Given our clearance issues, we selected the smallest hydraulic roller profile offered in the Voodoo line. The hydraulic roller cam (PN 61010) offered a 0.541-/0.549-inch lift split, which allowed the motor to take full advantage of the CNC-ported Trick Flow Twisted Wedge heads. The duration figures were kept in check to ensure adequate piston-to-valve clearance. The Lunati cam featured a 211/219 duration split measured at 0.050 valve lift. Though not nearly as radical as some street grinds we have run on our test motors (on the dyno), this Voodoo profile represented a perfect street cam that offered an impressive combination of idle quality, driveability, and even fuel mileage, providing you can resist the temptation to explore the far side of the boost gauge on a regular basis.
Speaking of boost gauge, the Lunati Voodoo cam also worked exceptionally well with the single-turbo system from HP Perfor-mance. It's amazing how well a good, normally aspirated performance cam profile works on a turbo motor, this despite a lobe separation angle of 110 degrees. The cam was installed straight up using the new double-roller timing chain, something that was a necessity given the mileage on the (sloppy) factory timing gear. We also installed the fresh set of hydraulic roller lifters and new 1.6 ratio roller rockers supplied by Holley.
To say that upgrading the cam, heads, and intake was a success would be a serious understatement. This was perhaps best illus-trated by the fact that we could not compare the new Holley/Twisted Wedge/Lunati combina-tion to the factory counterparts at the boost level run in Part 2. You'll remember that we ran the boost up to a maximum of 16 psi with the stock components to coax high-10-second timeslips from the 200,000 Mustang. Attempting to run the boost this high with the new components took us to the flow limit of the standard 60mm turbo.
To illustrate the gains offered by the induction upgrade, we turned the boost down to just 10 psi and compared it to the same boost level with the stock components. Running the stock 5.0 motor at 10 psi resulted in peak numbers of 433 hp and 493 lb-ft of torque. Running the same boost level (actually an identical boost curve) with the new induction system resulted in some serious power gains. With the same 10 psi of boost from the HP turbo system, the modified 5.0 motor pumped out 575 hp and 607 lb-ft of torque. The new combination improved the power out of the stock 5.0 by a whopping 142 hp-that's what we call an improvement.
The Holley intake manifold...
The Holley intake manifold was fed by a Holley 75mm throttle body and matching EGR spacer.
Replacing the stock 5.0 cam...
Replacing the stock 5.0 cam was a new Voodoo grind from Lunati. The Voodoo cam offered a 0.541/0.549 lift split, a 211/219-degree duration split (at 0.050) and a 100-degree lobe-separation angle.
To ensure a tight seal, the...
To ensure a tight seal, the new aluminum heads were installed using a set of Cometic multilayer-steel head gaskets.
In addition to the new cam,...
In addition to the new cam, Lunati also supplied the necessary hydraulic roller lifters.
With over 200,000 miles, this...
With over 200,000 miles, this was a good time to change the worn-out timing chain set up to a new unit supplied by Lunati.
After the upper intake was...
After the upper intake was installed, the new combination was ready to run in anger. Run at 10 psi, the new induction system improved the power output of the 5.0 from 433 hp and 493 lb-ft of torque to 575 hp and 607 lb-ft of torque. That's one impressive, new, top-end upgrade.