Ford 5.0L HO

(Image/forums.nasioc.com – B6lovin)

Q: I’m building a Ford 302 engine, and I’m looking at camshafts. I’m curious—why did Ford change the firing order on the 5.0L (302) HO engine?

A: This question gets a lot of mileage on internet forums, and there’s no shortage of speculation on the subject.

According to Ford Motor Co. engineers, the 5.0L H.O. adopted the 351W firing order (1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8) to improve the intake manifold sound quality. Ford’s 5.0L H.O. has a distinct sound that benefits greatly from the addition of a cold air intake system and a pair of chambered mufflers.

Check out the V8 firing order chart and see how the 302 and 5.0L H.O. (listed below as the “5.0L EFI”) compare.

Common Engine Firing Orders

This is another in a series of weekly Q&A Mailbag sessions with Summit Racing‘s tech department, in which there are hundreds more. Click here to see them all.

 

Author: Dave Matthews

Dave Matthews was a mechanic for the U.S. Army, a Ford dealership, and served for many years as a fleet mechanic for construction companies. Now a technical content producer at Summit Racing, Dave has spent decades working on everything from military vehicles to high performance race machines.