Beef up the 4L

[WAS 240]

Gday guys
Ive been going over thread after thread on here for a couple of weeks now trying to find out what is the best way to get the most grunt out of my auI xr6 vct. I've looked into forced induction, both supercharger and turboed. But what im after is guys who have done this before or know a bit about it, whether its better to take th n/a approach and see how much grunt comes of that i dont know. So guys hit me with all your info and help an apprentice make his machine fly. Thanks

[clontarf_x]

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11228664

I just asked pretty much the same question haha!

So far it seems headers, exhaust, intake. I'm chasing up some info on rockers and head work (ported, flowed, polished). As the saying goes, speed is just a question of money, how fast do you wanna go :P

[WAS 240]

Well id like to reach somewhere near 180rwkws that would be great, I already have 2.5" redback exhaust from cat back with advance headers, i have the xr8 snorkel with a k&n high flow panal filter. I have been told that because my car is the vct that the head is best left alone but i dont kno if this is correct or not

[private9]

180rwkw is angry NA, or baby forced induction of some description. NA or boosted, you're looking at a bit of cash - what's your budget?

Personally, I'd go turbo, but them I'm biased!

[Falcon Coupe]

If you want it to go fast factor in a stall convertor and some gears.

[rob_liss_lms10]

You can get 180rwkw from na, wont be easy, but nothing good ever is...unopened prob about 150 to 155rwkw max with exhaust, cai, flash tuner or chip. to get the 180 you will have to prob bore 40 thou, high comp pistons, cam, polished tb,intake and at least polished head. You will get more kw from forced but it will also cost you alot more if done properly. Unfortunately the VCT engine is harder to mod as less people have done cams for them, so the choices are few.

[private9]

Originally Posted by rob_liss_lms10

You can get 180rwkw from na, wont be easy, but nothing good ever is...unopened prob about 150 to 155rwkw max with exhaust, cai, flash tuner or chip. to get the 180 you will have to prob bore 40 thou, high comp pistons, cam, polished tb,intake and at least polished head. You will get more kw from forced but it will also cost you alot more if done properly. Unfortunately the VCT engine is harder to mod as less people have done cams for them, so the choices are few.

And for that sorta cash, you may as well boost it, and have far more potential for when you get bored after the second day of driving it!

[rob_liss_lms10]

I agree Private, as I said boosting will give better results, how ever in saying that a proper set up turbo or super charger to get 220rwkw or above will run into 8-11k if done properly ( meaning lower compression, bigger fuel pump, bigger injectors, decent inter cooler etc ). I know that it can be done cheaper, how ever the kits are only entry level and produce 200kw or so. Then that doesn't count the expense of getting the car through compliance plating and also you have to consider insurance, if the driver is young finding an insurance company to take them on will be hard enough, but paying the 2-3k premium will be even tougher. But I agree, you will get better results from boosting but you pay for the extra power.

Oh btw, I have never been bored driving my car, when I do get bored I go for a drive, there is far more to the pleasure of driving than out right speed. A car with 90rwkw can go around a corner at the exact same speed as one with 300rwkw. I guess it just comes down to why you like driving in the first place.

[private9]

Originally Posted by rob_liss_lms10

I agree Private, as I said boosting will give better results, how ever in saying that a proper set up turbo or super charger to get 220rwkw or above will run into 8-11k if done properly ( meaning lower compression, bigger fuel pump, bigger injectors, decent inter cooler etc ). I know that it can be done cheaper, how ever the kits are only entry level and produce 200kw or so. Then that doesn't count the expense of getting the car through compliance plating and also you have to consider insurance, if the driver is young finding an insurance company to take them on will be hard enough, but paying the 2-3k premium will be even tougher. But I agree, you will get better results from boosting but you pay for the extra power.

Oh btw, I have never been bored driving my car, when I do get bored I go for a drive, there is far more to the pleasure of driving than out right speed. A car with 90rwkw can go around a corner at the exact same speed as one with 300rwkw. I guess it just comes down to why you like driving in the first place.

Lower compression isn't needed on a mild setup, and up to 220rwkw is achievable on standard injectors & ECU, with a rising rate reg and fuel pump.

I agree with you on the rest though!

Very good point about the pleasures of driving - for me hills & corners are definitely the most fun! Pity I own a falcon though

[WAS 240]

Ive never been bored with driving, i just love the excitment you get from getting in a car and having that immidiate response, that acceleration and that growl. Im an apprentice so it would be better for me to be able to do things bit at a time, i suppose i want to spend about 3-5k in the next 6-12 months on the big girl. I dont want a door slamming drag car just a car that is reliable but also responsive.
What would be my next step i already have a 2.5 inch exhaust from the cat back and extractors, i have seen around that i should get some piping made up for the cai, i also bought an el airbox lid from the wreckers for the bigger opening. I was interested in a stall convertor aswell but know nothing about them(as in price, where to source them from).

[Stav]

Originally Posted by rob_liss_lms10

I agree Private, as I said boosting will give better results, how ever in saying that a proper set up turbo or super charger to get 220rwkw or above will run into 8-11k if done properly ( meaning lower compression, bigger fuel pump, bigger injectors, decent inter cooler etc ). I know that it can be done cheaper, how ever the kits are only entry level and produce 200kw or so. Then that doesn't count the expense of getting the car through compliance plating and also you have to consider insurance, if the driver is young finding an insurance company to take them on will be hard enough, but paying the 2-3k premium will be even tougher. But I agree, you will get better results from boosting but you pay for the extra power.

Oh btw, I have never been bored driving my car, when I do get bored I go for a drive, there is far more to the pleasure of driving than out right speed. A car with 90rwkw can go around a corner at the exact same speed as one with 300rwkw. I guess it just comes down to why you like driving in the first place.

One of the best posts ever.Big power doesnt necessarily mean a better driving car. Money well spent is brakes,suspension for starters.

[sly]

Originally Posted by chris_dunwell

i suppose i want to spend about 3-5k in the next 6-12 months on the big girl. I dont want a door slamming drag car just a car that is reliable but also responsive.
What would be my next step i already have a 2.5 inch exhaust from the cat back and extractors

Around the 5 grand mark would get you a complete, bolt-on, centrifugal supercharger kit from Raptor (which includes a flash tuner and conservative generic tune). On a VCT engine with a 2.5" system and extractors you would expect maybe 180-190 RWKW. Power builds progressively with a centri blower so any change will be mild under 3000 rpm or so then fill out quite quickly as revs rise from there.

This is my preferred option. You will get the same sort of top-end as a big cam and worked head will give, without losing any down low. You'll still have stock idle and low-rpm driveability and near-stock low-rpm fuel economy. If the bottom-end response still doesn't float your boat, then a 2700-3000rpm stally will drop you straight into the meat of the torque curve. As you already have a 3.45 diff, a 3.73 probably isn't worthwhile, but a 3.9 would be ummm... noticeable. But the stally with the stock 3.45 behind a centri-blown setup would be good enough for all but the most hard-core.

Comparative cost? If you're comfortable removing & replacing the head, cam, valve springs etc yourself, you could spend between $2000 and $4000 on a package, then add $500 for a flash tuner and between $500 and $1000 for a custom tune. If you need a mechanic to fit the head etc you might be looking at a day's labour, maybe $600-$700 on top of the parts cost. So anywhere between $3-6000 all up.

The only real downside going force-fed as others have said, is the impact on your insurance if you're in the key under-25 or under-29 brackets.

[blackers10]

i think the raptor supercharger kit with some extra mods to compliment it with the left over$ .. would be exactly what your after

as to turbo would blow your budget out to 10k if you need a shop to do it

where as the supercharger im sure you could do in an afternoon even with minimal mechanical knowledge

[Stav]

180 rwkws in na form... Cam, headwork and maybe a manual box/tune will see close to 180rwkws .

When I dynoed the wagon after my last mods..head cam it pulled 170 with an auto.Amanual box would give an extra 10 to 15 rwkws at the treads.

Supercharger though is the easier way to do it.Bolt it on and in a few hours ..a tune and your ripping the bitumen up.

[WAS 240]

Thanks for all the help guys, BTW yeah i am in that >25 demographic so the insurance could hurt lol. Oh well the things we do i suppose. Thanks guys
ps: is it really that easy to fit the chargers?? i mean ive seen the set up before and it doesnt look over complicated, I guess ill have fun learning.
pss: Do you get the raptor sc kits directly from raptor over the net or do i need to find a place selling them??

[WAS 240]

Also 180 rwkws was a number i just pulled out, i wasnt sure if it was a realistic goal or not. Ill be really happy if i can get a 1/4 time to around mid to low 14's

[StealthAu]

Just contact Raptor direct if you are interested. It is simple to fit, the hardest/most time consuming part is replacing the injectors and more so the fuel reg. I started this at 10am on a Saturday and finished at 4pm, could of been done in half the time if I wasn't stopping for a beer and smoke break every 20 minutes. As for power, only other mod is a 3" exhaust and it made 196rwkw's. With a shot auto but 3.9:1 diff gears I ran a 14.6 @95.5mph, even with your xr 3.45:1 gears I'd expect better results if your auto is working right.

[WAS 240]

Thanks yeah the auto runs great, i cant wait to get the kit now, I guess ill start saving now and let you guys now when the bolting on begins lol. Thanks heaps to all the guys who helped me with this, Cheers