Chris Alston’s Chassisworks has unveiled a whole new line of products designed for direct bolt-on gear and belt driven superchargers for racing or serious performance-built street motors.  The new line, called Component Drive Systems (CDS) is designed for either single and dual ProChargers, Vortech or Paxton Superchargers.  The CDS systems can be bolted onto a variety of engine configurations including all Chevys (including LS-series engines), plus Ford in both small block and Modular motor varieties.

Belt Versus Gear Drive

An inherent problem with belt drive systems is belt slip plus the additional stress created on the crankshaft due to the tight belt. The CDS supercharger gear drive increases reliability by eliminating belt slip and pre-mature main bearing wear, reducing the need for costly engine rebuilds.  The CDS gear drives are adjustable by changing the gear ratio for upping or lowering boost levels.

When asked to explain the main principle driving development of the CDS product line, project-leader and racer Chris Alston Jr. commented, “Generally they’re used in higher horsepower applications to help reduce problems that customers have with belt systems.  The CDS supercharger gear drive will eliminate the belt system and take away the load and eliminate the stress to the snout of the supercharger and the crankshaft caused by a belt drive system, robbing the motor of horsepower.”

Nothing can ruin a race faster than throwing a belt mid race; there is absolutely nothing you can do about it as hundreds of horsepower is thrown down the drain. Pedaling during a run creates extra stress on the belt as it’s torqued after every snap of the throttle, which is energy that can be easily absorbed by a gear drive.

The billet drive systems have unrivaled stability, both under load and in back pedaling situations.  The strength of the systems increases part longevity by minimizing the unavoidable side loads on both the crankshaft and the supercharger bearings that are caused by the belt drive system.

Chris Alston’s Chassisworks paid special attention to the coupler assembly that connects the CDS gear drive to the supercharger and to the crankshaft. The coupler, and more specifically its internal bushing set, allows the drive to properly function through minor crankshaft-to-supercharger misalignment and dampens crankshaft harmonics that can potentially increase wear on the supercharger bearings.

Because of the tremendous stress placed on the bushings while under load and the flexibility required for reliable operation, the bushings are designed as a wearable component. Depending upon horsepower and boost levels, bushings can last for a full season or more and can be easily replaced for just $25 per set; an affordable and quick alternative to regular replacement of bearings or other more expensive components.

Beyond conventional engine combinations, Chris Alston’s Chassisworks can make the supercharger drive units work for unique engine configurations as well.  Currently the Chassisworks team is working on mounting a CDS drive on a 500 cubic inch Pontiac motor and a 4.3-liter V6 engine.  Beyond motor options, the team believes that they can make a system work for most any centrifugal supercharger.

Adding Accessories with the CDS Drive

Another beneficial aspect of the front drive is that it is forward facing, which will place the supercharger inlet directly into the incoming airflow and will allow for cooler charge temperatures out of the supercharger.

The CDS direct drive can be optioned with a myraid of accessories, like the pictured mechanical fuel pump.

The way the drive is designed, there are multiple mounting configurations available, so that it is easier to package into the vehicle. The CDS drive will allow for different combinations of accessories to be placed onto the motor, including mechanical fuel pumps, oil pumps and/or water pumps.

The system is of a similar height and length in most situations, even with single or dual superchargers, but will vary slightly in length.  Normal dimensions of the system fully installed are 14 inches wide by 10 inches high by 17 inches deep with a Procharger, or 18 inches deep with a Vortech.  These dimensions generally make for an easy fit into full race cars, no matter the class or requirements.

Testing The CDS Gear Drive

Theo Dec of Wizard Racing, who has tested the CDS gear drive gear explained, “A supercharger is like a giant flywheel that is spinning upwards of 60,000 RPM and if you try to pedal it, it does not want to slow down.  Potentially  you could rip teeth clean off of the belt.  With the gear design, we do not run into those problems.”  Theo has built multiple vehicles with gear drives and emphasizes the importance of eliminating the side load caused by a belt drive, “Not having the parasitic loss of a belt pulling on the unit and the snout of the crankshaft, the freed up horsepower is definitely a plus,” continued Dec.

Alston Jr. talks about the customers using the drive units, “We have customers who run them on smaller blowers on the street, and on the opposite side of the spectrum we have mounted twin superchargers for racing.”  Dec has also proven the CDS drive on the dragstrip, but possibly even more impressive is that he has used the drive on vehicles that are capable of cruising on the street as well.  Multiple gear combinations are available so that motors can be set up to over-drive or under-drive the supercharger to either maximize the torque at lower engine RPM’s or by reducing the power of the motor to allow for an engine that plays nicer on the street.

Chris Alston Jr uses the CDS gear drive on his Outlaw 10.5W Nova race car and has gone as fast as 6.653 @ 210.57 mph, aided by the Vortech V-28 123-A supercharger.

Helping Drive the Power Directly to your Supercharger

The Chris Alston’s Chassisworks CDS gear drive is just the first step in the Component Drive System line up.  Chris Alston Jr. and his team are very excited by the positive feedback they have received thus far.  The CDS product engineering team is busy right now to expand the product line and we anticipate seeing more high quality products out of the Chassisworks group in the future.

With the technological evolution of power adders over the recent years, as turbos have gone from reliability issues to reliably fast, the introduction of the CDS drive could be the beginning of great things yet to come in the centrifugal supercharger racing scene. Any product that lowers the drag on motors, frees up horsepower, and increases the performance of the car or truck on track has to be a good thing.  The CDS drive is highly customizable and will be able to be used on many engine and supercharger configurations including single and twin superchargers applications as well as anything from a modular motor Ford to a big block Chevrolet, with a simple bracket change, giving meaning to the word versatility.  Though the CDS gear drive may not guarantee you a round win, it can certainly help keep you from losing one.

In the past, hardcore racers that have wanted to utilize a gear drive on their ProCharger supercharger units have been forced to seek outside sources for such a setup, but no longer is that the case, as ProCharger has taken the entire system in-house with the unveiling off their all-new RaceDrive.

ProCharger has provided powerTV with an exclusive look at this brand new, compact RaceDrive unit that will allow racers to install one of the new ProCharger F3-spec superchargers on their engine with an all-new ProCharger engineered package. For those drag racers looking for extreme power, ProCharger is also set to unleashed a pair of new superchargers combined with the RaceDrive at the Performance Racing Industry Show on Dec 1-3 in Orlando, Fla. that are going to take centrifugally-supercharged performance to new heights in the coming race season.

“The difference between the RaceDrive and other units on the market is because of its compact size, it will be much easier to fit it in the car and package it into the engine bay,” says ProCharger’s Dave Werremeyer. “It sits higher up on the engine, along with its three accessory drives will allow you to easily drive things like fuel pumps and alternators.”

The ProCharger RaceDrive design is an exclusive integrated gear drive that’s combined with the recently redesigned family of powerful, high-end F3 superchargers. The compact RaceDrive unit centrifugally mounts the blower closer to the engine and higher up for easier installation.

Among the most noted features of the RaceDrive is the capability of changing the gear sets or supercharger speed by simply removing the front cover and replacing the 10-spline quick-change gear sets with one of the more than 40 different gear ratios that ProCharger offers.

“The changeable gear ratios are huge for our racers, and they allow you to change blower speed without disassembling the RaceDrive,” says Werremeyer. As well, a rugged rubber coupler design mates the RaceDrive to the engine, and three separate accessory drive shafts provide racers the ability to drive multiple accessories like the fuel pump, vacuum pump, and oil pump.

Rather than being manufactured and sold in specific fitments, ProCharger has emphasized diversity and adaptability with their new RaceDrive. The gear drive unit will incorporate a more universal design with “drive stands” that you attach the motor plate that allows for customization of the exact mounting location of the supercharger.

As previously mentioned, along with the public unveiling of the exciting new RaceDrive, the team at ProCharger will also proudly pull the wraps off of a pair of new F3 superchargers, which are targeted at hardcore, high-horsepower racing machines. These two superchargers will include the F3R-130 and the F3R-136: the latter of which is capable of producing more than 3,300 horsepower. These compliment the F3A-121, which was released in June of this year. The RaceDrive will be integrated with these two new superchargers out of the gate. Full specifications on both of these superchargers will be released at the PRI Show.

“Initially, the RaceDrive will be available with the two new superchargers we are debuting (the F3-130 and F3-136) only and packaged together into one integrated system.” The compact new RaceDrive, which is expected to be a hot item next week in Orlando, is slated for availability in January or February of 2012, just in time for racers to finalize their combinations for the new year.

We live in a world controlled by pressure.  Pressure to follow the laws, pressure to make a good living, and even pressure to finish this article.  While pressure is typically associated with things that are bad, why can’t they be good from time-to-time? Pressure makes you faster and impresses the ladies too.  If you can’t figure out what we are talking about by now, we are talking about boost pressure and the desire to push the limits of your vehicle.

One of those companies that is good at adding a lot of pressure to the mix is Edelbrock and their relatively new E-Force supercharger systems. Newly developed superchargers means they have the latest and greatest technology built in.

To start things off we made the trip up to Edelbrock’s facility in Torrance, Ca to drive their E-forced (and of course red) 2011 Mustang project car. When it comes to driving someone else’s car, typically the rumble of it will give you an initial perception of how fast it is; when you get into something that is loud and shakes to the motion of the pumping rotating assembly…then it better be fast.

The shop car is Ford’s new automatic 6-speed that has proven to be just as fast as its manual counterpart, and when it comes to having a boosted application, the automatic is desirable due to the lack of boost drop between shifts.  The E-Force supercharger comes on violently from a dead stop and truly does throw you back into the seat.  The puzzling part is the lack of sound from the twin screw Eaton TVS Gen VI supercharger; you’d think that you were driving a factory-stock 2011 Mustang on steroids, it’s that quiet. “Eaton’s new TVS rotor group is really a great piece, and feature a four lobe configuration with full 160 degrees of twist that helps volumetric and thermal efficiency,” explained Rob Simons of Edelbrock.  “This requires the engine to work less to make power, which creates less heat, and reduces unwanted noise.”

Thanks to the E-force’s integrated bypass valve that helps reduce parasitic loss under light throttle, allows the Mustang to drive completely like stock when not in boost.  On top of that gas mileage loss is nearly unnoticeable.

Edelbrock’s Unique Supercharger Design

Most roots or screw type superchargers will receive the air from a rear mounted supercharger inlet, compress the air, force it downwards through a intercooler and set of short runners as it makes its way to the combustion chamber.  To get a front mounted throttle body in this design a jack shaft is typically needed.

Edelbrock’s TVS design introduces the air naturally through the front of the motor, compressed and sent upwards through the intercooler.  “The inverted design allows for a larger intercooler (110 square inches) because it is not constrained by the width of the engine valley,” explained Simons. “In addition, it lends to a smoother runner path with fewer, gentler bends, for less restriction.” Once cooled, the air is transmitted into 15-inch longer runners that are designed to improve low end torque before it enters the combustion chamber.

Power Gains Expanded

There is always the manufactures published power numbers that are usually made on an engine dyno and then there is those that independently install and test on shop vehicles, Brenspeed was lucky enough to get their hand on one of the first kit and install it on a shop mule Mustang. The dyno numbers are as followed.

Click the dyno graphs for larger version

• Baseline with Pypes mufflers only – 354 rwhp, 356 lb/ft
• Edelbrock supercharger with standard calibration at 5 psi – 464 rwhp, 419 lb/ft – gain of 110 rwhp, 63 lb/ft
• Brenspeed’s custom calibration – 493 rwhp 430 lb/ft – gain of 29 rwhp, 11 lb/ft
• Added competition air inlet – 509 rwhp 442 lb/ft – gain of 16 rwhp, 12 lb/ft
• Total gains – 155 rwhp 86 lb/ft

You might be thinking, “How was Brenspeed able to pick up 29 horsepower over the standard Edelbrock calibration?” Well, that is because Edelbrock’s tune is very conservative, which allows them to offer a three year/36,000 mile powertrain warrantee and maintain CARB legality for that additional peace of mind. The competition air inlet is one that can be found by many manufactures and allows for improved air flow over stock and a slight bit more boost due to that less restriction.

Brenspeed’s shop E-Forced Mustang runs 10.94 and gets some air under the front tires!

Installation Highlights

First follow the steps that removes the front bumper, vacuum lines, and stock intake. Once you have access to the bottom of the radiator, use the drain plug on the passenger side to drain the coolant.

There are a few more coolant and vacuum lines that must be removed before getting to the fuel rails (that won’t be reused), which will be removed with the injectors. Be careful of fuel spillage when removing the fuel rail’s feed line by placing a dry rag around it upon removal.

Use an 8mm socket to remove the ten manifold bolts. Pull the manifold forward slightly to remove the four main engine wiring harness pins. Carefully remove the eight o-ring seals from the manifold flanges and set them aside for reuse later. While in the intake manifold valley, remove the bolt retaining the passenger side coolant nipple. Pull the nipple out of the cylinder head and set it aside for reuse later.

Next step will be to install the heat exchanger in front of the A/C condenser. Remove the two bolts and two nuts that hold the AC condenser in place. Be careful as you remove the fourth screw as the condenser will be loose and only held in place by the AC hoses and surrounding components. Install the heat exchanger in front of the condenser so that the downward bent tube is on the passenger side, then raise the heat exchanger and condenser together and secure them using the stock fasteners.

Mount the water pump onto the water pump bracket. Orient the pump so that the outlet will point up and back towards the intercooler inlet, while the water pump intake will point towards the passenger side fender. An additional passenger side mounted coolant reservoir will house additional fluid that will pump into the front of the supercharger inlet and cooled through the heat exchanger.

The bracket system is secured by the three casting tabs on the front of the passenger side valve cover that must be drilled and tapped. The tensioner will be moved from the alternator side to the Edelbrock pulley bracket with a reinforcement bracket taking its place. Additional idler pulleys do their part to snake the factory serpentine belt up to the supercharger drive pulley.

After a few more minor steps it is time to install the supercharger into the engine. The kit comes with new fuel rails and fuel injectors that will install in place with the included fuel line cross over. After finishing up a few vacuum lines it’s onto the wiring portion of the install.

A super easy to install heat exchanger pump wiring harness connects a relay to the stock power and ground studs while using the EVAP plug as a trigger wire to turn the pump on during normal engine operation. No cutting or splicing is required. An additional harness acts as a piggyback extender for the replaced temperature sensor.

Once the bumper is back on, coolant tanks filled back with 50/50 mix, it’s time to flash the stock computer by placing the OBD II plug from the tuner into the port under the driver’s side dash. Follow the prompts to install the included tune and you are done!

Features Include:
• 2300cc (140 cubic inch) Eaton TVS GEN VI rotor assembly
• Unique intake manifold design with 15-inch long runners for increased low-end torque
• 100,000 mile self-contained oiling system
• Installs under the stock hood with no modifications
• Complete package includes supercharger/intake assembly, air-box lid, fuel injectors, air-to-water intercooler, and flash tuner with proper calibration
• Optional 3 Year/36,000 mile warranty
• 50 State Emissions Legal (E.O. Number Pending)

Edelbrock offers a complete and easy to install package with their E-Force supercharger kit for the 2011 Mustang.  It couples the latest in screw-type supercharger technology with its long runners for best-in-class torque numbers. This is additional torque that you can feel at the seat of your pants, but not to worry about reliability from the added power though, Edelbrock offers a warrantee that mimics Ford’s factory warrantee for trouble-free reliability that you can count on at the track and the daily commute.

When you hear the name “ZEX” you probably think of nitrous oxide kits designed with simplicity, safety, and ease of installation as their #1 priority. That might have been a reasonable reaction when their systems first hit the market, but today’s ZEX is focused on innovation as well. Case in point: Their perimeter plate system for LS engines, as seen here.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A1bLJKdXLY

Available in configurations for cable-operated or drive-by-wire 4-bolt throttle body setups, ZEX’s perimeter plate system has a lot of advantages over an old-school spraybar plate or a “wet” nozzle system. The obvious plus is that with the perimeter plate, there’s no obstruction to the airflow into the intake manifold when the system isn’t activated, but there’s another trick up its sleeve as well.

All properly-laid-out plate or nozzle systems will help pull extra ambient air into the engine to a greater or lesser extent, but using the same principle as those crazy-expensive “bladeless” fans from Dyson, the ZEX perimeter plate is far more effective at drawing air due to the layout of the 12 nozzle orifices around the circumference of the plate. That same layout also makes the whole plate itself intensely cold – instead of just having a frosty brass tube across the inlet to the intake manifold, the ZEX perimeter plate transmits that cold to the throttle body which in turn helps cool the incoming air – an effect ZEX calls “Cryo-Sync.”

In place of the one-piece Nitrous Management Unit that will be familiar to anyone who's had ZEX before, the system comes with conventional nitrous and fuel solenoids, as well as a standalone electronic TPS switch.

The perimeter plate system comes with an adaptor ring to allow use with both 92 and 102mm intake manifolds and throttle bodies without creating an obstruction to airflow. A small protrusion on the adaptor keys it into place with the plate to keep the orifices precisely aligned.

The kit comes standard with a "Blackout" bottle and coated braided stainless hoses. Not only do the hoses look great, but the black jacket material solves braided stainless' drawback of being ruthlessly abrasive to anything it should happen to rub against.

The complete system, shown here with the highly recommended bottle heater accessory, is easy to install, doesn't require any cutting of fuel lines, and comes with 100-250 horsepower jetting.

If you are a Mustang enthusiast, surely by now you know the capabilities of the 2011 Mustang. While a few shops have been able to squeeze out 500 RWHP naturally aspirated, most go straight for the power adders, and that is exactly our goal with our 2011 Mustang project.

One of the goals of the “Wild E. Coyote” 2011 Mustang is a 10 second time slip.  While we could have gone a variety of different ways – including nitrous or a turbo – we went with a company that has been producing superchargers for Mustangs for over twenty years, and that company is Vortech Superchargers.

In naturally aspirated form, our Mustang was making about 55 RWHP more than stock – thanks to a JPC header-back exhaust system, Airaid intake, and a custom SCT Flash tune by Brenspeed.  For most, having a muscle car that lays down 428 RWHP to the pavement might be good enough, but it wasn’t for us.

Vortech’s 2011 Mustang System

Part of Vortech’s goal with the 2011 Mustang system was to design the only centrifugal supercharger kit for this car that will be CARB legal.  There is a carbon trap inside the stock air box that will instantly void any manufacture’s ability to make a CARB legal kit that cannot transfer that feature over. “The primary reasons we placed the supercharger on the passenger side was packaging and CARB certification,” said Vortech’s Mike Reagan.  “Based on the accessory placement and thermostat housing on the 5.0, it was a a cleaner installation on the passenger side too.  Also, intercooler plumbing was a factor.”

Check out our installation overview, dyno, and track testing video below!

Vortech offers the kit in three finishes – satin, polished or 20th anniversary black edition.  Wanting the ultra clean appearance of an all-black kit, with went with the anniversary edition.  The kit overall is the same, though the piping that leads to the throttle body, the supercharger, and intercooler are all powder coated black.

From there, Vortech stuck with their tried and true V3 self lubricated supercharger.  Out of the box, the supercharger is designed to produce around 6.5 PSI with the stock air box and pulley combination.  With a simple pulley change, the V3 is capable of supporting nearly 800 HP.  “The V3 Si-Trim is an evolution of the S-trim, which is about 6% more efficient and supports 80 more horsepower,” said Reagan  “The Si-Trim has a peak efficiency of 78% and it has a really broad map to accommodate about 95% of our street applications, plus it can support about 775 horsepower with smaller pulleys.”

The supercharger is hung to a bracket and pulley system that mounts to the passenger side cylinder head area utilizing the stock location bolts.  Since the kit uses the stock serpentine belt configuration, a cog pulley setup is not possible with this kit.  We have to mention that Justin Burcham of JPC Racing has made over 850 RWHP with the serpentine system.  For those concerned about this, Reagan explains, “The way the bracket is laid out with the idlers and supercharger drive pulleys, it creates excellent belt wrap.  The stability of the mounting bracket bracket further reduces any flexing under high horsepower applications.”

Vortech offers a tuner kit that does not come with a tuner or fuel injectors that can be puchased for around $4,900. The complete kit (above) comes with everything and runs about $5,400.

Helping keep that pressurized air cool is Vortech’s massive front mount intercooler. Due to the size of this intercooler, modifications to the inside of the front bumper cover will need to be made. “The charge cooler itself has the capability of supporting around 900 horsepower,” explained Reagan. “We basically tried to fit the largest heat exchanger we could without compromising engine cooling capacity.”

Installing the Vortech Supercharger Kit

If you are installing the kit yourself in a garage, you should plan for a full weekend to complete it.  There is not much fabrication involved with this kit other than the trimming that will need to be done to the inside of the bumper cover and splash shield.

We first made quick work of removing the front bumper cover. Ford has done a great job of making this process easy and can be done in about 15 minutes. With the cover off, the bumper cushion and radiator side shrouds must be removed.

To help curve the radiator hose around the new bracket system, it must be modified with the parts supplied in the kit. First off, the radiator hose will be cut 2-inches from the quick release. Then place the included 90 degree pipe bend into the cut end of the radiator hose. The 90 degree bend that connects to the quick disconnect will be modified into a 45 degree angle and a 1.5-inch metal coupler will be inserted. Fit the modified hose on the engine before tightening down the worm gear clamps

From there we drained the coolant, removed the factory coolant tank, upper radiator hose and electric fan. Due to the supercharger placement, Vortech includes a new coolant tank that will mount to the passenger side shock tower.

The new coolant tank bolts directly between the passenger side valve cover and shock tower. There are a few steps that are noted in the instructions that will re-route your coolant tank lines so it can fit up to this new tank.

Nearing the end of the coolant system modifications is the electric fan. The bottom corners of the fan will need to be modified to allow for the intercooler pipe routing. The kit includes new finishing brackets for the corners of the fan plus an additional bracket that is used to move the fan module plug. A couple of additional modifications must be done to the top of the shroud to fit the intake pipe properly.

The bracket system comes pre-assembled from Vortech, though it is extremely important that all the proper stand offs are transferred onto the proper locations when installing the bracket system onto the engine. It might have been overkill, but we put a digital caliper on each spacer and wrote down the size onto the spacer, following the expanded bracket diagram on the Vortech’s instruction sheet. The kit does utilize a new serpentine belt and water pump pulley.

To allow for proper clearance to the supercharger assembly, the throttle body must be inverted so the drive motor will end up on the driver’s side. A new spacer is included with the kit and the throttle body function is unaltered in this new configuration. Vortech is currently working on a new spacer and intake pipe revision that will also work for BOSS intake manifolds.

The intercooler bolts between the bumper brace and radiator support with the included spacers. You will want to install the blow off valve onto the flanged intercooler pipe before installing that pipe into the car. Vortech includes a filter for the blow off valve that will quiet the sound of the rushing air, though we opted to leave it off. It is important that the MAF sensor is placed at 5 o’clock position (when looking at it from the driver’s side) and the air straightener is placed below the MAF housing. The straightener helps reduce turbulence through the MAF housing and makes the vehicle perform better. 'What we have discovered that on the newer Mustangs with the frequency-based mass air flow sensors, once the air saturates the meter, it goes off a speed density map that is coupled with the factory O2 sensor for determining the proper air/fuel ratios', explained Reagan. 'That way the MAF housing size should never be a limiting factor.

The V3 SI-Trim self-lubricated supercharger will then bolt directly to the supercharger bracket. Attached to the supercharger is a vent plug that must be installed. At the same time, check the internal fluid level of the supercharger to make sure it is adequately filled. There is a stainless drain line that will need to be placed in front of the bracket and secured. We used a zip tie to hold it to the radiator hose.

The kit includes factory GT500 52 lb/hr injectors, which are a bit taller than the factory injectors. "It is an OEM injector so you get all the advantages of a clean running injector that is designed by Ford, plus the emissions advantage is a plus too", said Reagan. Vortech includes new fuel rail spacers to account for this.

A new molded intake pipe adapts the supercharger to the factory air box and includes a higher flowing K&N panel filter. Also included is a MAF plug that must be installed on the factory air box. Vortech supplies a small slip colar to adapt the smaller diameter stock air box to the new air intake pipe.

The inside of the front fascia will require trimming. Take your time and fit the bumper between cuts. Additionally, the lower splash shield will need to be modified for the intercooler piping. Don’t worry though; we have not encountered any issues with the intercooler piping hitting the ground while driving.

With everything double checked in the engine bay, we moved to the final step - installing the tune. Vortech includes an SCT tuner loaded with a specifically designed calibration for the kit. The canned Vortech tune is extremely safe with conservative air/fuel ratios and ignition mapping.

To keep a close eye on the amount of boost we were making, we turned to AEM Electronics for their 0-15 PSI boost gauge. It uses an electronic boost sensor and not a long vacuum line plumbed into the car, plus it features adjustable black lighting colors as well as gauge faces.  The water/methanol gauge is for a up coming article where we install an AEM water/methanol injection kit.

Holding the gauges in place is a Speed of Sound gauge pod. Keeping you from having to cut up your stock pillar plastics, Speed of Sound includes a new OEM Mustang pillar plastic that comes pre-fitted with their custom, textured gauge holders that are designed for 2-1/16th” gauges.  Speed of Sound offers these pods in all OEM color combinations.

Dyno and Driving Impressions

Key in the ignition, turn, and fire – the Mustang fired up immediately and idled with ease.  The sound of the Vortech supercharger whine was music to our ears. Since we installed the Vortech kit on the Dynojet’s four post lift, we simply raised it and strapped it down on the rollers.

With the V3 Si-Trim pumping out 6.5 pounds of boost, we netted a total power figure of 536 RWHP and 446 lb/ft. As we mentioned before, the Vortech tune is extremely conservative and the air/fuel ratios averaged in the 10.5:1 range.

Vortech offers a competition air inlet assembly that is less restrictive than the factory air box. The assembly easily connects with one bolt and a new adaptor coupler. Additionally, it still utilizes the factory cold air ducting

The competition air inlet adds about one more pound of boost due to the free flowing design. Air/fuel ratios were marginally leaner and the overall increase boosted us to 570 RWHP and 455 lb/ft - a 34 HP and 9 lb/ft improvement over the stock air box.

We knew that we could squeeze more power out of the Vortech tune while still remaining totally safe for our daily driving duties. We turned to veteran Mustang tuner Brent White of Brenspeed to help us coax a few more ponies out of this kit. With the stock intake installed again, we made 571 RWHP and 475 lb/ft. Then with the competition air inlet installed we were just shy of the 600 RWHP mark with 597 RWHP and 475 lb/ft. This was a booming increase of of 172 RWHP and 75 lb/ft versus our naturally aspirated runs and 204 RWHP and 106 lb/ft more than completely stock!

Making this much power, we are really beginning to push the limits of the stock fuel pump. To help keep things safe, Vortech has developed a pump voltage booster that is super easy to install. A supply power line must be connected directly to the battery and then there is the obvious ground. The violet with blue/green tracer wire going to the fuel pump relay will be the only wire that needs to be cut. The side coming in from the vehicle will route to the 14 gauge red wire on the booster, with the 12 gauge orange wire going to the relay side of the cut wire.

Driving the Mustang with its new-found Vortech power is extremely easy.  The vehicle performs like it is naturally aspirated when driving under low throttle situations, but it is eager to pounce when the throttle hits the floor.  This is where the Mustang feels like a different animal, making second gear nearly useless on street tires.  The power delivery is super-linear and peak boost will be seen around 5500 RPM.

Taking it down the ol’ 1320

We were like kids waiting for Christmas until the next open track session was available at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.  This is the closest quarter mile track to our office and is only open about two weekends a month.  This time we showed up for a PSCA Friday test session.  We drove the Mustang to the track with our new 15×10 Weld wheels and Mickey Thompson 295/55/15 drag radials installed.  With the tire pressure dropped to 14 PSI, we headed to the lanes.

The first real outing for the Mustang was at the NMRA/NMCA Fontana race where we entered the True Street category. It was 103 degrees out all weekend with a corrected density altitude of about 5,200 feet. With a freshly prepped track in the morning, we weren't launching the Mustang at a high enough RPM and it would bog slightly when clutching out. Later in the afternoon, launching at the same RPM, we had problems with wheel spin. So despite the heat and less than ideal 60-foot times, we still managed consistent 11.50 passes. On a cooler day with a better hooking track, 10-second passes shouldn't be a problem. Click on the pictures above for a larger version.

At the end of the day we couldn’t be happier with how our 2011 Mustang performed. Vortech includes everything you need with the kit and the installation takes about 10 hours without any specialty tools needed.  If you are worried about driveability with a supercharger installed, don’t.  With 700 HP at the crank, the Mustang drives exactly like stock around town and gives you all the power you need… when you need it. Best of all, our 10 second ET goal will soon be accomplished; now we just need to increase our handling efforts for our 1G skid pad run!

There’s many urban legends and old wive’s tales about nitrous out there keeping good, hardworking horsepower junkies from enjoying a little bit of added oomph. Using the super-simple ZEX Perimeter Plate kit, we’re going to walk you through how easy it is to install the nitrous on your carbureted muscle car in a manner of a couple of hours and help put to rest some of those myths and horror stories that have been spread throughout the years.

Nitrous does not need to be a scary enterprise. In fact, it's rather easy, especially with ZEX's Perimeter Plate Kit (PT# 82040) seen above.

Just The Facts, Ma’am

Most people unfamiliar with nitrous tend to believe that nitrous oxide is explosive. No, nitrous itself is not flammable. Nitrous, when introduced into an engine, allows the engine to burn more fuel per power cycle by condensing the ambient air, resulting in a form of supercharging, but in a liquid form instead of mechanical, like a roots-type supercharger or turbo system.

Most of the nitrous explosions we see are usually due to tuning the system for power gains well beyond the engine’s capabilities. Sometimes an improperly tuned system can result in fuel and nitrous being present in the intake manifold before the ignition is turned on. With the intake valve open, the starting ignition spark can cause an explosion in the intake manifold. Boom! The classic nitrous backfire.

Thankfully, today’s nitrous systems are very advanced and have many years of technology behind them, making them very user-friendly, and one of the safest and easiest ways to get major gains in horsepower and torque at the flip of a switch.

Making Easy Easier

For those running a single Holley or Edelbrock square-flange carburetor, the ZEX Perimeter Nitrous plate is incredibly easy to install, innovative and surprisingly affordable. Plus, there are no spray bars that might interfere with airflow into the motor or create turbulence.

We talked to ZEX’s Matt Patrick, who explained, “the Perimeter Plate allows an equal distribution of fuel and nitrous into the intake without any disruption of airflow into the intake,  allowing the intake to do what it was designed to do, without any disturbances from the introduction of the nitrous being injected.”

The ZEX plate has a 12-holes all placed in a 360-degree radius that give equal distribution of fuel and nitrous into the engine with an added benefit of immediate intake charge cooling, essentially serving as an intercooler for the engine when the nitrous is in use. Patrick continued, “The perimeter plate injects the nitrous so evenly that it has a greater cooling effect on the entire intake charge, and that in testing its not uncommon going from a spray bar system to the Perimeter Plate to automatically pick up a tenth or more with the same HP jetting.”

Best of all, the ZEX Perimeter Plate Kit (PT# 82040) is adjustable from 100-to-300 horsepower.

Look closely. See that rim of frost around the inside edge of perimeter plate? That's evidence of nitrous' cooling capabilities, which helps to compress the air in the combustion chamber making for a stronger charge.

Getting Started

Our guinea pig for our nitrous conversion is this stout street-prepped low-12 second ’69 Nova. Running a over-bored mouse motor 383, a TH350 and a 12-bolt posi, we couldn’t have asked for a better car to plumb up some extra horsepower. First, disconnect the negative battery terminal, remove the air cleaner and carburetor. This may require disconnecting your throttle linkage, vacuum lines, and hardware.

The secret to ZEX's perimeter plate is the series of 12 injection points where nitrous and fuel is evenly distributed through the intake charge, making for a balanced, efficient boost of performance.

Next, install the new longer carburetor studs with new gaskets and set the perimeter plate on the intake manifold, using a couple of carburetor nuts to secure the plate so you can mount the fuel and nitrous solenoids. This way, you can make any clearance adjustments before bolting the carburetor down for good.

Solenoids in Seconds

The fuel solenoid should be mounted up front and the nitrous in the rear. Once you have the solenoids mounted to the plate and checked for clearance of the fuel bowls and any linkage interference, you can bolt the carburetor on for good.

With your carburetor back on top of the intake manifold and linkage attached, mount the bottle in the trunk of the car; its the easiest and least conspicuous area to place it. If you have a trunk-mounted battery, mount the bottle on the opposite side to even weight distribution and be sure not to drill into (or through) the fuel tank when drilling the holes for the nitrous bottle mounts.

Next, decide if you are going to mount the nitrous line inside or under the car. If your running the line underneath, you’ll have to make sure the line is securely fastened to the frame rails and free from moving suspension components, such as the driveshaft or the heat of the exhaust. Use plenty of line clamps to secure the nitrous feed line and run it up so it ends behind the engine with enough slack to attach it to the nitrous solenoid.

Installing the ZEX Perimeter Plate is exceptionally easy. Simply disconnect your throttle linkage, unbolt your carburetor, install the longer carburetor bolts, slide in the ZEX plate between a pair of gaskets and reinstall your carburetor. The rest of the plumbing and wiring is equally as to-the-point.

If you decide you want the line inside the car, you will probably have to remove the rear seat and at least one door sill plate to feed the line to the front of the car where it will be safe from being snagged or stepped on beneath the carpet. When drilling through the firewall, always use a grommet where it passes through the firewall. Once the bottle and line are installed, you can connect the line to the nitrous solenoid.

The ZEX Perimeter Plate comes with both a fuel and nitrous solenoid, which ought to be installed at opposing ends of the carburetor. These will be wired and plumbed individually.

No Need to Call a Plumber

For the fuel side of the system, you will need to either tee off the fuel line or use one of the ports on your fuel regulator (that is, if you have one on the car), either way, it should be good for up to the 150hp setting.

Mount the fuel line away from any exhaust manifolds and install a good filter before the solenoid as well. It is a very good idea to have a separate fuel supply for the nitrous system if you plan on using the system past the 150hp settings. Also keep in mind its a very smart idea not to exceed the 150hp jetting without having forged pistons, especially with today’s fuels.

Also, a bit of good insurance is to install a Hobb switch on the fuel side. It will shut down the nitrous system in the event your fuel pressure drops below a preset pressure (usually 4.5 psi), preventing severe engine damage. We strongly recommend it.

You can now install the master arming switch inside the car. Run the power on a 15 amp circuit and then run the power lead through the firewall to the carburetor where you will connect it to the power leads to both solenoids.

Installing the micro switch to the side of the carburetor and adjusting it properly will program the system to activate when the throttle is fully depressed, providing your right foot complete control of the system delivery.

Next, attach the micro switch to the side of the carburetor and adjust it so that it is activated only when the throttle is fully depressed, that way you have some control over the system in case of severe wheel spin or if you just want to use the system for short bursts of power, instead of “all or nothing.” We find it helps when launching the car so that once you feel it hook, you can go “full throttle and bottle” just by pressing the gas pedal all the way.

When completely installed, your muscle car's engine compartment should look nearly unchanged, save for the short height increase of your carburetor and air cleaner and some wiring. We wouldn't really call this stealth, but it is clean.

One side of the micro switch should go to engine ground and the other two leads of both solenoids will go to the other terminal of the micro switch so that when the pedal is floored, it completes the circuit to the solenoids by creating a ground to open both the fuel and nitrous solenoids. Do not put power through the micro switch, as its not rated for that much voltage, use it for the ground only.

Shaking Out The Gremlins

Now it’s time for testing. Reconnect the negative battery terminal, but do not open the bottle, we will test for fuel first. Start the engine and make sure there are no leaks. You can now arm the system with the switch in the “On” position with the engine idling. Quickly touch the micro switch for just a second, you should hear the engine start to stumble due to the extra fuel that the solenoid just injected, that tells us the fuel side is working. You can shut the engine off.

Next, its very important that you disconnect the coil wire (or if you have an MSD box, remove the power lead) and make sure you have no spark when you crank the engine. If you have no spark, proceed by opening up the bottle, arm the system with the switch and check for any leaks.

The Nova we installed this ZEX Perimeter Plate Kit on already had a fuel cell in the trunk along with a battery on the other side, so we mounted the nitrous bottle behind the driver's side rear wheelwell.

If there are no leaks, then you can now test the nitrous side of the system by touching the micro switch for a second; you should here a loud click and a burst of pressure which is the quick release of nitrous into the intake.

Close the bottle, shut off the switch, and now crank the engine over without the coil wire attached for at least 30 seconds to rid the engine of any extra nitrous and fuel. You can now reconnect the coil wire and restart the engine.

You will need to reset the ignition timing for nitrous use; as a rule of thumb, retard the timing 4-to-6 degrees for every 100hp of nitrous. So, if you normally run 36-degrees of total timing and you’re looking to run a 100hp shot, you should back off the timing to about 30-degrees total.

This can be done also by installing a timing retard switch to your MSD ignition which can be controlled by a dial on the dash, or quite simply, you could mark the distributor with a line that you determine when you set it at 30 total, but that requires opening the hood to move the distributor every time you want to use your nitrous, and that’s no fun. There are also nitrous timing computers that you can add to control what rpm you want to activate the nitrous at and how much timing to to take out, if you want to go high tech.

You are now all set to try the system on the road. Open the bottle and run the car up through the gears and it will feel like you just swapped out your old powerplant with another engine when you floor the pedal. Have fun and try to avoid activating the nitrous under 2500rpms as it puts unwanted loads on the driveline and can cause detonation.

All in all, the ZEX Perimeter Plate System is a very good way to make safe usable power in a few hours in your own garage.

In the space of a couple hours, we were able to install, plumb and wire our new ZEX Perimeter Plate Kit on this '70 Nova. With just a couple minutes of double-checking, we had our freshly squeezed small block cranking out an extra 100-horsepower. Not too bad for a Saturday morning project, huh?

The newest iteration of the Mustang has been headlined by the glorious return of the five liter engine that fans have sorely missed for the last 15 years since the original was retired with the 1995 model year GT. The new 5.0L-equipped models, less than a year into their production, already stand poised to become one of the greatest versions of the car to ever wear the Mustang badge. The buying public and subsequently the aftermarket manufacturers can’t seem to get enough of it, and that spells good news for everyone.

The 412 horsepower, 302-cubic inch “Coyote” engine, with it’s 11:1 compression ratio and strong internals, proved its capability to take some boosted punishment right out of the gate, which has led to an astounding number of boosted 2011′s running around on the street and the strip. Supercharger and turbocharger manufacturers have jumped on board to satisfy the demand, but with so many quality options on the market, deciding on the right purchase can be a tough ordeal. To take some of that headache away, we’ve compiled a handful of the top forced induction kits on the market designed specifically for the 2011 and up 5.0 Mustang, right here, in one place. And to accomplish that, we’ve spoken with some of the most revered names in the business.

Hellion & Fastlane – Represent the turbocharging side of things, represented by NMRA champ John Urist and Nick Field.  They are two of the most respected up-and-coming names in the performance aftermarket, and each have produced single turbo kits that take the 5.0L to new heights with incredible performance potential. Meanwhile, the rest of our guide is composed of seven supercharger manufacturers, all with a rich history in the Ford and automotive high performance market.

ProCharger – One of the leading drag racing and street supercharger manufacturers, has been producing units for the venerable Mustang since the fox body era and in 2011, has delivered three differing kits all aimed at specific segments of enthusiasts with their HO, Stage II, and Cog Race units.

Ford Racing – With their direct R&D connection to Ford has done likewise with three kits that produce 525 and 624 horsepower, as well as a Tuner kit for the do-it-yourself crowd.  The kit comes with a 2.3L twin-screw supercharger and heat exchanger. When installed by a Ford dealer, the 525 horsepower kit will retain your factory engine guarantee.

Paxton and Vortech – This famed duo have brought a double threat to the 2011 Mustang market via a centrifugal supercharger, with Paxton producing a kit based on their NOVI 2200 compressor, while Vortech is utilizing their V3-Si Trim supercharger to get the job done with over 600 horsepower. Both kits come with a front mount intercooler, which is different from their previous water-to-air S197 intercooled kits.

Edelbrock’s E-Force – The kit features an Eaton TVS rotor-based supercharger, along with a large intercooler, intercooler water pump, fuel injectors, fuel rails, a handheld calibration module with preloaded tunes, and all belts, tensioners, hoses, and other necessary components that make this a complete, ready-to-install kit.

Magnuson – Magnuson Products started from a clean slate with their new supercharger offering for the 5.0 Mustang, which uses a high-helix MP2300 TVS supercharger, derived from Eaton’s “Twin Vortices Series” rotating unit. All other components in this kit were designed and created by Magnuson and includes everything necessary for installation. All the belts, hoses, electrical connectors and harnesses, bolts, pulleys, brackets, intercooler, and reservoir are all part of the kit. As well, Flashpaq tuning is supplied.

Roush – The newest offering from Roush for the 5.0 is the RoushCharger system. Largely a carryover from the 2010 package in terms of hardware, the new Roush supercharger system for the 2011-2012 GT utilizes an Eaton-based TVSR-2300 roots-style RoushCharger and features a high flow fuel rail, 47 lb/hr fuel injectors plus more. As well, it incorporates a high efficiency, full face air-to-water intercooler with a large degas bottle like that found in the 2010 kit.

This article is the first installment in what will be a multi-part guide to performance upgrades for the 2011 and up 5.0 Mustangs, so keep it tuned right here for everything Coyote. With that said, let’s move on and take an in-depth look at each of the forced induction systems mentioned above.

ProCharger’s Three-Headed Attack

The Kits

ProCharger has developed not one, not two, but three self-contained supercharger kits available for the 2011 Mustang. “All of these kits are built around our self-contained supercharger head unit and our effective air-to-air intercooling system that’s less complex and more efficient. As well, they also feature a dedicated drive belt system. No one else offers this kind of coverage; from an entry level kit with no trimming on up to a fully race-designed kit,” explained Jeff Lacina, Marketing Director with Procharger.

Base kit – The HO Intercooled System, utilizes the proven P-1SC-1 supercharger making 7 pounds of boost in conjunction with an air-to-air intercooler and a dedicated 8-rib drive, meaning the drive belt isn’t shared with any other engine-mounted components.

Said Lacina, “The HO requires no cutting or trimming of any factory components. It is a pure bolt-on, and it’s our entry level kit, if you will. That is, if you want to call 624 horsepower entry level.”

Stage II kit – Incorporates a larger front-mounted intercooler, fabricated cooling tank, a specially designed radiator fan shroud, and a larger air filter. It uses the very same P-1SC-1 supercharger with 7 pounds boost, but is capable of producing more horsepower over the HO and makes a great kit if you plan to upgrade the blower size down the road.

Cog Race - Designed for more dedicated racing machines with built engines. This particular kit can use one of Prochargers’ many units, including he f-1D, F-1, F-1A, F-1C, and F-1R with ratings between 1,000 and 1,300 horsepower. Other features include a billet aluminum bracket and tensioner pulley, cog crank pulley, and a 50mm dedicated cog drive belt.

Installation Notes

The base HO system, with its smaller intercooler, fits into the front grill as if it belonged there, with a simple bolt-on installation requiring no cutting or aftermarket parts for fitment. The stage II, with its larger intercooler and revised piping layout, requires some trimming to the inside of the lower front fascia and the use of the included fan shroud and coolant overflow tank. The hardcore racing Cog setup requires no extra trimming.

Minimum installation time is around four hours, and will require the use of a small saw for cutting the front fascia on the Stage II kit.  The HO kit requires no cutting.

Horsepower Claims

Crank Horsepower – HO: 600, Stage II: 615, Cog: 1,300+

Rear Wheel Horsepower – HO: 523 HP, Stage II: 615+, Cog: 1,000-1,300

Pricing

HO System: $5,986; Tuner: $5,196

Stage II System: $6,396; Tuner: $5,696

Cog: $7,196

Fuel/CARB Requirements

All three kits are non-CARB legal and require the use of 91-93 octane fuel.

Real World Testing

StangTV recently published a complete installation and dyno test of a Procharger HO unit on a 2011 Mustang, producing 523 RWHP for an increase of 165 horsepower on the otherwise stock engine. To view the complete article, click here.

We were absolutely stunned by the power gains with ProCharger's HO supercharger kit. Even on the first pull we were over 500 RWHP. By the second pull the vehicle's factory wide-band oxygen sensor and made the corresponding changes it needed to make and we blasted off a 523 RWHP pull in the 100 degree heat. Picking up 165 horsepower with 7 pounds of boost left us satisfied to say the least.

Magnuson Products’ Magnacharger

The Kit

Magnuson Products started from a clean slate with their new supercharger offering for the 5.0 Mustang, which uses a high-helix MP2300 TVS supercharger, derived from Eaton’s “Twin Vortices Series” rotating unit. All other components in this kit were designed and created by Magnuson and includes everything necessary for installation. All the belts, hoses, electrical connectors and harnesses, bolts, pulleys, brackets, intercooler, and reservoir are all part of the kit. As well, Flashpaq tuning is supplied. “The core assembly is based on an Eaton-manufactured rotating assembly, and so we’ve aligned ourselves with the largest manufacturer of original equipment superchargers,” said Michael Hewitt. “And as a result, having the reputation for durability that goes along with an OEM manufactured part, we feel that our role in attacking the Ford market is simply piggybacking on some history that’s been well established.”

Installation Notes

A relatively skilled technician or mechanic can install this kit in about 8-10 hours. No specialty tools are required, although a right-angle drill motor will be needed for pinning the crankshaft, of which the necessary bits are included. Standard hand tools and a torque wrench will do the trick. You will have to supply your own coolant and water.

Horsepower Claims

Because this is a very new-to-market kit, Magnuson hasn’t yet performed any concrete dyno runs. However, they have designed the kit to produce about six pounds of boost out of the box, which should create in the neighborhood of 120 additional horsepower and 120 ft-lbs of torque as a starting point.

Pricing

Pricing is anticipated to be $6,500-7,500 depending on powdercoat or chrome finish.

Fuel/CARB Requirements

Magnuson is presently seeking CARB approval and once granted, the Magnacharger kit will meet 50-state legal regulations. The minimum octane requirement is 91.

Real World Testing

The Magnacharger 5.0L system has only been installed on one in-house vehicle thus far, and once testing is completed and CARB approval granted, those numbers will be made public. Stay tuned to the Magnuson Products webite for further developments.

Hair Drying The 5.0 With Hellion

The Kit

Hellion Power Systems recently released their new single turbo system for the 2011-2012 Mustang that is fully stainless steel and is a 100% complete kit, including ECU re-calibration. They system can be supplied with turbos ranging from 64mm to 78mm in size, or can be upgraded later for additional power gains.

With this kit, you can produce astounding horsepower numbers with one kit that requires no extra exhaust components or headers. The expected release date for the kit is Q1 of 2011. “The advantage of a Hellion turbo system is that outrageous horsepower numbers are possible with just one kit. And it’s one price, the first time, with more horsepower per dollar than any other setup,” said Hellion’s John Urist.

Installation Notes

Turbo systems may seem complicated, but Hellion has made it a snap. After removal of the factory H-pipe (or aftermarket X-pipe), the Hellion piping attaches to the factory manifolds. Installation of the turbo and intercooler will require removal of the nose of the car. The cold side (intercooler to the engine) consists of three short pipes and plumb directly into the factory throttle body. Injectors are supplied as part of the kit, and no additional fuel system modifications are necessary. Also comes with a hand held tuner for ECU programming with Hellion customer support just a phone call away.

The Hellion single turbo system installs in 8-12 hours and doesn’t require the use of any of special tools or equipment.

Horsepower Claims

At a base setting of 6 pounds of boost on a stock 5.0, this system produces over 600 horsepower, with the capability of making upwards of 950.

Pricing

Kits start at $5,995.

Real World Testing

John Urist and the guys at Hellion have installed the kit on two cars thus far in its development, one those an automatic-equipped ride (pictured) belonging to former NMRA racer Matt Case, which has pulled 520 horsepower to the wheels and 600 at the crank on 6 pounds of boost.

Edelbrock’s E-Force Supercharger System

The Kit

Hot off the printing presses is Edelbrock’s new E-Force Supercharger System, designed exclusively by the performance masters at Edelbrock to provide instant, reliable, and safe horsepower gains for a stock 5.0L Mustang. With minimum air restriction in and out of the supercharger, along with its 15-inch long intake runners, it’s a recipe for the utmost in low end torque and produces the most horsepower with the least amount of boost for safe operating levels on an otherwise stock engine. The system is available with Edelbrock’s 5-year, 60,000 mile warranty for added peace of mind.

The kit features an Eaton TVS rotor-based supercharger, along with a large intercooler, intercooler water pump, fuel injectors, fuel rails, a handheld calibration module with preloaded tunes, and all belts, tensioners, hoses, and other necessary components that make this a complete, ready-to-install kit.

“The features that we feel make our system a winner in the marketplace is the ability to bolt on the full package, complete with calibration, with no need to source any product from anywhere. It is as complete a kit as you will find in superchargers,” said Edelbrock’s Jason Snyder. “Our design philosophy with our supercharger systems is to minimize boost and increase airflow so you can essentially create more power on less boost than our competitors.”

Installation Notes

Installation of the new 5.0L kit is very similar to that of the 4.6L on a 2010 model car, with the use of basic hand tools that should take around 10 hours to complete.

Horsepower Claims

As this is also a brand new system to the market, concrete horsepower and torque figures are not official, but Edelbrock estimates final numbers to be in the neighborhood of 550 horsepower at the crank at 5.5 pounds of boost.

Pricing

Retail MSRP has not been finalized yet, however the price is expected to be between $6,000 and $6,500.

Fuel/CARB Requirements

Edelbrock’s E-Force system will be 50-state legal upon CARB certification and requires the use of 91 octane fuel.

Real World Testing

Because this brand new system is not yet in production, Edelbrock has only tested the unit on their own in-house test vehicles, of which dyno figures will be released in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to Edelbrock’s website for further news on the kit.

Ford Racing Mustang Supercharger System

The Kits

Ford Racing’s engineers worked in close collaboration with Ford powertrain engineers in the development of their 2.3L twin-screw supercharger for the 2011 Mustang. This supercharger system comes as a complete package in three variations: a 525 horsepower kit that carries a full 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty (when installed by a Ford or Mercury dealer technician), an upgraded 624 HP kit, and a tuner kit for racing and high-horsepower enthusiast applications. “We went at some the design of this system with the mentality of an OE installation, and so we feel our kit is a little more thought out, and the hardware is designed to give a long life for the engine and the user,” said Ford Racing’s Jesse Kershaw.

525 HP – Features the 2.3L twin-screw supercharger assembly, intake manifold, complete air-to-liquid intercooler system, injectors, Ford racing ProCal calibrated tuning tool, drive belt, and 12 month/12,000 mile warranty.

624 HP – Includes all of the same components and hardware as the 525 HP base kit, but lacks the Ford 12/12 warranty.

*Note: Both the 525 HP and 624 HP Mustang Supercharger Systems fit only manual transmission-equipped 2011 Mustang GT’s.

Tuner Kit – Uses most of the primary under-hood components of the 525 and 624 HP kits, but lacks the Ford Racing ProCal tuning tool, supercharger pulley, injectors, and the Ford 12/12 warranty.

Installation Notes

Before installing the Mustang Supercharger Kit, Ford Racing requires product registration in order to receive the ProCal II flash tool for recalibration of the PCM. With this kit, consumers have the option of a do-it-yourself or dealership install. Installation requires the removal of re-gapping of factory spark plugs, and necessitates only the use of standard hand tools, tape, and soldering equipment. Ford Racing has provided the complete instruction manual in PDF form on their website.

Horsepower Claims

The base kit produces 525 horsepower at 6,400 RPM and 470 ft-lbs of torque at 4,200 RPM at 7 pounds of boost on 91 octane, while the upgraded system delivers 624 horsepower at 6,900 RPM and 536 ft-lbs of torque at 4,700 RPM on 9 pounds of boost with 93 octane fuel.

Pricing

525 HP System: $7,199 (black); Polished chrome: $7,779

624 HP System: $7,499 (black); Polished chrome: $8,099

Tuner Kit: $6,499 (black); Polished chrome: $7,099

Fuel/CARB Requirements

Both the 525 and 624 horsepower kits are fully CARB certified and 50-state legal, and require the use of 91 octane fuel minimum.

Real World Testing

NMRA Race Pages Editor Jason Reiss got some hands-on experience with the Whipple-supercharged Ford Racing 2011 Mustang, which he detailed in a Race Pages Blog earlier this fall. Read more here. Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords’ Amsoil 5.0L project car, unveiled at this years’ SEMA Show, sports the base Ford Racing supercharger system and while no dyno numbers have been released, is estimated to produce over 500 horsepower to the crank.

Vortech And Paxton Make A Formidable 5.0L Duo

The Kits

Vortech Superchargers, along with their Paxton brand, bring a stellar one-two punch to the new Mustang GT, with supercharger systems available that utilize popular and proven centrifugal units and come as complete, ready-to-install kits or in tuner form. “Out approach on these kits, moreso the Vortech, was to package the system for the simplest installation possible while maintaining the factory look and allowing for the OEM to be integrated into the system for emissions purposes,” said Vortech’s Engineering Manager Mike Reagan.

Vortech – The standard Vortech high-output system features the V-3 Si-Trim compressor with an air-to-air charge intercooler, complete air inlet assembly, replacement injectors, an SCT hand-held ECU programmer, intercooler, and all the required components and hardware that make this a complete kit. This kit comes with the option of a 20^th Anniversary Edition black (limited production) or polished finish.

Vortech also offers the same kit in the tuner variety, coming without the fuel pump, fuel injectors or ECU programmer or any form of ECU recalibration, leaving that to the end-user. Tuner kits are available with the V-1 T-Trim unit for even greater power levels when mated to modified engines.

Paxton – The upcoming Paxton Mustang GT system will utilize the NOVI 2200 compressor and is designed for serious racing and street-strip applications with built engines and is capable of producing upwards of 1,000 horsepower with the same supercharger. Once finalized, the components that will comprise the Paxton system will be very similar to that found in the Vortech package.

The Paxton system is also available as tuner kit, minus the fuel management and tuner/programming.

Installation Notes

Approximate time for installation is 7-9 hours and requires standard hand/power tools and equipment. The base Vortech kit is designed for use on stock, OEM 5.0L Mustangs with a stock PCM and requires only general automotive mechanic knowledge and experience to complete the install.

Horsepower Claims

The base Vortech system with the V-3 Si-Trim compressor outputs roughly 600 horsepower at the flywheel on 7-8 pounds of boost, while the V-1 T-Trim in the Tuner kit is capable of a stout 825 horsepower at the flywheel.

The Paxton system meanwhile will produce in the neighborhood of 620 horsepower at the flywheel out of the box, with power numbers up to four figures attainable with the very same NOVI 2200 unit.

Pricing

Vortech complete system: $5,995; Tuner Kit: $4,995

Paxton complete system: $5,620 (satin finish), $5,995 (polished finish); Tuner kit: $4,695 (satin finish), $4,995 (polished finish)

Fuel/CARB Requirements

Both systems feature a molded air intake tube that mates to the OEM airbox.  This retains the carbon trap, making them capable of being 50-state smog legal and CARB certified, though Vortech/Paxton is currently seeking certification. The minimum fuel requirement is 91 octane.

Real World Testing

Terry “Beefcake” Reeves’ automatic GT utilizes the Vortech V3-Si Trim superchcharger kit, along with Stainless Works 1-7/8″ headers and a custom Jon Lund tune on 93 octane to belt out 528 RWHP and 448 ft-lbs of torque at just under 9 pounds of boost. Reeves recently drove the car four hours to the NMRA Finals and captured the Super Stang crown, running a 10.81 best elapsed time. For more information, including dyno videos, visit the Vortech blog.

Justin Burcham and the JPC Performance crew have pushed their 2011 Mustang to the extreme in pursuit of becoming the quickest 2011 in the country, knocking out over 800 horsepower to the tires with the Paxton Novi 2200 head unit and system. Read more on Paxton’s blog here and here.

Vortech has recently put their in house project 2011 Mustang on the dyno.  It features a standard Vortech kit with a 6 psi pulley.  The only additional modification made to the Mustang was a Borla catback exhaust.  The kit produced a respectable 577 RWHP and 442 lb/ft to the rear tires on a DynoJet.

Fastlane Brings Turbo Expertise to the 5.0L

The Kit

Fastlane Inc. has taken their expertise in turbocharging to the new Mustang and Coyote engine in developing a complete, customizable single turbo system. At this time, Fastlane is only offering the system as an install at their facility in Houston, Texas, but hope to make the kit available as a complete, do-it-yourself package in the near future based on interest and demand from the market.

Fastlane’s system features a 72mm BorgWarner S400 Series turbocharger and a large air-to-air intercooler that all tucks away nicely under the hood. Their system is planned to include everything necessary to get up and running, including Tial wastegates and blow off valves, fuel injectors, and a PCM re-calibration/tune. Said Fastlane’s Nick Field, “This is the only top-mount turbo kit out there for the 5.0L, which provides the benefit of a turbo with the ultimate in efficiency along with an OEM-type install. It’s the right way to build a turbo kit, and we went a lot of trouble to package it under that hood.”

Installation Notes

Installation time is around 10-12 hours using standard tools, and the process does involve some minor welding to complete the reconfiguration of the headers. Due to computer-related issues, the OEM automatic transmission is the only automatic that will work properly with the use of this turbo system at this time.

Horsepower Claims

On an otherwise stock motor, the 72mm system produces 672 horsepower at the crank on 6 pounds of boost, and with a built motor has churned out over 750 at the wheels on 14 pounds of boost.

Pricing

$8,995

Fuel/CARB Requirements

Because the factory airbox has to be removed to make way for the turbocharger setup, this kit lacks CARB certification but is otherwise 49-state legal. Fastlane tunes everything at their shop for 93 octane and recommends the same for end users.

Real World Testing

Fastlane has installed their 72mm turbocharger kit on an in-house GT, producing 672 horsepower at the wheels on the stock engine with 6 pounds of boost and over 750 on a motor with upgraded internals on 14 pounds. This car, which was on display in the SCT booth at this years SEMA Show, has run well into the 10’s in the quarter mile.

The 2011 Gets RoushCharged

The Kit

Roush and the Ford Mustang go hand-in-hand, and it’s only fitting they bring their RoushCharger system to the new 5.0L model. Largely a carryover from the 2010 package in terms of hardware, the new Roush supercharger system for the 2011-2012 GT utilizes an Eaton-based TVSR-2300 roots-style RoushCharger and features a high flow fuel rail, 47 lb/hr fuel injectors, an aluminum fabricated throttle spacer, heavy-duty dedicated first sheave FEAD (front end accessory drive) system, a 90mm pulley, twin 60mm throttle body, and all the necessary wiring, PCV, and vacuum systems that make it a complete kit. As well, it incorporates a high efficiency, full face air-to-water intercooler with a large degas bottle like that found in the 2010 kit.

“Everything that we produce is designed to OEM specifications or better in terms of functionality, quality, installation, and appearance. When you open up the hood, we want our owners to be the thrilled with the end product and have it look like it rolled off the Ford assembly line,” states John Clark. Roush presently has available a tuner kit that lacks calibration software and the full powertrain warranty, offering users the freedom to push the envelope with a custom combination. The complete system is slated to hit the market in the very near future and comes with Roush’s 3-year, 36,000 mile warranty.

Installation notes

For anyone familiar with Roush supercharger installs, there will be little in the way of surprises with this one. The stock induction and intake system have to be removed and replaced with the Roush fuel charging assembly and FEAD, and some basic installation/modification of wiring is required.

Installation is estimated at around 12-14 hours and requires no specialized tooling.

Horsepower Claims

At 10 pounds of boost, the RoushCharger produces 525 rear wheel horsepower at 6,700 RPM and 465 ft-lbs of torque at 4,700 RPM.

Pricing

Complete System: $6,099

Tuner kit: $5,899

Fuel/CARB Requirements

All Roush calibrated versions of this kit are pending EO certification and require the use of premium 91 octane.

Real World Testing

John Starkey and wife Rebecca of VMP Tuning in Florida have outfitted their automatic-equipped GT with a RoushCharger tuner kit coupled with a smaller pulley and custom calibration to produce over 550 horsepower at the wheels. Together with some minor modifications including aftermarket exhaust, lower controls arms, and drag radials — the Mustang blasted out a best of 10.61 at 130 MPH at the NMRA Finals in Bowling Green.

To read more on the VMP Mustang, visit the project car page here.

As you can see, despite the aftermarket manufacturers have already jumped all over the new Mustang in unison with the buying public, ample options for impressive gains in bolt-on horsepower. Among our guide are no less than 15 different kits from 8 industry-renowned manufacturers – some of which entail multiple upgrade options of their own – for a sizeable selection of both the turbocharger and supercharger variety. And like buying underwear, there really is no right or wrong choice. Each system brings to the table its own unique design from a functionality, appearance, and installation standpoint, meaning the decision comes down to what best fits your needs and of course, your budget. Next up? You guessed it. Nitrous Oxide.

Evolution – it’s the way of the world; constantly refining, rebuilding, and inventing. Without evolution, where would we be? I know I wouldn’t be able to type this article on my first computer, a Apple II E, and I would still have to load my single-color video games through the floppy drive. Even a company that has produced a proven product can make it better with technology, and that is exactly what Paxton did with the introduction of the new NOVI-2500 supercharger. But even to push the envelope a bit further, they have developed an all-new carburetor bonnet called the PowerHat.

Blow thru carburetors have only recently become popular within the last six to seven years. Enthusiasts were scared to try blowing boost through a carburetor due to the unexplored tuning perspective, though it didn’t take long for popular carburetor tuners to figure out how to make it work. In the end, a properly built blow thru carburetor can be damn close to its EFI companion in terms of consistency and reliability.

Evolving the NOVI-2000 – Paxton’s NOVI-2500

The differences in the 2500 vs the 2000 is the redesigned and larger compressor wheel

The Paxton NOVI-2000 and the Vortech YSI have a lot of history in high performance street cars and racing applications. The YSI is commonly referred to the “Renegade blower” as it has been the popular supercharger of choice in the NMRA EFI Renegade class. Corvette, Viper, and other high horsepower street applications use the NOVI-2000 when trying to make 1000 crank horsepower through a serpentine belt-driven blower. Also the YSI is extremely efficient, presenting a 78-percent peak efficiency in a decently sized island, while the NOVI-2000 came in at 71-percent. Where the NOVI-2000 fell short is that they are only good to about 1000 horsepower to the crank, or around 850 to the rear wheels.

Even when comparing the NOVI-2500 (black) to the YSI (red), you can see the YSI does have a slightly better peak efficiency, but the 2500 has a much broader compressor map and is more efficient in larger areas. Click the image above for a larger version.

The hindering portion of these superchargers isn’t the design of the compressor housing or gear case, but rather the compressor wheel design. A lot has been discovered, in terms of airflow technology, when it comes to designing a more efficient compressor wheel, and that is exactly what Paxton did to push the performance envelope and introduce the new Paxton NOVI-2500.

As we said before, the NOVI-2500 uses the same basic supercharger package, though with a redesigned and larger compressor wheel configuration. “The NOVI-2000 has been a highly successful piece over the years and we knew that by using our current suite of tool and technology, we could improve on its performance, “ said Engineering Manager Mike Reagan. “The impeller wheel and shroud contour was created using CAD and specialized compressor design software. From there we tested and tweaked the NOVI-2500. The NOVI-2000 did not originally have access to these modern compressor design and testing tools.”

Not only does the 2500 support about 300 horsepower more than the 2000, it also has a much broader compressor map. This means that not only will it be capable of running more boost (30 PSI) it will work better on a wide variety of engine applications. “We spent about six months developing the new compressor stage,” continued Reagan. “The impeller is a bit taller and the inducer is incrementally larger as well (3.534 on the NOVI-2000 and 3.75 on the 2500).” The best part about the NOVI-2500 is that if you are looking to upgrade your 2000, it is a direct upgrade without further bracket modifications.

Compressor mapping is based off a wide variety of calculations, including gas type, cylinder head efficiency, cubic inches, projected air intake temperatures, and RPM. The easier-to-figure-out calculation is the pressure ratio, which is typically the amount of boost you want to run, plus 14.7 (atmospheric) divided by 14.7 (again, atmospheric). Though it doesn’t take a mathematician to look at the graph above and see that the 2500 will support more airflow at higher boost levels, while being more efficient.

NOVI-2500 Specifications:

• Internal gear step-up ratio: 3.50:1
• Inlet hose diameter: 4.00”
• Outlet hose diameter: 3.00”
• Impeller inducer dia: 3.75”
• Efficiency peak: 76%
• Impeller speed max: 60,000 RPM
• Max. pressure: 30 PSIG
• Max. flow: 2000 CFM
• Max. horsepower: 1300

The magic comes from the redesigned NOVI-2500 compressor wheel. The impeller wheel and shroud contour was created using CAD and specialized compressor design software. The impeller wheel is 3.534-inches on the NOVI-2000 and 3.75-inches on the 2500

Carburetor enclosures, bonnets, and now the PowerHat

While many blow thru carburetors use very similar technology, the way to properly introduce that boost into the carburetor has been a long argued topic. Vortech originally designed (and still offers) a case that completely encloses the carburetor, pressurizing everything evenly. Some said that the design was complicated and only a simple bonnet is needed.

Depending on who you talk to, the simple bonnet design can be a less-than-desired design. Sure, it does the job on forcing the air under full boost situations through the carburetor, but is the distribution across the primaries and secondaries equal under low boost, or road driving conditions? “We have seen that moving the position of the bonnet within five degrees on any given direction can vary 15-20 horsepower and half the motor running lean with half the motor running rich,” said Bob Endress of Vortech/Paxton.

The PowerHat is a new carburetor hat design that helps feed air from all directions across the top of the carburetor

The evolution of the basic bonnet sprouted an air diverter; designed specifically to do that – feed air more evenly over the primaries and secondaries. The design flaw to the diverter bonnet is that the diverter itself is fixed inside the bonnet, and unless that diverter is aligned dead-nuts straight over the primaries and secondaries, you might as well kiss that air distribution feature goodbye.

Vortech/Paxton set out to create a new carburetor hat that would provide even pressure across the carburetor and when clocked in any direction, yield the same results. They have the expensive tools and simulators that allows them to construct a hat that will perform precisely in any application.

The Technology Behind the PowerHat

At first sight the PowerHat looks like a giant, polished air cleaner that is sealed off, minus a single three-inch inlet (though they also have dual inlets available). Flip the PowerHat on its belly and now it looks like a giant compressor housing. Remove the two pieces of cast aluminum from each other and inside is an air diverter that resembles an air filter, just without the cotton. It resembles that for good reason; because that’s basically what it is. To properly encompass the carburetor with even airflow, a bit of restriction is needed to fill the hat completely. Without that restriction, the air would rush over the carburetor at whatever direction the hat was pointing, some being sucked in and some just bouncing around aimlessly inside the hat.

The PowerHat comes with features designed to bring the boosted air around the carburetor for proper distribution

But now with the air swirling around the hat like a washing machining on a spin cycle, how do you get the air flowing inward to the carburetor? That is exactly what that little fin on the back of the bonnet does. “Even playing with the distance that divider sat from the diverter played a big roll in the air distribution,” Endress explained.

Vortech/Paxton says that in addition to providing better drive-ability and more horsepower, it is done with less jetting in the carburetor. “We were up about 60 horsepower and down about 10 jet numbers when testing against a conventional 90-degree bonnet,” said Endress.

Jan Moeller Upgrades from the NOVI-2000 to NOVI-2500

660 horsepower and 588 lb/ft before and 766 horsepower and 631 lb/ft after - a gain of 103 horsepower and 43 lb/ft. Click the image for a larger version of the dyno graph.

Jan Moeller of Xtreme Motorsports in Arizona has a unique first generation Ford Lightning truck. It features a 410ci Windsor with AFR 205 heads, TFS-R intake, and a FAST XFI. The best ET they had ran to date with their Lightning was a respectable 8.83 @ 135 mph. The problem they started running into on the NOVI-2000 is that it was starting to fall off on the top end while they were trying to run 22-23 psi of boost. To help combat that problem, the Xtreme Motorsports team sprayed a 100 shot of nitrous. However, they were able to get their hands on a new NOVI-2500 for an upgrade.

The power increases are stellar to say the least “We simply strapped the NOVI-2500 on in place of the 2000 with the same pulley combination, running the same race gas,” Moeller said. “We were surprised how much power it picked up and how much more stable it was at higher RPM.” You are reading the above dyno graph correctly – 106 horsepower and 43 lb/ft of torque to the rear wheels from this direct bolt-on upgrade. While the power delivery looks identical between both superchargers, it is obvious on the top end that the 2500 doesn’t taper off and holds strong.

Testing? Of Course We Are Testing!

The powerplant we are putting in our ’65 Mustang “Biting the Bullitt” will feature both the new PowerHat and NOVI-2500 supercharger. The engine is a Dart block and CNC headed 427 cubic inch small block Ford. It features Ross 9:1 forged pistons, and Eagle’s crank and rods. It will be driven on 91 octane pump gas with the additional octane being fed from a Snow Performance water/methanol kit to a AED blow through carburetor. The Crower hydraulic roller valvetrain caps off the street aspect of the motor as we won’t need to be pulling the valve covers off constantly to adjust our last.

While we won’t pushing the upper limits of the supercharger in testing, we will see how little boost we need to produce to crack our 1000 horsepower goal. Additionally, the Mustang will see a heavy amount of street driving and we will keep you up to date on how it performs on the street as well as the track. Will we pick up more power while being more stable on our air fuel ratios? Will the NOVI-2500 deliver all the power we need? Stay tuned as we get our 427ci monster on the dyno at QMP Racing coming up very soon!

Our carbureted blow-thru 427ci small block Ford will be testing both the NOVI-2500 supercharger and PowerHat with goals of 1000 HP on moderate boost

What’s better than a big block Chevy in a Nova II?  How about a big block Chevy with a big, nasty ProCharger F-2?

That’s right – in case you missed any of our previous updates, we have stolen the Edelbrock/Musi 555 cubic inch big block out of our Malibu and completely rebuilt it for our fresh supercharged combo. Our goal was to build one of the baddest street cars to prowl the streets of So-Cal; and to make that happen, we needed a serious fix of boost. Now, we’ve got a complete “tech series” coming on our 555ci re-build, and on the Procharger F2 install, and subsequent dyno testing; but in the mean-time – this update will give you a quick overview of our progress.

The F-2 is part of ProCharger’s race blower line, but can also be used on super nasty street cars like our Nova. For our big block Chevy, we ordered it in a cog drive configuration to reduce belt slippage under high boost applications.  It also features a 10.5-inch volute that provides a significant increase in airflow when compared to the F-1/F-1A and F1-C/F1-R superchargers, but despite being a race blower capable of over 1,600 horsepower, it still retains all the F-Series design advantages, including the self-contained oiling system.  The F1-R would have been plenty enough to make the 1,000 crank horsepower we are hoping for, the size of the big block was going to push it out of its peak efficiency range and the nod went to the F-2 – producing that same power with less boost.

As you can see in these pictures, the F2 kit includes ProCharger’s beautifully-polished big block Chevy bracket system, the before-mentioned F-2 supercharger, and cog drive crank pulley.  The pulley configuration will put us a pinch under 10 psi of boost to meet our power goals.  Also, we opted for ProCharger’s monstrous 27.5 x 12 x 4.5-inch air-to-air intercooler that will support 1,300 horsepower. We are shooting for about 800 rear wheel horsepower on our Dynojet on a very conservative, pump gas street tune up.

The driver's side support bar will need to be modified to fit the compressor housing properly

If you’re wondering what we did with the 555 ci, we’ll clue you in quickly (you’ll need to wait for the full tech article next month to really get the goods). Pacific Performance took the 10:1 engine apart, honed the block, installed fresh bearings, and fitted it with low compression 8.5:1 JE Pistons and JE Pro Seal rings. Edelbrock’s new CNC “XT” cylinder heads, a new Comp Cams blower-spec hydraulic roller and valvetrain, as well as a FAST XFI system is getting the call to channel the boost and timing.

Fitting the Big Block and ProCharger

The first project was our complete Chris Alston’s Chassisworks front clip has already been installed in the Nova II, giving more space in the engine bay for the big block.  It is a gorgeous piece that converts to a more modern upper and lower control arm system with a double-adjustable Varishock coilover. Though we had run into some fitting problems with the firewall area on the stock body.  Sean slimmed down the firewall slightly, including smoothing out the “bulge” where the wiper motor resides, as well as the heater motor. While we could have gone with a different windshield wiper configuration, we decided to eliminate it completely since it doesn’t rain in So Cal anyway. For a cleaner look, Sean massaged the firewall further by plugging up all the unnecessary holes.

The massive ProCharger intercooler will take some work to allow a radiator to fit properly with it.

The ProCharger bracket, crank pulley and cog drive belt fit perfectly onto our big block.  Where we did run into a bit of a problem is with the front support bar for the Chassisworks front clip.  The support bar will need to be cut and angled to bend around the compressor housing.  Also, the valve cover’s outer edge hits slightly on the compressor housing, though this can be easily notched and it will not affect the valvetrain.

The ProCharger intercooler required us to notch the front grill and core support area so that it will fit length wise, though we have a few options on the depth. We know the grill needs to move forward to allow for proper radiator clearance to the crank pulley.  First, Sean will consider moving the grill forward to sit flush with the headlight’s sheet metal.  The other option is to section out the middle of the grill and push the intercooler through it.  We still have a fair amount of measuring to do before we figure out a final solution.

The ProCharged F-2 Nova II is taking shape and we will have the fabrication side of the intercooler and supercharger completed in December.  From there we will work on installing the fuel system and then off to paint.  Early next year, keep an eye out on our nasty Nova II as it hits the dyno streets in So Cal!

Nitrous oxide has become the power adder of choice for everyone from grudge night racers to six-second outlaws. Nothing gives quite the same bang for the buck as a nitrous kit, but to get the most out of it you need a way to control the bottle’s temperature and pressure, and to do it safely. ZEX has come up with solutions that solve that problem, whether you’re spraying your daily driver, a tube-frame doorslammer, or anything in between. Their selection of three different electric bottle heaters means they’ve got a way to keep anybody’s nitrous system kicking. ZEX Nitrous Systems has been producing bolt on nitrous systems and nitrous related products for over ten years. To learn more about the importance of bottle pressure and find out how to pick the right heater, we spoke with Matt Patrick of ZEX.

The Importance of Correct Bottle Pressure

While the purpose of a nitrous bottle heater is to keep a bottle warm (of course), what you’re actually doing is maintaining pressure. Any time nitrous oxide is released from the bottle, the temperature of the remaining nitrous drops, and the pressure follows in lock-step. Because the air/fuel ratio of the nitrous system is directly affected by nitrous pressure, if the bottle temperature isn’t controlled the tune-up will be constantly changing. “Nitrous bottle pressure is directly determined by its temperature,” Patrick explains. “Optimum operation of a nitrous system occurs within the range of 900-1000 PSI. Pressure higher than 1000 PSI will produce excessive flow of nitrous that can cause lean spikes and engine damage or cause the solenoid to lock closed, preventing nitrous flow. Pressure lower than 900 PSI will produce an excessively rich condition resulting in horsepower loss.” What’s needed is a heater that can bring a bottle up to the proper temperature in the staging lanes, even on a cold night at the track, and keep it there between runs without overheating.

Three Different Solutions

ZEX understands that the guy with the 75-shot dry kit on his street/strip car has different needs than the pro racer, and they’ve developed their three electric nitrous bottle heaters with very different features to meet those needs. Two are thermostatically controlled, while the third uses an adjustable pressure sensor, but all three are designed to be easy to install and use safely.

Thermostatic Bottle Heaters

Both ZEX temperature-regulated heaters contain dual thermostats that will automatically turn the heater on and off to maintain the correct bottle temperature. The thermostat electronics are molded into the heater body for durability. The difference between the two lies in the power of the heating element and how they connect to the car’s electrical system.

The plug-in ZEX bottle heater (p/n 82045) takes “easy installation” to the extreme. This bottle heater is for an enthusiast with multiple nitrous powered applications, or for someone who wants a set-up that’s easy to remove. To use it, all that’s required is wrapping the heater element around the bottle, then plugging the power cord into a cigarette lighter, just like a cell phone charger. This makes it easy for the bottle heater to be removed and switched onto another bottle in a totally different car. “The Plug-in Bottle Heater is the ultimate in convenience. No need to drill holes in your dash, as this unit easily plugs into any cigarette lighter or power point outlet. It is thermostatically controlled and features an on-off switch that is designed into the plug-in itself,” added Patrick. While the total wattage of this heater is the lowest of the three due to the limits of powering it through the cigarette lighter, the thermostat means you can turn it on and leave it running to maintain bottle pressure. Pros will also appreciate the fact that if you have a portable jumper box with a lighter outlet, you can use this heater to keep a bottle warm in the lanes without draining the car’s battery – a great plus if you’re not running an alternator on your car.

The other thermostatic nitrous bottle warmer (p/n 82006) is designed for hard-wiring into the car’s 12-volt power. The installation process is pretty easy. Mount the included switch and run a wire and fuse from one terminal to a suitable power source. The other terminal gets wired to the bottle heater, and then the bottle heater is grounded. In addition to being easy to install, the direct connection to the electrical system lets ZEX equip it with a powerful heating element. “The standard bottle heater is thermostatically controlled and designed to be hard-wired into the vehicle,” says Patrick. “The hard-wired design allows this heater to have a much more powerful heating element than the plug-in style heater.”

Adjustable Nitrous Bottle Heater

This third ZEX heater (p/n 82369) is intended for the user who needs precise control of nitrous pressure. “The ZEX adjustable nitrous bottle heater differs from our other two bottle heater models by its use of a fully adjustable, precision pressure control switch,” explains Patrick. The switch mounts to an included T-fitting placed between the bottle outlet and the supply line inlet, or it can be screwed directly into an unused gauge port on the bottle itself. This not only lets the user adjust the heater to keep the bottle between 400 and 1100 PSI, but having the heater controlled by a pressure switch results in the most consistent and reliable way to receive the maximum performance from the nitrous bottle. With the 240 watt heater it is equipped with, it has no problem heating the bottle up quickly. One caution – if the pressure switch is installed in the T-fitting, care must be taken to never leave the heater on with the bottle valve closed, because the sensor will not be able to monitor pressure inside the tank.

Which Bottle Heater Should You Choose?

No matter how you’re using nitrous in your car, Zex has you covered. Here’s a quick guide to help you decide:

Plug-in Heater

• Thermostat control maintains pressure between 900-1000 PSI
• Easiest to install – just plug and play
• Can be used on multiple vehicles
• Can be used outside the vehicle

Hard-wire Heater

• Thermostat control maintains pressure between 900-1000 PSI
• Simple 2-wire hookup with included switch
• Higher power than plug-in heater for faster pressure recovery

Adjustable Heater

• Fully adjustable pressure sensor can be set to activate from 400-1100 PSI
• Powerful 240-Watt heater element warms cold bottles in minutes
• Best choice for pro users who need total control of bottle pressure

When you spend the time and money putting a nitrous system into your vehicle, you expect it to work at peak efficiency. This can only be done if you get your bottle pressure to the right spot, which often means you need to heat it up. A temperature- or pressure-controlled bottle heater is the safest, most convenient way to accomplish that goal, and ZEX has a heater for any nitrous racer, from part-timer to pro.

Next, the engine will go over to Mckinney Motorsports where they will fabricate some mounts and modify the front sump oil pan. Check out the video below.

Case in point, our white 2003 Cobra that ran in the 10-second range on all stock internals. With an upgraded Whipple supercharger, 20+ psi of boost, cat-back exhaust, injectors, upgraded throttle body, and headers, our 4.6L 4-Valve was making 640 rear wheel horsepower. The risk of failure comes with any factory short-block that you push the envelope with, and that is exactly what happened with our Cobra.

During one ill-fated drag strip outing, we burned up a few pistons. Because of this, we yanked the engine out and sent it up the road for an overhaul to the well-known blue oval shop, Ford Performance Solutions.

You’re probably very familiar with our Snake. The aforementioned 2003 Cobra was produced for two years beginning in ’03, signifying its 10-year SVT heritage by producing an over-the-top 32-valve, supercharged mod motor that made nearly 400 horsepower. Although there were nearly 20,000 Cobras built during those two years, they have maintained a higher value than any other mass produced late-model Mustang due to its brutal horsepower achievements in both stock or modified form.

Ford Performance Solutions Knows Mod Motors

“We had been building modular motors since 1995 after the Lincolns came out,” said FPS owner Troy Bowen. “We bought five of the test motors from Ford, and began dissecting them. We then went to Ross to custom make some pistons before anyone else made them. We even did CNC work on almost all the heads they had, even the Titan V-10s. We started getting popular with the Cobra heads and working with the guys that were doing forced induction on them. That’s how we got our start”

While pumping out over 670 horsepower to the wheels and running mid 10-second passes, the long block was performing unbelievably in pure stock form. While its fair share of fun would be had from this, it eventually went kaput. Detonation mixed with worn piston rings turned this Cobra into a 2-stroke engine, burning as much oil as it did gas. In addition to the worn rings, 4 melted valves and multiple lost valve guides added insult to injury.

It was time to rebuild the 4.6L step by step, using upgraded pistons and rings from JE Pistons, boring the block with fresh FPS machine work, and adding some of the best valve train components from COMP Cams, and Ferrea. We’ll even top her off with an Aeromotive Fuel Rail kit, and we’ll be ready to lay down 650+ reliable horsepower that will actually live without eating itself.

The Build: Bottoms Up

Let’s start out by reviewing what components we are going to be using in the bottom end of our 4.6L:

• JE Pistons 9.2:1 Compression for Supercharged Applications
• JE Pro Seal Rings
• Manley Rods (Stock) – Resized
• Stock Crank (Forged Steel)
• Pacific Performance Head Stud Kit #1564101
• Pacific Performance Main Stud Kit #1565401

The first course of action to remedy the problem was to get the stock engine torn completely down. When Ford made the supercharged ‘OE Cobra 4-valve, they opted for an iron block in order to increase strength for the boosted application. “The 2 versus 4-valve blocks are very similar, though the 3-valve blocks are almost their own block and makes part interchanging difficult,” Troy says. The only cleanup needed on the block was a slight .020 over-bore done on the sleeves at FPS. Head bolts were trashed in favor of a Pacific Performance 8740 chrome moly studs and for the bottom end, the mains received a similar chrome moly stud kit. The stock crank (forged steel) and Manley rods were reused, and then it was time for the pistons.

We went to no one other than JE Pistons for some of their finest slugs designed for the 4.6L Modular engine. JE built us a set of custom pistons forged and CNC machined from 2618 Aluminum. These were designed for use with supercharged applications (as well as nitrous or turbo) and utilize 1.5mm, 1.5mm, 3mm rings. JE also include the pins, spirolox, and a full set of JE Pro Seal rings.

The JE 9.2:1 dish pistons are intended for a 3.552-inch bore. The tops of the pistons have been thermal coated to help prevent further detonation, and the skirts have a dry film lubricant to aid in any oil starvation problems in the cylinders.

FPS Engine Builder “Sam, the Super Man” sets the ring gap in the cylinders before installing the JE Pro Seal rings on the pistons

Hung to the JE pistons are the stock Manley H-beam rods. Ford went with these premium rods in order to ensure years of problem free service, and these were going to be more than adequate for our power needs. The crank is again a reused stock Forged Cobra crank that was cleaned and micro polished, and finishing up the short block was a set of OEM main bearings. Now, it was on to the long-block . . .


Long-Block Dreaming

Horsepower is almost always in the long-block. To that end, our major upgrades were a full set of COMP 4.6L 4-valve Modular camshafts, CNC-ported 4V heads, Ferrea stainless valves, and COMP valvetrain. All of those would help the 3.3-liter Whipple make big efficient power, with the Aeromotive Fuel Rails providing the fueling.

Here’s what we used:

• Ferrea 37mm stainless intake valves #F1450P
• Ferrea 30mm stainless exhaust valves #F1451P
• Ford Performance Solutions, Complete CNC Portinp
• Comp Cams Beehive Valve Springs – 324 lb/in Rate #26123
• Comp Cams Titanium Retainers – 798-32
• Comp Cams Modular Camshafts – 106360 – XE266BH-116
• Aeromotive Fuel Rail Kit – 14122

Let’s start with the CNC-ported 4V cylinder heads from FPS:

Again, as with the block, the heads were torn down to bare castings, and the first action was to weld up and repair the melted combustion chambers. From there, it was time for some machining, starting with a valve job to accommodate the fresh Ferrea valves that were going to be installed. The final machine that the heads made their way to was the CNC. Both the intake and exhaust ports got a moderate porting job to help flow the larger amounts of air being crammed into and out of the cylinders.

The stock intake ports originally flowed at 238 CFM at .800 lift and now flow 293 CFM, a 50+ cfm increase. The exhaust ports increased even more with 165 CFM at .600 stock and then 253 CFM ported. “The 2-valves are very limited in the short turn areas of the head,” Bowen stated. “The low floor as it rolls into the port is flat, and goes right down into the valve seat. The 4-valve has so much more area, it is just like a pocket of valves. We have picked up over 100 more CFM in porting. We have got them up to 325 CFM on the intake port. The 4-valve 5.4-liter GT heads are even nicer, as they raised the floor to help out with the short turn.”


4-Valve Valvetrain: Double the Fun

When building a 4-valve over head cam engine, you get double the fun. Double the valves, double the cams.. and double the complexity. Luckily we had some good partners like Ferrea and Comp Cams.

Assembling the heads started with new bronze valve guides wrapped around Ferrea’s Competition Plus 4.6L Modular intake and exhaust valves. We settled on 37-mm on the intake and 30mm on the exhaust side, which are stock OEM replacements. These valves feature top of the line heat treating, and can even be used with the OE-style multi-groove style keepers. Other features include hard chrome stems, swirl-polished and under-cut stems, and cobalt-hard tips.

Controlling those Ferrea’s valve movement was a set of Comp Cam’s latest Modular Beehive “Ovate-design” valve springs, good for up to a .500-inch lift cam. Plus, they don’t require any machine work to fit.. yup they go right into the stock spring seats. They offer 90 lbs of seat load @1.47-inch of installed height, and 252 lbss of open load @ .970-inch installed height. The valve springs were held in place with Comp Cams Titanium retainers, lighter than the stock steel stainless retainers, and are also heat-treated to increase strength to the 6AL4V alloy.

Next up, something to snap open and then close those Ferrea valves: four of the very finest of Comp Cams “XE-R” 4-valve camshafts. The cams we selected are perfectly suited for a supercharged street car like our Cobra, while also having favorable attributes for the 1320. This cam is a stocking cam for COMP, and it’s optimized with a 116-LSA for forced induction like we mentioned, with a 1,500-6,000 rpm curve.

It was time to sandwich the heads and block together with our Cometic MLS head gaskets. Next, it was time to move to the timing chains since this was a DOHC engine. It’s important to make sure you TDC the engine and mark the chains so they are in the right place. Being off even just one tooth on your chain can result in a bent valve.

With the engine flipped on its head, Sam installed our new Canton Racing Products 7-quart oil pan. The pan allows us to keep the engine temperature lower while keeping the oil close to the pick up with the anti-slosh baffle. There is also a 1/2” NPT hole in the pan for adding an oil temperature gauge down the road.

For increased induction, we had to start with the additional fueling needed. The new 72 lb injectors were secured by Aeromotive’s new fuel rail kit that was designed specifically for the 4-valve power plant. Aeromotive includes all the lines and fittings you need, even a convenient adapter piece that will utilize the factory fuel pressure sensor.

To aid in the Cobra’s previous power, the blower was already upgraded to a 2.3-liter Whipple Charger that saw over 20 psi. But in an effort to cram even more boost into the motor, we upgraded the blower to Whipple’s 3.3-liter version that can produce up to 30 psi, which is approximately the same power as the 2.3-liter, but on less boost.

Final Thoughts

Now that our engine build was coming to close, we asked Troy what he thought the potential for this engine was, and what we should have learned. “First off, you did the right thing by putting good JE pistons and good rings in it,” Troy said. “Next, you addressed the head and intake flow with the ported CNC heads, and the Ferrea valves. Make sure good port work is done to the intake. Once the port is cleaned up and working right, it will help with the combustion problems. Finally, you picked some good mild cams. You don’t need to get aggressive and radical with a 2003 Cobra engine, the supercharger is providing plenty of boost to make the power with solid reliability.”

“Tuning is very critical on a modular motor,” Troy continued. “They are very quick to detonate and you need to make sure that the timing and fuel curves are on key. The way the fuel enters the chamber, it doesn’t have a lot of swirl. The fuel wants to throw fuel across the valve over to the far side of the exhaust.”

“What happens is you have a denser fuel charge by the exhaust, so it burns from the intake to the exhaust side, so they have a hot spot on the far side of the piston. Some shops will start with a centrifugal map in the ECU when tuning a roots style modular motor, and they end up killing the motor. Since the Whipple’s are positive displacement, they are already making boost at 2,000 rpm. You have to immediately pull the timing out of them…”

Eagerly Waiting the Installation

While we can’t complain that we got over 11,000 highly abused miles that included over 40 runs at the track with it, it was inevitable that the stock engine was going to slowly pass away. With a gaggle of low 10-second runs, we knew that was needed to build was reliable power, not really more power.

Ford Performance Solutions was very helpful when it came to building this fresh 4-valve that we hope will produce an additional 300 horsepower to the wheels over a stock 2003 Cobra. Troy and the team assembled the engine with all of our quality goodies, and soon we will be putting the 4.6-liter back into the Cobra for some tire roasting fun. We’ll bring you an update as soon as we stab the engine in!