The Kenne Bell 2.6H is a worthy...
The Kenne Bell 2.6H is a worthy street blower, but there are some Lightning owners who want more than its 650 rwhp.
The Gen 2 SVT Lightning ('99-'04) has a special place in Ford performance history thanks to its supercharged 5.4L Triton engine and an enthusiastic group of owners. They have modified these trucks extensively, and despite having been out of production for nearly half a decade, the Lightning market is still advancing. One of the leading Lightning performance shops, Johnny Lightning Performance (JLP) invited us to its New Providence, Pennsylvania, digs to checkout the latest boost maker from Kenne Bell Superchargers.
Truthfully, we thought Lightning owners were satisfied with the current supercharger offerings, which have brought output near/over 700 rwhp-without nitrous. We were definitely wrong on that one. Johnny Wiker (aka Johnny Lightning) of JLP continually designs better parts and finds new ways to extract more horsepower from the Two-Valve truck engine.
We began this adventure by...
We began this adventure by taking the 2.6H off the engine. Here Andy Brown has removed the blower belt, removed the JLP cold-air kit, and unbolted the blower inlet manifold and throttle body.
"The Kenne Bell 2.6H is more than enough for the average guy. It can produce up to 650 rwhp, but as you know, there are others who want more," commented Wiker. He then pointed to the latest Kenne Bell 2.8H blower sitting on the counter. The monstrous box (nearly 13-inches long) should be a familiar product to MM&FF readers, as we showed it off on the 725hp Shelby GT500 Super Snake several issues ago ("Snakeskin Suit," Feb. '09). The 2.8H blower was the main ingredient to the car's 10-second performance. We also sampled the 2.8H's power in the '03 SVT Cobra Terminator project car of freelance extraordinaire Vinnie Kung. The blower pushed the Terminator to 643 rwhp at 21 psi of boost on an otherwise-stock 4.6L Four-Valve powerplant ("Wooly Mammoth," April '09).
The 2.6H (left) measures 12-inches...
The 2.6H (left) measures 12-inches long. The 2.8H polished twin-screw blower (right) checks in at nearly 13-inches long.
Kenne Bell brought the "H" blower into service to meet the horsepower demands of its customers. The engineers came up with a more efficient rotor design for greater output without relying on a larger unit. The solution was a rotor combination of six female and four male lobes packaged in a select group of blower casings (2.1L, 2.6L, and 2.8L). The company focused on efficiency to reduce parasitic loss when turning the blower. The new rotor combination pushes more air into the engine while generating less heat, thus leading to more horsepower. In our test, the 2.8H was inhaling 82-degree ambient air. The inlet air temp after the supercharger was showing a reading of only 120 degrees. That was at 25 psi of boost on the stroker Two-Valve mod motor.
Our baseline with the Kenne...
Our baseline with the Kenne Bell 2.6H was 655 rwhp and 748 rwtq at a healthy 25 psi and 20 degrees of ignition timing.
This truck was already equipped...
This truck was already equipped with a JLP intercooler spacer plate. It moves the intercooler core up and straightens the airflow into the cylinder heads. Johnny "Lightning" Wiker tells us that the plate is worth 13 rwhp on most trucks.
We ran the same 3.50-inch...
We ran the same 3.50-inch blower pulley on both the 2.6H and 2.8H blowers. The lower crank pulley was swapped to help slow the rotor speed. Both blowers delivered 25 psi of boost.
A twin-bore Kenne Bell throttle...
A twin-bore Kenne Bell throttle body (left) replaced the single oval unit (right) that was run with the 2.6H.
The longer blower casing moves...
The longer blower casing moves the blower snout outward, requiring all of the accessory pulleys to be moved forward too. Kenne Bell provides spacers and longer bolts to relocate everything.
Here is a peak of the backside...
Here is a peak of the backside of the blower. As some would say, this is where the magic happens. The unique rotor configuration of six female and four male lobes is what adds the "H" to the blower's name. It's Kenne Bell's answer to a more efficient and powerful blower without going to a larger displacement.