Here is a comparison of the...
Here is a comparison of the two elbows. On the right is the Sansone D-port unit-it's noticeably larger than the stock Roush elbow on the left.
Hand concentrated on just the basics like opening up the inlet into the Roushcharger, installing better exhaust, adding more boost, and of course custom tuning. Supplying more air to the TVS 2300 rotors was accomplished using a JLT cold-air kit, L&M twin-bore 72mm throttle body, and a Sansone Ford D-shape inlet elbow. The first two mods are pretty normal, but it was the D-shape elbow that captured our curiosity. "We use the D-shape elbow on the Ford Racing TVS blower upgrade for GT500 vehicles. It had to be modified a bit for the Roush application but the results are the same," inserted Hand. Anytime you can increase flow in front of a positive displacement supercharger, the power goes up. It's mostly due to tight engine compartment that forces the obscure bend in order to work and fit on a Mustang.
Naturally, turning the supercharger harder nets more power, and Hand increased the boost from a Roush-supplied 15 psi up to a Shelby GT500-slaying 19 psi. The peak boost of 19 psi is a combination of the 2.75-inch blower pulley and the induction modifications. Cramming an engine full of supercharged boost requires a more efficient exhaust system, and so in went a set of American Racing Headers full-length headers, crossover pipes, and MagnaFlow three-inch Race cat-back exhaust. It makes for a serious rumble, but it's not obnoxious.
This is a comparison of the...
This is a comparison of the throttle body side of the two elbows with the stock Roush one on the left.
Getting it all to work together is a custom ECU tune. Hand relied on SCT software to make those changes. He comments, "The timing is 18 degrees at peak torque and 21 degrees at peak rwhp. As a comparison, the Roush factory tune was run at 16 degrees at peak torque while peak rwhp had 23 degrees of timing." Not only did Hand adjust the timing but also the air/fuel ratio, driving parameters for part-throttle driveability, and most importantly the electric fan controls. On the company's Dynocom chassis dyno, the Roush Hammer cranked out an impressive 579 rwhp and 572 lb-ft torque. That is an improvement from the car's original test of 491 rwhp and 469 lb-ft of torque. It equates to a gain of 88 rwhp and torque gains of 103 lb-ft. Those results were recorded using the SAE correction factor on the dyno.
"We are nearing the limits of the fuel system, which includes twin GT500 pumps and injectors," comments Hand. The GT500 injectors are rated at 47 lb/hr at 39 psi, but they are run at a higher psi setting in GT500 applications, so in effect the injectors are 52-lb/hr units. In this application, Hand increased the fuel pressure to 48 psi, effectively making the GT500 injectors flow 60 lb/hr. According to Hand, the GT500 injectors combined with the twin GT500 pumps will supply enough fuel up to 640 rwhp. A few more modifications and this Roush 540H will need changes in the fuel system department.
Hand and Walker finished the car at the end of the racing season in New Jersey so on-track testing was limited. Hand did manage to coax a 11.74 at a stellar 123 mph run at Atco Raceway during one of Sansone Ford's private track rentals. The result came by way of a traction-limited 60-foot time of 2.70 seconds with the stock Cooper tires. Hand feels they can push the car well into the 10s with sticky rear tires once the warm weather hits. It's a result that we don't doubt given the proven performance with the Terminator and Shelby GT500 cars that have come out of the Sansone Ford shop.
Hand added a little epoxy...
Hand added a little epoxy in the lower left corner and did some mild porting to the Roushcharger housing so it mates up with the D-port elbow better.
American Racing Headers full-length...
American Racing Headers full-length headers feature 1 3/4-inch primary tubes with 3-inch collectors and X-style midpipe. It sounds really nice when combined with the MagnaFlow Race series after-cat exhaust-aggressive but not obnoxious.
The Hammer was dyno-tested...
The Hammer was dyno-tested while heat-soaked, so these results could theoretically go up if Hand had iced down the blower and let it sit. But he wanted real world results. His technique is to start with a cold car, bring up the engine coolant temp to 180 degrees and then make the pull. All told, the Hammer pounded out 579 rwhp and 572 lb-ft of torque using SAE correction. In Standard correction factor mode, those numbers jump to 600 rwhp with the Sansone mods and 508 rwhp in stock Roush trim.