I'm searching for someone who is eager to perform everyman tuning on their boss 302 for feedback. I was planning on getting a GT premium, but then I found out that the Boss 302 comes with complete forged internals right out of the box, which is a dream come true for forced induction hot rodding. My plan is to grab a Boss 302, add LT headers, off-road X-pipe, and axleback exhust, then supercharge. Not sure yet if I want to go Vortech in the bay, or Whipple and replace the Boss intake.

I come from the mazdaspeed tuning world, where I am very accustomed to tweaking my street tune through logging and map adjustment. I've heard miracle stories about Jon Lund tunes, but I am eager to tweak my own maps, or at least customize/be aware of what a good tune is for this platform. I also hear horror stories about ****ty dyno tunes done by 19-year old jackasses who work on Hondas that cause the 8th cylinder to fail with needlessly aggressive timing advances.

All this makes me want to tune my own FI solution, probably with SCT products and their PRP software. I am considering going to their "tuning school", but I am curious if anyone on these boards is planning on this route as far as FI, and doing their own tuning.

 

Personally, I'd go with either Procharger or Kenne Bell. Tons more power available. For tuning, you said you'd like to do it yourself? I'd hit up their "tuning school" first before doing anything on your own. These new 5.0 motors are very complex.

In terms of tuners, Jon Lund or BBR are my choices.

 

Makes sense. Has anyone else participated in their tuning school?

 

I personally haven't but I think that'd be cool. I'm going back into the Army so it's not really an option for me but you should look into it.

How much power are you looking at making with your car?

 

As you say, 700hp with a procharger caught my eye for sure, and I can keep the trick boss 302 intake. This is going to be a street racer/daily driver, so anything beyond that would probably just be totally unusable. 700hp at the crank should be about 620 RWHP? That seems more than enough to blow the doors off a GT500, corvettes, M3s, and ricer punks. The Boss's forged internals make a number like that not insane. I'd hate to supercharge a GT with 8 psi as I was planning, and shatter a rod at under 50,000.

 

BTW I anticipate adding water/methanol injection, a stage 2 clutch plate, and a one piece driveshaft rated for that kind of power along with a supercharger that big. This is a project that will likely unfold over the next 3 - 4 years, starting with getting the car and opening up the backend first. All the more reason I want to tune the AFRs, OL/CL, etc. with each successive mod over time. It's just what I'm used to.

 

There's plenty of street cars making over 700RWHP so that's not a big deal. The Boss forged internals, in my mind, would probably need replaced at around 800RWHP anyway. If you wanna keep the Boss intake, Procharger is my choice. It's what I'm going with.

Why not just get a twin disc clutch kit? One peice driveshaft is a good idea. One of the first mods that should be done with these cars as the stock unit weighs in at right around 40 pounds.

There's so much that can be upgraded with these new GT's, it's hard to figure out where to start.

 

Exactly!!! Which is why the Boss appeals; it will take me ten years to finish modding the thing! My Mazdaspeed 3 is tapped out this Xmas once I put on a ceramic coated exhaust manifold. Need a new platform to take from stock to completely tweaked.

Thanks for the advice so far; this is the mustang forum that seems most responsive to my particular flavor of car ownership...

I'll look into twin disc kits...

Why do you say failure at 800RWHP? Gut feeling? I ask because a buddy of mine is getting a Boss too, and I'm his main source of info regarding what's possible with the platform.

 

Well I can give some advice...I would def attend some classes before u start tuning yourself. It's real easy and real quick to grenade a perfectly good engine with detonation etc because you wanna play tuner(n I mean that with all respect). I would also advise, especially if this is a ten year project to start with a gt. Christ you can bulletproof forge the bottom end for less than the added expense of a boss. I can also tell you from experience that these gts when properly tuned can take the boost cause of the decreased timing etc that comes with the fi application. Just something to consider. Good luck with your decision.

 

I agree with Keith, start with a GT if your plans are vast, like mine.

I say 800RWHP because the Boss internals, while forged, have limits and I wouldn't push them so far as to grenade the engine. Upgrading to higher performing internals is alot cheaper then an entire new engine plus labor.

The Boss is over priced in my opinion. Go with a GT, I think you'd be alot happier.

I mean ****, you can purchase a GT and install parts from the Boss motor. To me, the most appealing part would be the Boss cylinder heads or the Boss intake. You can have your tuner change the rev limiter to over 7,500 which is where the Boss intake puts out the most power anyway. The cylinder heads have some design tweaks to them over the GT ones and flow 4% better if I remember correctly.

 

Not offended by your assessment. I am quite conservative with my mazda, constantly monitoring for knock, temps, fuel pressure, AFRs, etc. I don't get close to the ceiling with my timing. I am pushing 20psi over the stock 15psi with a K04 turbo, but I spray water/methanol. No issues so far. I advocate incremental tuning in our forums, where I wrote the book on tooning. Seems a shame to waste all that knowledge.

My plan of attack is to get a tune when I get a supercharger, but also get PRP and SCT, and do a hell of a lot of logging and looking at difference between stock map and the tunes. I have several tuning books for a variety of platforms, and also will check out the SCT school depending on cost. I'm not looking to hit 700 BWHP and advance timing 20' right away. Slow, easy, incremental...

I was planning on spending 38k on a loaded GT Premium, but since I could probably haggle a boss down to 38 - 40k, possibly with a few miles on it, I'd rather do that still, though appreciate advice. I just want the piece of mind of forged internals - it's why I can't go Big Turbo with my current car.