Best 2.3L FORD head/ Injectors question Too

colvindesign · Jun 14, 2007

I know there are a bunch of different heads, but is there any guide to which is good for what? I'd like to buy a used/rebuilt head and do some major porting/ polishing and run bigger valves. Then I'd like to either fabricate an intake or run one of those turned/ported ones and a larger throttle body/ MAF. In addition to a cam, hopefully I'll see enough grunt to stop being embarassed by old beat up honda accords with stick on hood scoops. Or will I be so disappointed with the performance that I should start with a Turbo head so I can turbo it after I realize how lame the thing still is?

If I swap in larger injectors (already doing a Fuel Pump/regulator), what else do I need to do? Can I just swap them and go or do I need to run a different MAF or a tune or ?

Is the head the reason these engines do not make that much power? I noticed the throttle body is pretty small for a 2.3. It does not seem like the intake ports on the head are that small. Has anyone flow tested these engines part by part to see exactly where the bottlenecks are?

Oh, thanks.

65ShelbyClone · Jun 15, 2007

colvindesign said:
1.) hopefully I'll see enough grunt to stop being embarassed by old beat up honda accords with stick on hood scoops.

2.) Is the head the reason these engines do not make that much power? I noticed the throttle body is pretty small for a 2.3. It does not seem like the intake ports on the head are that small.

3.) Has anyone flow tested these engines part by part to see exactly where the bottlenecks are?

1.) You won't.
2.) Not the only reason, but the main reason.
3.) Yes, a number of people on turboford.org.

colvindesign · Jun 15, 2007

65ShelbyClone said:
1.) You won't.
2.) Not the only reason, but the main reason.
3.) Yes, a number of people on turboford.org.

1. DOH
2. Mmmmmm
3. Thanks

What about the injectors..... anyone?

bhuff30 · Jun 15, 2007

No one has really taken the time to figure out the right airmeter/injector combos as you can buy for the 5.0. If you want to run bigger injectors, you'd need to either run an similarly bigger air meter, or get a tune for your 2.3 computer. come to think of it, I am not certain anyone can even program the NA 2.3 computer for bigger injectors. Your stock injectors should be good for 140-150hp anyway.

I played with the NA 2.3 and it never was fun. I had more compression, exhaust, and some other small thing done. It went from 19s to low 18s anyway.

Your best bet for fun and cost effectivness is to swap in a 2.3 turbo. You'll want the whole turbo engine and computer/airmeter/injectors. There are lots of write ups for this swap.

Last time I was at the track with my 2.3 turbo, I ran a 14.1 at 102mph. It feels noticibly quicker now. And I'm still running a stock turbo, stock computer, stock head/manifolds (just home port hack job).

colvindesign · Jun 16, 2007

bhuff30 said:
No one has really taken the time to figure out the right airmeter/injector combos as you can buy for the 5.0. If you want to run bigger injectors, you'd need to either run an similarly bigger air meter, or get a tune for your 2.3 computer. come to think of it, I am not certain anyone can even program the NA 2.3 computer for bigger injectors. Your stock injectors should be good for 140-150hp anyway.

I played with the NA 2.3 and it never was fun. I had more compression, exhaust, and some other small thing done. It went from 19s to low 18s anyway.

Your best bet for fun and cost effectivness is to swap in a 2.3 turbo. You'll want the whole turbo engine and computer/airmeter/injectors. There are lots of write ups for this swap.

Last time I was at the track with my 2.3 turbo, I ran a 14.1 at 102mph. It feels noticibly quicker now. And I'm still running a stock turbo, stock computer, stock head/manifolds (just home port hack job).

Yeah, I've looked into the turbo swap at one point, but if I am swapping engines, I would swap in an 8, tubular k-member and aluminum heads to even it out as much as possible, etc. Then it runs accross my mind to just buy a V8 and spend the wrencing time on making it faster....

colvindesign · Jun 16, 2007

has anyone taken the approach of a larger throttle body/ MAF, bumping up the fuel pressure and like 7-8 lbs of boost? At least on here...?

bhuff30 · Jun 16, 2007

Well, not really here. I know on TF, there have been several people running low boost on an NA 2.3 The pistons are weaker, and combined with the higher compression, you really need to get the tune right the first time and keep it that way, or you'll be replacing an engine.

I ran a turbo and the turbo computer/airmeter/injectors on my NA for a while. It was alright, but I never could run much timing on it without pinging at part throttle because of the extra compression. It was maybe 150-160hp at 9 psi (the lowest you can get from a factory 2.3 turbo).

As for your v8 swap idea.... It is completely different from a 2.3 swap in the cost and the amount of work. Your v8 swap and all those parts would probably cost 5000$+ and take most of a winter. A 2.3T will cost less than 500$ and can be done in a weekend if you know what you are doing. It really isn't a big deal to make the swap happen. So it really isn't fair to compare the 2 options at all.

colvindesign said:
has anyone taken the approach of a larger throttle body/ MAF, bumping up the fuel pressure and like 7-8 lbs of boost? At least on here...?

65ShelbyClone · Jun 16, 2007

I think $500 and $5000 are on the absolute lower and upper limits of potential swap costs. To get the 2.3T done for $500, you would have to find a dirt cheap TurboCoupe donor car. Buying all the parts individually will nickel and dime you to death. It's a similar situation with a 5.0 swap; you need the engine, trans, front k-member/suspension, rear end, and lots of little related parts. In other words, most of the car.

My suggestions are:
- If you want to build it N/A, use carburetors or programmable EFI like MegaSquirt.
- If you want to turbocharge it with good results, do the whole 2.3 turbo swap.
- If you want a V8, just get another car.
- If you want to explore uncharted territory(at least in this country), look into a Zetec or Duratec swap.

Best 2.3L FORD head/ Injectors question Too

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