need more horse power any ideas

[Mile High VX]

I thought I read somewhere that the transmissions in our trucks can't handle much more power. True?

It's not really a HP issue, but a torque issue. I think I read that our transmission can only handle up to 260 lbs/ft of torque and stock we have 230. Not much room for growth unless you take serious thought about the tranny.

[eternal21]

It's not really a HP issue, but a torque issue. I think I read that our transmission can only handle up to 260 lbs/ft of torque and stock we have 230. Not much room for growth unless you take serious thought about the tranny.

That's another one of the reasons I'm going manual tranny. I'm assuming that the manual tranny from the Trooper will be a bit more robust as I'm assuming Isuzu accounted for the fact that it might be used for hauling.

[pbkid]

The short version is to enjoy what you have. Because if you blow a vx motor...... There's about 5-6k in the garbage

[phines]

The short version is to enjoy what you have. Because if you blow a vx motor...... There's about 5-6k in the garbage

yep, you get a whole lot less HP when that happens.

[xXxRed_Ninty_9xXx]

Some obvious things I've learned in the past that improve hp include going to electric fans, pulleys, intake/exhaust. Since they don't make pulleys someone could always take there set off or buy another set of stock pulleys and take them to a machine shop and have a custom set made out of whatever metal he or she chooses. Fans are easy-ish. Intake and exhuast can be custom made. Its all in how how deep your pockets are.

[pbkid]

yep, you get a whole lot less HP when that happens.

amazing how that works huh?
then you gotta dish out as much money as a new VX just to fix it

[Ascinder]

Some obvious things I've learned in the past that improve hp include going to electric fans, pulleys, intake/exhaust. Since they don't make pulleys someone could always take there set off or buy another set of stock pulleys and take them to a machine shop and have a custom set made out of whatever metal he or she chooses. Fans are easy-ish. Intake and exhuast can be custom made. Its all in how how deep your pockets are.

Intake is a big one for sure, but from what I've read in some of the archived posts, headers were attempted but yielded very little if any gains whatsoever. Our engine is basically a stroked 3.2 liter so that pretty much rules out getting longer connecting rods as an option. Boring it over would yield more cubes, but I don't think our cylinder walls are all that thick to begin with so that probably is a dead end too. Pulleys are a semi viable option, but the costs of running a custom production set probably aren't worth the gains either. The fan idea isn't a bad one, but then you're really only talking substantial gains at the top end anyways, you don't see that power down low. The real HP options are just forced induction or an engine swap. Yes you can nickel and dime and try to turn the VX engine into a race platform if you throw a ridiculous amount of money at it, but then it's just a race only engine that isn't going to last any amount of time and need constant maintenance and tuning. If you're going to go to all that trouble and expense, why not throw it at a more maintstream engine that people actually have parts for and know all the finer points of making power on. Just my .02 cents.

[ibmx2]

I suggest two Yak-40 engines from a passenger jet

mounted high to catch fresh, clean air seems to have been semi-successful for the Russian rail system( plus No torque or tranny issues with this mod)

[xXxRed_Ninty_9xXx]

Mental Note: Jet pack=good...but not on my VX.

[Luna X]

Mental Note: Jet pack=good...but not on my VX.

that idea has received the Darwin Award long ago....

[Ascinder]

One question though. Why use small ones?

[ibmx2]

One question though. Why use small ones?

Don't Be Silly !!

It should (needs) blend with the lines of the vehicle & be aesthetically pleasing
Besides any bigger is just overkill!!!!

[vt_maverick]

Don't Be Silly !!

It should (needs) blend with the lines of the vehicle & be aesthetically pleasing
Besides any bigger is just overkill!!!!

Do you know who you're saying that to?

[Ascinder]

Besides any bigger is just overkill!!!!

What is that? Something that exists with leprechauns, unicorns, and honest politicians?

[TheGanzman]

Another option - reduce weight! Take out the rear seat and space-saver spare tire/wheel - that's gotta be close to 80 pounds! Put some lighter wheels and tires on too - reducing "rotating weight" is BIG; 1 pound of rotating weight reduced is equivalent to 3 pounds of "body" weight. Aluminum driveshaft(s), more rotating weight loss...

Finally, if you REALLY wanna do it up, gank the four wheel drive setup; I gotta believe that getting rid of that heavy front differential, x-fer case, etc. would really make a difference. Convert to an aluminum V8 with a stout transmission and two wheel drive; dump that rascal about 4-5 inches, and start cruising the stoplights...