The modified reservoir tank...
The modified reservoir tank is installed and the supply line is hooked up. Now we need to run the line up to the intake tract.
First, remove the intake tube....
First, remove the intake tube. This will be modified to accept the spray nozzle.
The spray nozzle is a two-piece...
The spray nozzle is a two-piece unit that uses a changeable jet to allow further tuning for different horsepower levels.
The factory Cobra intake tube...
The factory Cobra intake tube has a fresh-air port, but this is unused in the Whipple application, and its permanent mount in the tube offered a sturdy place to mount our spray nozzle.
Windshield washer fluid that is good to -20 F is generally 33 percent methanol, and you can usually pick that up for around a buck and change.
For the installation, Shaun Lacko of JDM Engineering mounted all the components in what turned out to be quite a stealthy installation. At a quick glance, you'd never know the kit was there. We spent the better part of five hours mounting and routing everything, but the result was top-notch. We spent about four hours installing the last kit, but there wasn't any wiring to run, other than the LED.
Tuning the car was essential, as the water/methanol mixture allows the use of more ignition timing, so Jim D'Amore spent a few hours behind the desktop, where he first removed some fuel and then added timing.
Once tuning was complete, D'Amore had added 3 extra degrees of timing (24 total) and trimmed the fuel, and we were rewarded with a peak gain of 37 hp and 42 lb-ft of torque. More importantly, the air/fuel ratio was much safer than it had been previously, and we saw a slight increase in boost pressure from 15 to 16 psi. This was amazingly achieved with a stock lower and 3.5-inch upper pulley. With the safer water/methanol tune-up, D'Amore was also able to raise the rev limit from 6,400 to 7,000, which was not possible before.
At the track, the Cobra moved from 11.6s with the IRS and no water/methanol to 10.8 at 128 mph with the solid axle and Snow Performance kit. On the street, owner Paul Merces noticed a definite seat-of-the-pants improvement and says he is quite happy with the performance gained.
While we were not able to repeat the same performance gain from our 5.0 test, 30 hp at the wheels for just $400 is definitely a worthwhile investment, and our test vehicle is no longer on the ragged edge of the air/fuel ratio. Snow Performance also informed us that it has seen gains as high as 60 hp with more timing and using a 93-octane baseline.
The Snow Performance kit includes...
The Snow Performance kit includes the necessary pipe thread tap. Use it carefully as you are tapping plastic and not aluminum or steel.
Use some emery cloth to slightly...
Use some emery cloth to slightly chamfer the edge of the fluid line before you insert it into the fittings. We also used some black split-loom to cover up the bright-red line. Sneaky, sneaky.
Here is the spray nozzle installed....
Here is the spray nozzle installed. There is no orientation, but you may want to put off the final installation until you can test the system.