Which brings us to the next part of the evaluation. After having lived with this car for about two years now, we can fully relate to the turbo-2.3 experience and have drawn a conclusion-the car is certainly reliable as a daily driver and is fun to own. Its reduced heft over the front wheels can be felt when negotiating turns, and its "dare to be different" attitude certainly says a lot about itself and its owners. But as these cars approach 20 or more years in age, there are factors that come into play that cannot be directly blamed on the engine's design. In all fairness, any engine, no matter who makes it, will need a thorough going-over when it's 20-plus years old. Because time is never kind to any car, consider a quality refresh or engine rebuild a part of the ownership experience. Aside from the leaky gaskets we've had to deal with, engines tend to need a little more care in their old age. But in the end, these are excellent alternatives to the 5.0 if you're looking for something different that benefits from modern-day turbocharger technology.
Chalk this experience up to, well, experience. As die-hard 302 fans, we gave these cars a strong benefit of the doubt. But as the Ford performance market now shifts to Three-Valve 4.6L V-8s, we'll have to say goodbye to our favorite four-cylinder, the turbo-2.3 and shift our efforts to what is undoubtedly the future of Ford, the modular V-8. Well, for the time being.
Down The Tubes?
Since we were unable to get solid numbers from our own SVO, we called the helpful turbo-2.3 gurus at Forced4 Motorsports to help us find a car that would represent how an SVO with the Stinger exhaust pipes would work on the dyno. What they brought was their own test mule, an '86 SVO that had also been fitted with a Rod's Headers tubular header that is available through Forced4, and Forced4's own front-mounted intercooler system along with a slightly larger turbo.
On the dyno, spool-up time was noticeably slower, but the horsepower the car was pumping out was certainly newsworthy, considering the amount of money that Eric Klein of Forced4 invested. His SVO belted out 281 hp at 5,900 rpm, and torque was steady at 304 lb-ft at 4,100 rpm. Compared to our own SVO, that's a difference of 89 hp and 23 lb-ft of torque. The power increases were sizeable, but the turbo lag was certainly noticeable. The power gain at the peak readings occurred at higher engine speeds. Torque did not suffer as much as we thought it would. What we can attest to is that, given the amount of power gained on the top end, this would certainly be the best way to hustle your car down the track. Turbo-4s for everyone!