When Joe Irwin launched Fast Forward Race Engines in 2009, he didn’t set out to be the king of Coyotes. In fact, the shop’s earliest days were all about big-block Chevys, small-block Fords, and anything else that roared with horsepower. But as the years rolled on, the complex, high-revving Ford Coyote V8 became a specialty of FFRE’s business. And for good reason. Irwin and his team have developed a deep understanding of the platform, carving out a niche by dialing in the details that other builders overlook or shy away from.

“Some guys may be intimidated by what they see as the complexity of the Coyote engines,” Irwin says. “But once you understand how to install the cylinder heads and valvetrain and time the engine, it’s really straightforward. It’s not difficult.

“Plus it’s extremely efficient. It’s the most efficient engine that I’ve ever been around. The stock motor has its limitations. The pistons and rods are only so good. And it can struggle with oiling as far as having a good pump and hemorrhaging oil out of the system. But we’ve developed ways to eliminate those weaknesses and really take advantage of the strengths of this engine.”

For the latest season of Horsepower Wars, a heads-up build-off pitting Ford’s 5.0L Coyote against GM’s 5.3L LT, Irwin and FFRE were tapped to represent Team Ford. The challenge? Build a turbocharged Coyote capable of dominating drag-and-drive competition, and do it with real-world parts chosen that work together as a cohesive package. As Irwin put it, “This isn’t some moonshot build. It’s a combination we know well.”

The baseline for this build is a stock Gen II Coyote block. FFRE machines and blueprints all the critical dimensions on its own CNC equipment.

Coyote Block and Heads

The build starts with a third-gen Coyote block. First on FFRE’s to-do list is sleeving the aluminum block with LA Sleeves, a trusted upgrade Irwin has used for more than 20 years. After machining is complete, they drop in their tried-and-true rotating assembly: a Ford Racing Boss 302 crankshaft, Manley Pro Series billet rods, and Manley forged pistons with a 3.75cc dome.

“Some people are calling it a Dark Horse crank, but it’s the same forging,” Irwin explains. “We just say Boss 302 because that’s what people recognize.”

Here’s the block ready to receive a set of LA Sleeves. Irwin says the new cylinder sleeves strengthen the aluminum block enough that they can run over 1,500 horsepower reliably without running hardblock in the water jackets. This is critical when building a drag and drive engine capable of putting in hard road miles and also winning on the dragstrip.

The pistons are coated and outfitted with a set of Total Seal rings, and FFRE also upgraded to Trend H13 wrist pins as a replacement for the standard-issue units. The compression ratio is set at a confident 11.0:1. That might sound aggressive for a turbocharged engine, but as a true racer, Irwin shrugs it off. “We’re going to run as much boost as that 76mm turbo will give us. If it makes 35 pounds, we’re going to send it.”

Crucially, the block retains its water passages. It’s not hard-blocked because it has to be able to survive road miles while burning gasoline without melting down. FFRE relies on a stainless wire O-ring in the deck surface along with Cometic MLX head gaskets and a set of ARP main studs to hold it all together. And the sleeves also add a considerable amount of strength to the stock Ford block. At just 302 cubic inches, the displacement stays stock in this limited cubic inch shootout.

Another key to strengthening the stock block and heads is to replace all the OEM bolts with high-strength fasteners from ARP.

Coyote cylinder heads are one of the platform’s strengths with four-valve, twin-cam architecture and good flow right out of the box. FFRE starts with Gen-2 castings and only needs to add minimal improvements. This includes pocket porting, upgraded guides, a precision valve job, and stainless Manley valves in the stock intake and exhaust valve diameters. The valve springs are COMP Cams units chosen specifically to handle the cam lift and boost.

“We didn’t try to stuff in bigger valves or go crazy with porting,” Irwin says. “The seat rings aren’t huge and can’t handle much bigger valves. But the stock valves already fit the port well. Bigger isn’t always better.”

The crankshaft is also an OEM unit but not from a base Coyote. This unit can be sourced from a Boss 302 or even a Darkhorse Mustang engine.

The camshafts are custom grinds from Comp, spec’d at 0.590 inch lift on the intake and 0.550 on the exhaust, with centerlines at 112 and 118 degrees, respectively. Variable valve timing is locked out using components from RGR Engines. “No VVT here,” Irwin laughs. “I love the idea of using it, but for this combo, it’s just not needed.”

Oil Under Pressure

If there’s a secret sauce in this build, it might be FFRE’s obsessive approach to oiling. Irwin has an in-house oil pump dyno to validate every pump that leaves the shop. Each Melling pump is disassembled, fitted with FFRE’s own gearset, and tested for pressure, volume, and even noise.

This engine maintains the stock 3.630-inch bore and 3.650 stroke, so the Manley Platinum Series pistons keep the stock factory diameter. But otherwise, these forgings are much improved. These pistons have a 1.165-inch compression height and a 3.75 cc dome, which helps deliver an 11.0:1 compression ratio. FFRE also upgraded the wrist pins for greater strength.

“Too many guys just throw in a spring and call it good,” he says. “But we’ve seen too many cars with low hot-idle pressure, especially in the summer. That’s a problem.”

FFRE also plugs the piston oil squirters. At first, that may seem counterintuitive on a high-performance build like this, but Irwin says it helps conserve oil flow to critical areas since clearances are opened up for performance. Plus, he points out that the dual-overhead-cam design means you have three more cams than a cam-in-block LT motor. That means there are three additional sets of cam journals leaking oil, so the oil pump has to work that much harder. Eliminating the oil squirters helps ensure the pump is able to supply pressurized oil exactly where it needs to be.

The connecting rods are also from Manley. These are the company’s Coyote Pro Series billet rods which have a bit of added beef to handle tons of boost. They’ve been outfitted with a set of ARP2000 capscrews for added strength and keep the stock 5.933-inch length.

Their custom squirter deletes even feature O-rings to eliminate pressure loss, something he says is rare in the industry. “That little O-ring gives us a few extra pounds of hot idle pressure,” Irwin adds. “It’s small stuff, but it makes a big difference.”

Coyote Intake and Induction

The Coyote breathes through a Holley Hi-Ram intake manifold. Its two-piece design allows it to accept a direct-fit air-to-water intercooler core from Tick Performance, which sandwiches between the upper and lower plenum sections. The billet-aluminum unit only adds 5.75 inches to the engine’s overall height, and is capable of handling 2,500 horsepower-worth of air. Up top sits a VMP monoblade throttle body to fit the Holley Hi-Ram’s new oval throttle body flange. This design flows a metric ton of air, and will allow the Coyote’s unnatural aspiration to proceed unencumbered.

The deck of the block is grooved to accept O-rings, which will help maintain the ultra-high combustion pressures generated with over 30 pounds of boost.

The turbo is a relatively small F3 76/80mm unit from HPT Turbochargers. Irwin’s goal is to max out whatever boost the turbo can deliver. “We’re just going to run it,” he says. “If that turbo can make 35 pounds of boost, then we’ll take it. Whatever its max is, we’re going to find out.”

Cooling, Containment, and the Coyote Details That Matter

Everywhere you look on this engine, there are little touches that show FFRE’s attention to detail. One standout is the freeze plug delete system used on the back of each head. Designed to prevent coolant from leaking onto the track in case of a failure, the system bolts in place with double O-rings. If a plug does somehow get pushed out under pressure, causing a leak, it will happen inside the engine valley where it won’t cause a safety issue.

FFRE didn’t feel the need to do much to the heads. They received only a simple pocket port to help clean up the airflow into the combustion chambers. They also installed new valve guides and cut in their own valve seats, but the Manley valves are still the stock diameter.

“It’s basically a fusible link,” Irwin says. “We learned the hard way after seeing a slightly crooked freeze plug on a high-boost engine. This setup is simple, but it’s rock solid.”

The build not only retains water flow through the block and heads, but it is set up to operate with a high coolant pressure. It’s a tactic to help strengthen the block and especially the cylinder bores. Irwin compares it to filling a basketball with water instead of air. “A water-filled ball is way harder to compress, and the same applies here. It helps keep the heads stable.”

As this goes to press, the engine is headed to Westech Performance in California for dyno testing, where it will go toe-to-toe with the 5.3-liter LT built by the Chevy team. Irwin expects to see power in the 1,350 to 1,450 horsepower range.

The heads are assembled with valve springs and cams from Comp Cams that will give the intakes 0.590 gross lift and the exhausts 0.550. The stock variable valve timing system has been locked out to allow bigger cams to be installed.

More Than a Build—A Philosophy

What sets FFRE apart is the way they approach engine building and developing horsepower for the real world. Every design choice, from the sleeves to the freeze plug deletes to the custom oil pump gears, is born from hard-won experience and the desire to solve specific problems.

“We don’t build parts just to sell them,” Irwin says. “We build parts because we found a problem we needed to fix. That’s how all our products came about.”

FFRE came up with these bolt-in freeze-plug deletes that eliminate the chance of popping out a freeze plug when the coolant pressure ramps up and watering down the track in front of the rear wheels. It is a small thing but a big deal when it comes to driver safety.

That mindset has earned FFRE a loyal following and made them a go-to for serious Coyote racers across the country. And while this build is part of Horsepower Wars, it’s not a one-off. “This is what we do,” Irwin says. “We could build this same engine for anyone who wants it. There’s nothing exotic about it, just smart choices.”

When the turbo spools in our upcoming dyno tests, we’ll see how those smart choices stack up against Chevy’s best. But if things go as we suspect, Fast Forward Racing Engines’ Coyote will have a whole lot of bite to go along with its bark.

Horsepower Wars would like to thanks its sponsors for making this possible including Summit Racing, Holley (Holley EFI, Simpson, etc), Manley Performance, Diamond Racing Pistons, COMP Cams, Moroso Performance Products, Automotive Racing Products (ARP), Cometic Gaskets, AMSOIL, Vibrant Performance, HPT Turbochargers, ICT Billet, ATI Performance, Meziere Enterprises, AFCO Racing, Optima Batteries, Old World Industries/Peak, Strange Engineering, SPAL, Auto Metal Direct, and Wiles Driveshaft.

And here’s a look at the completed engine. Holley’s cast aluminum Coyote intake manifold makes it easy to slot in a Tick Performance water-to-air intercooler between the upper and lower sections of the plenum. A VMP mechanical throttle body controls air flow into the manifold.