have are the louvered ones that stick down in the gas stream, then they are probably HURTING your performance.
Look for the ones that have the perforated holes in them. They are basically straight through, which are worse than something with a little back pressure
Look for the ones that have the perforated holes in them. They are basically straight through, which are worse than something with a little back pressure
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2007
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From: Germantown, MD
If the glass packs you have are the louvered ones that stick down in the gas stream, then they are probably HURTING your performance.
Look for the ones that have the perforated holes in them. They are basically straight through, which are worse than something with a little back pressure
Look for the ones that have the perforated holes in them. They are basically straight through, which are worse than something with a little back pressure
Posting Guru
Joined: Sep 2006
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If your looking for big preformance gains dont waste you time with a muffler or simple cone air filters. The big preformance boosts come from heads, cam, intake, and to some degree headers. However, if your truck is FI you might run into some problems because I have heard that the stock computer doesnt take to well to alot of add on power parts.
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2007
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From: Germantown, MD
Obviously, I'm not looking for huge power gains, I just want a little more power. That said, what non-restrictive mufflers should I get to replace the current glass packs? Also, I definitely need to relocate my cone air filters for "cold air." All of this should add up to a nice little power gain.
How hard is it to put a cam in? And would my stock motor do well with a mild cam? With 4x4 I would probably need shorty headers, and they would bolt up to my downpipes. So, what headers and cam should I get?
How hard is it to put a cam in? And would my stock motor do well with a mild cam? With 4x4 I would probably need shorty headers, and they would bolt up to my downpipes. So, what headers and cam should I get?
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Posting Guru
Joined: Sep 2006
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You may get 5-15 more horsepower with flowmaster (the best muffler in my opinion) and your "cold air" cone filters. If I were you I would put the money into the cam. An RV cam will get you a good amount of low end power and lots of torque.
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2003
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Is your 302 fuel injected - If so, it will be speed density controlled and bank fired injectors.
All of the items shown above are more applicable to a Mass Air Flow controlled fuel injection.
There is really not much you can do to a SD Fuel injection - except change it to a MAF.
All of the items shown above are more applicable to a Mass Air Flow controlled fuel injection.
There is really not much you can do to a SD Fuel injection - except change it to a MAF.
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From: Virginia
Is your 302 fuel injected - If so, it will be speed density controlled and bank fired injectors.
All of the items shown above are more applicable to a Mass Air Flow controlled fuel injection.
There is really not much you can do to a SD Fuel injection - except change it to a MAF.
All of the items shown above are more applicable to a Mass Air Flow controlled fuel injection.
There is really not much you can do to a SD Fuel injection - except change it to a MAF.
What rearend ratio and tranny do you have? If you are not too concerned about fuel mileage and highway driving, a gear change would give you the biggest bang for the buck as far as seat of the pants feel.
FTE Legend
Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Ottawa, Ontario
If you don't mind tearing into the motor then a cam upgrade is the way to go, the CompCams 31-255-5 is SD EFI compatable and a nice upgrade. The stock y-pipe/cat assembly is the big cork in the exhaust system on these trucks, so plan on replacing this with an aftermarket or custom setup and headers. Longtubes are easily the best option and will provide the broadest power boost, but even shorties are an upgrade over the stock logs. Don't use mustang shorties on a truck however, the collectors are all wrong and will make fitting difficult.
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Senior User
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From: Germantown, MD
If you don't mind tearing into the motor then a cam upgrade is the way to go, the CompCams 31-255-5 is SD EFI compatable and a nice upgrade. The stock y-pipe/cat assembly is the big cork in the exhaust system on these trucks, so plan on replacing this with an aftermarket or custom setup and headers. Longtubes are easily the best option and will provide the broadest power boost, but even shorties are an upgrade over the stock logs. Don't use mustang shorties on a truck however, the collectors are all wrong and will make fitting difficult.
what?
