On-the-Street Impression
All '03-'04 Cobras are notorious for their low-end torque, thanks to the factory-supplied Eaton blowers. So what should be expected from the Hellion turbo kit? For starters, turbos have always been known for the low-end grunt and neverending torque curve. With that said, it may give up something in the 1,000- and low-2,000-rpm ranges to the Roots-style blowers. But once the turbo comes on, the power can only be described as demented. It just keeps pulling right up to redline. If the engine could rev higher, there's no doubt the turbo would continue to shove you into the seat harder.
Our experience in this car was interesting, to say the least. The tests were made from a Second-gear roll. As soon as the throttle is slammed wide open, a few things happen. Your mind instantly thinks this isn't so bad. A nanosecond after that, the boost gauge sweeps past 20 psi and your eyeballs smash into the frontal lobes of your brain. The boost gauge hits 25 psi instantly and the rpm continues to climb. The 6,500-rpm shift point comes up quickly. There is a brief pause in the madness because of the granny shift, and then it starts all over again when you go back to WOT. Boost drop is minimal on the gearshift, despite the easy shifting methods.
Third gear offers a bigger load on the engine, so the boost gauge surges toward 27 psi. We are not sure where the boost gauge needle went from there because we tried not to take our eyes off the road at these speeds. You don't realize how fast you're going because everything is a blur, and of course the engine is screaming and the turbo is whistling. As your foot comes off the pedal at the top of Third gear, the realiza-tion that you are over 120 mph sets in. Cool.
Phillips said if we had slammed the transmission into Fourth, we would have seen 29 or 30 psi of boost on the gauge. We made 847 on the dyno at 24 psi, so conventional thinking would push the horsepower on the street a bit higher. The power is smooth and fun. And let's just say there's an LS1 Camaro SS owner that isn't too happy right now.
The Turbonetics head unit...
The Turbonetics head unit drops into place and bolts to the exhaust flange and mounting bracket.
Attach the downpipe to the...
Attach the downpipe to the exhaust housing. A V-band clamp seals the downpipe to the exhaust housing.
A Turbonetics Evolution wastegate...
A Turbonetics Evolution wastegate is bolted on and the excess exhaust is dumped into the downpipe.
An intermediate pipe attaches...
An intermediate pipe attaches to the downpipe.
The backside of the intermediate...
The backside of the intermediate pipe splits into two and connects to the after-cat exhaust system using a ball-socket setup.
We took the opportunity to...
We took the opportunity to swap over to a Bassani 2.5-inch after-cat exhaust system. The exhaust blows into the atmosphere via 4-inch tailpipes.