Ok so i just installed my v1 vortech supercharger on a 306 ford racing crate motor blow thru carb. Spent about 2 weeks making sure all was done well. She starts right up on first start, definitely puts a smile on face instantly. I installed my boost gauge and stick a 3'33 vortech pulley. I am seeing 8-9 psi at 5400 i rev to 5600. So this makes me be putting roughly crank ho of about 548hp. That is taking ford number on this block, 340 hp 350 tq. This would split the block right? Obviously i do not want that since i drive the car street and occasionally strip. What do you guys think. I have x aluminum heads, e303 cam. Forged internals, stock polished crank. Its literally a brand new summit racing motor that has been already broken in. Thanks

 

Anyone?

 

So this is a stock 302 block ford racing crate motor?

The highest recommended on a stock block is 450ish to be safe. Lots of people push 500 and can even squeek a little more. When u start pushing the limits the most important part is gonna be the tune. A bad tune will cause more damage than anything. And of course the abuse that u give it.

So how are you tuning it? I wouldn't be revving it anywhere near 5k unless you know its spot on. 80-90% of forced induction catastrophic failures are caused by tune. Running a carb is even more difficult because you dont have an ecu to help out with climate/condition changes.

If you dont already have on I would get a wideband af gauge to monitor your tune. I like to keep track if my tune on a spreadsheet. I keep track of everything including; af, fp, timing, idle, jet size, temperature, humidity, etc etc and all adjustments made of course. This helps me learn what I have done in certain conditions. I dont have a super charger though but I still like to insure my tune is spot on. Also because I plan on mildly tracking it.

Now you can get supoort systems and girdles and all that fancy stuff that will add a little durability. They are helpful to add some strength to the block. But if your gonna get into the 550-600hp range you might wanna consider getting a stronger block. Boss 3o2 blocks are gonna be about the best priced blocks that will handle the power with no problem.

 

Get it tuned on a dyno. Chances are your power is a bit lower than you are thinking. Tuning is the key and pulley sizes can help get the boost to a safe level. 9psi with the vortec is on the high end because they flow a pretty good scfm. Just get a good person to tune her and go from there.

Try to keep in mind the difference in boost pressure and air flow. Boost pressure will increase compression and test your internals. (Rings, rods, pistons, etc). Scfm (air flow) will allow you to get more power than just boost psi alone. The trick is to get lots of air flow at lower boost pressure. Know your compression ratio to try and figure how much boost you can handle also. I'm running a 2.3L whipple at 20psi. If I upgraded to a 2.9L I could make more power at only around 15psi and be safer on my bottom end.