The coolant lines were hooked...
The coolant lines were hooked up, and the blower was bolted onto the mid-plate.
"The Fridge was already equipped with 60-pound injectors, an SCT 2400 mass air meter, twin 255-lph fuel pumps, and stock fuel rails," D'Amore says. "We had to upgrade the mass air to the 2800, unfortunately we were stuck at 710 rwhp." We were stuck at that power level because the fuel rails were being sucked dry quicker than a keg of beer at a fraternity party.
If we wanted to see more than 710, then a larger fuel system would have to be ordered. Due to deadlines, we'll have to wait until next month to unleash the full potential of the 3.4L supercharger. But right now we'll settle for 710 at the wheels. D'Amore sent us out on the road with a mild tune-up, and we're happy to report that streetworthiness is nearly identical to the 2.3L supercharger. The truck is no louder, and driveability is as good as stock. We even recorded 15.8 mpg during our commute, and that's on oxygenated winter fuel.
Rest assured, we'll have the fuel system designed and installed for our next issue. With the proper fuel-delivery components in place, we expect to make well over 800 hp at the tires. If we're not satisfied with that, there's always the Nitrous Express single-stage system onboard.
D'Amore points out the modified...
D'Amore points out the modified IAC mounting location. Both the 3.4 and the 2.3 share the same inlet plenum. We kept our 2.3 plenum because it was drilled and tapped for the nitrous nozzle.
The massive throttle body...
The massive throttle body is bolted onto the inlet plenum.
All other hoses, sensors,...
All other hoses, sensors, lines, and electronics were hooked back up, and the truck was almost ready to fire.
Rosas Refilled the intercooler...
Rosas Refilled the intercooler reservoir with a mix of Motorcraft antifreeze and water.
Ready to rock!
We made a baseline pull with...
We made a baseline pull with the SCT 2400 mass airflow meter. It was nearing its capacity, so D'Amore swapped in a SCT 2800 meter to handle the extra airflow sucked in by the massive blower.
An SCT Xcalibrator 2 programmer...
An SCT Xcalibrator 2 programmer was used to load up the custom JDM tune to the ECM.
Our baseline pull showed 31...
Our baseline pull showed 31 psi of boost, an increase of 10 psi over the 2.3 blower. To remedy the overboost problem, we swapped in an 8.75-inch lower (4-pound pulley) to replace the 10-inch (8-pound pulley). The reduced blower overdrive dropped the manifold pressure down to 24 psi.
This graph shows the truck's...
This graph shows the truck's baseline pulls, 669.5 rwhp and 732 rwtq.
After adding the larger blower,...
After adding the larger blower, new MAF sensor, and some tuning changes, the Fridge belted out 710 rwhp and 723 rwtq at 24 psi of boost. The fuel rails were inadequate for this severe application. Our fuel system prevented the Fridge from showing some truly sick horsepower and torque figures.
Thanks to massive airflow,...
Thanks to massive airflow, the fuel system was run dry, and D'Amore said it was impossible to make more than 710 rwhp without making changes. Deadlines prevented us from getting more fuel into the starving engine. Look for the results in next month's issue when we add a complete Aeromotive fuel system to our truck. We think 800 hp at the tires is an achievable power level.