Here's a teaser pic for what...
Here's a teaser pic for what you will be in next month's issue. Burcham rowed the gears of a Tremec TKO-600 and ran...
It should be no secret that the '11 Mustang GT comes equipped with a 412hp rating (roughly 365 rwhp behind a stick-shift on most chassis dynos) thanks to 302 ci, four cams, four-valves-per-cylinder, and a hefty 11:1 compression ratio. Ford certainly gave us a stout starting point in the latest edition of the late-model EFI wars, but there have been a lot of questions concerning the new 5.0L Ti-VCT, namely in regard to power adders.
MM&FF has been on the cutting edge of the 5.0L since its unveiling and we've tested quite a bit of parts and pieces over the past several months. This issue, we take one to the next level by bolting on a Paxton High Output supercharger system and chart the engine's new power. We also got a glimpse into the intricate tuning of the Copperhead PCM.
Without any delay, here is...
Without any delay, here is the finished engine bay that includes the Paxton NOVI 2200 supercharger and air-to-air intercooler.
We made our way to JPC Racing where the shop's barrier-breaking '11 Mustang GT was stripped of its nitrous system in order to get the centrifugal supercharger bolted on. As much as we'd love to see JPC's Justin Burcham add spray on top of the boost, it wasn't going to happen this time around. The JPC team had modified the shop beater since we last saw it ("10s Too Easy," Sept. '10) by adding Kooks long-tube headers, Kooks 3-inch X-style mid-pipe with high-flow catalytic converters, and a wild new vinyl wrap. JPC also has a new in-house calibrator, Kevin MacDonald, and he's been working with prototype tuning software for the '11 Mustang from DiabloSport. The new mods had the car making 433 rwhp and running mid-11s in naturally aspirated trim. Burcham's goal was to have the supercharger on the car and tested before the Invitational
MM&FF 5.0L Shootout, which you'll be reading about in next month's issue.
The first step is to remove...
The first step is to remove the unwanted parts like the air inlet system. Paxton will be shipping the systems with an inlet tube that utilizes the factory airbox, keeping the system 50-state-legal. Our system was a tuner kit and we opted to run an open supercharger for maximum results.
Mechanically speaking, bolting on the supercharger was the easy part since Paxton provided all of the parts and pieces. The kit includes the NOVI 2200 supercharger-a beast capable of over 1,000 hp (at the crankshaft). Thanks to the high compression, the engineers at Paxton have incorporated an air-to-air intercooler to keep detonation at bay. "The centrifugal boost curve fits the new engine nicely, it doesn't hit it with instantaneous boost and load the engine as hard as a positive-displacement blower would. This setup has a nice torque curve with the centrifugal power rush when you rev it out," stated Burcham. For pump gas applications, he'd limit boost to 6-8 psi for now and 10 psi for the weekend dragstrip warriors. Burcham would rather leave a margin for error until the team gains experience with the new engine and PCM.
The two main concerns with this article were the tuning solution and engine longevity. Would it hold up to the planned 10 psi of boost, and could MacDonald get it tuned in time for our deadline? Luckily, the answer was yes on both accounts.
But first, Macdonald had a daunting task ahead of himself.
"The new 5.0L Copperhead PCM brings a slew of changes and additions to Ford's existing calibration platform in the Spanish Oak (the outgoing Mustang computer). Although there is carryover strategy from previous years, it has become increasingly more complex," stated MacDonald. "The Copperhead now has to accommodate VCT on all four camshafts instead of two, utilizes a frequency-based MAF sensor, closed-loop fueling with wide-band oxygen sensors, and a mechanical return-less fuel system without a fuel-rail pressure sensor for feedback. The software is much more complicated."
The Mustang community has become jaded to a certain degree since tuning the previous generations of Mustang seems effortless for most shops. Now it's a bit more complicated-for the time being anyway. At the time of this writing, MacDonald was exploring strategies inside the black box that only a handful of people outside of Ford engineering have been in.
Here is the bare 5.0L engine...
Here is the bare 5.0L engine sitting without its engine cover and inlet system. Burcham's car produced 433 rwhp in naturally aspirated trim with Kooks long-tube headers, Kooks 3-inch X-pipe (including catalytic converters), and a custom JPC tune using DiabloSport software and a Trinity programmer.
The radiator overflow tank...
The radiator overflow tank was removed to make room for the Paxton NOVI head unit.
Paxton assembles the blower,...
Paxton assembles the blower, brackets, hardware, spacers, and belt before shipping the system.
JPC's Eric Holliday screwed...
JPC's Eric Holliday screwed the studs into the front engine cover and slid on the spacers before lowering the blower and brackets into the engine bay.
Ford utilizes quick-disconnect-style...
Ford utilizes quick-disconnect-style radiator hoses. Holliday removes the main hose as per the Paxton instructions.
Paxton requires you to slice...
Paxton requires you to slice and dice the stock radiator hose and fit solid pipes in certain sections to help re-route it around the blower.
The stock throttle body was...
The stock throttle body was removed to fit the supercharger system.
The throttle body was bolted...
The throttle body was bolted back on with a Paxton-supplied spacer and mounted upside down so the electronics are on the driver's side of the engine.
The Ford OEM throttle body...
The Ford OEM throttle body is round, unlike the Three-Valve engine that featured an oval-shaped throttle body. It's once again a drive-by-wire style and checks in at a massive 89mm, as measured by us.
The air-to-air intercooler...
The air-to-air intercooler is required to chill down the air inlet temps and help prevent detonation thanks to the big compression ratio of the 5.0L Ti-VCT. The car was being prepped for the MM&FF 5.0L Shootout, so the main bumper was cutout to save weight. Burcham reported that on track, the readings started at 100 degrees in the burnout box and only got to 128 degrees at 10 psi of boost in fourth gear. Ambient air was in the low 80s during the run when he logged the inlet air temperature.
JPC had Insane Fabrications...
JPC had Insane Fabrications modify the intercooler with this massive pipe in order to mount a blow-through MAF sensor. The sensor is mounted on the other side of the pipe. JPC offers both draw-through and blow-through MAF sensor locations for all Paxton H.O. kits.
Holliday routes the piping...
Holliday routes the piping from the intercooler to the supercharger. It was easier to attack it from underneath the car than from the topside.
It might look tight, but it...
It might look tight, but it all fits properly.
"In one section of the strategy where we used to have one spark table, we now have 16 tables," he stated. "We also have many more adjustments for cam timing than we did before. We can independently control intake and exhaust valve timing, bringing valve overlap into the picture, too. Not only is this used for making power, but it is also there for emissions and driveability. Making a calibration to perform seamlessly in all those areas requires a lot of time and effort." At press time, Paxton was working feverishly on a tune to include in its system, as well as earning 50-state emission-legal status.
Paxton includes two open air-filters,...
Paxton includes two open air-filters, one for each valve cover, to help relieve crankcase pressure thanks to the manifold pressure created by the NOVI 2200.
Burcham did modify the kit to convert it from a draw-through MAF sensor to a blow-through setup. This was done because the Copperhead PCM uses a frequency-based MAF signal instead of the traditional voltage-based system on previous generations. This prevented the use a DiabloSport MAFia voltage regulator, which has been instrumental in the past with expanding the factory MAF sensor's airflow reading capabilities. A blow-through MAF sensor arrangement allows the meter to read greater than its 68-lb/min flow range.
Paxton advertises the boost rating of the kit as 7 psi, but that was rated at 6,300 rpm during the company's in-house testing. Burcham likes to twist his engines higher than normal and this one peaked at 6,700 rpm before the power started to fall off. The extra rpm came courtesy of the Kooks exhaust modifications and custom tuning.
A new radiator overflow tank...
A new radiator overflow tank is included in the kit and mounted on the passenger side of the engine. Its location will make it harder to get to the spark plugs.
The JPC test car saw 9.5 psi on the dyno and that resulted in a jaw-dropping 661 rwhp and 548 lb-ft of torque. Timing was set at 17 degrees on the chassis dyno and MacDonald backed it down to 14 degrees on track due to the greater load on the engine. While they saw 9.5 psi at the peak on the chassis dyno, the car registered 12 psi right before the finish line on track. The car was run on VP MS109 fuel for all dyno and dragstrip runs to provide a safety margin due to the high compression and boost.
"I think we are going to see many cars running around with 525-550 hp at the wheels before long," said Burcham. "If heat and detonation can be avoided, I think these engines will live a long life. Reliability is something we will learn more about as we see more people pushing the limits on a daily basis."
It's hard to believe, but 661 rwhp from a 5.0L with bolt-ons and a supercharger is pretty serious smoke. That rivals most modified Terminator and Shelby cars on the road and this is just the beginning.
Tune in next month to see how the JPC car performed in dragrace trim at our MM&FF 5.0 Shootout, which is on sale December 28, and be sure to check out musclemustangfastfords.com for exciting video action.
Paxton included a Maxflow...
Paxton included a Maxflow bypass valve and JPC welded it on. Normally the Maxflow valve is mounted on a pipe from Paxton but JPC requested a separate one due to the blow-through MAF sensor setup.
We suggest you check out Paxton's...
We suggest you check out Paxton's website (
www.paxtonauto.com) to see the out-of-the-box supercharger inlet system. Since JPC was using this setup for racing, they simply bolted on a screen to keep out rocks and other unwanted debris.
The only fuel system modifications...
The only fuel system modifications made to the car were a set of Ford Racing 60-lb/hr fuel injectors and a MSD programmable fuel-pump-voltage controller. The MSD unit spikes the voltage to the factory fuel pump enabling it to push more fuel.
The factory engine cover was...
The factory engine cover was trimmed in order to clear the new Paxton supercharger.
The results are outstanding...
The results are outstanding as the stock long-block is still running strong as of this writing. It made 661 rwhp and 548 lb-ft torque. Timing was locked in at 17 degrees and Burcham ran the car exclusively on VPMS109 fuel.
This graph shows the rwhp...
This graph shows the rwhp results with the boost plotted underneath it. It tickled 9.5 psi of boost when the engine was over 7,000 rpm. For the most part, the boost curve is linear and we saw only a few flutters where the belt was slipping at high rpm. It is just a six-rib belt combination; JPC Racing will be offering eight-rib conversions by the time you read this article.