Official Taurus SHO thread

[mrhonda]

I figured we should quit whoring up the GTO thread and continue this coversation somewhere else. So SHOracer, what all do you have done to yours? How many of these cars have you owned?

For those who don't know, the SHO was basiclly a hot-rod Taurus. It first came out in 1989 and was equipped with a Yamaha-built 3.0L DOHC V6 putting out 220 hp backed only by a 5spd manual trans. An automatic wasn't even an option until 93. By todays standards, it really doesn't seem like anything special, but back in the late 80's and early 90's it was considered to be quite a performance sedan. Especailly when you consider the hp of most other mid-size sedans of the day. Hell, when the SHO came out, the Accord was barely making 100 hp.

Like I said before, I was always a big fan of the 1st and 2nd gen SHO's, its one of the very few Fords I would actually own. Sadly, when the 3rd gen Taurus came out in 96, the SHO kinda seemed to lose its mystique. For 96 Ford replaced the Yamaha V6 with a Ford-built V8. Although the new V8 made a little more power than the old V6, it just didn't seem to be as quik or fun to drive as the previous generation. What really sealed the SHO's fate however, was dropping the 5spd trans option. 96+ were only available with the automatic.

[Prez808]

I agree with you. I love the first 2 versions of the sho, but the last one was just a poor excuse for a sho. Fugly too, what was Ford thinking?

Those first 2 with the Yamaha V-6's were mean though

[AccordWarrior]

I loathe Tauruses with a passion (personal reasons) but I always did dig the SHO. They were fast cars...and they were only stick to begin with. The only problem with the SHO's was all the rich kids got a hold of them and beat them (at least when I was 16-17).

I liked the blue they had towards the end of the 2nd iteration of the first gen.

[DUNKiNUTS]

So whats the deal with this SHO stuff we have going here i am to lazy and haven't been following this. Fill me in.

[SHOracer14]

I figured we should quit whoring up the GTO thread and continue this coversation somewhere else. So SHOracer, what all do you have done to yours? How many of these cars have you owned?

For those who don't know, the SHO was basiclly a hot-rod Taurus. It first came out in 1989 and was equipped with a Yamaha-built 3.0L DOHC V6 putting out 220 hp backed only by a 5spd manual trans. An automatic wasn't even an option until 93. By todays standards, it really doesn't seem like anything special, but back in the late 80's and early 90's it was considered to be quite a performance sedan. Especailly when you consider the hp of most other mid-size sedans of the day. Hell, when the SHO came out, the Accord was barely making 100 hp.

Like I said before, I was always a big fan of the 1st and 2nd gen SHO's, its one of the very few Fords I would actually own. Sadly, when the 3rd gen Taurus came out in 96, the SHO kinda seemed to lose its mystique. For 96 Ford replaced the Yamaha V6 with a Ford-built V8. Although the new V8 made a little more power than the old V6, it just didn't seem to be as quik or fun to drive as the previous generation. What really sealed the SHO's fate however, was dropping the 5spd trans option. 96+ were only available with the automatic.

Very good information here... you know your stuff. Here's a little bit more.

What does SHO stand for? Officially, Ford called it "Super High Output"
Now, to explain Ford's connection with Yamaha and how the unplanned Taurus SHO was born. In the mid 1980's Ford wanted to build a world class two seat, mid-engined sports car. They wanted to develop a small displacement motor for weight and fuel consumption but also wanted something with alot of power. Ford sent a 3.0 V6 block (from the regular Taurus, this motor is known as "Vulcan") to Yamaha and wanted to know if they could develop heads for it to make it high performance. Yamaha thought the overall design of the motor was poor and offered to completely design a motor on their own. They did use the Vulcan specs as a starting point as the bore and stork, angle, and oil pickup is the same between the two motors. Ford had a contract with Yamaha for designing and building the motors. Ford then decided that they no longer would build a two seat sports car and because they had already entered a contract with Yamaha they had all these motors laying around with nothing to put them in. At the time the Taurus had just come out and was getting rave reviews. They decided to make a top of the line sporty Taurus with these motors. They took a 5-speed manual that was originally designed by Mazda for the V6 (vulcan powered) 5-speed Tempo and Topaz, modified it, and threw the drivetrain package into a Taurus with upgraded suspension, a little different body package, leather interior, climate control, and power everything. The SHO was born. The SHO's first year on the market (89' model year) it was voted Motortrend's car of the year and I believe won it a couple of other years as well. Auto enthusiasts marveled at the highly advanced DOHC, 24 valve V6 with a dual plenum intake, pumping out a stout 220 H.P. 210ft./lbs with only 3.0 liters of displacement, not to mention a redline of a little over 7,000 RPM (definately at the top in it's time). When the SHO came out there really weren't any other American sports sedans and the SHO topped the best that Europe and Japan had to offer.

Ford decided to do what they do best. Ruin a good car. In 1996 the Taurus line was getting totally revamped and Ford decided to Revamp the SHO line as well. Ford still had a contract with Yamaha so they let Yamaha design the heads and castings (Yamaha did not design the moving internals of the heads, just the heads themselves). Ford took it upon themselves to design their own high performance motor for the new SHO. They took a 2.5 Duratec block (from a Contour), added two more cylinders and got a DOHC V8 displacing 3.4 liters and making 235 H.P. and 230 ft/lbs. A slighty more powerful engine, and still able to rev to 7,000 RPM, but crippled by a heavier car and four speed sutomoatic transaxle. As sales slumped and the contract with Yamaha was finished ford dropped the SHO after the 1999 model year.

Couple year to year differences are as follows.
1989- 1st production year, old style interior only lasted this model year. 15in aluminum "basket weave" rims, cable-shift linkage.
1990- Much the same as the 89' but with new updated dash and interior, a couple more color options.
1991- Last year of the 1st gen body. "Plus Package" offered, 16in "slicer" rim introduced, rod shift linkage introduced.
*The SHO "Plus Package" was mainly an appearance package and did not have any other mechanical differences from a regular SHO. The SHO plus is rare as it was only offered for one year. The package included a fiberglass "power bulge" hood, trunk spoiler, body colored trim pieces, chrome window trim, black mirrors, metal "DOHC 24v" badges, blacked out B pillars. Also with the plus package a special Jewel Green body color was offered only with the package. All white SHO plus' had white slicer rims.
1992- Body style change to 2nd gen. Bastard year for the SHO as it had updated interior but 1st gen console and steering wheel remained. Also, 92's did not get trunk spoilers.
1993- No body changes. Trunk spoilers standard equipment. New sporty steering wheel and console introduced. The first automatic SHO's are offered.
*Automatic SHO's have slightly more displacement than the manuals to make up for the added drivetrain loss on an automatic transaxle. The automatic SHO's motors are bored out to 3.2 liters over the manual's 3.0. The 3.2 makes 10 more horsepower and 15 more ft/lbs of torque. (this is a popular swap into a manual car).
1994- Blacked out window trim instead of the chrome window trim used, body colored door handles also introduced.
1995- Carryover.
1996- Completely new car, 3.4 32 valve V8, manual transmission dropped. Active suspension introduced.
1997- Carryover
1998- Carryover
1999- Carryover

I know that SHO can handle but what can it do in a straight line? Official 1/4 times for 5-speed V6's are around 15 flat but I've seen a couple freaks pull mid 14's. I myself pulled a 14.86 in my totally stock 91' plus. Times for an automatic V6 are usually in the mid 15 sec range. Times for the V8 SHO's are in the high 15 sec. range.

I have owned two SHO's so far (I will own more). My first SHO was a white 1991 SHO with the rare plus package (see below). I ran a best of 14.86 when the car was completely stock and never got a chance to run with the exhaust system I put on. That car got wrecked by a redlight runner in December of 04'. My current SHO is a 93' MTX (manual). The car is black with black leather interior, I had the rims powdercoated black and the darkest tinit I could get away with without getting pulled over on a daily basis. I have the SHO-shop equal length catless y-pipe and the SHO shop catback exhaust system (both obsolete) for the exiting end. I fabbed a short ram type intake out of a GTP CAI with a huge Fram Airhog specified for the GM 6.0 Vortecs. The GTP intake worked out very well for my Nitrous setup as the GTP's have a vacuum line on the bottom side (which I originally plugged) but ended up tapping out and using for my nitrous nozzle. I also have a purge kit and a bottle heater to make my nitrous experience the best it can be. My best time in the black car is 13.78 @ 105.14 on the bottle and 14.7something @ 96.something. A pretty fun car overall and it suprises many people. I feel that in buying one of these cars (if you find a decent one) you get alot of car for your money. The resale is very low so you can usually find a nice example with all options for around 3k. It's nice looking car with leather and power everything with a 5-speed and good amount of power for 3k. That's a deal in my book.

On a side note. Thanks for putting up with my rambling about SHO's... I think it's out of my system but I just have so much passion for the damn things. I did however register for this site again (I used to be AccordRacer14 on here but couldn't remember the password and just started a new account) because I have been thinking about buying another 4th gen Accord but want one with a motor swap already done because I don't feel like doing the swap and just want to start modding. I've seen a couple on here I like but nothing in my area. Hopefully I'll get another in the near future I've always loved 4th gen Accords. It's what I learned to drive on and it was the first car I ever bought. OK end of post here are some pictures for your enjoyment.



My 1991' Taurus SHO Plus

Excuse the dirty engine bay.

That's my current SHO
The next is a picture of the SHO motor... check out that intake... pretty sweet!

[ACCORDianate]

Very informative.

My parents were split between buying new in 91 a Sable LS or Taurus SHO. They went with the Sable as my mother liked the metallic cranberry the Sable came in. Some process of elimination, huh?

[mrhonda]

Yeah, thats what I'm talking about! I thought I was the only person in the world that knew all that, and everything you stated is pretty much 100% correct.

For those who are unfamiliar with these engines, take a look at that intake manifold....pretty wicked, huh. 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 via vacuum operated butterfly valves.....does this remind you guys of anything? *ahem*....F22A6

I remember back when I was about 11 years old, my parents bought two brand new cars in one week....a white 92 Accord LX for my Mom, and a white 92 SHO for my Dad. I had always asked my Dad to hold onto the SHO so I could have it when I turned 16. However, as fate would have it, my parents later sold the Taurus and kept the Accord....which is what ended up being my first car. I wonder if it worked out the other way, and I got the SHO for my first car......would I be the CB7 enthusiest I am today? hmmmm....

[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

[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

[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.

[lil_dcb7]

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

[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]

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....

[williamsvt]

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

[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.