1994 Microsquirt/turbo

Drewu223

New member
I am going to be starting a turbo build on my 94 F150. The old computer is already shot and I've been talking to Matt Cramer at DIYAutoTune and he says to use Microsquirt 3 with my truck. I will be adding their GM 3 bar MAP sensor and an aftermarket wideband O2 sensor and A/F ratio gauge. I will also use their 60 pin Ford Breakout Box and use my old factory connector for the engine harness and will also probably use 19 lb/hr injectors to give her a little more fuel. I'm pretty sure I've got the ECU and electronics down, but I'm not 100% on the actual turbo setup yet. I would probably use an HX 35 off a 5.9 cummins if I had to guess, unless I find one that would suit that engine better, but how do I set up the exhaust manifold and the intake piping? Can I still use my EFI manifolds and fabricate something for a turbo? And as far as oil, I know how to set up the oil drain but what's the best spot to plumb into to get oil to the turbo? I'd appreciate any helpful ideas :D
 
How much boost are you planning on running?
Are you going to use an intercooler?

The EFI exhaust are efficient but plumbing them into the system while finding a place for the turbo on the same side of the engine will be a challenge.
You can "Y" pipe the two manifolds and run a single pipe to the turbo or if the turbo has a twin scroll housing the two pipes can stay separate till they reach the turbo where each one feeds one side of the twin scroll turbine housing.

The compressor side can plump into the existing throttle body setup or you can remove the upper half of the EFI intake manifold and make your own plenum that bolts to the lower half and use a single throttle body.
 
I am planning in running 8-10psi, but I might get crazy and try up to 15psi haha. I do plan to use an intercooler and just make a "Y" into the stock throttle body. I'm also curious on how other people fabricated the efi manifolds to put a turbo on them.
 
I'm running an hx35 with a 8psi spring in the actuator right now. Responsive, fun to drive, moves out pretty well. However the internal wastegate is too small and it boost creeps. Figure on an external gate with the hx35. Also ms3 is nice but look into megasquirt plug n play 2. I have a 4.9 f150 with that set up and like it a lot. Definitely run big injectors, there's nothing to be lost by going too big so I wouldn't hesitate to put 42's or larger. I see them on Craigslist all the time from fox body mustang guys. You'll be very satisfied with how an hx35 feels at 10psi. It'll be very fun to drive and make some serious tire spinning torque. Arp studs and Felpro 1024 would be good insurance. Keep in mind when tuning the efi combustion chamber does not like a lot of ignition timing especially in boost.
 
I've run Ford throttle body injectors in MPI fuel rails. Right now I have Denso units in my Bronco II out of a Dodge. Used to be that Probe turbos were a good source of high impedance 24 pph Bosch injectors. I still have some laying around but I wouldn't trust them because of their age.

I like to buy new Siemens when I can. You just need Ford-style injectors with an EV1 connector. Here is one good source.

https://racetronix.com/products/

You will want injectors with a pencil spray pattern (the above-mentioned Densos are four hole), not a cone pattern. Those are for throttle body injection.
 
deere114":ochwdndu said:
I'm running an hx35 with a 8psi spring in the actuator right now. Responsive, fun to drive, moves out pretty well. However the internal wastegate is too small and it boost creeps. Figure on an external gate with the hx35. Also ms3 is nice but look into megasquirt plug n play 2. I have a 4.9 f150 with that set up and like it a lot. Definitely run big injectors, there's nothing to be lost by going too big so I wouldn't hesitate to put 42's or larger. I see them on Craigslist all the time from fox body mustang guys. You'll be very satisfied with how an hx35 feels at 10psi. It'll be very fun to drive and make some serious tire spinning torque. Arp studs and Felpro 1024 would be good insurance. Keep in mind when tuning the efi combustion chamber does not like a lot of ignition timing especially in boost.
Where are your videos?!?!

Did you port the wastegate opening or open the divider? I have a HE351CW I plan on putting on one day, but plan on porting the wastegate opening and giving the internal a shot with a weaker actuator or adjusting the stocker out.
 
MechRick":sjp5kc28 said:
19 pph will not be enough injector. Use a flow rate calculator. I like this one:

https://www.rceng.com/technical.aspx

8-10 psi will be good for more than 225 HP, requiring at least 24 pph squirters. I would run at least 40's.

Would you know about how much torque a setup like this could produce? I've been kicking around the idea of swapping out a 460 in favor of a turbo 300, but I would want it to have at least close to the same power.
 
Atmus":2gk0yszn said:
MechRick":2gk0yszn said:
19 pph will not be enough injector. Use a flow rate calculator. I like this one:

https://www.rceng.com/technical.aspx

8-10 psi will be good for more than 225 HP, requiring at least 24 pph squirters. I would run at least 40's.

Would you know about how much torque a setup like this could produce? I've been kicking around the idea of swapping out a 460 in favor of a turbo 300, but I would want it to have at least close to the same power.
What does your 460 make now? A choked up smog Era 460 probably makes about what my 300 does now, but has way more potential with the extra cubes and aftermarket support. You could guestimate the power and torque potential of my engine on boost to be a little less than double it's output at 15psi or 1.5 times at 8psi. So, a little less than 300whp and 450wtq with the right combination. With better manifolds, better porting, better valves, better driveline, port injection EFI and tuning, you could put down more power than I have now also with it being a pretty basic build in a big truck. The theoretical numbers is why I'd love to be able to do a nice turbo 300 build in a lighter vehicle.
 
A 460 is a big bore (relatively) short stroke engine. They have great potential, but the power delivery is different than the 300. Peak torque on the six happens around 1700 rpm. The big block makes more torque, but at a higher rpm.
A turbocharged 300 will run like a diesel.
Another good truck option would be something like a 408 Windsor with mild heads. Torque delivery like the six with two extra cylinders.
 
The internet seems to think that my 460 makes about 245hp and 345ft/lbs. Those numbers seem like a reasonable goal, even if my current engine is no longer making that power. The engine is of course pretty well used, combined with a previous owner monkeying around with the smog set up and 'improving' the engine with an Edelbrock 750 that he didn't bother tuning. I didn't either, as I'm a Holley guy, and also I don't know how.

I'm not trying to build a racer out of this truck, I just want it to do as good or better than it does now. My goal is to have this truck set up for Overlander style camping, as well as get me where I need to go in the snow, which thanks to the no-slip front and limited slip rear it pretty much does already even on poor tires. Judging by my 82 F-150 with a 300 and np435, swapping from the c6 to a manual would cover a large part of the performance gap even if I left the engine stock.

I bought a 300 that was used to power a generator on a train for a local passenger rail line as it was in great condition. I had also bought a Holset turbocharger from someone on ebay at the suggestion of one of the threads on here like 8 years ago when I was deciding what to do about my other 300, so I'm about halfway there (No, I don't actually believe I am anywhere close to being half way there).

The plan I was kicking around was a megasquirt setup that I would limit to 10lbs or so of boost and the build in this thread seemed close enough that I could get a decent idea of the power potential. I'm no where near ready to start a build thread of my own, so sorry for sorta hijacking this one.
 
My engine has right about those power and torque figures or more. The best peak numbers I made were 318tq at 1800rpm and 220hp at around 46-4700rpm, but 200hp and 300tq on average, but that is at the wheels not at the engine. 2 piece looong driveshaft, big full floater 3/4 ton Dana 60, heavy stock wheels, tires, hubcaps, etc. even through an oil bath style air cleaner. Normally people assume 15% drive train loss through a manual transmission to try and figure engine output, so that could be right around the figures your 460 is supposed to be. If you've seen my last dyno graph, both power and torque are tabletop smooth from idle to redline, and it's far from being a built engine or anything extreme. So, with all that said, you could consider a similar build without the turbo and meet your expectation or if you go with the turbo, meet it also. If the turbo is the plan, I would do all I could for cooling though. The largest intercooler possible, low boost, and even a well thought out WMI system.
 
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