Upgrading from a 2.3 whipple

Bullyent

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Hey all! Im looking to upgrade my 2.3 gen 2 and wanted some insight on what would the best route be for 650-700. Should I just pulley down, 2.9, or something else? e85 will be hard to obtain so id like to stay on pump.

current setup:
ported heads
98 cobra cams
cobra crank
scat rods
manley pistons
60lb injectors
2400 maf
twin ford gt pumps
KB BAP modded fpdm pprv delete
jlt ram air intake
accufab TB
ARP hardware

15 lbs of boost at just under 600.
Thanks in advance!
 

olympic

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I made 690hp with a Gen 1 2.3. 4lb lower, 3.25" upper, 19 psi. Engine had long tubes, cams, methanol injection and the usual supporting mods. Once you start getting over 600hp on pump gas you are getting close to the ragged edge so you'll want to add a safetly backstop such as methanol injection or octane booster.

I did upgrade to a Gen 3 2.9L but haven't had a chance to dyno it yet. Honestly I'm not expecting much if any gains.
 

Bullyent

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I think you'll be pretty limited with only running 91-93 fuel. Maybe up the boost to 17-18lbs and keep the tune conservative. Upgrading to a bigger blower without running 21+ lbs and e85 seems like a waste of time and money.

Sent from my Moto E (4) Plus using the svtperformance.com mobile app
I concur. I’m reading a lot of guys sticking with a 2.3 and just pullying down. 91 should still be safe for low 600s?
 

Bdubbs

u even lift bro?
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I concur. I’m reading a lot of guys sticking with a 2.3 and just pullying down. 91 should still be safe for low 600s?
Should be. Just make sure your tuner is not putting crazy timing into it. A safe tune on 91 would be 17 lbs and 17* timing. And a/f ratio around 11.5-11.8 range.

Sent from my Moto E (4) Plus using the svtperformance.com mobile app
 
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Bullyent

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Cool I’ll look into it. Plus with the way California’s been, wouldn’t want to have all the time, effort and money go to waste.
 

c6zhombre

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Switching blowers, and staying on pump 91, will be poor bang for buck IMO. If you're going to switch and commit to E85, then I say go with 2.9 gen4, fore fuel system....and spin that sucker. You'll be WELL over 800, have immense mid range and crush most everything in sight.
 

01yellercobra

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You should do some looking around. I know a couple guys that live up your way on E85. There might be a station or two hiding around the corner.
 

01yellercobra

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@slo984now had to check what was on my profile lol. I moved to NorCal. Closest station is about an hour away. Yeah if I stayed in riverside easy.
Lol. Just a difference of a couple miles. I have a buddy in a similar situation. He has a 2.3 and wants more. He was even at looking at the 2.9. I told him to pulley down the 2.3 as he was only making like 15psi. A couple more PSI and he'll be good.
 

Bullyent

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Lol. Just a difference of a couple miles. I have a buddy in a similar situation. He has a 2.3 and wants more. He was even at looking at the 2.9. I told him to pulley down the 2.3 as he was only making like 15psi. A couple more PSI and he'll be good.
Yeah that’s what I’m going to do instead. Plus Cali is just gona get more strict with emissions. Would suck to go all out on an upgrade and have a hard time with smog
 

01yellercobra

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Yeah that’s what I’m going to do instead. Plus Cali is just gona get more strict with emissions. Would suck to go all out on an upgrade and have a hard time with smog

There's ways to do it. It's not so much the laws, it's finding a tuner that knows how to actually tune to keep everything active and not just turning things off. Along with us keeping all of the parts installed. It's why I still have cats and the EGR system on my car.
 

Bullyent

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@slo984now ya that’s true. I’m O/R pipes, egr delete, and switched out manifolds. Who’s your tuner? My last tune was from kurgan from the previous owner.
 

Bullyent

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@slo984now ya that’s true. I’m O/R pipes, egr delete, and switched out manifolds. Who’s your tuner? My last tune was from kurgan from the previous owner.
 

Bullyent

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I tune it myself. I had a couple bad experiences back in the day.
Oh nice. Yeah same. A couples months ago I was trying to get a hold of a tuner and was barely responsive and by the time I messaged for an update he forgot what we were talking about in the first place lol. Had to explain a couple times everything we talked about. It was annoying
 

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