Hey guys, first post.

My name is Ken. I drive a 200whp all motor Acura Integra. Reason for posting is because my friend (MBish on here) has a stang, and is a noob around an engine bay. Ive been trying to help him figure out what to do next, etc. Problem is, I know nothing about the V6 motor (or any V6 motors for that matter). Im a 4 cylinder guy. All my advice for v6's is based off my knowledge of inline 4's, and theres a lot of stuff i dont know. Heres a few q's ive got:

Is the V6 motor a SOHC or DOHC? How does it actually work? Are there two heads, each with once cam? Would that make it considered a DOHC?

When upgrading the cams, at what lift and duration is it necessary to replace the stock valvesprings and retainers? I have Stage 3 cams on my car, and ive upgraded both springs and retainers.

Whats involved in installing new cams? I know its only a few hours tops to do it on my car if you know the way around the head.

To raise compression, would a thinner head gasket be worthwhile for these motors? I went with a .09" gasket and hi comp pistons in my engine to yeild an 11.9:1.

What does a turbo setup run for these cars? I could turbo a honda for under $2k if I peice together the kit myself. What do you guys use for engine management? Can you convert to OBD1 and run a standalone unit? How about a price for supercharging?

How does a turbo kit work for a V6? For a 4, all four cylinders are right next to each other, and the manifold goes right into the turbo (right near the radiator). With 3 cylinders on each side of the engine, how do you run a single turbo?

For all motor setups, what is the most realistic and reasonable mod after I/H/E? Bored TB? Cams?

As far as headers go, whats the best (in your opinion) for daily driver setups. Ex: for hondas, there is 4-1 and 4-2-1 setups. 4-1 = top end. 4-2-1 = low/mid. I opted for a 4-1 for my car. Ive heard talk about "shortys" and "mids." Whats that mean?

As you may of noticed, Im constantly comparing these 6's to my knowledge of 4 cylinders. My aplogies for this. Im simply comparing because it is what I know.

Ok, so I lied. That was a crapload of questions. If you can knock out a few of them, I would really appreciate it!

 

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[sm=grinangel.gif] Sorry. Lot of questions.

 

First of all the essex block V6 engine is an even fire ohv engine. That's one cam that sits in between the heads, and opens the valves on both sides of the engine as it rotates. They don't make an sohc or dohc for the V6 and the only way to get one would ne to get it custom made. Not sure about the cam lift, but I'd go with like a 210-215 or 215-225 lift with the duration in the .4s. To replace the cam the entire intake and heads must come off, as well as the radiator and a few other things. Not sure about the gasket thing, but a good port and polish along with the cam swap would do the trick, oh don't forget to upgrade the fuel injectors and the mass air flow sensor to the new fuel injector settings. S/C for mustangs generally run anywhere from $3K to $4K. The diablo and or sct hand held tuner will allow you to do the ecu reworking. Generally S/C either replace the upper intake, or bolt onto the front of the engine and are driven by the belt, they have lines to replace the stock intake. T/C bolt up where ever the instructions tell you to mount them and use the exhaust gases to drive the turbo which intur sends more air into the intake. 99-04 65 or 70mm TB, 94-98 56mm TB. JBA ceramic coated shortie headers are one of the best ways to go for a sixer, just remember, they're only needed once the car is s/c as they won't increase hp much over stock, like maybe 1-2 hp. After the heads get eiter a V6 h or x pipe, and then a set of GT cat backs to finish off the exhaust. See the sites at the top of the home page for more prices and ideas.

 

Actually the 05 v6s are sohc, but besides that yes they are ohv

 

Well forgot about those, but "most" Ford V6s are ohv.

 

Thanks a lot for the replys. I thought that there was a cam in the middle between the two heads, but i couldnt figure out how it opened both exhaust and intake valves. My friend already has a Flowmaster catback and is looking into a Mac Intake.

Ive seen people recommending gears and TLok. Gears im assuming is the final drive of the rear? And TLok, is that like a Limited slip diff, or is it like Posi Rear? When going around a turn, will Tlok still allow one wheel to turn faster than the other? I know posi rear wont, and it will skip around a bend. Limited slip will put power to both wheels when needed, but otherwise works as a normal diff.

 

There are two sets of lobes on our cams, one is for intake the other for exhaust. Unlike a DOHC where one is for exhaust and one if for intake a single cam will have both on the one cam.

here's a pretty nifty little link...
http://www.samarins.com/glossary/dohc.html

 

I eat acuras ........................... that is all.

 

Derf, that was an awesome link. I didnt realize that it wasnt an overhead cam, but a pushrod setup. Thanks.

What do most guys usually do after intake and exhaust? What kind of headers give the most power for a NA setup?

In the import circle, underdrive pulleys are commonly used, but not so commonly accepted. Many people have problems with them. Is this the same with domestics? I see lots of guys with UD pulleys, and havent read about any side effects from them. Would this be the next logical modification after IHE?