My n/a super b3 build

[drumnerd33]

yes building up a dohc will cost you more pennies. but you will be able to get more gains out of a larger displacement engine and the addition of more valves will also have large benefits with airflow. (im sure matt would be a better one to talk to about this, cuz im not an engine builder all i do is take the parts he built and put them together...lol) but if you havent swapped your motor this is an excellent option because you already have a great little motor and it can put out over 200 hp.... now how many of you are thinking.... wow what could i do with over 200 hp...hmmmmmm

[drumnerd33]

well at this point im keeping the stock 5 speed i discussed this with matt and he was still using the 5 speed with his turbo setup and never had any issues, he also said that he doesnt abuse his tranny either, EX: dropping the clutch at high rpm, constant burn outs, power shifts exc. so im gonna see how it holds up and go from there. if something breaks then its time to upgrade. Thats how i built my rock crawler... everybody kept saying on the forum you have to run this axle and that axle and this tranny.....blah blah blah and i di my own research into which axles would handle what by other peoples experience, and you know what.... i have yet to break an axle or tranny or anything and my xj has been on some of the hardest trails here in colorado, dont get me wrong there is a few of the hardest in the country trials here that i have not done yet due to only being on 35" tires... ihave done up to the #8 and #9 trails there is a couple #10 trails that 35" tires can work but makes it extremely difficult.

[drumnerd33]

I was also told not to do my own gears and air lockers in my axles.... but i did... and never had 1 problem built my front and rear axles completely and installed arb airlockers which people say always have a shop do it, but with enough research and willing to do it anything is possible axles really arent that bad they are just time consuming and frustrating cuz i dont have all the tools the shop does to get the correct pinion depth the first time so i had to put it in, take it out, put it in, take it out,..... lol but they work perfect. and i also learn by my mistakes. the first axle me and my buddy did his toyota and when we put it in it made the wonderful high pitch wine at like 5 mph....lol so took us like a week to get it right.

[Damkid]

My n/a super b3 build

I like your thinking "if it breaks, upgrade it"

But I'm honestly surprised Matt never had an issue running 266hp through a stock trans, I bet even the slightest shock with that kind of power (like even mild wheel hop lol) would destroy the stock trans

too bad Matt never got a dyno vid of that thing though, just to shut up all the haters :p (just joking around guys)

[drumnerd33]

Re: My n/a super b3 build

Lol yeah I know he does have the pic but not the same. He was telling me it seemed like the 5 speed was a little stronger then the 4 speed cuz when you read people grenading there tranny it seems to always be the 4 speed, but I honestly don't know a whole lot about our transmissions... I have tried to search and learn but have a hard time finding info. I'm still confused as to which tranny the 5 speed is and which the g series that everybody talks about cones from...

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[mattdickmeyer]

So here's my question that's actually related to the thread

We all know that the stock trans is made of crystal glass and shatters very easy, if your gunna make good power through a B3, any thoughts/plans for trans mods/upgrades?

I have the fastest & most powerful modular powered MN12 platform car in the country. I am putting together a new 1600 HP engine for it now. The MN12 is the '89-'97 Cougar/Thunderbird/Mark8. The car comes in at over 3800 lbs. The car has IRS. What I did years ago was install a Lincoln Mark 8 aluminum 8.8 center section & aluminum control arms to reduce weight. I went thru the normal destruction of parts, twisting driveshafts, snapping pinion shafts & cracking the cast aluminum center section. After that, I had the next aluminum center section ( stress relieved ) at a machine shop that performed this process. What it does is slowly heats up the casting & separates the composition of the cast allowing it a level of flexation. This worked for quite awhile & might be right for your level of power. Eventually tho, I switched back to a cast iron center section cause the aluminum differential caps were the next weak leak & broke. I used 300m pro level halfshafts from DSS with no problems, but I do launch the car softly as a couple of 100ths off the 60 foot time isn't worth braking the car. I should just put a 9'' under it but the IRS launches beautifully & I'm not one for tubbed cars.

[drumnerd33]

so matt, with my build as it sits being n/a i should be fine but if i do decide to run boost do you think at that point its worth checking into beefing up my tranny or swapping for another?

[mattdickmeyer]

I like your thinking "if it breaks, upgrade it"

But I'm honestly surprised Matt never had an issue running 266hp through a stock trans, I bet even the slightest shock with that kind of power (like even mild wheel hop lol) would destroy the stock trans

too bad Matt never got a dyno vid of that thing though, just to shut up all the haters :p (just joking around guys)

I only had the turbo on it for 3 months or so. The only problem I had was I exploded the CV joints once. The car got 0 traction & if you're not hooking you're braking. After I got no response from people who wanted turbo systems I sold it because I was tired of having the car torn apart when I needed to use it. But really, I never beat on it very much. The one time I did, I was coming out of Fort Wayne & a Mustang came off the interstate & merged into the lane next to me. I was in 3rd gear & just floored it going about 55 mph. The front tires went up in smoke, slid into his lane & about ran us both off the road.

[mattdickmeyer]

so matt, with my build as it sits being n/a i should be fine but if i do decide to run boost do you think at that point its worth checking into beefing up my tranny or swapping for another?

Last year I welded up the case on a $5,000 Brinn Transmission for a guy. No matter what you have, it will have a weak link, but I think we all know guys who could blow a trans in a Freightliner. Best thing to do is address tranny upgrades when you have a failure. Like I said, the Festiva that I use for the shop is around 100HP per L & I have no problems but I drive like I have nothing to prove too.

[drumnerd33]

Ok i know we talked about it before and thats why i was sticking with the stock tranny for now. I have done all my builds with the build it stronger if it breaks and always works good for me cuz you dont spend pointless money. Also breaking the cv's would be a good thing, cuz like you said there is always a weak link and its better to have a weak link thats an easy fix vs having the weak link be something like the pinion or something internal to the tranny.:eeeeeek:

[sketchman]

I drive like I have nothing to prove too.

That's probably a large factor. Guy I work with blows axles in his stock Rio because he launches hard off every light/stop sign/parking lot/whatever. And I saw diff pin wear in a trans that I know was beat on once in its life.

What clutch are you running at 100hp/L?

[mattdickmeyer]

That's probably a large factor. Guy I work with blows axles in his stock Rio because he launches hard off every light/stop sign/parking lot/whatever. And I saw diff pin wear in a trans that I know was beat on once in its life.

What clutch are you running at 100hp/L?

Stock replacement.

[TheresGabe]

Lol yeah I know he does have the pic but not the same. He was telling me it seemed like the 5 speed was a little stronger then the 4 speed cuz when you read people grenading there tranny it seems to always be the 4 speed, but I honestly don't know a whole lot about our transmissions... I have tried to search and learn but have a hard time finding info. I'm still confused as to which tranny the 5 speed is and which the g series that everybody talks about cones from...

Sent from my LG-LS970 using Tapatalk 2

Anybody with information on this? I've owned both... It's my understanding that a 4-speed stock Festiva tranny is identical to a 5-speed Festiva tranny, just minus one gear correct? No additional strength to a 5 over a 4.

[blkfordsedan]

Not to jack the thread, but when the time comes, I want to hear from Matt about tuning the factory EFI/ECM/VAF setup for a 100+ HP N/A B3. I suspect those of us who have ported heads, headers, cams, etc. are probably leaving some HP on the table.

[Prafeston]

I just want to let it be known I tried to stop this before it started on page 8! There is literally already a thread going on building vs. swapping if you want to hash it out over there: http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...lding+swapping

Has this not been hammered away at enough on this site? I feel like this has come up in like 3 different threads..

Sure you can go the easy cheap way...and most of us probably would. But some people like to be different. Does it really need to be hashed out again? Some people like coffee others like tea...some people don't like either. Just enjoy what you see in here!