Roush 427 IR

[Thunderbird123]

I just placed an order on a Backdraft and wanted some input on a 427R or a 427IR. For the $12,500 difference is it really worth it based on your experience with your motors you guys have invested in?

[FredG]

I have one in my Backdraft. Went with it because I didn't want to have mess with the fuel injection. I am very comfortable working on Holleys. The engine has a serious lope to it at idle. Sounds like a muffled funny car. Does not like to be below 2k rpms. Very powerful after that all the way to over 6k and it gets there very fast.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by Thunderbird123

I just placed an order on a Backdraft and wanted some input on a 427R or a 427IR. For the $12,500 difference is it really worth it based on your experience with your motors you guys have invested in?

I would simply start reading the topic titles. Do a search, but it would have to be very generic. There are TONS of topics in this forum on different engines and different engine builders.

My experience with my Roush 427IR was that if I were doing it again, and the engine were not already in the car, there are equal or even better alternatives for less money. Roush support is iffy at best (perhaps OK if you are really close but absolutely no support long distance, I had to ship my car to them and it got nothing until we figured out that the altitude compensation portion of their tune was "null" (ie, no compensation, incomplete.) I got nothing from them for that. They've since switched sources for the DFI (Digital Fuel Injection) controller and some reports are that it behaves better but still need some TLC for true low-to-high altitude operation since the self-learning system doesn't really know how to do it.

Bottom line, lots of alternatives, widen your search.

[eschaider]

Originally Posted by twobjshelbys

...My experience with my Roush 427IR was that if I were doing it again, and the engine were not already in the car, there are equal or even better alternatives for less money. Roush support is iffy at best (perhaps OK if you are really close but absolutely no support long distance, I had to ship my car to them and it got nothing until we figured out that the altitude compensation portion of their tune was "null" (ie, no compensation, incomplete.) I got nothing from them for that. They've since switched sources for the DFI (Digital Fuel Injection) controller and some reports are that it behaves better but still need some TLC for true low-to-high altitude operation since the self-learning system doesn't really know how to do it ...

Couldn't agree more with Tony. I would replace the EFI system that came with that engine. Everyone has favorites, my favorite is Megasquirt's MS3Pro system. Excellent tunability, a self learning function to help get a base tune up and running and a tuner programming module GUI that is among the best I've ever worked with and it runs native (and identically) on either Mac or PC platforms.

An extra added attraction they have is an inexpensive (~$90) bluetooth transmitter / receiver that lets you program from your laptop wirelessly! Their data logging capability is on par with the best you're likely to find anywhere, which makes evaluating your tuning decisions much easier. An MS3Pro with wiring harness, tuning s/w, data logging s/w and a lifetime warranty is $1250.

If you want to buy an OEM wiring harness from an 03/04 Mach I or SVT Cobra you can get the MS3Pro Plug and Play version that uses the Ford OEM wiring harness and all the Ford sensors to eliminate the wiring harness fabrication headaches. The PnP version is priced at $1,350 and comes with a base tune to get the engine running.

You don't need to suffer the quirky, painful in town driving idiosyncrasies and bad manners of the early first and second generation engine management systems Roush offers, there are excellent alternatives.


Ed