Economical Turbo Kit - Wind Of Change

The exhaust featured an oxygen sensor bung that provides real-time air/fuel readings to aid tuning. Turbo motors require a richer mixture and less total ignition timing than their normally aspirated counterparts. Where the NA engine might run best with 35 degrees of timing at an air/fuel mixture of 13.0:1, the turbo motor will require timing levels below 22 degrees and a richer air/fuel ratio near 11.5:1. Pump-gas tuning may be even more conservative.

Prior to running our 5.0L in anger, we hooked up boost/vacuum lines to the Turbo Smart wastegate, CX Racing BOV, and three-bar MAP sensor (used with the FAST). Plumbed inline between the manifold and wastegate was a manual wastegate controller that allowed us to increase boost pressure. Running first with no adjustments to the Turbo Smart controller (operating on the wastegate spring), the 76mm turbo produced a peak boost pressure of 7.2 psi; the turbo 5.0L produced peak power numbers of 386 hp and 463 lb-ft of torque. Stepping up to just over 10 psi brought 436 hp and 521 lb-ft of torque, while 13.5 psi brought 491 hp and 587 lb-ft. The final runs at 15.6 psi produced 521 hp and an amazing 631 lb-ft of torque.

It was here that we decided to call it quits with our stock 5.0L, as we had more than doubled the power output of the stocker and had already exceeded the torque capacity of the stock block. Basically our stock 5.0L block was living on borrowed time. It wasnÆt so much a question of whether the winds of change were about to break our blockùit was a question of when.

When everything was said and done, we had doubled the power output of the stock 5.0L for a total cost of $2,208 ($1,642 without the components from Turbo Smart).