build thread: year of the 7.3s

Figured I'd start a thread about the upcoming changes on the truck for the 2014 race season. Truck is getting a set of somewhat prototype 400/400s for fuel. Going to be running a s475 with a race cover and billet wheel for now, may go to a 80mm billet or fmw wheel. Truck got a beefed up valve train with some comp beehive valve springs. Picked up a set of twin terminators to handle the oil. The fuel system got updated and changed a little. I'm not running a 4 line feed system built by a good friend of mine. I'm also adding a second stage of nitrous. The truck is running and just waiting on a few last minute finishing touches. Hoping to dip into the mid 11 sec range ( i know it's not the fastest thing out there but still respectable for a ccsb 7.3). Big thanks to cutting edge diesel, Barder turbo swrvice, riffraff, Cnc fabrication llc, power-struck and probably a few others I have forgot. I'll update as thing thing makes a couple passes and a dyno pull.

Nice! Good luck!

Good luck bud!

live life full throttle

No bottom end work? No plenums? Should haul some arse

No such thing as "year of the 7.3" LOL

MINK said:

No such thing as "year of the 7.3" LOL

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Yes there is, 2014!

97stoker350 said:

No bottom end work? No plenums? Should haul some arse

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Whats the actual gains of plenums? Bottom end should be ok for a lil while as long as tq is held back down low.

live life full throttle

JD Dearden said:

Yes there is, 2014!

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Put one in your Nordic then !

More reliable and for whatever they are 200 some dollars can't hurt imo

This should be fun to watch! Are you getting live tuned?

Fuel system looks good. Where are you injecting your stages of nitrous (pre/post turbo) and how large of a jet?

It'll be probably a .070 and a .100 ish. Waiting to actually run the truck some and see what it likes. It'll be on a healthy nitrous diet tho.

And no I don't have plenums, I've had the billet insert rings forever and never had a problem. I may switch to the riffraff ones at some point.

if what you have clears your turbo I wouldnt do plenums.

m j said:

if what you have clears your turbo I wouldnt do plenums.

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I would end up doing them for looks more than anything. Or if I go to a t4 mount I'll need to get them. I have t4i so even my race cover clears stock plenuns

lincolnlocker said:

Whats the actual gains of plenums? Bottom end should be ok for a lil while as long as tq is held back down low.

live life full throttle

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Plenums are thicker, to allow more clamping and no screen.

My 3" plenums do not have a screen. With a single turbo the only benefit with aftermarket plenums is to fit a bigger turbo in there. Then with compounds you have less chance of a blow out. But then stock plenums have held 70 to 80 psi and more with out a problem.

imho the down fall with the FLAT style aftermarket plenums is you loose volume. (that's not the word I want) What I mean by that is you have less air to feed the engine as soon as the valves open. And @ higher RPMs that extra air will help keep the pressure spike and dips down. You will have a more even and consistent air supply. That is One reason why Intake Manifolds, that are being used on rigs that need all the air they can get go with the Log style. More air at all time ready to go into the combustion chamber.. Now can you feel it in a small build or notice it on the track?? Most likely not.

Also forgot to mention in the original post. We're looking at having this thing run to 4000rpm to help keep the stock bottom end alive and the big turbos spooled. End of this race season it may go to compounds, it would be something like jelichs 75/101 setup.

Compounds and stock rods may not last.

This setup and stock rods won't last. The biggest thing that kills stock rods is low end power. Usually you don't size compounds with a 75mm as the high pressure. The biggest killer from compounds is you use a smaller high pressure which brings the ability to have a responsive low end, which when you make low end power you break rods.

Stock rods can hold fairly well if they are spun over 3000 rpms for peak power. So if you run up to 4000 or close then shift it might last longer then you think. That is iff you have a high stall converter. If not doing the boosted launch might scatter the engine in time.