Posts Tagged ‘mustang’

Recently it was announced that the new 2011 Mustang GT would return to the 5.0 (302cid) V8 formula for power delivery. I don’t get what the big deal is going from the current 4.6 liter to a slightly larger 5.0 liter. I don’t even get what the massive nostalgia is towards the old 5.0 that came in the fox body.

Going back to the late 1980s, the old mustang 5.0 liter engine used all of it’s massive 4.9 liters of displacement to deliver a whopping 165horsepower. The heavy cast iron block, coupled with cast iron heads meant that the power train on the car was not only quite heavy but also not very power friendly as cast iron heads severely limit the amount of boost and timing you can put into a motor before the cylinder head starts to become a limitation on cylinder cooling and extracting enough heat transfer out of the combustion chamber to maintain safe power operation.

Sure the 5.0 was later updated to make 205 hp with different heads, a newer cam, and newly experimented fuel injection rather than the old 2 barrel carburetor but still… what is the big deal?

Even more interesting is looking at some of the new OEM offerings such as the Charger SRT-8 coming in with a massive 6.1 liters of displac

ement to work with….

Have I lost you yet, mustang fans? Are you hating on me ?

Before you lash out against me and send me that nasty email … hear me out.

I am actually excited about THIS version of the 5.0 because it is not just attractive in that nostalgic yet unjustifiable way as the OLD underpowered 5.0 … I am excited about the new 5.0 because although it is 1.1 liters less than the SRT-8 , it delivers a sold 412hp out of the factory compared to the SRT-8’s 425 hp. I’m excited because this version does not come with cast iron heads which means it will be boost friendly. I am excited because I know for sure that there is ALREADY one in vortech’s R&D being supercharged and that this engine with a basic 15psi supercharger kit will put down around 820 hp which is insane considering it could be a bolt on affair. I have no doubt in my mind that it will not be long before we see the first 2011 mustang GT break into the

10s…

Last but most importantly, I am excited because, in a post 9-11, post Iraq/Iran/Afghan war, post the Economic recession, post BP oil spill, post almost bankruptcy by the big 3 auto companies that a company like ford, in opposition to the current auto thinking of smaller displacement + supercharger … despite all of that

Ford is STILL Delivering a larger displacement motor to stay true both to the mustang branding, to the solid V8 recipe, to try and acquire some nostalgia sales from the 5.0 mark to re-charge their sales figures, and to give all of us a more flexible platform to build up on in the aftermarket tuning c

ommunity … all the while , still passing emissions, noise, and mileage regulations required to put out such a beast.

I am also excited because I knew, the second I heard about the come back of the 5.0, that Ford had fore sure dipped into their bag of tricks and used technology to justify the move to the larger engine and I was right:

The modern 5.0-liter four-valve Twin Independent Variable camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) V-8 engine in the new Mustang GT will deliver 412 horsepower and 390 ft.-lb. of torque. At the same time, fuel economy is projected to be better than the previous model and unsurpassed in the segment.

In a world where I think 5 to 10 years down the line we will be trying to figure out how to get more acceleration out of electric cars, I think that a move like this is a nice tribute to an older simpler time…. a time where it was not only OK but also MAGNIFICENT for a 5.0 liter to put down barely 200hp… Yes this is still a small block Ford, and Ford has bigger blocks that they could have offered here… but still this is a Big move from a small block.

Check this out… 5.0 with technology, vs raw 6.1

There really is no replacement for technology….

Technorati Tags: 5.0, mustang, Vortech

Here are two interesting articles on updating your already supercharged ride:

1- This article looks at replacing the older generation 1.7L Kenne Bell twin-screw with a larger 2.1L charger. The articles goes inside the charger to show you the differences and similarities between the older and newer supercharger head units. The icing on the cake is the final dyno run showing the differences between the 2.1L and the 1.7L chargers.

MMFF – Supersize Me

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: Displacement, eaton, Kenn Bell, mustang, snout pulley

Here’s an interesting supercharger setup from MM&FF magazine, with a great 305 performance build up:

The 180hp 305 engine has been upgraded by:

Supercharged 347 ci mustang

• An Eagle / DSS / K1 stroker buildup brining engine displacement up to 347 cubic inches (5.7 liters).
• Holley Systemax high performance aluminum cylinder heads
• Holley systemax single plane intake manifold
• Kennedy’s Dynotune custom supercharger camshafts
• vortech J-Trim supercharger geared for a peak of 20psi of boost pressure
• A cog-tooth supercharger drive system to prevent belt slip and maintain peak boost at high rpms
• A custom methanol injection system to cool the intake charge

The final result of this setup is a boost from 180 crank hp up to 660 rear wheel hp and a track-proven 9.70 @ 140 mph quarter mile time.

Find the complete article and more pictures here:

James Noto’s supercharged 93 mustang

Technorati Tags: holley, mustang, pulley upgrade, stroker, Vortech, water injection

This is a great article by muscle mustangs and fast fords. A lot of turbocharger and supercharger enthusiasts think that a certain supercharger or turbocharger will produce X hp per psi and that the only way to get more power per psi is to change up to a more efficient supercharger or turbocharger.

This article here takes three related engines, a 4.6 3 OHV VVT mustang engine, a 4.6 4 OHV engine, and a 5.4L 4 OHV engine and subjects all three to 20 psi of boost from the same blower. As we would expect: engine efficiency, head design, and displacement all have a final result on final power and torque figures showing that psi is truly nothing but a measure of engine restriction relative to supercharger flow capacity.
 

Kenne Bell 2.8L on a GT500

As long as the supercharger can support more flow for the same PSI on its compressor map, and so long as the supercharger has not yet been geared to its maximum rpm you can always produce more horsepower at the same PSI level by improving the motor’s flow and making it breathe more (with heads, cams, displacement, variable valve timing, compression ratio and more). Once you’ve increased the engine’s flow capacity you will find yourself watching the PSI DROP and power increase as a result of the increased CFM. After that you can re-gear the supercharger drive pulley system to get back to your original boost pressure and achieve even more horsepower at the same PSI. The Kenn Bell kit uses a 2.8 liter positive displacement superchager and an integrated intake manifold and air to water intercooler, replacing the smaller and less effecient eaton unit that comes stock in the GT-500 and upgrading on the normally aspirated power of the 4.6 L Mustang GT and Mustang Cobra. 

Here’s a taste of the results from a similarly equipped car

Find the full article here:

Supercharger Shootout -- Brothers In Arms

Technorati Profile

Technorati Tags: Kenn Bell, mustang, Supercharger

The movie gone in 60 seconds is the all time most viewed movie by automotive performance enthusiasts. One of the most memorable icons in the movie is Eleanor the 1967 Mustang Fastback. A car that combines both big block performance as well as other engine performance parts most notable a dual side exit exhaust system and a go-fast-go nitrous system activated by the infamous red button on the shifter.

 The move reminds us of fun times, simple times, with friends gathering together around a project, in simple carefree times, not worrying about high gas prices, or emissions, pre-global warming and pre the big three bailout.

A company called Classic Recreations from Yukon, Oklahoma now gives you the opportunity to relive that nostalgic time by owning a turn-key ready to go resto-performance replica of the original Eleanor featured in gone in 60 seconds…

The cars come in two possible packaged of either a naturally aspirated 535 hp or an impressive turn-key 750 hp relying on supercharger performance!

The naturally aspirated package relies on a:

Nostalgic Times

“410 CI Keith Craft Crate Engine w/Aluminum Heads (535hp)
Mass Flo Fuel Injection
Tremec TKO Manual Transmission
Fab 9- 9″ rear w/ 3:70 Gear ratio and Posi Traction installed
Concept One serpentine drive belt system”

While its supercharged big brother utilizes a:

“427 CI Keith Craft Crate Engine w/Aluminum Heads (750hp)
Mass Flo Fuel Injection
Procharger 14psi intercooled supercharger
Tremec TKO Manual Transmission

14psi from a Procharger Supercharger

Fab 9- 9″ rear w/ 3:70 Gear ratio and Posi Traction installed
Concept One serpentine drive belt system”

Both cars are further equipped with a nitrous system for even more boost.

Find the complete details here:

FI 750 HP

Technorati Tags: Eleanor, mustang, N2O, OEM, Procharger, Tuners

The first time I ever heard of twin charging (using both a turbocharger and a supercharger on the same motor) was probably back in year 2000. At that time I was very interested in performance for the Toyota Celica and naturally I also read a lot about its sister cars (that shared some of the engines) such as the Camry and the MR2.

One of the most interesting aftermarket parts I ran across at the time was the HKS turbo kit for the 4AGZE powered 1^st generation mr2. The 4agze (for those that are not familiar with Toyota engines) is a peppy 170 horsepower 1.6 liter engine powered by the Toyota SC-12 roots type supercharger. On this car Toyota used an electromagnetically clutched supercharger that could be disabled during low power requirements such as cruising, and engaged when the user demands it.

One of the most important parts of the HKS kit is the bypass valve. This valve was used to direct air from the supercharger to the engine at lower rpm/flow points. Once the rpm’s rise, and the engine starts to demand more air, and the turbocharger is fully spooled, the valve switches over gradually till the turbocharger alone is feeding the engine while the supercharger is completely bypassed.

The theory behind this kind of system is to use a small positive displacement (roots style) supercharger. Supercharger performance efficiency is typically its highest at lower engine and supercharger rpms (for example from idle to 4000 rpms). Above 4000 rpms the supercharger’s performance and efficiency starts to drop, the horsepower required to drive it starts to rise exponentially, and the air temperature coming out of the supercharger starts to rise dramatically limiting performance.

On the other hand, using a generously sized turbocharger will allow us to feed the engine efficiently with cooler air (than that from an overworked supercharger) and maintain high rpm performance. The problem with using a larger turbocharger is that a generously sized turbocharger typically doesn’t spool before 3000 to 4000 rpms giving us a limited power band and thus providing no performance boost at lower rpms.

The idea of twin charging is to use both a supercharger and a turbocharger to have each one do what it does best, have the supercharger boost the motor for low end torque, and as it runs out of steam, the turbocharger comes online to carry us through to redline.

There are three aspects to these types of systems that make them prohibitive to most tuners:

1. Cost and complexity: Having a complete supercharger system as well as a complete turbocharger system on the same time is a lot of money to spend and a lot of parts to deal with and diagnose in case something goes wrong.
2. The bypass valve used to bypass the supercharger (and yet hold in all the air pressure coming from the turbocharger) as well as being able to control this valve electrically or mechanically requires a custom made one off valve that isn’t quite available off the shelf.
3. Since we are using two different types of chargers with two different efficiency maps, it can get very complicated to figure out how to tune the motor (especially with much simpler fuel injection systems that were used at the time) because the air density can vary dramatically at the same rpm point and pressure level depending on which charger is feeding air to the motor and at what proportion. This is also where the HKS turbo kit for the 4agze was at its weakest, namely at smoothing the transition point fueling between the supercharger to turbocharger switchover.

However, what is interesting to me, is that even with the advent of more efficient superchargers (such as the 4^th generation eaton chargers with coated rotors, higher tolerances, and lower friction drives capable of extending their working rpm range from 12000 rpms up to 16000 rpms), and with the availability of faster spooling turbochargers such as dual ball bearing turbochargers, or VTN (variable turbine nozzle) turbochargers that some people still attempt to turn twin-charger theory into practice.

Here are three examples:

Alta’s Turbo System for the 2002 to 2006 Mini Cooper S

“The Alta Mini Performance Twin-Charged Turbo kit for the Mini Cooper S features a Garrett GT3071R turbo capable of producing up to 400 horsepower! “

“Alta includes a 5% larger supercharger pulley in the kit to reduce the supercharger boost output. By pushing more boost through the turbo and less through the supercharger, the kit increases in efficiency and produces more power reliably.”

As I mentioned earlier, one the main things to understand about these systems is how the different chargers have different efficiency ranges, and based on that, require precise tuning especially at higher boost levels. But unlike 10 years ago, the technology is now available where you could very easily purchase install and tune from scratch a standalone engine management system within a week.

“A fuel computer such as the Turbo XS D-Tec or the Apexi SAFC are both simple options for fine-tuning your fueling. For those looking to take things further, Hydra EMS and Alta have developed a Standalone Engine Management system designed for use with this kit.”

The Twincharged 350z

“An ORC supercharger takes care of the low rpm boosting while a large Blitz/KKK K5 turbine comes into play at higher revolutions. The result? Power all the time with an impressively immediate throttle control. The engine remains completely standard, but even the low boost setting that is currently being used now is enough to develop an impressive 550 PS and a very full torque curve that peaks at 60 kgm.”

With these kinds of systems, the driving feel and engagement from the noise of the engine by is something that can’t be explained or debated over the internet like the ongoing debates of ‘fast spooling turbocharger vs twin-charger vs highflow ported superchagers’:

“The immediate acceleration and lack of lag are what first surprises; there is no trail off of low-down torque or high-end power, and the boosted V6 seems to pull all the time in any gear. It’s almost electric in character. There are all sort of noises being made: supercharger whine, large turbo spool up, an exquisite exhaust note and external wastegate chatter when you lift off the throttle.”

ford Mustang Turbo Kit – The Hell Raiser !

Like I stated earlier, one of the complexities of twin-charging is sourcing a reliable bypass valve and controlling it for a smooth transition between supercharged and turbocharged power delivery.

One solution to this problem is sequential-charging where the supercharger outlet feeds the inlet of the turbocharger or vice versa. The advantage of this type of system is that low boost settings (for example a boost setting of 7psi for the supercharger which is a pressure ratio of 1.5) and a boost setting of 7psi for the turbocharger waste gate which again is a pressure ratio of 1.5) results in more than 14psi as the resultant pressure ratio is 1.5*1.5 = 2.25 which is around 18psi so that neither the supercharger nor the turbocharger has to carry the full load of boosting the engine up to a pressure ratio of 2.25. For the mustang for example, combining a factory set 6.5psi of superchager boost with turbochargers set for 13psi we get a combined 24.4psi of boost.

“The secret is compound boost and water/methanol injection. The Hellraiser kit uses two 61mm Turbonetics turbos that blow into the stock Cobra supercharger. The turbos send 13 psi of boost through an air-to-air intercooler and then to the blower, which compounds the boost to 24.4 psi and pushes it through the stock intercooler (which is mounted directly under the blower) and into the engine.”

The disadvantage of a this kind of a system is that if the turbocharger has outlet temperatures 60 degrees above ambient, and the supercharger has outlet temperatures 80 degrees above ambient, then the combination of two chargers in series (rather than having them in parallel with a switchover bypass valve) results in that the air entering the engine can be as high as 140* above ambient temperatures which is horrible for performance unless you have extremely high octane gasoline or a really low compression ratio boost friendly motor.

In addition to using TWO intercoolers to cool the charge down, the hell raiser kit also uses water injection to further reduce the air temperatures and increase the effective octane rating of the motor’s fueling:

“To allow that kind of boost and power safely on pump gas requires a Snow Performance water/methanol injection system, which Hellion set up with six nozzles firing into the induction tube just before the blower, and they are fed by three pumps and an 8-gallon fuel cell mounted in the trunk. Without the methanol injection, the system can still make nearly 1,000 hp, but the engine is on the ragged edge of destruction.”

This may seem like a lot of work and complexity, but if you think about what it takes to buy a 1000hp car then you’re looking at one of either a Bughatti Veyron, or a Hennessey Venom-1000 SRT-10 Viper, or an extremely modified car (such as a Toyota Supra, Skyline GT-R, Turbocharged M5, or Turbocharged corvette). To be able to buy this kind of power in Kit form is truly a feat of engineering and goes to show the time and effort that Hellion Power Systems has put into developing this kit.

Find the complete articles here:

Alta Turbocharger Kit for the Mini Cooper (discontinued)

Twincharged 350z – Turbo Magazine

Hellraiser by Hellion Power Systems

Technorati Tags: mustang, tuner, twincharging, water injection