TCCoA Forums banner

What are the fastest 3.8 n/a here?

4K views 44 replies 14 participants last post by  Thomas 
#1 ·
I've noticed over the last few years, some of the V6'rs have gone all out with their cars. What are some the fastest V6's here. I know rancherlees is one of em, but I wanted to know of some others.
 
#2 ·
3.8 single or splitport?
 
#5 ·
Eh, I beleive he asked for NA, and I wouldn't mind hearing either. I'm sure someone has broke into the high 15's with a stroked 3.8L, all cammed out, ported heads, etc, etc...... Should have just swapped a V8 in there and been done with it.
 
#8 ·
Come on guys, don't start having a pi$$ing match. It was a basic question thats all. Sure, everybody says "get a SC" or "swap a V8" "buy a V8" etc, etc.

The question of the topic was "What are the fastest 3.8na here" The question was NOT "Should I buy an SC instead or Should I buy a V8 instead.

Whatever. Anyways, Thomas that 3.8 you were working on for the longest time, you decided to give up on and go for a Mustang? What was the best time your 3.8 Tbird went? Also, wouldnt a Lightning blower blow out the internals as would a SC blower, or did you have the whole 3.8 redone with better internals?
 
#9 ·
I have never personally tested my 3.8 NA, but to me with the mods that I have done, it is actually pretty darn fast! I get people all the time that say it is quick with acceleration. I want to take it to a track one day, but there isnt any around here.
 
#10 ·
my best time without nitrous with the stock ported upper intake was 16.7. This was with the stock AOD that has pretty much had it, and stock gears with no tune. I strongly believe 3.73's, the high stall, a tune, and being able to shift at 5,500rpms would get this car in the 13's NA.

Im not giving up on the 3.8. I'm putting the v6 in the mustang with the tranny and nitrous and blower. I'll eventully put forged rods and pistons in to the 4.2 i have in my garage and run ~20psi with nitrous and see if I can break 8's in the 1/4 :D

-Thomas
 
#11 ·
Both times I took my Splitport 94 LX to the track, I had issues. The first time was while we were still working out the tuning bugs, and it was bogging/hesistating badly on the line (2.4X 60' times). It ran 16.7's. The second time it had a blown electric fan fuse (which I didn't know about until later), causing it to overheat and detonate. IIRC, I was in and out of the throttle, and was completely out of the throttle just after the 1000'. It ran a 16.67 that time. I'm confident that if I took the car to the track just as it is today it would at least turn a low-16/high-15. I just have no interest in doing so, as the 94 is just the daily driver. The XR7 is the fun car...which I did a V8 swap in. :rolleyes:

-Rod
 
#12 ·
My best was 16.9. The same day, I ran 17.0's back to back. I would hope that with a ported upper and lower intake and ported heads, it could maybe get in low 16's-high15's.

As of now, mods aren't much: Air silencer removed, ASP Underdrive Pulleys, Transgo Shift kit, high stall (dirty dog) converter, tranny cooler, dual exhaust.
 
#14 ·
wow thomas. you do that and you'll have the fastest one i've ever hear of. that's actually faster that what those super six guys have on their web page. maybe you'll get some coverage on that if you get in a shootout.
this is true. But supersix has also recently added custom long tube headers, a good suspension, and I believe they're either working on a two-stage nitrous system, or a power adder of some kind. It'll be interesting to see what it turns out next year.
-Thomas
 
#20 · (Edited by Moderator)
deleted
 
#22 ·
I'm not meaning to be the jerk here either..... It just ends up happening this way because I own a Mustang.

And guys, I have a 3.8L, and it's not fast. Sure anything can be made fast, but generally low displacement engines (or engines with less than 8 cylinders) tend to go towards the power adder side of things to make more power. It's easier to bolt on power to an existing engine than it is to tear one apart and do a build up yourself, or I should say it's more time consuming to do an engine build than to throw more power at it with some type of PA.

Also, if you guys are having fun with your 3.8L, then it doesn't matter what I say or what people try to convince you of. More power to you!! Just realize that a 3700+ pound car with a 145/215 hp/tq is not going to be a tire burner......
 
#25 ·
While its not the best but my 4.2L just ran 15.4 on the G-Tech with the 3.08 Highway gears in the rear.

I was able to pull against a 96 Mark VIII on the highway the other day up to 120 (not recommended by any means! it was late and nobody on road)

The one thing a v6 will have is weight advantage,, with aluminum heads and composite intake (windstar) my 4.2L weighs next to nothing compared to any 4.6L SOHC or DOHC! its like driving a go-cart! this thing handles!

I have yet to bolt the Vortech S-trim on yet but I figure I should be sitting pretty micely after that!
 
#31 ·
yeah.. those numbers disappoint me... looks liek i'm gonna hunt for a v8.. or do a swap....
 
#32 ·
Well, I was looking at doing the same thing. I ended up doing the head gasket thing and a bunch of other crap and it still turned out cheaper than getting a V8.

What I would suggest is look for a wrecked Cat or Bird of the same year that you have so you can get the whole tranny/engine and computer from, plus all the other wires, engine mounts etc. Just getting an engine is gonna be some work and money. IMO.
 
#33 ·
There are a few people who have gone 12's NA in mustangs. one being an SN95 with full interior and a cage, it was a 5spd 4.3L. Now its the highest hp v6 known, making 638rwhp on a turbo.

Yes, I honestly think 13's are possible NA in my tbird. Will it ever see them? Probably not. Like I said it's starting to deteriorate and I'm looking at an 88 notch fox for the transplant chassis. Could this mean low 13's or high 12's NA? Who knows, we'll see. But I am running ridiculously rich, my direct drive is fried, i have stock diff, and my cam is made for high rpm. I could expect to lose 3 seconds with a good tune, 3.73's, and a built tranny with a high stall converter. Right now the tranny shifts at 4,000rpms, but the motor is easily capable of making power up to 5,500rpms. That's all I got.

-Thomas
 
#35 ·
Is there someone running 14's NA with a 3.8L? 13's NA would be awesome with the 3.8L, you'll have an easier time hitting them in that Fox chassis. Good luck. :D
 
#34 ·
speaking of high revs, why the hell do we shift so low? i understand there are limitations with the materials/weight of the crankshaft, along with the inherent design of the stroke/bore.......not like pushrods help at all......

my 96 3.8 shifts (full throttle):
1-2: 4200
2-3: 4600
3-4: 4200 ( i think. don't really like to hit it that hard with this shift because it shudders a bit.)

and that's all using D.

if i go manually from 1-2 and 2-D (third), i take it up to 5000, and it pulls really hard.
whats our "rev limit"? i seriously doubt there was an actual limiter that cut in on our shifts.....
 
#41 ·
In the 1/8th maybe, but not the 1/4 mile. You are thinking of SC cars. And yes, they are some 10 second 3.8L SC T-birds. I'm not saying they can't be made fast, anything can be fast, just depends on how much money you have.

Or are you talking about 3.8L stangs?
 
#45 ·
there are 2 fox body mustangs running 11's and 12's in the quarter NA. One is owned by Tom Morana (moranav6racing.com) and the other by Mik Strand (RPM-Mustangs.com) but they spent a lot of time making a compination that was well suited for itself.

Turbo's however, there are countless people in the 11's and 12's with turbo split-port mustangs with stock or lightly modified engines. Turbos really make those engines breathe. But what engine doesnt breathe better on non-parasitic boost?

-Thomas
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top