Generation V 454 soup up

[Hawghauler]

I have a 1994 generation V TBI 454 that needs a big boost. It is dyno'd at 520 ft lbs of torque and 220 horsepower. Great that it makes all the power down real low, but it is wimpy trying to tow at highway speed. Hard to maintain 65mph with an empty 20 foot box trailer in tow. I assume I need to replace tha cam, fuel system, timing chain/gears, and lifters at a minimum. Looking for another 100 horses while maintaining the same level of torque. I would think a build would be better than a crate motor pricewise. It had been chipped and has a Flowmaster exhaust with K&N intake so no cheap thrill fix will give what I need. Has anyone built one of these and can can you recommend specific build/part tips? Thanks

 

[Chestah]

I think that an engine making 520 foot pounds of torque should be able to tow an empty 20 foot trailer at 65 mph very easily. What is your gear ratio?

 

[Stumpuller6.5]

I wouldn`t know specific cam profiles and parts specifically, but if you freshened the engine, put in some pistons at 9.5-10.5:1 (if your prepared to run premium), get your heads done and get them port/polished matched to the intake, some Long tube headers, a good cam/lifter set, I think you could get 100 horses easy, you may have to upgrade your injectors in the TBI for 100 horses, give fiveomotorsports in california a call they can tell you what injectors would work well on that monster. OH and don`t forget a custom ECM tune, I know WESTERS can tune those old TBIs for sure, but maybe talk to jenna and see if BB can do it too.

 

[svensk]

gear swap to 4.10's then.

 

[Hawghauler]

It has 4.10 gears in it now and only 42K miles on the clock. It runs very good, I just think the low factory spec horsepower is the culprit. It has all the brute power in the world up to 55MPH. After that the power falls short. It also has an NV4500 tranny that shifts likes a dream. The power seems to drop off above 2500 RPM.

 

[Stumpuller6.5]

It has 4.10 gears in it now and only 42K miles on the clock. It runs very good, I just think the low factory spec horsepower is the culprit. It has all the brute power in the world up to 55MPH. After that the power falls short. It also has an NV4500 tranny that shifts likes a dream. The power seems to drop off above 2500 RPM.

thats strange, all my power is from 2500 to 4500..... have you checked for an exhaust restriction (cats) ?

 

[CJ Hungus]

It has 4.10 gears in it now and only 42K miles on the clock. It runs very good, I just think the low factory spec horsepower is the culprit. It has all the brute power in the world up to 55MPH. After that the power falls short. It also has an NV4500 tranny that shifts likes a dream. The power seems to drop off above 2500 RPM.

thats strange, all my power is from 2500 to 4500..... have you checked for an exhaust restriction (turbo missing) ?

Fixed

 

[Texas Jim]

If it is dropping off that bad as you hit midrange RPM...I would be checking the cats.

 

[Hawghauler]

Brand new Flowmaster exhaust and cat. Although the truck is 15 years old it has very low mileage and looks new inside out and underneath. It is perplexing.

 

[66nova]

Are you sure about those numbers? That means it was making 520ft/lbs of torque no later than 2200rpm to only yield 220 hp.

Something doesn't seem right with that. Not saying it isn't but just don't see many motors that peak that quickly that aren't diesel.