93 2.3 Na Mods

[racinrob]

I have been doing a bunch of reading on this forum and some others about mods to get a little more grunt out of my 2.3NA. First, I know a turbo would be the way to go, but we are racing in the 24 Hours of Lemons, and right now they are keeping us in the slowest class (because we are) and I would like to stay in that class for at least another race. A turbo would bump us up, no questions asked.

Right now the only mods are that I removed the "spark arrestor" or whatever it is they call those small tubes in the air intake and also a set of headers.

A few mods that I have heard about and I am considering try are these:

1.Run an ECU from a turbo car. (I have one available that fits the XR4TI and a Turbo Coupe, E5ZF-12A650-F3D)
2.Run 5.0 injectors (red 19#) and a 5.0 MAF
3.Use rockers/followers from a 95+ 2.5 which are a larger ratio and bring the cam, which is .390 total lift, up to just over .440 total lift. The rockers need to be machined about .050 to fit the older valves.

I am really only hoping for 25HP. I want to keep the rpm's at 5500 or below since the bottom end is bone stock with over 160,000 miles and our races are 14-1/2 hours long.

I am just interested if anyone on here has tried any of these and what results did you see.

Also, is there somewhere I can find the impedance of injectors and/or what impedance an ECU is for?

 

[KhanTyranitar]

Well, this is definitely going the wrong way.

1. A turbo computer is just an EEC-IV with a different tune. In your car, that computer is gonna be like (?). Its not going to work and it has no benefits. If you want a computer that will really get the job done, switch to a Megasquirt based system. Otherwise run a Quarterhorse and use your stock computer.
2. Your computer is gonna be like ?. Running a different injector without tuning is not going to do anything good. Likewise, running a different MAF is jet going to confuse the computer. The computer has to be tuned for the injectors and MAF you decide to run. That means minimum you will need a Quarterhorse or something to retune the stock computer. If you convert to Megasquirt, you can convert to speed density, which requires no MAF at all, and you can tune it to use whatever injector you desire.
3. A Ranger cam from any year is going to be a performance downgrade, if there is any change at all. You haven't stated what you actually have now. But the only benefits to the Ranger cams is the roller setup. They tend to shift the power band down, to produce more low end, but they run out of juice really quickly. If you want a real performance gain, switch to something like a Bo-port 1.5 cam, and use an adjustable cam gear to tweak the timing. You can use an adjustable gear with the cam you have now to see what you can get. The '95 uses a 2.3L. You don't get a 2.5L till '98, and that uses a different head, and different valves. I'm not certain that it will swap without machining work. Granted, you could use a '98 head, and all the cam components with it, and that would result in a minor power increase, but you would need to use the '98 intake too. The 2.5L heads actually flow better.

I personally would go the Megasquirt route. You could retune the timing for more advance/higher octane which is gonna give you more power right there. By eliminating the MAF, you have eliminated an intake restriction. For the larger injectors, you would just tune the proper specs on the injectors you opt to use, and it just works. If you decide to change to different injectors later on, it just works. Then if you ever switch to turbo, the Megasquirt will handle that too, and does a better job at it than a stock turbo computer. In fact, if you get a Megasquirt, you could run turbo sized injectors now (#36 or larger).

The bottom end being stock is not a major consideration. Yes you want to keep the revs moderate. But unless there have been oil pressure issues or low quality oil filters, then mileage should not be a major factor. Just make sure you run a good oil, and that your oil filter is a good quality type like Motorcraft, Purolator, or Wix, no generic or Fram junk.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

1.) Run an ECU from a turbo car. (I have one available that fits the XR4TI and a Turbo Coupe, E5ZF-12A650-F3D)

2.) Run 5.0 injectors (red 19#) and a 5.0 MAF

3.) Use rockers/followers from a 95+ 2.5 which are a larger ratio and bring the cam, which is .390 total lift, up to just over .440 total lift. The rockers need to be machined about .050 to fit the older valves.

4.) Also, is there somewhere I can find the impedance of injectors and/or what impedance an ECU is for?

1.) In order to use a 2.3T computer, you will have to use the matching vane air meter and matching low-z injectors. For your E5 computer, the VAM will be a "small" type and the injectors are probably 35lb/hr. Only Mustang SVOs and '87-88 Turbo Coupes had a "large" VAM. There is nothing really to be gained unless you went with a turbo.

2.) There again, you would need some way to tune the ECU for those parts. Either a standalone computer or a J3 port chip/tuner is mandatory.

3.) I've never heard of that being done, but it may work if you already have a roller cam.

4.) All the turbo ECUs use low-z injectors and all the NA computers use high. Stan Weiss has a huge injector data table on his site.

I don't now what mods you're allowed in your class, but I would be inclined to ditch the EFI altogether, make a manifold, and install a four-pack of carburetors from a 1000cc+ sport bike.

 

[racinrob]

Thanks guys.

The car already has a roller cam. I wasn't going to use the Ranger cam, just the higher ratio followers.

The rules allow us to do anything, as long as we spend under $500.