horsepower and fuel econo.

[broncodriver33]

i would like to get some more horsepower out of my 5.0L with out breaking the bank. i was first thinking of upgrading the ignition system and was wonder about an underdrive pulley kit. can anyone tell me if they make that much of a difference and what is involved with the install. right now all i have done is the cat punched out and a k and n air filter. headers and new exhaust system to expensive right now. but i know would be a big help.

 

[Seabronc]

What year truck do you have? Include your truck vitals in your signature.

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[broncodriver33]

sorry haven't gotten to adding that info yet but its a 93 bronco 5.0 L auto

 

[Seabronc]

I can't think of any reason for a under drive pulley system on a Bronco. See the Post on mufflers http://broncozone.com/forums/index.php?sho...c=12392&hl= that might help. Not too many things that you can do allow you to, "have your cake and eat it too" B) . An electric fan vs mechanical will free up some power for the wheels and also give a slight gas improvement by taking the load off the engine for 98% of the time. However you need to get a fan that has a high CFM rating or it may cause cooling problems. Also It needs to be controlled so it only comes on when your engine temp exceeds the Tstat temp by about 10 degrees. Also, putting your truck on a diet will help. Shed unnecessary pounds of stuff you may be carrying around in the back. If you realy don't use the rear seat, take it out and only put it in if really needed. I use 3 ounces of Acetone per 10 gallons of fill up, which gives me about 10% increase in gas mileage, see http://www.lubedev.com/smartgas/

Good luck,

>-

 

[Broncobill78]

i would like to get some more horsepower out of my 5.0L with out breaking the bank. i was first thinking of upgrading the ignition system and was wonder about an underdrive pulley kit. can anyone tell me if they make that much of a difference and what is involved with the install. right now all i have done is the cat punched out and a k and n air filter. headers and new exhaust system to expensive right now. but i know would be a big help.

Not to be rude, but if you wanna play you gotta pay. There Aint's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch and if you want extra ponies they're gonna cost ya. Basic rule of thumb is to start off with an intake, cam & headers. Underdrive pulleys do in theory deliver a couple of ponies but it's not going to be anything you feel or see at the pump. A K&N air filter won't hurt but you may as well waste money on SplitFire sparkplugs for all the HP you'll see out of it. I would strongly suggest you read up on it, ask questions and make *sensible* upgrades. You just won't see big HP from a stock engine try as you might but it IS possible to improve upon what the Ford gave you. Probably the best thing to do if you REALLY want to up your game is to save for a crate engine or have the machine-work done locally and assemble it yourself. I've done both and can tell you that a crate engine will save you time, money & bull$hit 90% of the time. If you have access to reasonably priced quality machine work then doing it yourself is invaluable experience but really not cost effective when you're competing against the economy of scale.

 

[Seabronc]

Oh yah, I forgot to mention that, like Broncobill78 said, HP costs and doesn't equate to fuel economy. If you are trying to make the truck a Rice Eater, don't forget the power to weight disadvantage it has. You own a 5,000 pound brick shaped vehicle that was designed for off road enjoyment not street racing. You can increase the gas mileage a bit, and even free up a couple of HP to the wheels but not all that much. It costs a lot to make it fast.

Good luck,

>-

 

[broncodriver33]

Oh yah, I forgot to mention that, like Broncobill78 said, HP costs and doesn't equate to fuel economy. If you are trying to make the truck a Rice Eater, don't forget the power to weight disadvantage it has. You own a 5,000 pound brick shaped vehicle that was designed for off road enjoyment not street racing. You can increase the gas mileage a bit, and even free up a couple of HP to the wheels but not all that much. It costs a lot to make it fast.
Good luck,

>-

not trying to make a street racer or anything like that. i had an 86 full size and that had plenty of power with a 302 now the motor was rebuilt at a professional shop. and i had headers and dual exhaust. and i was only running 30" tires. this bronco i have now seems to lack even when i was just running 30" tires on it. i just like to feel it a little when i get on the gas. the best thing i could really do i guess is run 4:10's with my bigger tires instead of the 3:55's. that would probably make up some of the difference.

 

[2NDTOUR89]

Here is what I have done so far on the last two trucks I have owned that seem to help.

Full MSD ignition including 6a box, plug wires, cap, rotor, coil.

K&N cold air intake.

Throttle body spacer.

2oz acetone per 10 gal of fuel.

Exhaust, 3" with a free flow cat and muffler.

This system seems to work well for me. My last truck was a 94 F350 crew cab 4x4 with a 460/e4od running 35" tires. I did all of this to it and the guy I sold it to tells me that what I did continues to work. That big old pig got 14 mpg on the highway and 11-12 in town, towing, coasting, engine on, engine off etc. I did change slightly to my Bronco though, I cheaped out and made my own intake and used a K&N filter. I couldnt justify spending 200 plus dollars on the intake when I was able to build it for about $0.85 plus the $40.00 filter. But it works just as good as my last one did.. Anyways, I totally agree with the acetone, I never got to 3 oz like Seabronc has but I may just do that on the next tank. I think that the total package did help with power but as stated before, these things in mostly stock form wont give you the total seat of the pants feeling of a Shelby Mustang without LOTS of money and time (and you still probably wont get it then either) they are just too big.. But you can gain some economy. Right now with mine running the setup I listed above with 33" tires and a 5.8 with a C6 trans, I am currently getting 15 MPG around town and around 18 on the highway NO JOKING. I do plan to do away with my fan and go electric and see how much that might give me as well but that will have to wait until more projects are done. Anyways, hope this might help...

 

[Seabronc]

not trying to make a street racer or anything like that. i had an 86 full size and that had plenty of power with a 302 now the motor was rebuilt at a professional shop. and i had headers and dual exhaust. and i was only running 30" tires. this bronco i have now seems to lack even when i was just running 30" tires on it. i just like to feel it a little when i get on the gas. the best thing i could really do i guess is run 4:10's with my bigger tires instead of the 3:55's. that would probably make up some of the difference.

The gearing will definitely help you in the power end, but bite you a little in the fuel mileage end. Like I mentioned in another post, I run 31's with 3.08 gears on a C6 3 speed no OD. With33s on my truck, I can definitely feel the power loss, but I have no feeling of loss of power with 31s.

Good luck,

 

[broncodriver33]

i have been a little weary of the acetone idea. i just cant afford to ***** up my truck. but if you guys say its ok and i am not going doing damage anything then i will give it a try. i also will not spend $200 on an air intake i have some plans to make my own also. as far as the throttle body spacer is concerned, what is the idea behind that what actually does that do. i was told that it keeps the fuel cooler is that true. another thing is where can i get the acetone that pure.

 

[Seabronc]

i have been a little weary of the acetone idea. i just cant afford to ***** up my truck. but if you guys say its ok and i am not going doing damage anything then i will give it a try. i also will not spend $200 on an air intake i have some plans to make my own also. as far as the throttle body spacer is concerned, what is the idea behind that what actually does that do. i was told that it keeps the fuel cooler is that true. another thing is where can i get the acetone that pure.

Like I said in another post on Acetone, read the information and recommended usage. http://www.lubedev.com/smartgas/

One place is your drug store and get 100% pure Acetone, at CVS it comes in I believe 10 oz. bottles. You can get in in gallon cans from Lowes, Home Depot, or WalMart. I buy it in the gallon form and refill the bottles I originally got from CVS. Use a funnel and don't get it on your paint.

Good luck,

>-

 

[2NDTOUR89]

The throttle body spacer acts like a mini tunnel ram does and some also have a swirl cut into the chambers to try to swirl the air into the plenum supposedly making the fuel atomize better. I have noticed that it has better mid-high response after putting it on. As for the acetone thing, go to an automotive paint store, buy a gallon from them and a couple of mix cups for mixing paint (it makes it easy to pour and measure since they have the oz on the outside of the cup and they are see through) and YES, get a funnel unless you are good with the mix cup....

 

[91eddiebauerbronco]

i have own my 1991 eddie bauer ford bronco since 1996 i have the 302 but ive done some work i got the twin ***** supercharger from weaind and bought the 30 lbs per hour injectors along with a home build in take manifold 351 heads and ****** headers and im pushing close to 650 ponies with 700 foot lbs of torque it screams rounded total for all work done is close to 10k but i have had some money to mess around with so if this helps anyone with some performance questions heres my answer buy bigger injectors and a supercharger you may have to upgrade your computer make sure you get a beefed up tranny otherwise youll just blow it out with the touch of the pedal

 

[Broncobill78]

i have own my 1991 eddie bauer ford bronco since 1996 i have the 302 but ive done some work i got the twin ***** supercharger from weaind and bought the 30 lbs per hour injectors along with a home build in take manifold 351 heads and ****** headers and im pushing close to 650 ponies with 700 foot lbs of torque it screams rounded total for all work done is close to 10k but i have had some money to mess around with so if this helps anyone with some performance questions heres my answer buy bigger injectors and a supercharger you may have to upgrade your computer make sure you get a beefed up tranny otherwise youll just blow it out with the touch of the pedal

Well I have to say that a 650HP 302 is pretty impressive. Just out of curiousity, how did you arrive at that figure ? I though I did pretty good to assemble a 492HP/558torque 460 and that one was run on an engine dyno at Competition Enterprises in Marlborough, Ma. Got the slips around here somewhere. Was yours run on a Chassis or engine dyno ? 650 at the rear wheels is a *damn* impressive number from a big block much less a 302. Kinda puts all us 500horse weaklings to shame.