Stage I 101

[Agent M79]

Let's put this one firmly in the "research what you are buying before you by it" department.

I have the Stage I components installed: Denso Plugs, 180 Thermostat, 4.10 gears, and a tune by Jerry & Crew.


Here is what I know (now, and shoulda before I started):

Rear gears require friction modifier to be added with the oil.

If plans are to create maximum safe power down the road, a stronger girdle is suggested.


Here is what I don't know or am unclear about (and shoulda known before I started):

The plugs are hotter/colder? What does this mean exactly? How is that measured?

The stat is hotter/colder compared to stock? Because?


In Atlanta more than one person asked if I did the underdrive pulleys (or "undies" as TAF calls 'em) and seemed a little shocked that I didn't and said I should have.

The pulley's are on sale now, so I'd like an idea of what they will accomplish and if there are any "since you are in there, do this too" type things like adding a stronger girdle when you change the gears.

Thanks!

[TAF]

Originally posted by Agent M79
If plans are to create maximum safe power down the road, a stronger girdle is suggested.

I think ONLY if you are going S/C...others may differ in their opinion...


Originally posted by Agent M79

Here is what I don't know or am unclear about (and shoulda known before I started):

The plugs are hotter/colder? What does this mean exactly? How is that measured?

Cooler...


Originally posted by Agent M79
The stat is hotter/colder compared to stock? Because?

Cooler...



Originally posted by Agent M79
The pulley's are on sale now, so I'd like an idea of what they will accomplish and if there are any "since you are in there, do this too" type things like adding a stronger girdle when you change the gears.

Thanks!

pullies will give you 10-12 RWHP...

[RF Overlord]

Originally posted by Agent M79
The plugs are hotter/colder? What does this mean exactly? How is that measured?

The stat is hotter/colder compared to stock? Because?

The pulley's are on sale now, so I'd like an idea of what they will accomplish...

The Denso IT20s are 1 step colder than stock (IT16). This means the plugs will conduct more heat away from themselves and into the heads, thus remaining "cooler". With a richer fuel mixture and/or more advanced timing, a plug that remains too hot can cause pre-ignition (bad). I don't know how this is measured, possibly using a special plug with a built-in thermocouple?

The 180° thermostat is 8° cooler than stock. This allows the engine to run at a slightly lower temp, thus producing more power...by itself, the 'stat does very little, but combined with the cooler plugs allows use of the full range of Dennis's (or Jerry's) programming before the knock sensor starts to pull back the timing.

The underdrive pulleys slow down the "accessories" (water pump, power steering pump, alternator, etc) which actually use a significant portion of the engines output. This allows more of that power to go to the rear wheels. The pulleys Dennis sells are also lighter than stock, allowing the motor to "spool up" more quickly.

[SergntMac]

Agent...The friction additive is necessary IF it's not already in the gear lube, so, it's more like "know your lube" than anything else. Besides, this is not necessarilly an owner's need to know, as much as it is the mechanic's need to know.

TAF's got you on the right road with his answers, I'll add that the colder plugs and stat are mods that lower the engine temps and maxmize combustion, which gives you a bit more elbow room to tailor timing. Detonation is a real killer of these modular engines, and the further away you can get from detonation, the better. The plugs and stat help you with that. Moreover, for the newbies here, DO NOT use the 180 stat and cooler plugs without the Reinhart chip. You won't like what follows...

TAF argues that the girdle isn't necessary until you reach S/C power levels, and I might agree with him. However, I think it's not just a power thing. Most of us who mod our cars come to race them, sometimes often, and that's a major change from LMs prediction of how this car was going to be enjoyed. If you're planning to do some drag racing, do the girdle and stud kit now. You may never have a problem with your rear end, but once you do, it won't be cheap. Pop a ring bolt under power, and you'll probably wreck everything else back there. Been there, done that. Do the stud kit and girdle now, and avoid problems later...IMHO

Both the "undies" and the torque converter are lighter than the parts they replace, and lighter means less engine power is needed to spin them up. Lower the parasitic drag and that power is on it's way to your rear wheels. There's a lot of drag in the powertrain, which is why "brake HP and "rear wheel" HP figures are different. Lighter undies (and TC) allow the engine to spin up faster, and the sooner you can get into your power band, the better.

When I installed my undies, I got 7 RWHP and 4 lb. RWTQ. This was cool, but more importantly, I had faster access to my power band and that was remarkable. I was able to trim 1000 RPM from my launch, and that reduced my tire spin. HP and TQ aside, I got faster, and isn't that what you want from a mod?

[Agent M79]

Having a vague notion versus knowing what I do now makes me a lot more comfortable and better positioned for my future plans. Thanks guys!

[frdwrnch]

You may notice fluctuations in your ammeter, slightly more steering effort in certain low rpm conditions, and a little warmer a/c under low rpm and high temp load which is why I'm on the fence w/this mod. No doubt it gives a noticable performance improvement. Maybe if my car had the lighter color interior such as Agent's I would have already done it. I've measured a 30 deg interior temp difference in direct sunlight on a 90 degree day between the black interior and the lighter grey w/a laser temp reader.

[Glenn]

Agent:

My UDs gave me 10-12+ HP and are the best HP for the buck you can get anywhere. And as Sarg says, the engine spools up quicker. I installed the below mods and got 266 RWHP and 288 RWTQ from Atlanta's Jerry dyno-tune on 11/15. If a stock MM gives you 236-240 RWHP then my mods and Jerry's tune gave me a total of 26-30 HP. Not bad for the limited investment. Today, I did my weekly burn test and was surprised by the length of rubber I got. Next is D.R. Cobra E/Ms and X-pipe, but with my factory mufflers, I hope for 12-15 more HP. After that will be the Stallion T/C.

Glenn

[Petrograde]

Originally posted by SergntMac

DO NOT use the 180 stat and cooler plugs without the Reinhart chip. You won't like what follows...



Uh oh,.....

What exactly do you mean by that Sarge?

:help:

Tom

[TripleTransAm]

My guess is a slight increase in plug fouling.

[Agent M79]

Originally posted by Agent M79
Let's put this one firmly in the "research what you are buying before you by it" department.

Yes, lets. As a direct result of this adventure, I put together a doc that gives the simplest overview of the Stage I that anyone should be able to understand. Have a read, let me know what you think. (Thanks Mac)

Overview of Reinhart Stage I for the 2003/4 Mercury Marauder

Stage I is not a single modification, but rather a small set of modifications that work with one another to produce an obvious increase in power and enhance drivability. Some people may never go beyond Stage I and as such it is a good stand-alone mod. It was designed from the outset to be the first set of modifications culminating with a supercharger.

Stage I is made up of a set of spark plugs, a thermostat, differential gears, and programming.

Stage I Plugs
A set of spark plugs needs to do a little more than fit properly in the cylinder head. They must be able to deliver a reliable and consistent spark, resist fouling, and contribute to the transmission of heat from the combustion process into the cylinder head.

Spark plugs have to run hot, but not too hot. A plug shouldn’t run to cold either. The idea is that the plug runs hot enough to burn the products of combustion off itself but not so hot that it ignites the air/fuel mixture before sparking causing detonation.

The plugs that are part of Stage I run one heat range cooler than the factory installed plugs and as such shed heat a little faster than the factory plugs.

Stage I Thermostat
The thermostat installed by the factory opens at 188°F and allows coolant to flow to the radiator. The thermostat in Stage I flows coolant at 180°F helping the engine to run just a little cooler.


Stage I 4.10 Gears
The Marauder is a rear-wheel drive vehicle. The rear wheels are connected to a limited-slip differential. The differential is responsible for dividing the engines power to the 2 rear wheels. The number of times the input shaft of the differential rotates versus the number of times the axle rotates is the gear ratio.

From the factory, the Marauder has 3.55:1 gear ratio. This means that the input shaft into the differential turns 3.55 times for each single axle rotation. Increasing this ratio increases the number of times the input shaft must rotate to turn the axles and thus, the wheels. This also has the effect of amplifying the amount of torque and its availability lower in the engines RPM range.

The gear set in the Stage I raises the gear ratio to 4.10:1. This puts more torque to the rear wheels and sooner than the stock 3.55:1 ratio.


Stage I Chip/Program
The computer that monitors and controls the engine and transmission in your Marauder is called the Power-train Control Module (PCM) or Electronic Engine Control (EEC). Its programming is alterable using and number of available tuners and software. Altering the programming affects the manner in which the car operates.

With Stage I, the new programming is stored either on a separate chip which must be added to the PCM/EEC or is programmed directly into the PCM/EEC.

The programming in and of itself does much to improve the power, the availability of the power, and the shift pattern of the transmission. The inclusion of the new spark plugs, thermostat, and gears allows the programming to be further optimized for greater performance.

More power is put to the ground sooner and longer through out the RPM range. The transmission holds gears longer to capitalize on the newly available power curve and the shifts are faster.

Some modifications have to be measured on a dynamometer or at the track as they are so subtle as to not be felt “seat of the pants”. The Reinhart Stage I is not that kind of modification. The obvious increase in power and the greatly improved shift patterns will be noticeable immediately.

Stage I for the 2003/4 Mercury Marauder
Reinhart Automotive
www.reinhartautomotive.com
(904) 276-5003 ask for Dennis Reinhart