Thread: Easy Power Gains: Is there such a thing?

Its good to see a 4.6 on carbs, nice torquey and simple
Is it a high compression motor? A decent camshaft like a Dynotec PC216 and some manifold port matching will work wonders, also have you considered a change to the HIF SU instead of those CD175 strombergs? There are heaps of needle profiles to choose from and they are quite tuneable. If you original 3.5 carbs weren't upgraded for the 4.6 then you will be shocked at how much more go it'll have with the correct jetting/ needles
What exhaust manifolds are you using?

JC

Hi,

JC has good advice for your motor.

There are more than a few 'considerations' you should make before fitting a k+n air filter........... do a search.

I still have one in mine which will be removed soon and will be refitting paper. I was trying to lean out lpg with a vacuum Impco system, but have solved why it ran rich. Sparrows will be safe once again.

cheers, DL

Originally Posted by justinc

Its good to see a 4.6 on carbs, nice torquey and simple
Is it a high compression motor? A decent camshaft like a Dynotec PC216 and some manifold port matching will work wonders, also have you considered a change to the HIF SU instead of those CD175 strombergs? There are heaps of needle profiles to choose from and they are quite tuneable. If you original 3.5 carbs weren't upgraded for the 4.6 then you will be shocked at how much more go it'll have with the correct jetting/ needles
What exhaust manifolds are you using?

JC

Wouldn't have a clue as to the compression, i'm a newbie to mechanics as well as to this forum!

How do I tell the difference between the SUs & Strombergs? At the mo I'm assuming they're just the strombergs, cause they look like the ones on a spare V8 i have, and I know they are definately strombergs. (I'll see if i can get a pic of mine up here)

I beleive i have extractors, but i was told that by someone. I can tell you that the pipes join into two, and the the two pipes join into one. They're nothing special, but somebody has welded a little bar between the 2nd & 3rd cylinders on the passengers side manifold, so that I had to remove the manifold to replace the two spark plugs between the 2&3 pipes.

I did get the NGK BPR5EIXs. The first place i went only keep 4 or 6 in stock at a time! I went some place else and they had heaps, but i had to pay an extra buck fifty for them. It was still cheaper than paying freight for extras at the first place. It runs smoother now, and cleaned the cylinders out a bit by throwing some black stuff down the exhaust. The old ones looked pretty knackered.

After a look around the forums, I'm going to skip induction, but still thinking about puting K&Ns in the air box, as i don't do much gravel/off-road driving. It's not hard to put my paper ones back in if i were planning to go off road. The next problem is finding the filters though, as I've not found someone who could supply one yet.

I'll have a bit of a better look at matching ports and cams though. What does the Dynotec PC216 do?
I'm looking for a road/performace cam, as I said before; I do next to no off roading, so am not overly worried about low end power.

If you have time to waste reading about Hyclones:
- Hiclone thingy !!!
- hiclone

Anyway, I feel I'm ready to start making improvements looking for power gains and fuel economy, but I don't want to go down the path of fitting EFI or anything over the top like that. So my question is, is there any easy way to make significant power gains without significantly modifying the car/engine?

NO

I've looked at Hiclones, are they worth it? Do they work?

DOUBLE NO

I'm looking at K&N air filters. Is it worth me fitting air induction, or should i just pop a couple K&Ns in the existing air box?

OK with carbies No with injection . No good for dust

I'm told that having the elbows to the filters increase low-end tourque, is there any truth to this?

YES

Is there any specific reason to fit a K&N oil filter? (other than it has an "easy off" nut on top)

Nice noise???

I'm going to improve my spark, looking at NGK BPR5EIXs. Is there any problem using these in an 85' vehicle?
Alternativley, are these fancy Pulseplugs worth the money($30 ea)?
Along the way I'll be getting new leads & coil i think.

I would suggest a better use of the money is BP5ES and use the saved money to buy some good plug leads (Google Thundercords or Magnacor), a new dissy cap and Lucas rotor.
Regards Philip A

PhilipA,

I'll agree and disagree with you in relation to K&N's on injection engines.

The biggest problem is when people clean and re-oil them, they put TOO much oil back on them and this clogs up the MAF or MAP sensors. There is the problem, "tradesman, not the tools"

I have used them on RRC's (carb and inj) and V8 Falcons (I can't remember the number of times I have been warned re the Falcon). I clean them and then put a very very fine spray of WD40 over the filter, never had a problem.

On carbies they are real good. I had a 3.5 carb RRC in the Middle East, with two cone type fitted straight onto the carbs. Did a brilliant job!!

As always, "users choice"

Chris

Cheers

Originally Posted by eb220

PhilipA,

I'll agree and disagree with you in relation to K&N's on injection engines.

The biggest problem is when people clean and re-oil them, they put TOO much oil back on them and this clogs up the MAF or MAP sensors. There is the problem, "tradesman, not the tools"

I have used them on RRC's (carb and inj) and V8 Falcons (I can't remember the number of times I have been warned re the Falcon). I clean them and then put a very very fine spray of WD40 over the filter, never had a problem.

On carbies they are real good. I had a 3.5 carb RRC in the Middle East, with two cone type fitted straight onto the carbs. Did a brilliant job!!

As always, "users choice"

Chris

Cheers

Yes, but not in dusty conditions. I know, I have one, main reason being I needed the room the original aircleaner occupied for a second battery, so the K&N was really the only option as it was a pod type.
No matter how much oil thin or thick, every action has a reaction, ie less oil more dust gets through, more oil MAF suffers and dust still gets through...

However there is an additional sock that can be put over the top to aid fine dust filtering but it will never be as good as paper and paper will never flow as good as a K&N unless its 5 times the filter area!

For general on road they are fine, but take precautions when venturing into the dirt, particularly if your following in a group!

Cheers

Andrew.

Originally Posted by justinc

Its good to see a 4.6 on carbs, nice torquey and simple
Is it a high compression motor? A decent camshaft like a Dynotec PC216 and some manifold port matching will work wonders, also have you considered a change to the HIF SU instead of those CD175 strombergs? There are heaps of needle profiles to choose from and they are quite tuneable. If you original 3.5 carbs weren't upgraded for the 4.6 then you will be shocked at how much more go it'll have with the correct jetting/ needles
What exhaust manifolds are you using?

JC

Ok, I've checked, and am running Strombergs still. Do the SUs just bolt on in place of the others? Are they difficult to find?


Thanks guys for the info and advice re K&N filters.