Choosing the right cam for a supercharged 4.6L Three-Valve motor is no different than choosing one for any other motor-or is it? Right off the bat, the Three-Valve motor has that odd cylinder-head configuration, with a pair of intake valves and a single exhaust valve. The ratio of intake-to-exhaust flow obviously has an effect on the ideal cam profile, which means that picking a cam for a Three-Valve is not the same as picking one for other head configurations.
Naturally, the intake flow will be considerably higher with a pair of intake valves compared to just a single valve. Add the presence of boost pressure and things really get crazy. Does positive pressure alter the cam requirements on a Three-Valve, or will just any old cam profile work? Obviously the former is more accurate than the latter, but just what constitutes a good Three-Valve blower cam?
To answer that question, we put a pair of profiles from Comp Cams to the test on a supercharged Three-Valve. Not just your run-of-the-mill blower motor, mind you, but a serious stroker effort making manly boost levels.
Can bolting in the right set...
Can bolting in the right set of cams really be worth 85 hp on a supercharged Three-Valve motor? The test motor was a 331ci Three-Valve equipped with Manley rods, Diamond dished pistons (9.2:1), and a set of Livernois Stage III ported heads. Additional mods include a Milodon oil pump, American Racing 13/4-inch long-tube headers, and a Meziere electric water pump.
The test motor, or more accurately, the test Mustang, belongs to ST Motorsports. The Kenne Bell-supercharged '06 GT itself is worthy of a story, having already ripped off a 9.79 at 140 mph, with an automatic no less. Putting things into perspective, this run was made with the motor producing roughly 750 hp at the wheels-some 170 less than its current output (after our cam test), but more on that figure in a moment.
Even without the Kenne Bell, the GT was far from stock. Thanks to a bore and stroke combination of 3.72x3.80 inches, the stroker displaced 331 ci and was topped with Stage 3 ported heads from Livernois Motorsports. The short-block consisted of a forged steel crank, Manley forged connecting rods, and Diamond forged pistons. The Diamond pistons featured a dish to drop static compression to 9.2:1. Also present was a set of 13/4-inch long-tube headers from American Racing Headers, a Milodon oil pan, and a Precision Industries torque converter with a triple-plate lockup clutch that was hooked to an ST-built 4R70W.
The super power adder came...
The super power adder came in the form of a Kenne Bell 2.8L H-series, twin-screw supercharger. The kit also included a Kenne Bell Mammoth....
The 331 was built with boost in mind-in this case, from a Kenne Bell 2.8L twin-screw. Capable of supporting 1,000 hp, the H-series blower featured a huge 4.5-inch intake tube and MAF assembly, combined with a Mammoth intake manifold and dual 75mm throttle body. Inlet restrictions reduce both the power and boost produced by the supercharger, so every effort must be made to maximize airflow to the supercharger.
Additional features included an oversized, trunk-mounted intercooler reservoir. Filled with ice water, this reservoir maximizes efficiency of the air-to-water intercooler. The fuel system on the GT was upgraded with a GT500 dual-pump fuel system along with 80-lb/hr injectors and a dual 20V Boost-a-Pump from Kenne Bell. Note that this power level was achieved with a stock fuel rail!
....intake manifold and matching...
....intake manifold and matching dual-75mm throttle body. For all testing, the blower was equipped with a 3.0-inch blower pulley combined with an 8-inch crank pulley.
The Three-Valve was first tested with the Stage 1 NSR (no spring upgrade required) cams (PN 127050) from Comp. The Stage 1 NSR cams offered 0.450 lift, a 214/227 duration split and a seemingly blower-friendly 14-degree lobe separation angle. Testing has shown these cams offer 20-25 hp over the production cams, and work well on both normally aspirated and supercharged street combinations. All testing was run with the Kenne Bell blower, sporting a 3.0-inch blower pulley combined with an 8-inch crank pulley from Innovators West. The timing and air/fuel mixture were locked at 23 degrees and 11.8:1, respectively, while the coolant and intercooler water were kept constant through data logging. In short, every effort was made to keep any variables consistent for all testing.
Running the Stage 1 NSR cams, the supercharged Three-Valve produced 751 hp and 685 lb-ft of torque on the DynoJet. These are stout numbers, especially for one running through an automatic.
The intercooler reservoir...
The intercooler reservoir was upgraded with this trunk-mounted unit from ST Motorsports. The reservoir was filled with ice water to maximize the cooling efficiency of the intercooler.
Positive displacemenT superchargers...
Positive displacemenT superchargers are only as good as their smallest inlet restriction. Recognizing this fact, Kenne Bell designed this 4.5-inch inlet tube and MAF for its blower kit.
The supercharged mill was...
The supercharged mill was tuned by Adam Montague at ST Motorsports. Both sets of cams were run with 23 degrees of total timing and at an air/fuel ratio of 11.8:1. Equipped with the Stage 1 cams, the Three-Valve produced 751 hp and 685 ft-lb of torque at the wheels.
After the baseline test run,...
After the baseline test run, the guys at ST Motorsports tore into the cam swap. I don't envy guys working on motors in the car.....
....It is so much easier on...
....It is so much easier on the engine dyno, but nothing is more real world than honest chassis dyno numbers from a DynoJet.
The stock cam towers were...
The stock cam towers were unbolted and the Stage 1 cams removed.