bkpliskin

Up-ing the rev limiter would probably help but I am skeptical when it comes to what good a tune would really do on one of those. They are most likely aggressively tuned from the factory. I'm on the "bolt on's and a tune won't net much" bandwagon. It's already more than half way to headers/cai/tune straight out of the box.

The engine sounds cool, but correct me if I'm wrong, I thought I saw somewhere that the bore was maxed out at where it is? I mean, there's always FI, but with a maxed out bore, no forged internals (like the 03-04 cobra's had) and basically coming with factory bolt ons and an aggressive tune, I don't think we'll see as much out of these as we see out of the LSX engines... not even close actually.

Bob Cosby

When I mentioned "tune" I was primarily referring to flashing the PROM to alter the factory 7k rev limit. I have no idea (nor do you - nothing personal intended) how much a tune for power will or will not help this motor. We can only speculate.

Forged internals are not necessary in most street N/A applications. For blown motors....different story (not sure what GM was thinking with the LSA). Personally, I'd never put a blower on a stock motor, but I know a lot of folks will. Even so, the CR is about the same as the LS3, and the internals are probably of equal strength, so there is little difference in 'blow up risks' between the 2 motors.

As for overbores....you'll have about the same potential to bore it as you did the 4.6....ie....not much (outside of what's necessary for a rebuild). Certainly you won't be able to make the big cubic inches like you can with an LSx engine.....but on the Ford side of the house, we've been used to that for a long time.

Anyway, there are some musings that there is quite a bit of bolt-on potential still there - but we really don't know yet, and all the speculation in the world won't answer the question. We'll know for sure in a few months.

Bob

PS....before it is asked or stated....yes, I'd prefer the LS3 over the 5.0. Then again, I'd like to see a lighter Mustang GT....and a lighter Camaro SS....and, and, and so on and so forth. It is what it is, and will be what it will be.

Bob Cosby

Oh, one other thing. Most of the less-hardcore folks won't even consider upping the rev limiter. Unless you're trying to squeeze the last tenth our two out of it, it won't make much difference.

bossco

Y'know, unrelated to the 5.0, I wonder if bumping the rev limit on the 5.4 S/C does anything for it? I've been pondering the question since I've been told elsewhere that right around 160-165 (not speed limited) is a pessimistic top speed for the GT500 and it is capable of a much higher speed and the factory rev limit is very conservative despite the factory valve springs and long stroke.

bkpliskin

I know I don't have any proof that a tune won't do much, but I'd still put money on the new 5.0 having a way more aggressive tune than any GM performance V8 or any other ford V8 on the market. I was mentioning the forged internals to relate how this engine has much less potential for power than the cobra engine had. Meaning that while they were able to push more power out N/A, they've created a weaker, lower potential stock motor than the one they offered 8 years ago for about the same amount of money. As far as boring goes, GM has had the advantage for a LONG TIME! There's still no replacement for displacement.

As far as bolt-on potential. The mustang crowd has enjoyed an equally as big aftermarket as the f-body crowd, yet the mustangs still don't have the same bolt-on power potential.

The fact remains, while there have been far more Mustangs sold of the past 10-15 years, the average Camaro will always outrun the average Mustang on the street. I feel the same will happen this time around. People can bring up stories about how "this Mustang out ran this Camaro". From 1993-2002, the Camaro was always faster than the Mustang stock vs stock. The 1998 Camaro was faster than the 1999-2010 Mustang GT stock. Nothing much has changed. The 2011 GT hasn't even hit the market yet. The Camaro, for the past couple of DECADES, has bent the Mustang over time and time again in performance and things really don't look like they'll change too much as long as chevy makes a tiny tweak with a track pack and/or a little bump on their tune.

I'll go on the record...the new 5.0 GT won't even come close in bolt-on potential with the half decade older LS3. And I guarantee the 5.0 costs way more to produce than the LS3.

Bob Cosby

Thanks for your speculation and opinions.