Ported Eaton... something different

Kris.R

Member
Established Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
75
Location
NorCal, USA
Hey guys. I recently purchased a used Stage 6 Steggy. It will be going on a built Teksid with a compression ratio 8.9:1 (stock head gaskets) and 98 Cobra cams that will be running primarily on 91 octane but will also have a tune for E85. My question is, I have a 4# lower and the blower came with a 2.76 BF. I have been told to run a 2.93 with 91 on a conservative tune to avoid pre-detonation, and then go to a 2.76 when running the E85 tune. Anyone have input or insight on what type of power I’d be making and if 2.76 would be that much different than a 2.93? The thumbnail is of a buddy’s car using Eaton swap brackets that I will be using as well.

Thanks
 

Attachments

  • 094D3418-D5FA-4463-A16F-FF959EF5FECB.jpeg
    094D3418-D5FA-4463-A16F-FF959EF5FECB.jpeg
    298.3 KB · Views: 179

apex svt

MEAN STREAK
Established Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2012
Messages
2,160
Location
USA
Don’t use the 2.76 4# combo. It makes to much heat, you’d be better off with less spin, more timing.

I run 3.1 8# and it gets so heat soaked it isn’t even funny.
 

stangfreak

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2003
Messages
8,312
Location
new york
we all understand that e85 will keep things cool, but, all these guys running these crazy upper lower setups, the eaton is just maxed out. ported or not. You are spinning it to the moon and its just creating more heat and ruining the performance of the car. once you start seeing more tq than hp, its overspun.
 

IronTerp

Mid-Atlantic Cobra Assoc.
Moderator
Joined
Nov 5, 2003
Messages
17,654
Location
State College, Pa
With the 91 octane tune, can see the 2.93/4 lb combo being a good fit and hitting 500+/- RWHP. On the E85 tune, can see the 2.76/4 lb being a lot of fun. Maybe hitting 530 or so with the extra boost and increased advance timing.

I ran a 2.90/6 lb combo for 5 years on my 03’ with very good success. Made 529RWHP on 19 degrees and 93 octane, and high 10 second 1/4 mile times. Did not beat on the car on the street at all and used solid icing strategies at the track and had little to no heat soak problems. And raced with tons of high boost Eaton guys that loved their setups.
 

GoGreen04

Active Member
Established Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2012
Messages
388
Location
Northern Virginia
I currently have a steggy stage 4 port with 2.93/ 4lb and made 515/535. Tons of fun but I am now entering the process of a motor rebuild... Got a solid 9 years and 35k miles out of the setup.
 

CobraBob

Authorized Vendor
Established Member
Premium Member
Single Barrel Sirs
Joined
Nov 17, 2002
Messages
105,349
Location
Cheshire, CT
With the 91 octane tune, can see the 2.93/4 lb combo being a good fit and hitting 500+/- RWHP. On the E85 tune, can see the 2.76/4 lb being a lot of fun. Maybe hitting 530 or so with the extra boost and increased advance timing.

I ran a 2.90/6 lb combo for 5 years on my 03’ with very good success. Made 529RWHP on 19 degrees and 93 octane, and high 10 second 1/4 mile times. Did not beat on the car on the street at all and used solid icing strategies at the track and had little to no heat soak problems. And raced with tons of high boost Eaton guys that loved their setups.
I agree with Dwight's comments.

Your 2.93/4 lb. combo should be fine with the 91 octane tune, and you should also be fine with the 2.76/4 lb. with the E85 tune. Both combos are common with a ported Eaton.
 

stangfreak

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2003
Messages
8,312
Location
new york
I still disagree with a 2.76 4lb for the street. I can understand if you are at the track. let the car cool down, making a pass etc. But roaming around the street, thats 19lbs of boost being pushed out of a tiny eaton. venomous john ran a 2.8 upper 2lb lower, 16 lbs of boost with his apten port, stock suspension, and ran a 10.89. Pump gas. Again just my opinion. we can all agree to disagree lol.
 

01yellercobra

AKA slo984now
Established Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2005
Messages
21,125
Location
Cali
Buddy of mine had a stage 4 port with a 2.76/4lb combo. I was surprised at how cool it ran on the street. It really wasn't much different than my upper only set up. I did tune it on the conservative side as I knew how he drove. But I don't remember him having many issues. Aside from belt alignment at least.

As others have said, YMMV.
 

IronTerp

Mid-Atlantic Cobra Assoc.
Moderator
Joined
Nov 5, 2003
Messages
17,654
Location
State College, Pa
Hear you Stangfreak and appreciate how you handle your opinion. I guess my thing is that every since I bought my first Terminator in Nov, 2003, all I have ever heard was that they run hot and you can't efficiently run higher boost on them without resultant heat robbing factors. Folks would say don't waste your time and money on the Eaton, just go Kenne Bell or Whipple. And many Terminator owners did just that.

I started researching how the guys who stayed with the Eatons were doing at the track and compiling a list of those folks that had run 10's with the factory blower. As of Sept, 07', 9 guys had run 10's with the Eaton only, and another 8 had run 10's with the Eaton and Nitrous. Over the next year, for whatever reason, (actually mostly through the dialogue that was happening here on SVTP), pushing the Eaton became very popular and we as a community were starting to figure out how to be successful with it. By 2010, 29 guys had run 10's with the Eaton only, and 28 guys had run 10's with the Eaton and Nitrous.

Has obviously died down a bit since these cars are now 17-18 years old! lol But at present the 10 second numbers are at 46 non-nitrous, and 40 w/ nitrous. Out of these 46 non-nitrous 10 second Eaton Cobras, 6 of them were running upper pulley only setups, and 40 were running higher boost upper/lower combinations. Fortunate for me, 18 of these 46 guys were either MACA members or came to track days that I helped to organize. Great way to learn for sure!

I apologize for the run-on post. And to your point Stangfreak, this is not just about the dragstrip. My 2.90/6 lb combo was a total blast on the street. Freaking stump puller. As mentioned before, I didn't abuse it on the street, but had some fun just like many of us that own these cars did/do. Understand that this is anecdotal and that possible heat soak issues were/are different for many Terminator owners.

Now if you want to really talk about Eaton's running hot, let me tell you about my 07' GT500 experiences!! (at which point, you guys are saying "please don't!! lol)
 

01yellercobra

AKA slo984now
Established Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2005
Messages
21,125
Location
Cali
I'd be curious to know the rest of the set ups for the guys running 10's on eaton only. I imagine there's a lot of SRA swaps and some weight reduction in the mix.

Anymore it just doesn't make sense to stick with the eaton if you want more power. Well, unless an upper only set up keeps you happy. Which I know there are plenty of out there. But when you start talking about porting the cost gets up there into used 2.3 territory. And a 2.3 is just getting started where the eaton is ending.

Sent from my SM-N981U using the svtperformance.com mobile app
 

IronTerp

Mid-Atlantic Cobra Assoc.
Moderator
Joined
Nov 5, 2003
Messages
17,654
Location
State College, Pa
Out of 46:
- 35 were Ported Eatons, 11 were Unported
- 27 had SRA's, 19 had IRS's
- 39 had factory 6 Speed transmissions, 6 had auto's, and 1 had a 4 speed
- 6 ran upper pulleys only, 40 ran upper/lower combos (already mentioned above)

Notes:
- Many guys running slicks/skinnies (-80 lbs), SRA guys (-85 lbs), Rear Seat Delete kits (-40 lbs, I made 29 of them!), Junk in trunk (-39 lbs)
- Porting the M-112 was cheaper back then: My Steig Stage IV was $425
- No TVS options for the 4.6 back then. Had to go Whipple or KB.
- Agree that if someone wants more than 515-525 RWHP, aftermarket blower is the way to go. And also agree that an aftermarket blower is more efficient and has a much higher performance ceiling than the factory M-112.

My point is that the M-112 can be made to perform at a high level while not breaking the bank and with keeping a stock appearance. Yanking it off of there is not the only option. Heck, the way the collectability of these cars is increasing right now, some of you may be begging to put an Eaton back on your Terminators here in a few years!! lol
 

CobraBob

Authorized Vendor
Established Member
Premium Member
Single Barrel Sirs
Joined
Nov 17, 2002
Messages
105,349
Location
Cheshire, CT
Great info, Dwight. Most of us know that thread you're referencing. You did make one comment that I tend to believe is true. "Understand that this is anecdotal and that possible heat soak issues were/are different for many Terminator owners." IMO every Terminator is different and that ties into the issue of high boost heat soak. My own '03 Cobra (with ported Eaton) was a 2.80" upper only at 15 lbs. boost. Heat for me was never an issue. I will have to wonder if adding a 4 lb. lower would have resulted in excessive heat.
 

Quick Strike

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2003
Messages
2,067
Location
PA
I ran a 2.80" upper with a 4# lower for about three years from 05-08. It was a Steig Stage IV and I also had an AFCO HE. It did 40 miles to work and back any day the weather man said no rain, and also did a handful of track days each year. I did not drive around in boost, but would boost it a few times on the way to work and back if possible. I would ice it between rounds at the track and could run 11.30s in the low 120s. I granny shifted and left pretty low in rpms after breaking a half shaft at the track on MT ET Streets. The MPH tells me a less kind driver would have had it in the 10s. I never had a limp mode incident or any heat related issue until one of the MRT cats broke down and clogged the left side of the exhaust system. It was a low maintenance system that was a lot of fun on the street and at the track.
 

CustomX

Active Member
Established Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2005
Messages
158
Location
Green Cove Springs FL
Buddy of mine had a stage 4 port with a 2.76/4lb combo. I was surprised at how cool it ran on the street. It really wasn't much different than my upper only set up. I did tune it on the conservative side as I knew how he drove. But I don't remember him having many issues. Aside from belt alignment at least.

As others have said, YMMV.

I ran a 2.80/4lb combo for years on e85 and had zero issues. I was seeing around 16lbs on my ported setup. Car ran pretty consistent and even ran in some 1/2 mile events and didn't have any issues. Good cooling system goes along way.
 

01yellercobra

AKA slo984now
Established Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2005
Messages
21,125
Location
Cali
Out of 46:
- 35 were Ported Eatons, 11 were Unported
- 27 had SRA's, 19 had IRS's
- 39 had factory 6 Speed transmissions, 6 had auto's, and 1 had a 4 speed
- 6 ran upper pulleys only, 40 ran upper/lower combos (already mentioned above)

Notes:
- Many guys running slicks/skinnies (-80 lbs), SRA guys (-85 lbs), Rear Seat Delete kits (-40 lbs, I made 29 of them!), Junk in trunk (-39 lbs)
- Porting the M-112 was cheaper back then: My Steig Stage IV was $425
- No TVS options for the 4.6 back then. Had to go Whipple or KB.
- Agree that if someone wants more than 515-525 RWHP, aftermarket blower is the way to go. And also agree that an aftermarket blower is more efficient and has a much higher performance ceiling than the factory M-112.

My point is that the M-112 can be made to perform at a high level while not breaking the bank and with keeping a stock appearance. Yanking it off of there is not the only option. Heck, the way the collectability of these cars is increasing right now, some of you may be begging to put an Eaton back on your Terminators here in a few years!! lol

I was just pointing out that there is more to it than just the little eaton that could. It's about the whole set up. Some people will see you post that an upper only eaton went 10's and then wonder why their full weight street car barely makes it into the 11's on a good day. And don't forget I'm sure those guys had the driver mod in spades.

Not sure what the TVS has to do with it. Whipple and KB had their own smaller blowers at the time. I think VMP is the only one that no longer offers the smaller blower for these cars.

I totally agree if a person knows they're going to be happy with 500hp the eaton is the way to go. But with ports going for over $1000 nowadays it gets hard to justify them as a first step. I still remember the guy that posted his $2200 bill for a port with all the trimmings. A buddy just sold his whipple 2.3 for $2500. Stuff for the owner to think about.

I do have all my stock stuff in a box. I even kept the hard vacuum lines. But I think if I ever want to return it to stock it'll be time to sell.
 

01yellercobra

AKA slo984now
Established Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2005
Messages
21,125
Location
Cali
I ran a 2.80/4lb combo for years on e85 and had zero issues. I was seeing around 16lbs on my ported setup. Car ran pretty consistent and even ran in some 1/2 mile events and didn't have any issues. Good cooling system goes along way.
He never got a good boost gauge on it so I don't know what he was making. The cooling system was stock. That's why I was surprised when I saw the IAT's when I was tuning his car.
 

Fdawg97lx

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
1,733
Location
Medford, MA
my first cobra was a steig stage 4 port with a 2.76/2lb pulley set up. made 500rwhp/501rwtq back in 2006. added a 75 shot of nitrous and made 580rwhp/683rwtq. my car was a daily driver full weight stock suspension, stock wheels car on bfg drag radials. I did have a sra swap. ran 11.0 at 132 mph with a lot left in it. i know it would have been a mid 10 car with some minor suspension mods and the right tires but ended up selling it before i could get there.
 

IllCobra

Active Member
Established Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2008
Messages
951
Location
Florida
my first cobra was a steig stage 4 port with a 2.76/2lb pulley set up. made 500rwhp/501rwtq back in 2006. added a 75 shot of nitrous and made 580rwhp/683rwtq. my car was a daily driver full weight stock suspension, stock wheels car on bfg drag radials. I did have a sra swap. ran 11.0 at 132 mph with a lot left in it. i know it would have been a mid 10 car with some minor suspension mods and the right tires but ended up selling it before i could get there.
Sweet baby Jesus! 180rwtq gain from a 75 shot?!?
 

Users who are viewing this thread



Top