The kit itself is complete, meaning everything is there to get the blower on the car, get it running, and make some power. KB offers three versions-6 psi (106 hp), 9 psi (160 hp), and 14 psi (262 hp). We chose the 9 psi version because that is the perfect amount of boost to run on the stock engine's rotating assembly before taking the chance of pushing the envelope and turning it into a taco salad. While it would have been nice to go with the 14 psi setup, that combination is a bit more than what the owner wanted.
Additionally, the kit comes with your choice of a polished or a black-coated 2.1L supercharger (we chose the black version) rated for up to 750 hp. Along with the compressor, the kit came with everything we needed-a bar and plate intercooler, Garrett heat exchanger, billet bypass valve, 36-pound injectors, 90mm throttle body, Kenne Bell Boost-A-Pump, and a tune from Kenne Bell to reflash the ECM and make it work with the supercharger.
The mass air meter was mated...
The mass air meter was mated to the plastic inlet tube along with the rubber coupler.
Next, the flexible tubing...
Next, the flexible tubing and high-flow air filter were assembled and put into the engine bay.
The coupler was then slipped...
The coupler was then slipped over the mouth of the throttle body and tightened down with a pair of hose clamps.
Blown Away
Once the installation was complete, the computer was retuned, and everything triple checked to make sure there were no leaks or problems. The Stang was strapped back down to the dyno so we could see just what 9 psi from a Kenne Bell twin-screw would do for this hot rod. The car was fired up, and Chris Winter put the hammer down.
The rollers screamed, the blower whined, and the car sung at full song. Right off the bat, we knew there would be a serious power increase as the car took on a life of its own with a renewed sense of anger flowing from the tailpipes.
Thanks to the blower kit, the car pounded out 385 hp and 414 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels. We quickly spun the calculators in our heads, and came up with a power increase of 133 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque-at the rear tires! Knowing more power was available at the plant of our right foot, we took the car back to Raceway Park to see what it would pick up in terms of elapsed time and trap speed. While we probably should have thrown on a set of sticky rear meats for ultimate traction, we wanted this to be a true A to B comparison, so we kept the car as it was (rear tires included) for our after testing.
Here is the finished product....
Here is the finished product. With the blower on, everything hooked up, and the supplied tune loaded into the ECM, it was off to the dyno.
The Mustang recorded 252 hp...
The Mustang recorded 252 hp on Crazy Horse's Dynojet chassis dyno before the blower was installed. Pumping in 9 psi of boost, the Kenne Bell huffer jacked the power level up 133 rwhp to 385. Not too bad for a couple of days work.
Big Bad Boost When it comes...
Big Bad Boost
When it comes to power, there are two things that tell the tale-dyno graphs and timeslips. The before dyno runs are in red, and as you can see, the peak power numbers check in at 252.7 hp and 282.7 lb-ft of torque on Crazy Horse Racing's Dynojet chassis dyno. After slapping on the blower, which pumped out the advertised 9 psi, power was kicked up to 385.9 hp and 414.8 lb-ft of torque. That equates to a 133.2 gain in horsepower, and an increase of 132.1 lb-ft of torque. Also, if you look closer at the graph, you will see how the power on the blower graph was still rising at 5,100 rpm, which is when the horsepower curve started falling off on the naturally aspirated curve. Not only did the blower add peak power, it added average power throughout the entire rpm range, and moved peak power higher in the range.
Once again, Smith did the driving duties, and after banging the gears and blowing through the quarter-mile timers, the scoreboard validated our dyno numbers. The red rocket ripped off a 12.54 at 115 mph. The extra power afforded by the blower tacked on 16 mph and lowered the elapsed time an astounding 1.35 seconds. While the 12.54 is a respectable number, the 115 mph trap speed indicates the car has a lot of e.t.'s left in there. A swap over to sticky drag radials or slicks would most definitely aid the car in lowering the elapsed times, as a more aggressive launch and a better 60-foot clocking would result.
When all was said and done, this run-of-the-mill Mustang GT was turned into one superbad Pony thanks to a Kenne Bell twin-screw blower. Who knows, maybe 14 psi, a set of rear meats, and some killer power numbers and track times are in this Mustang's future.
Since we were looking for...
Since we were looking for a true A to B comparison, we headed over to Old Bridge Township Raceway Park for some before quarter-mile times. The five-speed Mustang ran a best lap of 13.89 seconds at 99 mph before the install.
Thanks to the added power...
Thanks to the added power offered by the forced induction, the Kenne Bell blower helped the Stang pony up and rip off a 12.54 at 115 mph. The trap speed indicates that with a sticky set of tires and a more aggressive launch, better times are quite possible.
Whenever we get the chance...
Whenever we get the chance to improve a Mustang's quarter-mile time by over a second, we make sure we have photographic evidence!