Official Taurus SHO thread

[SHOracer14]

the SHO is an awesome car.. i've always wanted one, but unfortunately the CB7 is a money pit. but there's just something about a family sedan that can open a can of whoop ass on sportier cars (having owned the accord). my dad has owned 2 tauruses, but they were the regular GL models. i always tried to convince him to get the SHO

but, yeah... i hear most of the older early 90's SHOs are runnin very low 15's stock and that's a pretty good platform to start with! how do these yamaha motors hold up with forced induction? do they offer supercharger kits or anything?

Yeah, most any manual equipped cars with a competant driver will do high 14's to low 15's. The motors are the only part of the car that is super reliable. I've replaced sensors and suspension pieces and transmissions and never once touched anything on the motor (except I replaced a couple leaky seals). The motors have a forged bottom end from the factory so there isn't much you have to do to support big power. A 75 shot is the biggest you can go without a bigger fuel pump and bigger injectors. I know a guy that had some mild mods and a 3.2 swap in his mtx with an upgraded fuel pump and injectors and a 150 shot. Consistant low 13's @ like 110 or so. I also know that the same motor had over 40 bottles sprayed on it with that setup. He ended up taking the car back to stock and selling that motor and from what I hear it still runs strong.

They do have supercharger kits for these cars as SHO Shop and one or two other companies made Vortech kits for the SHO's. The biggest hassle of a blown SHO is computer management. The popular item to use, used to be a programmable LPM (piggybacks the computer and tells it what to do) but that became a pain in the arse to change settings when you added parts. Now most people use the Tweecer which can be used on most Ford computers and has datalogging capabilities as well as changing settings on the go for an instant test. The average supercharged SHO makes around 375 H.P. and one guy just broke the 600 H.P. mark with a Vortech kit and some spray. There are also a few that have fabbed up roots style blowers on their cars (and one guy on his SHO powered sand rail).

There are no complete turbo kits for SHO's but there are two known in existance and they were both hand made setups. Bittersweet SHO (a newer SHO performance distributor) just started to offer turbo piping kits this year. One guy just got the piping and we're waiting to see how his project goes.

I beleive there are also one or two SHO's with direct port setups and it is a thing of beauty.

The only common problem that just started showing up with the motors is rod bearing failures. They've all been happening at different mileage so we're guessing it's a direct connection with how the car was maintained it's whole life. Both of my cars have over 150k with originals and I know a guy that has over 250k on his originals but there have been a few failures as low as 80k. It's not pretty when a bearing seizes and shoots a rod through the block or oil pan. The 3.4 V8 motors on the other hand have lots of problems and Ford is in a big lawsuit over it right now. Ford smartly decided to use hollow camshafts to save weight but also used pressed on camshaft sprockets. Well, just guess what happens after the cams wear a bit and you get the sprocket to slip the timing and tap a valve. That scenerio has ended many 3rd gen SHO's lives. The only way to combat that is to have someone weld the cam sprockets on which is an easy fix and works like a charm.

[accordtunerx]

I also have to say that I'm really suprised to hear that some of you guys on here not only know what an SHO is....but actually like them as well....especially since this is a Honda forum.

oh yeah
the only reason i would choose the accord over the SHO is because of styling preferences. i, personally, like the sleeker lines and low profile of the cb7. i also think it has the advantage of being more of a sleeper since it's known to have the 2.2 I4 SOHC in most cases.. whereas most people know the SHO is gonna have the beefy V6 no matter what. but then again, everyone seems to have an idea of what's capable with hondas these days

[mrhonda]

how do these yamaha motors hold up with forced induction? do they offer supercharger kits or anything?

I was kinda wondering that myself. This 32 valve DOHC V6 with a dual-runner intake manifold is all about breathing, so I would think it could benefit alot from forced induction. I was HUGE into these cars back when they came out, but I've really kinda forgotten about them the past few years so I'm unfamiliar with what is available as far as aftermarket support.

I also have to say that I'm really suprised to hear that some of you guys on here not only know what an SHO is....but actually like them as well....especially since this is a Honda forum.

Hmmmm......with all this talk about them I'm actually seriously considering selling one of my Accords and trying to find a nice 5 spd SHO.

[williamsvt]

Haha! Good point. Yes, unfortunately you will become known as "The guy in the Taurus." However, last night at the local racing spot I went to race a Mustang and they had two girls flagging. One stood in front of the other and when the shirt went up on the girl in front and nipples began to SHOw, that's when you would go. It was a little distracting at times... I even bogged the launch.

sweet

[accordtunerx]

the SHO is an awesome car.. i've always wanted one, but unfortunately the CB7 is a money pit. but there's just something about a family sedan that can open a can of whoop ass on sportier cars (having owned the accord). my dad has owned 2 tauruses, but they were the regular GL models. i always tried to convince him to get the SHO

but, yeah... i hear most of the older early 90's SHOs are runnin very low 15's stock and that's a pretty good platform to start with! how do these yamaha motors hold up with forced induction? do they offer supercharger kits or anything?

[SHOracer14]

Well, I went to a local import shop to get my nitrous refilled today and a guy in a really nice RSX (that is also pretty darn fast) came up and said yeah I saw a post on ToledoTuners (local car board) that you raced a twin turboed Mustang. I was a bit amazed as I never check that board but I just had to go have a look see at what he had to say. Check that out here http://toledotuners.com/phpBB2/viewt...er=asc&start=0
I also found a good article today about SHOs while I was surfing the net. I was at the convention in Indianapolis that they talk about and the ride they feature is even nicer in person. Check that out here http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2...Tell/index.php

[91hybridaccord]

I havn't read the whole thread, but my dad once had an SHO....I think it was like an '89 5spd.....damn that thing was fast! A while back, I almost bought a 94 SHO with like 74K miles on it...(tan leather, dark forest green, nice oil leak) it was really nice except for the oil leak, but I don't think it was as fast as my dads '89.....

[SHOracer14]

remember the SHO is nice and fast...but is it a chick magnet, haha....

Haha! Good point. Yes, unfortunately you will become known as "The guy in the Taurus." However, last night at the local racing spot I went to race a Mustang and they had two girls flagging. One stood in front of the other and when the shirt went up on the girl in front and nipples began to SHOw, that's when you would go. It was a little distracting at times... I even bogged the launch.

[williamsvt]

remember the SHO is nice and fast...but is it a chick magnet, haha....

[lil_dcb7]

I was thinking the same thing. I always wanted a red one for one reason.....it was the only color that was only available on the SHO and not the rest of the Taurus line. .....and yes, the supercharger would be a nice touch.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995-...QQcmdZViewItem


aaaaaaaaaaaaaw yeah....

Will, I think i'm creapin over to the darkside....

[mrhonda]

why do i want a 95 red SHO with a supercharger all of a sudden

I was thinking the same thing. I always wanted a red one for one reason.....it was the only color that was only available on the SHO and not the rest of the Taurus line. .....and yes, the supercharger would be a nice touch.

[lil_dcb7]

why do i want a 95 red SHO with a supercharger all of a sudden

[SHOracer14]

this kid at work has a blue sho and his dad has a white one, and god damn they will not shut up about them, it gets really annoying, no matter what the sho always wins and if they dont its cause of somethign stupid.. blah blah blah

Well they sound like a family of SHO enthusiasts then. Unfortunately, as with any enthusiast of a certain model, some like to think that these cars are invincible and for their time they were. Lets face it... unless the SHO is completely modded out there are many other cars on the market these days with similar power. Don't get me wrong... I love my SHO's and think that they are underrated but I know they aren't invincible. Take for instance the sleeper that killed me the other night. A very stock looking (probably mid 80's) 5.0 Mustang pulls next to me looking like he wants to run. I kind of laughed because I can usually demolish 5.0's without spraying. I had the nitrous on just in case though. We both hit it in first at about 30 and I immediately pull about a car length ahead. The only problem I forsaw in this race was that in between each shift the Mustang made I heard not only the loud rumble of a 5.0 but also the distinct psshh of a BOV. I shat myself as the Mustang then pulled back the car I originally put on him and then pulled another car before we shut down at a little over 100. I was quite impressed and when I pulled up to the light he asked if my car was turboed... I told him no, just the 75 shot. I then asked what kind of setup he had. He replied oh it's twin turboed and then took off from the light. You woulda never guessed just by looking at that thing.

[phatdoughnut]

this kid at work has a blue sho and his dad has a white one, and god damn they will not shut up about them, it gets really annoying, no matter what the sho always wins and if they dont its cause of somethign stupid.. blah blah blah

[Granite CB7]

You'll notice each cylinder has two intake runners....a long skinny runner for low RPM, and then a short larger diameter runner which opens at higher RPMs

That intake manifold is a very good one! I hope nobody jumps on this^ thinking it's backwards, b/c it's not! The long skinny runners help out the low end, and for the high end the short larger diameter runners take over. That's why the SHO motors make great power at any RPM.

Very good thread, I have always liked the 2nd gen. SHO's