The moment of truth came late in the evening when the '01 Mustang GT was strapped to the DynoJet chassis dyno. The testing procedure was simple-Dezotell would warm up the engine to be consistent with the baseline pulls and he would make three consecutive runs to ensure the numbers were accurate. A short break is taken between pulls to let the engine cool off, and we didn't ice the intake.
The car utilizes a Big Stuff 3 standalone EFI and it was kept in closed-loop mode so timing and air/fuel would remain identical in both tests. Closed loop is when the ECU operates in the user-defined values for fuel and timing-meaning the engine would use the same amount of fuel and the timing would be locked in. Dezotell had the timing set at 10 degrees total due to the pump gas and big boost. Open loop in a Big Stuff 3 system is when the ECU will alter the air/fuel ratio using the 02 sensors. A target value is inputted and the computer will constantly adjust to achieve the target value. The pulley on the ProCharger blower and crankshaft were left the same, changing them would negate our goal of an equal comparison.
Dezotell ran the car up to its redline of 6,600 rpm, and the final results was an impressive 695 rwhp and 566 lb-ft of torque. The calculator shows a gain of 18 rwhp and 2 lb-ft of torque-yes, the engine picked up torque despite the belief that short-runner intakes produce less torque than long-runner manifolds. Boost increased, despite the pulleys remaining the same, to 19.3 psi from the baseline of 18.8 psi. McCarthy attributed that to the Victor Jr. 4.6L being less restrictive.
Dezotell made a few back-up runs and tried turning the engine higher, but the peak power came at the same 6,600 rpm with both style manifolds. Both Dezotell and McCarthy feel there is another limitation, possibly cylinder head flow or the camshafts restricting the engine from going even higher. But the output increased in both horsepower and torque when we switched over to the Edelbrock Victor Jr. 4.6L intake.
5 Yours truly goofed up and...
5 Yours truly goofed up and ordered the wrong elbow, here is the Edelbrock 3850 box-style inlet. It moves the throttle body too close to the shock tower, preventing its use in this Mustang or any other style Mustang from ’79-’04. It is more suited for modular engine swaps into vehicles with wide shock towers, like in a truck applications.
6 Our quick fix was to use...
6 Our quick fix was to use the Edelbrock 38493 (or 3849 for the natural finish) and it looks awesome under the hood. The only downside is there isn’t a hood on the market that could clear this elbow. It sits too high and too far over for any cowl hood.
7 The 38493 elbow has a splitter...
7 The 38493 elbow has a splitter that is slightly offset for proper airflow distribution.
8 The 3849 and 3847 (low-profile...
8 The 3849 and 3847 (low-profile version) both feature dual bolt-patterns for mounting the elbow to face either side, forward, or rearward.
9 Dezotell and Machie swap...
9 Dezotell and Machie swap as many parts and pieces off the Trick Flow manifold to the Edelbrock one, but they needed two new fittings for the front side of the Edelbrock fuel rails. The fittings add approximately $40 to the parts list.
10 The fuel rails contain...
10 The fuel rails contain Ford Racing 80-lb/hr fuel injectors, and the LS1 coil-packs are on a bracket set that was designed to bolt in the same location as 4.6L-style coil packs.
11 Machie pulls out several...
11 Machie pulls out several different rubber elbows from the parts bin for the final piece to connect the supercharger system to the new 80mm throttle body.
12 The tall Edelbrock inlet...
12 The tall Edelbrock inlet elbow forces Machie to fabricate a new blower tube. It wasn’t difficult as it is a straight piece of pipe, and he added a bead-weld to either end to help keep the pipe clamped together when under boost.
13 He also drilled a hole...
13 He also drilled a hole for the Snow Performance meth nozzle, which you can see on the left side of the pipe. It delivers a 50/50 mix of methanol and water to help pump up the octane due to the 18-19 psi of boost.
14 Maybe we’ve been around...
14 Maybe we’ve been around too many racecars lately, but we think the new Edelbrock intake and elbow setup looks awesome.
15 The Big Stuff 3 data-logs...
15 The Big Stuff 3 data-logs all of the runs and was run in closed-loop mode to keep the timing and the air/fuel consistent. The timing is set at 10 degrees total.
The rwhp shot up by 18, while...
The rwhp shot up by 18, while torque increased by 2 lb-ft, making this intake an effective component in a big-cubic-inch modular engine.