FSC Forum - View Single Post - 90 454SS vs 94 Lightning

Red94Chev · 10-11-2008, 12:38 PM

I watched the head-to-head episode. No surprise the Ford was going to win the 1/8 mile race after the dyno tuning episode. The 454SS is still pretty slow. 1/8- to 1/4-mile ET estimates (http://www.eldemoniorojo.com/calculator.htm) place it in the low 15's. Might touch high 14's since I'm sure the 60' times are slow due to the stock torque converter. The Ford, on the other hand, would have broke into the 13's in the 1/4. Would have been closer if Ryan used a higher stall torque converter, IMO.

What I was surprised to see was the heavy 454SS have much better handling and braking performance than the Ford. Especially since the results were the other way around when they tested the trucks prior to the performance upgrades. This is even more impressive given the added centrifical weight of the 20" wheels/tires. It would have been useful if they gave before and after test numbers for all the tests, but I suspect that the braking numbers may now be worse for the Lightning. Locked up front brakes are always bad news. Didn't this truck come with anti-lock brakes?

The Ford had more body roll than expected and front plow syndrome when braking. As Kevin mentioned, stiffer front coils would have helped considerably. Interesting how he mentioned the Ford guys on the forums warned him of that.

Overall, I thought this was a cool series and it gave me some ideas for easy brake upgrades. I think both trucks are still not dialed in. Handling/braking issues for the Ford and power/rear end issues for the Chevy. At this point, the things I think the 454SS needs are:
1. better exhaust with duals all the way back,
2. A higher stall torque converter with that camshaft,
3. Increase the engine compression. The camshaft and the low engine compression are a major mismatch.
4. Fix the power falloff after 5000 RPM. MSD boxes have an issue with misfiring right at 5000 RPM.
5. better tuning/datalogging than just A:F ratios. I'm sure they did ignition tuning, but they could have commented on the timing during the dyno tuning episode. Proper ignition tuning may wake this big block up. Going with the DIY apporach, Edelbrock new ProFlo2 is much better for tuning than the handheld calibration module (http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_...f2_chart.shtml). Don't know if there is a datalogging feature, but this would be extremely helpful. Would also be nice to know if the computer does fuel trims, but I assume so.

Personally, I'd upgrade the stock computer with the EBL and the MPFI add-on and tune it myself in TunerProRT. At least then, you can datalog all sensors. I also would have chosen a less agressive camshaft for a heavy truck application to work with the compression ratio of this engine.

10-11-2008, 12:38 PM	#277
Red94Chev Kick Ass!! Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Edmonton, AB Age: 34 Posts: 1,042	Re: 90 454SS vs 94 Lightning - TrucksTV I watched the head-to-head episode. No surprise the Ford was going to win the 1/8 mile race after the dyno tuning episode. The 454SS is still pretty slow. 1/8- to 1/4-mile ET estimates (http://www.eldemoniorojo.com/calculator.htm) place it in the low 15's. Might touch high 14's since I'm sure the 60' times are slow due to the stock torque converter. The Ford, on the other hand, would have broke into the 13's in the 1/4. Would have been closer if Ryan used a higher stall torque converter, IMO. What I was surprised to see was the heavy 454SS have much better handling and braking performance than the Ford. Especially since the results were the other way around when they tested the trucks prior to the performance upgrades. This is even more impressive given the added centrifical weight of the 20" wheels/tires. It would have been useful if they gave before and after test numbers for all the tests, but I suspect that the braking numbers may now be worse for the Lightning. Locked up front brakes are always bad news. Didn't this truck come with anti-lock brakes? The Ford had more body roll than expected and front plow syndrome when braking. As Kevin mentioned, stiffer front coils would have helped considerably. Interesting how he mentioned the Ford guys on the forums warned him of that. Overall, I thought this was a cool series and it gave me some ideas for easy brake upgrades. I think both trucks are still not dialed in. Handling/braking issues for the Ford and power/rear end issues for the Chevy. At this point, the things I think the 454SS needs are: 1. better exhaust with duals all the way back, 2. A higher stall torque converter with that camshaft, 3. Increase the engine compression. The camshaft and the low engine compression are a major mismatch. 4. Fix the power falloff after 5000 RPM. MSD boxes have an issue with misfiring right at 5000 RPM. 5. better tuning/datalogging than just A:F ratios. I'm sure they did ignition tuning, but they could have commented on the timing during the dyno tuning episode. Proper ignition tuning may wake this big block up. Going with the DIY apporach, Edelbrock new ProFlo2 is much better for tuning than the handheld calibration module (http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_...f2_chart.shtml). Don't know if there is a datalogging feature, but this would be extremely helpful. Would also be nice to know if the computer does fuel trims, but I assume so. Personally, I'd upgrade the stock computer with the EBL and the MPFI add-on and tune it myself in TunerProRT. At least then, you can datalog all sensors. I also would have chosen a less agressive camshaft for a heavy truck application to work with the compression ratio of this engine. __________________ Last edited by Red94Chev; 10-12-2008 at 08:51 PM.