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Vortech build

B

Beans

Addicted CEG'er
Joined
May 4, 2006
Messages
6,759
Location
Plymouth,MI
I welcome any vortechers advice on things you did on your install. svtfixer,jaged, 99mystique, ect.

My Objective is to do this once and not change my mind too much like i do, that gets really expensive. Reliability is #1 (for a contour :p )

This is sort of a mental dump and grocery list, please add your 2 cents.

[Cars current state]
attachment.php

'04 Stock 3L Bottom end with SVT Cams '35k on motor. 5k on the build.
'08 revision escape oil pan
Portmatched to big bore gutted LIM '99 Taurus UIM pnp'ed stock svt tb, remote iac egr/dpfe dellete
No A/C PS cooler delete.
Weapon R Headers to Truduals
255lph TRE fuel pump '24lb injectors
Built trans
Mocal Oilcooler in place of P/S cooler
Mini drycell battery.
Tweecer tuned
12lb lightened flywheel. Clutchnet Organic disc, Stage 3 Pressure plate. Should be good for north of 400tq
I think thats all that will serious affect anything...


[Grocery list]
Pull engine for install?
Vortech spec front header. Coat? $190 Wrap both headers.
Spark plugs. which?
Oil? Yes. What weight?
Injectors. EV1 42lb 4 pintle $250~
headunit rebuild. DIY? or send out?
Belt size with No A/C? account for smaller pully on HO alt..
MAF.. Stock sufficient? Run a MAFia? Run a 80mm+?
ADC intercooler... how much psi drop?
Bosch Lightning water pump, how to wire..?
heat exchanger behind front grill where hood latch is? How big?
Where to put battery... Trunk? Last resort. Relocate fuse box to fender? put battery where fusebox is?
Autometer Phantom Boost Gauge
Pulley size.......... How much boost do i want, take in account for psi drop on intercooler. 10? 9? 8? 7?

[The Needs]
Need to do inventory on incomplete vortech kit i have, things i know i need;
A •••• ton of fittings, nuts, bolts, washers, hose barbs and vacuum hose
radiator spacers.
The plastic inlet to the head unit.
lots of silicone intake couplers and clamps
AN hose for feed and return.
 
Beans said:
Vortech spec front header.
Click to expand...


When you get in touch with MSDS (I presume) you could ask them to allow and extra inch of clearance where the header bends at the bottom.

Every header, including mine, is almost touching the sump pan. I spoke to Marty after I saw what the fit was like.... he would not entertain altering the header at all.

You could order a header in uncoated form and alter it yourself before getting it coated .... G.
 
Im not a vortecher but some of this is relevant to my interests

A/W intercoolers have virtually no pressure drop. In terms of wiring the pump, it will take quite a while before its at a temperature where you need the pump to turn on. I would run the pump to a relay, use the constant power to one of the trigger wires, then run the trigger ground into the cabin and put it on a switch. You could add a cheap fan controller from an auto part store so its automated but they are ugly and I personally don't like them and all the electronic ones are really expensive.

NGK Tr6 spark plugs would be fine, and cheap. I personally run Densos though but they will run you like $70 for a set. If you want those I can dig up the part numbers I have all sorts of heat ranges.

I run 5w-40 rotella in all my engines, its 'meant' for turbo diesels. Its a good oil and its easily accessible and not expensive. Change the oil often.

For the heat exchanger go as long as possible, and put it in the front grill. You don't have much room widthwise, and the bigger the surface area the better the cooling. I would recommend 28-36"x 6-7" x 1.5" or 2". I think mine original one was 34x6x1 and it was sufficient.
 
I did not have any boost drop off with my air to water setup in my cobra. They work really well.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for the replies this is helpful.

Gorman do you have pictures of the clearance? Ill mention it too them but guessing they wont do anything. I can have adjustments made at my exhaust shop.

2000zxt, thanks the intercooler choice is based on the angles and size available, i looked at other intercoolers and i cant think of a good way that i like with the space available.

Oil, spark and fan switch sound like good ideas.

Heat exchanger, i really wanted to keep my oil cooler where the p/s cooler was. I dont like the idea of running long AN hose all the way up to the hood latch area... Height too tall length too long and i HATE making an ends.

Is that size really needed for this? Considering many run vortechs w/o cooling all the time?
 
i have my air to water on a switch. But i think im going to be ditching it this winter to help get my car down on weight.

I also have a meth injection kit that im not using that id like to move

I had a proflo maf and it was pegged out with the stock pulley(6-7 lbs), i went to a lighting maf when i went to the smallest pulley (13lbs)and theres plenty of room left

I have that fuel pump and the tuner said that it is enough, but something larger would be better.

i rebuilt my headunit myself. its not bad to do, just takes some patience and a bit of problem solving. you can get a kit with all the parts, but its way overpriced. i have all the parts listed in a post on here or neco, i forget which
 
jaged said:
i have my air to water on a switch. But i think im going to be ditching it this winter to help get my car down on weight.

I also have a meth injection kit that im not using that id like to move

I had a proflo maf and it was pegged out with the stock pulley(6-7 lbs), i went to a lighting maf when i went to the smallest pulley (13lbs)and theres plenty of room left

I have that fuel pump and the tuner said that it is enough, but something larger would be better.

i rebuilt my headunit myself. its not bad to do, just takes some patience and a bit of problem solving. you can get a kit with all the parts, but its way overpriced. i have all the parts listed in a post on here or neco, i forget which
Click to expand...

Thats my other main concern with a large heat exchanger, liquid is really heavy. On top of the cell and hoses all filled that adds up quick. I doubt ill ever be full competitive with the car, i still like the weight down.

I saw your thread on neco, ill give the rebuild diy a whirl.

What size in inches correlates to 13psi? Thats a bottom end blower on stock internals, imo. Id like to be 10 i tink.

Whats your thoughts on the diablo mafia? Is it a bandaid? Or is it a real option? 100$ i could keep my maf in the fender with my cai, its appealing. Vs a bunch of transition ••••.

Send me a pm on that stuff jaged when your ready, and post a pic of your engine bay for reference?

Thanks,
 
Beans said:
Gorman do you have pictures of the clearance? Ill mention it too them but guessing they wont do anything. I can have adjustments made at my exhaust shop.
Click to expand...





the pipe coming out of the collector is too close to the sump. It is possible the heat will cook the rubber sump seal ... G.
 
I sufficed with a 1" thick heat exchanger, I bought it used and used it more but if you want it I can sell it to you for like $50. Its from a procharged (iirc) focus setup. I had it with the PS cooler and an oil cooler in the front grill, later I cut a notch to fit it nicely but before I had it behind the grill with all the other stuff. Full it was only like 8 lbs maybe.

The diablo is basically the most expensive voltage divider you will ever find. Stay away from that, just get a 80mm maf and have the maf tables calibrated correctly.
 
or you can make your own switch that changes ohm readings...thats pretty much what the diablo is. but personally. i would do it the correct way
 
i got the vortech header. you want all the room you can get in front. not sure theyre avaiable anymore. for fitment, ive installed it so many times i can get it in there w minimal problems. you probably will have to trim the fan, put the battery in the trunk to start, the few things they include in the instructions. space radiator, move accumulator etc.

when you get the bumper off you can find a decent amount of room a for a solid intercooler. i used the one with the input and output on the same side. supposed to be a half psi drop, the bigger drop is going from 2.5 - 3.0l

the 3l makes less boost just due to pressure in the cylinders, not sure the 3.33 on the 3.0 equals 6-8 like stock 2.5s.

i alo found a nice arrangement to put my oil cooler near the intercooler and and power steering cooler in the same spot there behind the grille. need to tetris a little but it fits decent.

im not sure there is such a thing as reliability w a supercharger on it. when i had 6 psi the early driveshaft broke, when i got pindrive and underdrove it it was 11+ psi and rocket like but started popping stuff off left and right and had top upgrade the blow off. i got the vortech race bypass.


i never had maf issues as far as pegging it out, but its possible i wasnt fully optimized. also used 39 cobra injectors becuase theyre everywhere. theres the debate on spray pattern and which is best for the cylinder head shape. had to mod the harness for this also. could probably can use a bigger throttle body also at this point.

i think i cut up a spare battery bracket and mounted the box on it to get it out the way.

in my experience, try mods 1 at a time to isolate problems. it gets overwhelming as far as troubleshooting quickly.

i did use for a while the inline pump like vortech originally called for but used the bigger in tank pump. the inline ended up going on me once and withtout monitoring the fuel pressure it was a series pain int he ass to determine. the only problem with the in tank was the hangar fitment. still isnt reliable under 1/4 tank. others have done this successfully but its a little sketchy. the pickup is important to use all the fuel you got. i added a fuel pressure guage for this reason. have to see whats going on and if its getting the fuel it needs. after this the car turned into the enterprise with all the monitoring you really need if youre gonna play w this setup.

can of worms. this probably isnt all the issues you will encounter. god speed.
 
as far as i know. its pretty straight forward, but the bolts on the bottom of the pulley side bracket can be tricky
 
I have the pdf.

Ill get a 80mm maf. P/n? Year to look for? Will i be safe to transition 3.5" back to 3"? For cold air intake purposes? Or will that create turbulence maf issues?

Ill put my oilcooler at the hood latch area.

Heat exhanger will go in the bottom grill..

I should be good on fuel with the 255lph. Fuel injectors ill just get new 42's ev1's i dont feel like doing any pigtail swapping

Maybe ill jet hot coat the front header...

Pull the moto/trans for install?

Still dont have a pully size
 
i got the smallest pulley, its lots of fun. acceleration almost as fast as you can shift if you stand on it
 
What IS the smallest pulley?2.78? That does sound fun lol, 13psi is too much for stock bottom end going to shoot for 9-10

Also what belt size with no a/c?
 
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