The 2010 Roush 540H, known...
The 2010 Roush 540H, known as the Hammer, is essentially a basic looking Roush Stage 3 with a 540hp engine (491 rwhp). Sansone Ford upped the ante to a stout 576 rwhp.
Let's take a journey back to 2003, a time when Ford was just releasing the SVT Cobra that was dubbed as the Terminator. This new SVT ride trumped anything the manufacturer had ever put on the streets. At the time, it was the most powerful production late-model Mustang with an advertised 390 hp from its supercharged engine. Little did Ford know, but it was a car that changed the market and how we perceive OEM powerplants.
Its rotating assembly was a significant departure from the norm. Ford created an engine that was essentially bulletproof, within reason, and stood up to torture tests of insane boost from twin-screw blower upgrades. As if that wasn't enough, enthusiasts eventually tossed nitrous on top of the blower and even combined twin-turbo systems with the supercharger. The Terminator 4.6L was one tough S.O.B. thanks to durable block, steel crankshaft, Manley steel rods, and forged pistons. Add in cylinder heads and camshafts designed for a supercharger application, and it was like Ford delivered a Mustang with an aftermarket engine.
You are looking at a Roush-built...
You are looking at a Roush-built Three-Valve engine that comes rated at 540 hp off the showroom floor. It spun the Sansone dyno to 491 rwhp and then 576 rwhp with some simple mods.
The Terminator enjoyed a short two-year life on the streets, but it forever changed the landscape-and the expectation of buyers. The positive-displacement blower market (Roots and twin-screw styles) boomed, and it became commonplace to add exhaust, a pulley, and tune almost immediately. The massive company has its finger on the pulse of our industry. The Terminator line went silent after the '04 model year, but it paved the way for Ford's next stunt-the Shelby GT500 that was released as an '07 model. It also benefits from a factory-supplied supercharged engine that is tougher than just about anything else a manufacturer has produced. Enthusiasts took the Terminator's tried-and-true mods of a smaller blower pulley, better ECU tune, and larger exhaust system to the Shelby line-up, and the results were just as exciting. It wasn't abnormal to see mid-500 rwhp with these minimal modifications.
Fast-forward to the modern day and those modifications are carried-over to anything that is supercharged-including the Ford GT and specialty Mustangs from the likes of Roush and Saleen. We visited Sansone Ford (Ocean, New Jersey) after shop manager Travis Walker sent us info on the company's '10 Roush Hammer. The dealership has its own speed shop, and it's run by Kevin Hand.
One of the most tried-and-true...
One of the most tried-and-true mods for any supercharged engine is to add more boost. Kevin Hand of Sansone Ford added a Terminator pulley since the Roushcharger uses an eight-rib belt-drive system. The Terminator pulley fit nicely, but Hand said he had to press the pulley on 1/8-inch more than he does on Terminator blowers.
The Roush lineup is more extensive than most realize-there were six different models in 2010 alone. The top three versions-Barrett-Jackson, Stage 3, and The Hammer-all featured a 540hp Three-Valve engine. Essentially, Roush took a page from the Terminator playbook by building a stout short-block to withstand the abuse of a super-charger system.
Roush engineers added a forged crankshaft, forged H-beam rods, and a set of forged pistons that lowered compression from 9.8:1 to a blower-friendly 8.6:1. The engine first appeared in the '09 Roush P-51B and carried over to the '10 model year. Topping the Three-Valve modular is a Roushcharger with Eaton TVS 2300 internals. It all adds up to the aforementioned 540 hp. The guys at Sansone Ford were telling us that the Hammer is basically a stripped-down version of the Stage 3 car. It has minimal body modifications, but the performance parts are identical between models. Sansone then took the Roush platform one step further and pulled a page from the Terminator and Shelby GT500 playbook.
The gang at Sansone Ford does a lot of work with Terminator and Shelby GT500 customers, so it was easy to turn to its parts bin for modifications to the Hammer. "A lot of the parts we used on the Hammer are GT500 specific parts, but we adapted them to the Roush," stated Kevin Hand, the main shop technician and ECU tuner.
The Roushcharger uses an Eaton...
The Roushcharger uses an Eaton TVS rotor system with a Roush-designed case and drive-system. The TVS rotors are capable of supplying nearly 1,000 hp at the flywheel in a properly equipped engine. The rotors have a 160-degree twist to help increase efficiency over other Roots-style superchargers.
Hand used a JLT Shelby GT500...
Hand used a JLT Shelby GT500 cold-air kit and modified for use on the 4.6L engine. We dig the carbon fiber body of the inlet system.
Some of the hose hook-ups...
Some of the hose hook-ups had to be modified and here is the PVC inlet. The GT500 has a larger PCV hose so Hand added some epoxy in order to adapt the Roush PCV line.
An L&M dual-bore throttle...
An L&M dual-bore throttle body took up residence on the Roushcharger. The throttle body features twin 72mm bores and enhanced aerodynamics. We tested this throttle body last year on a GT500 with a Whipple supercharger and it worked nicely.
A comparison of the stock...
A comparison of the stock throttle body (left) and the L&M unit (right). Opening up the area in front of a positive displacement supercharger almost always leads to more horsepower, and the L&M throttle body was a big part of the 76-rwhp gain.
Hand turned to the Sansone...
Hand turned to the Sansone Ford TVS blower inlet elbow (right) that the shop normally installs on GT500 cars with the Ford Racing TVS upgrade. He modified it for use in this application.