Are there any negatives to stroking our motor? Obviously more displacement is a plus but will this cause any extra wear on the motor? I don't see many threads about guys even mentioning this let alone actually doing it. If going the route of heads and cam now then blower later on down the road would a stroker kit at the time of swapping out heads and cam be worth much versus cost involved?

I know lots of guys who know VR4's inside and out but I don't know how much help they would be with taking a mod motor apart so labor is definately a factor to consider.

 

Real good article about stoker kits in the latest Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords Magazine. Very informative. Talks about all the pros and cons and explains in pretty good detail each side.

 

Hey Trooper....

It's hard to beat "cubic inches".

Now, there are some things for you to concider here. If you only want to go to about 400 RWH with the S/C, you could probably get by without beefing up the bottom end using an intercooled system and 8 lbs to 10 lbs of boost max. If you are going to go for high horsepower with lots of boost, then the bottom end of the engine must be addressed. I know there have been post by some who have gone to 450+ RWH with stock internals and have not had problems. But, I would say that's the exception not the norm..

Going high horsepower S/C'd, I'd say, go ahead and stroke the motor. You are going to be replacing (upgrading) all those parts anyway, why not add cubic inches at the same time... the stroker kit isn't going to be that much more expensive.... Heads and Cams are a lot of expense for the horsepower gain in comparison to the S/C, especially for a street stang... when you go heads and cams, all economy goes out the window... Just my opinion..

Bobby M.

 

There are two sides to every argument of course, but I can tell you why I didn't go with a stroker. It has to do with the piston location at the bottom of the stroke. These engines don't have a lot of excess cylinder depth to begin with, and when you stroke the engine, the piston is pulled even further down into the cylinder. From the reserch I did 18+ months ago, I found out that there was a chance for piston slap and/or scuffing to occur as it reached the bottom of the stroke. Now some builders say they can minimize (or avoid) that, but I wasn't willing to risk it with my engine for a mere 20ci more.

 

Would boring out the cylinders be a better alternative? Or is that a lot more work?

 

Boring out a standard 3V block wouldn't get you much as far as extra displacement goes. But, you could opt for the so called "big bore" block...

 

You can always go to the 5.4L engine ...

 

Pulling the piston out of the bottom of the bore aside, I agree with Don here, with a blower motor, a measely +20 CID isn't worth the trouble. your money would be better spent, setting a 4.6 up for blower duty, that said, a larger bore would benefit you more than a longer stroke, and this really comes down to what a bigger bore is going to do for the heads by unshrouding the valves allowing the heads to pass air more efficently, which all goes back to getting the blower to pass a greater volume of air without restriction and all the nastiness that entails.

Or better yet, pass on the blower and go with turbo(s), the power freed up by not having to drive the supercharger would more than make up for any deficiet in displacement.

N/A guys are the ones that need the increased CID

 

I agree or even a 5.0 fox body style motor. Why not?

 

There is not much reason to stroke a blown 4.6. If you do stroke it 298 inches is the recommended displacement. That is only 18 cubes you get for the risk of premature wear/failure due to piston slap.
Not to mention they can be noisy too.

%.4 swap is possible but the 5.4 3 valve in the F-150 makes less power and has a lower RPM range.
It weighs 90 pounds or so more than the aluminum 4.6 block.
So why would you want a heavier , lower revving and less powerful motor?
The aluminum 4.6 is a better choice in my opinion.

The 5.4 4-valve is a great motor but it would not be a simple conversion it would require PCM, harness, and accessory changes. It weighs maybe 100 pounds more and would be a better choice but a not a simple drop-in conversion. The cost of the motor from Ford is 15,000 so that is a big consideration.

Why anyone would want a 5.0 pushrod motor in the car is baffling to me.
Why not just build a fox rather than re-engineer your S197?

 

interesting topic, guys...I am looking at beefed internals and was looking into the stroker kit myself. It seems based on the posts in here that it may not be worth it. With a blower, I guess I'm just a pulley swap away from more power, after upgraded internals, of course.

 

Hi Trooper just curious what type of sport driving your into? Track, Drag, Canyon carving. I guess what I'm getting at is since were guy's we think we need the highest HP. In a drag situation that's probably true. But depending on your driving likes a "setup" car is what you probaly want to work toward. This is a balance of good HP, and the right choices of all those things like gears, suspension, tires, weight management you get where I'm going right? Determine that and you will make better choice and you'll spend your money wisely. Most guys starting out try to have one car doing multi duty. But you will soon learn that a car that is a jack of all trades is a master of none.

Just my opinion good luck on your choices

Jed

 

I live minutes from Watkin Glen and after watching some road race videos on YouTube I think running around WGI would be fun once in a while but my goal right now is a drag car (1/8 and 1/4 strips closes) that I can still drive around town.