All Big Six Newbie to turbocharging and performance mods. Looking for answers and advice.

[kevinpereira79]

I'm no stranger to making some performance mods, but the ones I've done were on my bimmer and they were rather simple mods (i.e. a lightweight flywheel and lower-gear diff). I picked up my '93 F-150 around a year ago, and have been loving it so far. Fixed all the motor issues, changed the clutch and master cylinder, etc. Runs like a top and has pretty good gas mileage. Tows pretty good too.

I'm about to finish school and get my degree, which means I'll start earning some nice paychecks soon. I want to restore this truck and possibly enhance its performance. I was curious if turbocharging the motor brings MPG up, and if it affects the towing capabilities at all? I realize it depends heavily on the specific build, but, in general, do turbochargers improve mpg on these motors like they do on other cars? I know the engine would need to be rebuilt with bigger headers and injectors to handle the turbo. Anything else I'm forgetting? I'm guessing an aftermarket fuel pump as well. Are there any specific packages sold for these trucks? Or are there any forum posts that list out all the parts?

I'm still on the fence about if I want to turbo the truck, or wait until electric crate motors get cheaper and go that route. I'd really appreciate any feedback ya'll have to offer.

 

[pmuller9]

The turbocharger does recover wasted energy from the exhaust so it will improve mileage under load.

If you just do a piston change for reliability reasons, add a turbocharger and run up to 8 to10 psi of boost you will have about a 60% increase in torque.
No other engine changes needed. You just need to figure where the turbocharger will fit and run pipes from the stock exhaust manifolds to it.
You will need larger injectors and a wide band O2 EFI system and a larger fuel pump.

 

[Sevensecondsuv]

While it's true that a turbocharger will recover otherwise wasted exhaust energy, you'll probably never see it as increased fuel economy pulling a load. This is because you need to run richer than stoich under boost to prevent detonation. So the increased thermal efficiency is offset by having to inject additional fuel per mass of air.

Case in point, my turbocharged Ranger pickup (2.3L SOHC) has consistently been about 5-10% worse fuel economy after I turbocharged it. The Ecoboost engines in the new F150s bear this out as well - they do great unloaded but get to be real gas hogs, worse than the optional 5.0L coyote V8 even, when running heavily loaded.

 

[kevinpereira79]

So then what mods could I make to the engine for some performance enhancement? I know about headers and cams, but is there anything else I could upgrade whilst I rebuild the engine? I still want good fuel mileage after rebuilding the motor. The truck isn't really used for heavy towing or anything like that. I just like the truck and wanna keep it.

 

[kevinpereira79]

Hey, I was wondering on your thoughts about what Sevensecondsuv said bout MPG being relatively the same.

 

[pmuller9]

Hey, I was wondering on your thoughts about what Sevensecondsuv said bout MPG being relatively the same.

Sevensecondsuv has good points.
The turbocharged engine has a lower compression than the naturally aspirated version.
and during boost the air fuel ratio is enriched.
Both of those can certainly off set any efficiency gains from recovered exhaust energy.

 

[pmuller9]

So then what mods could I make to the engine for some performance enhancement? I know about headers and cams, but is there anything else I could upgrade whilst I rebuild the engine? I still want good fuel mileage after rebuilding the motor. The truck isn't really used for heavy towing or anything like that. I just like the truck and wanna keep it.

Your '93 is an EFI engine with a good exhaust manifold and intake system.
You will find the biggest gains with a better breathing head and a higher valve lift camshaft.

But you have the limit that has been and is presently being discussed and that is the stock EFI system.
The stock EFI system including the injectors will only support small gains in power.
If you want to significantly increase your power to make your truck more useful and easier to drive you either have to reprogram the stock computer or replace it with an aftermarket system.

Here is more on reprogramming the stock computer

Stock ECU Tuning

Hey everyone my name is Michael Decipha Ponthieux from EFIDynoTuning down in New Orleans. I have O&E Speed Shop here in Kenner, Louisiana where we specialize in turbo charged coyote's with our own Voodoo turbo kits. Although the majority of what I do is newer vehicles I do dabble with the eec-v...

fordsix.com

Here is the least expensive system from Holley.

Holley EFI 550-936 Holley EFI Terminator X Universal MPFI Kit

Take control of your engine with Terminator X! Don't settle for a factory ECU with a cumbersome tuning interface when you can have complete control of your engine, self-learning fuel strategies and the proven, race-winning technology of Holley EFI at a budget-friendly price! Terminator X...

www.holley.com

You would want to get the EFI system working first before buying performance parts for the engine.

Here is the cylinder head

All Big Six - ProMAXX CNC ported big valve heads are now available.

ProMAXX Performance Products now has CNC ported big valve heads available for the Ford big six. The heads are based on NEW thicker EFI style castings. The combustion chambers are unshrouded to 73 cc using CNC machining. Because of the thicker casting both the intake and exhaust have hard valve...

fordsix.com

 

[kevinpereira79]

Hey, thanks for the advice. Most of my mechanical experience is from my BMW e46, and this will be my first time tackling an engine rebuild. Should I go for custom cams or can I pick off the shelf cams and headers?

 

[pmuller9]

Hey, thanks for the advice. Most of my mechanical experience is from my BMW e46, and this will be my first time tackling an engine rebuild. Should I go for custom cams or can I pick off the shelf cams and headers?

That depends. Are you still considering turbocharging?