Where to start with bolt-ons...
#13
The sintered metal connecting rods are the weak link. But look at it this way, when Ford built the 2003 and 2004 390 fwHP (331 rwHP) Cobra's they changed to a forged rotating assembly--this was not just so they could spend more money, it was because they felt the 2V internals were not up top the task.
As to your TB and plenum needs, any 75 mm TB and aftermarket plenum will pass enough air for the needs of any build with a stock bottom end. Oddly, and somewhat counter-intuitively, the TB and plenum become less of a factor with forced induction. This is because as soon as the boost comes up the intake tract becomes just a large pressure vessel shoving air into the engine--the engine is no longer trying to suck in pulses of air as with running n/a, where intake size and tuning (on both sides of the TB) are prime factors.
A whole different ball game. It's sort of like connecting a 10-foot 3/4" ID hose with no nozzle to a domestic sillcock and measuring the water flow rate. And then switching to a 10-foot 1" OD hose (78% larger). The flow rate will not change by 78%, if at all, because the 3/4" hose was as big as was needed.
On an n/a setup the intake air pulses can stack up, bang into one another and create standing wave harmonics that can actually "suck out" power at certain frequencies (engine rpms). The n/a intake, especially before the TB, is not "just a pipe" as many like to put forth...
Last edited by cliffyk; 01-25-2013 at 08:47 PM.
#17
Go with everything listed in the 1st thread on here. I would suggest a good set of underdrive pulleys, they will free up some good power and youll feel a bit more pull in 5th gear, and better fuel millage.
#18
Re: underdrive pulleys, from the "1st post":
"Other mods such as underdrive pulleys, lightweight wheels (all else being equal 18" wheels/tires weigh more than 17"), flywheels and driveshafts can improve acceleration by reducing parasitic load and rotating mass. However if you are the sort that never "floors it" and always shifts at 3k rpm then don't bother; you will never know they are installed. Their benefit is only realised under hard acceleration and mostly in the lower gears." [emphasis added]
"Other mods such as underdrive pulleys, lightweight wheels (all else being equal 18" wheels/tires weigh more than 17"), flywheels and driveshafts can improve acceleration by reducing parasitic load and rotating mass. However if you are the sort that never "floors it" and always shifts at 3k rpm then don't bother; you will never know they are installed. Their benefit is only realised under hard acceleration and mostly in the lower gears." [emphasis added]
#20