03-27-2008, 12:13 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Cobra Make, Engine:
Posts: 105
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The modular blocks are great for what they're designed for.
Ford went to the larger stroke/bore ratio because of the torque advantages.
let me dispell some myths here:
1) The 5.0 does not make more power than the 4.6. I don't know how many times this has been argued and like I said earlier, it took a decade to dispel that myth. The modular is overhead cam, and has much better heads.
Slap PI or modern SOHC/DOHC on a 5.0 and it will make more power than a 4.6 motor. (hence the new cammer and ford aluminum performance blocks). The improvements are in the heads.
2) The modulars were never designed to be aftermarket/race engines. They've done a pretty good job for what they were designed. Having said that, there are teksid aluminum 4.6 blocks that have run up to 1600 horsepower. The modular blocks are stouter and much better built than the engines of yesterday.
3) Peak horsepower doesn't tell the entire story. I don't know how many countless times the argument is always based on peak power. For starters, in a heavier car (like a mustang or a truck) torque is more important than power. It takes torque to get a car moving. Smaller cars make their money on high horsepower and high revs....heavy american cars make their money with low and mid range torque.
One engine might make 15 more peak horsepower, but might not perform as well simply because it's the entire curve (all the hp under the curve) particularly in the powerband that's important.
There's no doubt that an old 302 pushrod with expensive aftermarket heads and a better intake/carb setup can make good power.
But.....for what they were designed to do, the modulars are good engines. Stock vs. Stock, Ford did a good job.
Aftermarket is another story. The bore vs. stroke issue is an issue if you're trying to rev to 8k+ rpms.
The other thing that's noteworthy is that both modular or pushrod, with modern power adders, they're all plenty of cubes to run more power than you could ever use.
I do agree that the modulars are heavy (the heads are huge and heavy) and expensive. They're not the first choice for building a race car.
But if you're building a modern Ford, and it's easier to pickup a modular block than to try to retrofit everything to a pushrod, then it makes sense. That's where I was at.
If I had known I was going to buildup a 2500 lb car, I probably would have bought the cheapest built pushrod I could find (289 would have been preferable) and then slapped a blower on it and called it a day. There's no need to run a monster engine, unless that's your preference. You can make more power with a 4.2l v-6 than you could ever put to the ground effectively with a street suspension setup. (with a blower that is).
Again, if Ford was building a race motor, it wouldn't be the modular, but for a production run engine that's been modified to support a production type performance car (i.e. the SVT Cobra, Lightning, GT and GT500) it's done quite well.
I don't think Ford needs to go to a new engine. They simply need to add an Eaton to the 5.4 and they can make more power and torque than you could ever use. That's the direction EVERYONE is going. The SRT-4. The new ZR1. That's the new model for power trains. A small(er) displacement engine as the base model, with a blower/turbo for the premium or performance model. To that end, the modulars fit well. The 302 fits the latter requirement, but doesn't do as well for the base model requirement.
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