Twin Turbo

Brutus395

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Mar 19, 2017
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Hey guys I'm new to this forum. First off I was born with mustang blood. I absolutely love mustangs!
I recently purchased a 1988 mustang 5.0 for the purpose of putting in a new 289 that I have had for awhile. Right now it sits as a sort block and I want to build it up to a twin turbo street killer. I have never used turbos before let alone twins. So my question is what is the best set up for it to put in my fox body? I don't even know where to start. Help me put this thing together to make it crazy fast. Starting from what I have. Thanks guys. I'm looking forward to building some great relationships with like minded people on this forum that have the same love for mustangs as I do! I'm excited to get this thing started!
 
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Personally id do a single turbo on a small block. I know stock 302 blocks typically crack down the valley around the 500hp mark. A single turbo should give more than enough boost to destroy the 289. And will be a lot less fabrication work.
 
Welcome to stangnet.

My first question is how much money do you have( rhetorical question)? How much are you willing to spend? What is the goal of the build? A 289 is not a good platform to build off of for any serious power. Turbo's are not necessarily the way I would go. Answers/opinions will be determined by your response
 
I ran a holset hx35 on my nissan 300zx
Cool. What type of heads, intake, compression ect. Would you recommend?

8.5-9:1 comp ratio depending on how much boost you plan to run. I like short runner box type intakes for boost. As for hci the skys the limit. You need to decide how much you plan to spend. Then select parts that compliment each other.

Honestly before you go crazy making power you need a build a solid foundation. Id start with brakes. Suspension. Traction adding mods etc.
you can make all the power in the worldbut if you cant put the power to the ground. Or stop once your going its worthless. Well. I should say dangerous.
 
Do yourself a favor and take @Noobz347's advice: it's the best you have gotten so far.

noobie-help.png

Far too many people put a dab of this and a dollop of that, and then wonder why the car doesn't run worth beans. Then they think off the shelf computer chips will fix their mismatched parts problem. It won't

You have to have a plan for what kind of performance you want: Hot street. Street/Strip, Pure strip, Autocross or Road course. Each one requires a different strategy and a different set of components.. Mismatch the components and you’ll have a car that falls flat on its face when you demand performance.

Everyone thinks HP! HP! HP! and thinks that peak HP is what they need. Peak HP is great for a drag strip car when it has the proper gears and tires to get the car up into the high RPM range where it develops that high peak HP near the finish line. On a street car, that strategy will have Honda Accords outrunning you, because you will never get the engine RPMs high enough without running over everything in your path.

Here’ the strategy: Always remember that there are some tradeoffs in any engine combination. Most of us don’t have enough money to “have it all” as if it was possible by some masterful combination of parts and tuning.

The following recommendations are for 5 Speed Manual transmission cars without NO2 or pressurized induction, stock short block.
1.) Hot street: Broad flat torque curve, high velocity airflow in the intake and heads for best throttle response. Gears suitable for reasonable gas mileage and long road trips without excessive engine RPMs. Stand on the gas pedal from a rolling start to squeeze into that gap in traffic in front of you, and it jumps quick and hard to get you there. Max RPM’s are 5200-5500 RPM for best power. Lopey cams may sound cool, but run poorly in a low RPM street environment.
Use stock cam, stock, GT40 or mildly ported stock heads, Cobra or Explorer/GT40 intake, advanced timing, stock 19 lb injectors, stock fuel pump. Use some good 1.6 or 1.7 ratio roller rockers for extra punch. Use a King Cobra clutch, with stock iron or steel billet flywheel. MAF cars can use a 65 MM TB from the Explorer intake manifold and a 70MM MAF from a 94-95 Mustang. Drive train: 3:55 gears with soft tread compound tires. Use some Ford Racing unequal length headers, stock 2 1/4” cat pipe and some mufflers that don’t drone or get too much attention from the law enforcement or neighbors. The stock computer will handle all this with no problems and doesn’t need any help in 90% of the cases. No skinny or grossly undersize tires for the front: remember you still have to stop quickly in traffic. Make sure all the rubber bushings in the front and rear suspensions are in first class shape. Leave the emissions equipment intact and working. Removing or disabling it won’t get you any more HP or performance. Do not convert to carb or remove A/C: either one will reduce the resale value. Carb conversions cannot be titled for street use or get tags in some places. They definitely won’t pass smog inspections.

Street/strip: A little more slope to the torque curve with a gently sloping peak. Use slightly larger port volumes on intake and heads for more peak HP. Uses 3.55 or 3.73 gears to get the RPM’s up into a higher range quicker. Be prepared to sacrifice some low RPM throttle response in exchange for high RPM power. This by necessity will be a Mass Air or Mass Air conversion on 86-88 5.0 Mustangs, since stock speed density will not run well with the changes in engine airflow. Don’t get too crazy on any one engine part since you still have to drive the car on the street, and a mismatch can make street driving miserable.
Use stock or mild aftermarket cam, Ported GT 40, or 165-180 CC port volume aftermarket aluminum heads. Use a Trick Flow, Edelbrock Performer or equal intake manifold. Take a 73 MM aftermarket MAF calibrated for 24 lb injectors, and 24 lb injectors, 155 LPH fuel pump, Kirban adjustable fuel pressure regulator. Be prepared to shell out some $$$ for a custom burned chip using data gathered from a dyno run. Mass market chips will not get the job done. Use some Ford Racing unequal length headers, aftermarket 2 1/2” cat pipe and some mufflers that don’t drone or get too much attention from the law enforcement or neighbors. Drivetrain: expect the stock T5 to fail, so save your money for a super duty 5 speed trans. Tremec 3550, TKO 500 & TKO 600 are the best choices. Different gears in a stock T5 case work for some, but there is only so much power you can pass through a T5 in race mode before it breaks, even with stronger gears. Next are the Chassis mods: full length subframe connectors, different springs, different shocks, aftermarket lower and upper control arms with rubber or urethane bushings. Buy all the parts from someplace like Maximum Motorsports, Griggs or Steeda as a kit so that you know that all the parts fit and don’t argue with each other. Carry spare tires and wheels for the drag strip: skinnys for the front and drag radials for the rear. No skinnys for street driving! Over 85% of the breaking power is generated by the front tires, so skinnys won’t do the job in a panic stop situation. Disconnect the front anti-roll bar at the strip; reconnect it before you drive home. Leave the emissions equipment intact and working. Removing or disabling it won’t get you any more HP or performance. Do not convert to carb or remove A/C: either one will reduce the resale value. Carb conversions cannot be titled for street use or get tags in some places. They definitely won’t pass smog inspections.

Strip only: High RPM, High flow heads (185-215 CC port volume), wild cam, high flow intake manifold, 70 MM or larger TB, 80 MM or lager MAF, strip everything out of the car that doesn’t make it go faster. Carbs are OK if that’s what you want, but remember that as the temp/humidity/ barometric pressure/altitude changes, you have to re-jet and readjust the carb. EFI eliminates most of that with its built in compensation or you can tune of the fly with a high end Motes or Tweecer system combined with a wide band air/fuel ratio meter. Use custom headers, dumps and minimal mufflers. How fast you can go on 5 liters is a function of the skill level of the driver/mechanic and the size of your wallet.

TRAILER the car to the race track since it won’t be legal to drive it on the street. Drag slicks in the rear, skinnys up front, use 3.73 or bigger gears (4.xx) in the rear axle. Since you won’t be driving on long trips, the big gears with work with the high RPM power curve to get the best results. Drivetrain: TKO 500 & TKO 600 are the best choices. Different gears in a stock T5 case work for some, but there is only so much power you can pass through a T5 in race mode before it breaks, even with stronger gears. Next are the Chassis mods: full length subframe connectors, different springs, different shocks, aftermarket lower and upper control arms with rubber or urethane bushings. Buy all the parts from someplace like Maximum Motorsports, Griggs or Steeda as a kit so that you know that all the parts fit and don’t argue with each other. Remove the front sway bar, put an airbag in the rear spring of the side that spins the tire the most. Plan on a roll cage if you are truly serious about going fast: most strips will require it once you get to a certain ET range.

Autocross is a combination of Hot street engine and street strip chassis prep. The engine must accelerate quickly from low RPM and needs a broad, flat torque curve. Next are the Chassis mods: full length subframe connectors, different springs, different shocks, aftermarket lower and upper control arms with rubber or urethane bushings. Buy all the parts from someplace like Maximum Motorsports, Griggs or Steeda as a kit so that you know that all the parts fit and don’t argue with each other. Most of the time you’ll never hit third gear, so some 3.73 or bigger gears (4.xx) may help a lot. You’ll have to spend some more money on brakes since it kills brakes quickly. Rear disks, larger rotors up front, stainless steel brake lines, different brake pads. A 87-88 T Bird Turbo Coupe or SN 95 rear axle will be your best bet. Autocross will severely strain 1st & 2nd gears, so your T5 may take a premature dump. Save your money for a super duty 5 speed trans. Tremec 3550, TKO 500 & TKO 600 are the best choices.

All out road race is the most difficult of all: an engine that will run at high rpm hour after hour and never fail, yet pull hard out of the hairpin turns that will require a lot of torque at lower RPMs. In my opinion, guys that can successfully build a winning road race engine are the cream of the crop. Top this off with a chassis built for strip only duty, but with changes to the settings of springs, tires, roll bars brakes and shocks. It’s a whole other world of racing.
You’ll have to spend lots more money on brakes since it kills brakes quickly. Rear disks, larger rotors up front, stainless steel brake lines, different brake pads. Air ducting to cool the brake rotors will be a must. The brake rotors of cars on a high speed road course glow red after several hard laps of racing. Drivetrain: TKO 500 & TKO 600, and T56 close ratio are the best transmission choices.
 
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I ordered my turbo kit from on3. The kit still needs some fabrication skill to install the intercooler and other little bits and pieces. Decent kit for the money but it doesn't include everything.

I repeat what was previously posted....get the supporting stuff done first ( brakes, suspension, and chassis ).
 
I don't know where you got a 289 from, but where ever it was it needs to stay there.

A 289 was replaced by a 302 in order to make more power as a result of the increased displacement. A 289 is a 60's byproduct and is hobbled by the antiquated technology of that time. Stock 289 heads are not worth rebuilding, as they simply will not flow enough to make even modest power w/o major effort. The heads are the crutch. An untouched pair of JY heads off of an Explorer will out perform a professionally ported set of 289 heads. Couple that to the fact that you are trading 11 C.I. away as a starting point because you are NOT using a 302/5.0 foundation, and you are already two steps behind the other guy starting in the same place w/ a 302.

However,...

Forced induction, whether that be a turbo, or a centri-supercharger more than makes up for the limitations of an old head design, with the understanding that you are leaving even more power on the table because of it.

Unless that 289 is a K code engine, it isn't worth nothing to anybody except some guy trying to restore a 65-66 mustang. And if it's a K code engine, you are far better off selling that to somebody that needs it, as it would be a travesty to mod an engine that some guy w/ a 65 GT Mustang would pay dearly for.

And as a final footnote,....the words twin turbo,..and split block go hand in hand when talking about a stock block SBF reagrdless of whether its a 289, 302, or a 5.0.
 
Thanks for all the info. I think i may go for a "roots style supercharger" I want this to drive on the streets and maybe do some strret drags from time to time. With the info you all have given me it sounds like I should build the 302 that is in the 88 fox body that I just bought. Would something like some edelbrock proformer rpm. Aluminum heads work well with the type of charger i want?
 
Thanks for all the info. I think i may go for a "roots style supercharger" I want this to drive on the streets and maybe do some strret drags from time to time. With the info you all have given me it sounds like I should build the 302 that is in the 88 fox body that I just bought. Would something like some edelbrock proformer rpm. Aluminum heads work well with the type of charger i want?
Yes, but again you are kicking your self in the teeth by considering a roots style super charger. The Weiand, and B&M 174 chargers out there cannot be intercooled, as they are directly attached to the intake port on the head. Add to that that they are designed to be used w/ a carburetor, and stick way the hell up in the air, forcing a giant hood scoop, and now you have no teeth.
There are more than a few Centri-S/C kits out there that will not compromise hood clearance, use your existing F.I. system, and can be intercooled that cost the same, if not less than that B&M/Weiand junker. Save yourself the hassle and stay out of the stone age. A Roots style S/C worked great when that was all there was,...Now, 3000.00 is way better spent using a centrifigal S/C or a Turbocharger.
 
The Weiand, and B&M 174 chargers out there cannot be intercooled, as they are directly attached to the intake port on the head. Add to that that they are designed to be used w/ a carburetor, and stick way the hell up in the air, forcing a giant hood scoop, and now you have no teeth.


I do not see the problem here. :shrug:


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Go big or... :rock: We don't need no stinking intercooler... We just need you centri and turbo dudes to stay in the right hand lane until you find boost. :p
 
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I do not see the problem here. :shrug:


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Go big or... :rock: We don't need no stinking intercooler... We just need you centri and turbo dudes to stay in the right hand lane until you find boost. :p

AS I sit here I'm trying to decide if that is you, or your ass talking.
If given the choice you are gonna tell me that you would put that huffer on your car over one of the two other choices, I'm calling BS.

Did you notice that his rear tires are like 8" wide.......Ya spose this guy is more into the show, rather than the go potential of the whole deal?......I'll bet it's under driven...

Nawww strike that,...I'll bet there's no rotors in the case.
 
AS I sit here I'm trying to decide if that is you, or your ass talking.
If given the choice you are gonna tell me that you would put that huffer on your car over one of the two other choices, I'm calling BS.

Did you notice that his rear tires are like 8" wide.......Ya spose this guy is more into the show, rather than the go potential of the whole deal?......I'll bet it's under driven...

Nawww strike that,...I'll bet there's no rotors in the case.



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