Except for exhaust mods and...
Except for exhaust mods and a computer tune, the P1SC ProCharger is the only modification to the factory long-block. It pumped out 490 hp on a Mustang Dyno.
McGowan's hot rod, which you may recall from the NMRA '05 Mustang Shootout we sponsored last year in Columbus, Ohio, sports the latest 2.4-liter Kenne Bell twin-screw blower, feeding a reported 10 pounds of boost into a 100-percent stock bottom end. Thanks to the OE internals, McGowan said he didn't dare turn up the boost further. Still, it spun the Dynojet rollers to 508.7 rwhp and 452 lb-ft of torque.
As his car sees a lot of strip time, McGowan, who operates P&J Speed Shop (North Tonawanda, New York), already replaced the rear shocks with QA1s and the struts with Santuff coilovers. A set of 26x11.5-inch Mickey Thompson ET Streets on 17-inch factory Bullitt rims ensured proper traction. As luck would have it, the Bogart wheels for his opponent's slicks didn't arrive in time for our party, but McGowan was generous enough to let Burcham use his M/Ts on Stoval's Mustang. Without this act of kindness, the playing field would have been ridiculously lopsided.
Burcham ran Anthony Stoval's...
Burcham ran Anthony Stoval's ProCharged GT with Bogart wheels and M/T skinnies.
Stoval's GT leaned more toward the show end of the spectrum. It had never been down the track, and was absolutely immaculate, but its power output was no less menacing than that of the Mineral Gray GT in the other lane. On a Mustang dyno, which typically reports lower rear-wheel numbers than a Dynojet, the 4.6 Three-Valve kicked out 490 hp and 448 lb-ft of torque.
The driving force behind this was a ProCharger P1SC huffing 11 psi of intercooled boost into the mod motor. Except for colder spark plugs and 39-lb/hr fuel injectors, the long-block is completely original.
Thanks to a dead plane, UPS...
Thanks to a dead plane, UPS shipped the wheels for Justin Burcham's slicks 24 hours late. Both cars ran on John McGowan's 17-inch Mickey Thompson ET Streets.
Same for the suspension. Only a set of Steeda lowering springs differentiate it from the factory setup. This no doubt gave McGowan an advantage. In Stoval's favor, however, was weight, or lack thereof. With Burcham in the driver's seat, the car was 105 pounds lighter than McGowan's. Part of this was the mass differential between the two drivers, the rest was the fact that Burcham decided to run with the spare tire and jack sitting in the staging lanes, while the crew from P&J Speed ran with those items in the trunk. On the street, Stoval rolls on gorgeous Kazzera KZ-A wheels (18x8.5 in the front, 18x9.5 in the rear) and Michelin Pilot Sport tires (255/45s and 275/40s, front to rear).
Helping generate even more excitement was the fact that this was the first MM&FF Shootout of 2006 at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. Always the home of superb traction, we were blessed with 45-degree temps and super mineshaft air. Our one concern was with only two cars (instead of four), it might be tough to keep heat in the starting line.