Customer Reviews

5.0L Ford Dyno Tests (S-A Design) (Do-It-Yourself Guides for Car Enthusiasts)

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I am a Mustang enthusiast who was sorely disappointed with this book. While this book provides dyno evidence for most enthusiasts¡¯ anecdotal knowledge, it misses important tests of the standard equipment and combinations that most gear heads want to know about.

For instance, in the section which compares cams on a typical street/strip 5.0 setup w/ extrude honed Dart Iron heads, ported Cobra intake, and long tube headers, the dyno results purport to compare 8 different cams. However, in reality, the cams tested were only from three different companies: Ford Motorsport, Lunati and Crane. Additionally, the cams were not really selected for optimal use with that particular combination. A more valid test would have compared similar cam grinds among 8 different companies.

The intake section has similar shortcomings as well. The dyno results of many tests that most reasonably knowledgeable mustangers don't really care for are reported in great detail. Many comparisons are made between OEM and slightly modified OEM components vs. FRPP/SVO components. There is absolutely no comparison among the different aftermarket intake manufacturers represented here. Although there are comparisons of ported vs. unported cobra/GT40 style intakes and extrude hones OEM intakes reported here, this information is only useful to the novice who is looking to get his/her feet wet.

The supercharger and exhaust modification sections are better, but lack key dyno comparisons as well. I give credit to Richard Holdener for compiling such a comprehensive array of cheap and/or free modifications for the novice to try, but most enthusiasts would have tried these modifications already. The layout of the book is very easy to read, well organized and very well written. But, in my estimation, it is a book most suited for the novice seeking optimization of stock or SVO/FRPP components. This book is not for the gear head that knows which combo they want to run, but is seeking hard evidence from the dyno to make a particular component or brand choice.

Peace

Ever wonder what simple changes add for hp? The specific impact runner length has on tq & hp? Like to see dyno tests while only changing to the various size TB or MAF? If so, this is the book. I was referred to this book and came away feeling I learned a lot. It does away with many of the myths. Has also become a great reference tool when considering certain changes.

p.s. After reading the book I doubt the author is trying to decieve the reader with the claim of 2000 dyno runs as mentioned in one of the other reviews of this book. I'll bet it was the real number of pulls it took to gather the data. I'm sure it involved multiple pulls per setup, per test not just one.

While I think this book has some good information, I think anyone who regularly reads Muscle Mustang and Fast Fords will have read most of this already. It states there are 2000 dyno runs, I counted, and came up with around 180. While this is a lot, most of this was already in MM & FF magazine. They didn't even test a vortech/paxton centrifugal supercharger on a stock engine. They did this test for a Kenne Bell, but it would be a great comparison to test the KB against a centrifugal supercharger. Overall, I am dissapointed, I think most of this is regurgitated material.

While I think this book has some good information, I think anyone who regularly reads Muscle Mustang and Fast Fords will have read most of this already. It states there are 2000 dyno runs, I counted, and came up with around 180. While this is a lot, most of this was already in MM & FF magazine. They didn't even test a vortech/paxton centrifugal supercharger on a stock engine. They did this test for a Kenne Bell, but it would be a great comparison to test the KB against a centrifugal supercharger. Overall, I am dissapointed, I think most of this is regurgitated material.

I'm 43 years old. This is 2011. I've owned over 35 Mustangs and a couple of EFI Fox vehicles. I bought this book several years ago and instead of having to sift through my endless collection of magazines or do web browsing I can thumb through it and get a quick reminder of something to show to my boys. 7,11 and 14 years old. As they ask things like what is a MAF, how does it work and what if you swap the C&L, Pro-M, or use the Cobra unit, I can show them. Not only that but I can datalog them all now as I own each type of meter and teach them along the way. My 11 year old is now working on his 88 F150 and 86 Mustang GT. He is full of questions. Although he isn't able to drive them he is very excited about learning all he can while he builds them. Another great read is Auto Math Handbook by John Lawlor. These books serve as the platform and built the basics on which I stand today. All of you know that one go to guy who seems to know endless details and builds quality into his Mustang projects. I'm one of those guys and while I have read many duplicate articles in nearly every form of Mustang magazine it's nice to have a book like this to hand to a child and cover 90% of it. If you are new to 5.0 EFI combinations, you can't go wrong. If you have a closet full of magazines dating back 20 years like me, buy it and give it to your kids. Your wife will appreciate not having hundreds of magazines scattered around the living room, again.

One of my last builds was converting a 4 cylinder coupe (my 5th such build) to a 1993 spec Cobra except GT40P heads. If Ford didn't produce the power train part, it's not on the car. The car absolutely looks factory made. We can swap in parts and compare for ourselves while the boys learn new things.