That's what I was thinking. I'm not to sure about cost effectiveness though. From what I've been reading it would seem like going to a 5.4 would be much more costly and harder to tune, since it's a custom job.

 

I just saw a 5.4 with supercharger as a take out from a wrecked GT500, I forget what state right now but could easily track it down again if someone is interested.

 

Yep, engine work is not required. And you can have a lot of fun with just bolt on F/I.

For me, I'm running the X on a stock bottom end.

If I ever get to the point of wanting to do heads, cams, and bottom end, I'll do a V8 drive train swap instead. Cheaper and gives you room to grow.

One drawback is the extra weight balance toward the front end if you're into more than just straight line.

 

Suspension upgrades are already in my list of planned mods. Instead of waiting and investing money into F/I, wouldn't it be easier and more cost effective to do a 4.6L swap to begin with? Has anyone seen a list of what parts are needed to do a 4.6L swap? I would imagine that this has been done many times before.

 

I'm sure it has been done a few times before but it will be harder to track down cause it is easier and less painful to simply trade in for a GT. I will have to look for a list as i'm unaware of one. But you would need: tranny, 8.8 or built 7.5, engine mounts, the ecu, DS, and the engine of course. Lots of stuff i've overlooked but its fair to say this is around a 10 k process. If your willing to spend that kind of money anyway I would build something that is very out of the ordinary. I will have to do some looking for a parts list.

 

In my case, I did suspension and F/I because I'm not planning to go V8.

The only reason I'd go V8 would be if I want to do one with blower. I wouldn't do it for just mild bolt-ons.

I'd be reluctant to take the performance hit on the handling though.

There are a few guys over on the Mustang Collective that are doing V8 drive train swaps. Pretty straightforward. Check out their build logs there.

 

I think I'll just go with F/I for now...from what I can tell if I did ever decide to go to V8 I can make some money back through parting everything out. Most people I've seen have made back at least half if not more. I do have another question. I can't find complete answers everywhere so I figured I'd ask here. If I go with F/I don't one of the setups limit other types of performance add ons? Which option gives you the most freedom to add other bolt ons? I ask because I might pick up cold air and a dual exhaust setup prior to going F/I. Would I be able to keep those items after I go F/I? If not which option (Turbo or S/C) gives you the most flexibility? I'm only looking to go about 8psi w/intercooler with either setup. I don't want to stress my engine too much and before I upgrade engine internals I'd rather swap out to a v8. Thanks for all of your help guys. Very informative answers...other than one or two typical 'trade it in and get a v8' posts.

 

I'm not familiar with the turbo and centrifugal kits, but I'm running an X-charger with headers and dual exhaust. The X kit came with its own CAI.

I'm running a 2.8 pulley for 10-11 lbs boost. I'll probably get the X intercooler when it becomes available.

 

Man, I didn't know that was possible with an X-Charger. I had taken that off my list, since I thought you could only use it with 5psi because it wasn't intercooled. What kind of numbers are you putting down with that? I was thinking that S/C tops out at stock or slightly higher than stock GT rwhp numbers. I'm trying to get as close to 400 rwhp as possible without modding the engine(cams, forged pistons, etc). Also...what did that set up cost you? Cost is my eliminating factor. I'm looking to spend a max of $6K for all parts. For the most part all F/I falls into this category, but I have no idea if I can get all parts required for an engine swap for under 6k. Just engine parts are figured into the $6K..headers, exhaust, coil pack, and plugs are all planned upgrades anyway.

 

Haven't dyno'd my car. I'm just running a modified version of the custom tune that comes with the X. Bamachips developed the tune for the kit.

I think the best numbers I saw posted for a HiPo with 2.8 were around 300/300. I don't race or anything. I just like having the X and driving the car.

Talk to the O.G. X guys like Rygen, Afixer, Torchvert and others. They know all the ins and outs of the X.

Call Dave at Explorer Express and talk to him about the X too. He's a really really good guy and can answer all your questions.

I got my X on a group buy that saved me something like $400.

They're going for $4.4k right now.

http://www.explorerexpress.com/xchar...ner-p-820.html