How Much Power

[anschutz1913]

Ok so here's the deal.... pretty soon I'm going to buy another OBS for the purpose of seeing just how much power potential the old OBS is truly capable of.... The only thing I'm not going to do is bore/stroke it because it wouldn't be a 7.3 then.... Or change the HEUI system to something else... The motor was designed for this system and I don't think the HEUI has a problem delivering fuel. I mean I could throw 500cc injectors in it but need the supporting air. Air delivery seems to be more of a problem than fuel delivery. I have seen several things that could be modified... For example our trucks are only 16 valves, why not make it a 32 valve with some custom heads? No expense would be spared and this would be over a several year period for the initial build. This would be a never ending thing but I wanna see just how much power we could truly get outta these old girls. When I start it I will start a build thread and of course any and all suggestions welcome! Any ideas off the top your heads?

[JD3020]

First off, are you ready to spend $30k on a motor?

[anschutz1913]

Yea I know its gonna cost me multiple tens of thousands. But its gonna be a LONG project years wise. So the $30k or more is going to be over a long period of time.

[JD3020]

If you are serious about it, then go over to powerstrokearmy.com and start looking at the guys with the high HP 7.3's. Call up their shop and tell them your plan. A couple examples would be Marty's Diesel Performance, Swamps Diesel Performance, or Unlimited Diesel Performance. They will tell you what can and can't be done, and that i'm probably low with a guess of $30k for a motor. Especially if you want to mess with a billet 4v head and cam. I bet the heads alone would cost ya around $15k for somebody to draw up, make, and then do some testing.

[Red '97]

dude... youre awesome. this is gonna be one hulluva cummins-eater.....

[anschutz1913]

Originally Posted by Red '97

dude... youre awesome. this is gonna be one hulluva cummins-eater.....

That's the plan.


I just haven't seen a whole lot about trying to squeeze every possible HP out of a HEUI 7.3 and seeing what it is truly capable of!

I'm reading some at powerstroke army like JD said, and some good stuff over there to help get some ideas.

[backwoodsboy]

Subscribed.
I've been giving some thought to the potential for a 32v Powerstroke lately. I'm getting pretty heavy into engine design (mainly in the context of bio-methane combustion) as well as CAD/CAM and CNC lately for school. One thing I've thought about is a 24v design, where each cylinder has two intake valves and a single bored over exhaust valve. Exhaust gasses are pressurized, so it would stand to reason that a single, oversize exhaust valve would be effective in evacuating the combustion chamber. This would, at least potentially, reduce machining of heads for an additional exhaust valve, and allow the use of more OEM components (rocker arms and connecting rods).
Just some ideas I've been kicking around. Maybe for my graduation project I can give something like this a shot. Thats still a few years down the road though.

[anschutz1913]

Originally Posted by backwoodsboy

Subscribed.
I've been giving some thought to the potential for a 32v Powerstroke lately. I'm getting pretty heavy into engine design (mainly in the context of bio-methane combustion) as well as CAD/CAM and CNC lately for school. One thing I've thought about is a 24v design, where each cylinder has two intake valves and a single bored over exhaust valve. Exhaust gasses are pressurized, so it would stand to reason that a single, oversize exhaust valve would be effective in evacuating the combustion chamber. This would, at least potentially, reduce machining of heads for an additional exhaust valve, and allow the use of more OEM components (rocker arms and connecting rods).
Just some ideas I've been kicking around. Maybe for my graduation project I can give something like this a shot. Thats still a few years down the road though.

That's a good thought. I'm getting ready to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering and I have the software I need to do some simulations possibly.... When I tear into the engine I will look at the heads and see just how much room is under there for the valves, haven't been in one lately and can't remember how much room there is. I think it could be done without having to radically change the camshaft too which would be much more convenient. I just see that the 6.0L and beyond has 32V and figured it would be a good benefit if the 7.3 could have more valves to aid it. I think you got something going with the exhaust valve just being bored out, but air is one problem our trucks have so a 2nd intake valve in my mind would be essential. especially if I do sequential turbo's.

[Fordman247365]

Ever watch this?

Blowby 1038 HP 7.3 Powerstroke - YouTube

Blowby 1038 HP 7.3 Powerstroke - YouTube

[backwoodsboy]

Originally Posted by anschutz1913

That's a good thought. I'm getting ready to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering and I have the software I need to do some simulations possibly.... When I tear into the engine I will look at the heads and see just how much room is under there for the valves, haven't been in one lately and can't remember how much room there is. I think it could be done without having to radically change the camshaft too which would be much more convenient. I just see that the 6.0L and beyond has 32V and figured it would be a good benefit if the 7.3 could have more valves to aid it. I think you got something going with the exhaust valve just being bored out, but air is one problem our trucks have so a 2nd intake valve in my mind would be essential. especially if I do sequential turbo's.

What school are you graduating from? I'm working towards the same goal, a degree in Mechanic Engineering focused on Vehicle Design.
As far as the camshaft goes, were you thinking of machining an existing cam with the changes made to accommodate the extra valves, or reverse engineering a billet one using CAD? I've never torn into a 6.0, so I have no idea what lobe profile/ lift / duration, or even overall length is compared to a 7.3, but it might be possible to make some sort of hybrid of the two to accommodate 32v. 6.0 heads might be a good place to start when trying to figure out head design as well. Let me know how this goes man.