high performance 2.3L motor... advice needed
 

someone told me that a flywheel off a focus will bolt right up to my 89 2.3L ranger motor, and that it would be lighter than the factory flywheel, making a noticable HP increase. he also told me he has built these small 4cyl motors to easily produce 250+ reliable HP. he told me to call him and he gave me his # but i lost my cell phone causing me to turn to you guys for ideas on how to do this. any help with this would be greatly appreciated

Well I dont know about 250hp, but there are people building these things for high-performance. Try looking up Esslinger Racing. They make CNC heads, and crate engines for 2.3L and 2.5L Ford engines.

Why would a flywheel inrease hp's? The power comes from the combustion of fuel and air, plus some spark, in the combustion chambers. Seriously think for a second about how a flywheel does NOT fit into the scheme of things.

I know the Lima 2.3 and the Vulcan 3.slow use the same clutch setup, which leads me to believe that the Duratec setup isn't anywhere near a bolt-on. Either way, it won't increase the power output by 2.5x.

I doubt you can get much over 150-175 streetable hp's on a 2.3L, unless you want a Honda-like racer, period. Aside from a turbo setup, of course, but even that's pushing it.

where do I start stock no 250 horse power but you can make it....
lets start with the head
you can shave .125 off it up to .175 off
port polish
202 valves
and cams out the wazu

blocks can be bored
you can use chevy rods to make a stoker motor or if you have a small journal crank 23000 you can slap a 2.5 crank in it...

fly wheel yes a lighter flywheel is less rotating mass thus making mor horsepower

we use a 19# escort flywheel over the 25# pinto fly wheel

from the factory out of a 89 mustang I turned my stock 2.3 6800 rpm all year with a little work they turn 9000 no problem.

Or you could just get an engine/harness from an 87-88 Turbo Coupe Tbird. Engine is already built to handle 20+ PSI, and they are pretty cheap. Stock hp was 190 with the manual tranny. I have one in a Capri and I make a lot more than 250 with an open wastegate.
-Mike-

Flywheel
 

A lightned flywheel CANNOT make any horsepower. It is a physical impossibility. What happens is it take less TORQUE to spin the lighter wheel, there by putting more torque out. The purpose of the flywheel is to smooth out the pulses of an engine.

The flywheel you're looking for is from a 1.9l ford escort. It weighs approx 16 lbs.

From what I remember a lighter flywheel allows more hp at top end, and less torque at low end. It doesnt make either, just lets the engine act differently. Without the rotating mass of the larger flywheel you lose that extra momentum. Lighter flywheel allows for higher faster rev of the engine. In the past I have used several lighter v8 flywheels and I didnt like any of them. Maybe it will be more beneficial to a I4 Turbo though.
-Mike-

To offset the loss of kinetic energy available from the flywheel mass, you need to increase the rpm of the flywheel. Changing the final drive ratio is one way of doing this. Vehicle weight is also a factor. In small block chevys, we used some 12 lbs flywheel, but turned them at 7800 rpms for launch, shifted at 8600+. At speed you do not require as much torque to acellerate to a faster speed, and the rpms are up. So lighter flywheel will help, in circle track, that means being able to come off the corner faster.

With a turbo you actually do not have much of a torque increase on the bottom, so you will need the heavier flywheel to smoothly get the car moving. Again what is the vehicle weight and purpose as those are critical factors for what you're trying to achieve.