[vkmaynard]

Finally ordered all the supercharger parts for my daily driver Sonic Blue Convertible GT (really like my car!). I've Been waiting 9 years to do this. Already installed a T56 with Pro 5.0 shifter and electronic reverse lockout two year previous after two T3650 failures on a stock engine with mild daily driving. What a BIG improvement in shifting and gear ratios.

Background: 10 years previous built my original owner 88 GT to 450 HP with a Powerdyne SC, AFR heads, Stage II Roller Blower Cam, Roller Rockers, Speed Pro Pistons with matched filed rings, Stage II rods, Crank Girdle, Bassani 2.5 dual H Pipe exhaust system, with fully modded suspension, etc. Six months after finishing some a..hole ran me into a guardrail. Still have the car. Mechanically perfect, still starts but not drivable. When finished not super daily drivable.

So I am NOT going break my daily driver, keep OEM driving qualities and keep the tune safe. Everything I've read is do not exceed 400 RWHP. Is that correct or is it 400 HP off the motor?

Right now changing the clutch. Replacing the main seal is apparently a career event. Next replacing original 135K mi struts and shocks with KYB Excel-g units. Supercharger due in next week.

Victor

Parts list I settled on:

Vortech Supercharger Kit 4FL218-150L (V3) >> $3,130.00 - Aderson PKVT-GT04 w/ Power Pipe!
Anderson Power Pipe AF-0110A >> N/C - Anderson
K&N RU-2590 4" Filter >> $46.96 - Amazon (Replaced 3.75" Vortech when MAF changed out to blow thru)
BBK 78MM Throttle Intake 1780 >> $269.00 - Anderson
Ford 38# Injectors DEH-38-DH >> $349.0 - Anderson
Areomotive Stealth 325 Fuel Pump 111645 (replaced Maxed out DeatschWerks Fuel Pump 9-651-1015) >> $144.77 Ebay
SCT X4 Tuner 7015 >> $319.00 - Amazon
Exedy Mach 400 Stage Two Clutch 7805 >> $248.44 - Amazon
Steeda Clutch Quadrant Kit >> $112.03 - Aamzon
FelPro Teflon Rear Main Seal >> $21.00 - Autozone
Oil Slinger (Baffel) >> $14.00 - Capital Ford
Resurface Flywheel >> $32.00 - Carquest German Town
Center Force Throwout Bearing >> $44.00 - Piedmont Custom Motorsports
Ford Racing Pilot Bearing M-7600-B >> $11.00 - Piedmont Custom Motorsports
Pro-M Drop-in MAF/Flange (replaced SCT BA-2600 Big Air 90MM MAF) >> $242.97 - Pro-M Racing
NKG Copper Spark Plugs TR6 4177 >> $15.00 - Piedmont Custom Motorsports
Welding for Drop-in MAF, move BOV & re-weld BOV>> $300 - Piedmont Custom Motorsports
CXRacing Intercooler kit with 4" core upgrade >> $559 - CXRacing direct
TiAL QRJ BOV w/ 38mm Intlet and Outlet & 1.5 psi Sping (replaced Bosh BOV, CXRacing BOV, Vortech Maxflow BOV) >> $287.36 - Exstreme PSI
Vortech 3.48 Pulley >> $81.99 - Summit Racing
Dyno Tune >> $375.00 - Piedmont Custom Motorsports
Dyno Tune #2 >> $150 - Piedmont Custom Motorsports
Bassani X-Pipe with High Flow CATS $ O2 extenders >> $551 - American Muscle

Total >> $6,752.49

 

[vkmaynard]

Nearly Done

Nearly done.

Big delay fixing defective drive shaft work, replaced: slip yoke, T56 rear bushing/seal, rear main seal, oil baffle, clutch, clutch cable (with billet quadrant), shocks/struts, rear axle seals, head light assemblies, 3rd brake light, trunk struts, fuel pump, fuel filter, injectors and sparkplugs.

Exedy Mach 400 clutch has super light pedal pressure. Probably 30% less than OEM with old cable and plastic parts.

Installed BB&K 78 MM TB.

Installed a chin spoiler. Nice improvement in looks. Should have been stock.

Flushed 10 year old brake and steering fluid. Coolant changed during SC install.

Pressure washed the engine compartment and underside of car.

Installing intake tonight and pipe

Have a temporary tune from Piedmont Custom Motorsports.

Victor

 

[vkmaynard]

Done!

Started no problem first time with temporary tune. Running rich so sending data collection to get a little closer before tune driving to the dyno Friday.

The Power Pipe was difficult to install. Had to cut and use a 2" coupler off the Anderson coupler. The pipe touched the MAF which connected closely to the Vortech supplied airfilter which touched the inside bottom of the fender. Their coupler would have added 2.5" more length which had zero chance of fitting. Also cut the airfilter flange off the Vortech bracket to connect the filter to the SCT MAF. Did not want to wait for another order.

 

[Kay-tar]

Awesome job man, keep us updated on what it makes for power at the dyno.

 

[vkmaynard]

Miscommunication

Arrived for the tune. After the tuner realized that I was using the SCT BA2600 I was told they will not tune with the IAT before the supercharger. I thought it was not a good idea either but was told that it could be "tune out". So now they recommend a ProM drop in MAF with a built in IAT. Also they said I should really get an intercooler and do it right the first time. I am the worst buy cheap buy twice person.

Ordered a CXRacing setup with a 4" core as they suggested and the ProM MAF with IAT and weld on flange. They wanted to move the BOV to just before the intercooler to reduce unnecessary heat soaking of the intercooler and to reduce turbulence before the MAF. CXRacing will not sell the final tube with out the BOV installed.

Started the install last night after fixing the famous 1999-2004 convertible rear seat floor pan leak while pointed uphill.

A little disappointed my daily driver is still down. Now an additional $850 in the project and more time. On the plus side I should not have to do anything more than install a slightly smaller pulley to compensate for the boost loss.

Victor

 

[vkmaynard]

Installed Intercooler / Drop-in MAF

Hopefully tune Tuesday.

Installed a CXRacing intercooler kit with a 4" core upgrade and drop-in ProM MAF with built-in IAT and flange (uses not supplied 4x0.7 mm screw) per the tuner.

The tuner moved the BOV to just infront of the intercooler and welded in straight piece of pipe to replace the missing section. Cleaned up the MAF hole and inside welds to smooth out the area just before the MAF.

FYI: the bumper needs to be spaced out 5/8" and the foam bumper trimmed same amount for the 4" core. Milling the spacers tonight on my mill.

A lot of work with proudly zero instructions from CXRacing. They also included no bolts for the kit or 3/8 barb connectors for the steering pump cooler. The steering hose clamps are too large. Had to re-bend one of the lower brackets that was different than the other. I have a lot of pictures of the install if anyone is interested. Locating the 3.5" intake pipe hole was tricky. Got it perfect first time with my Bi-Metal hole saw. Trimmed with vacuum line.

Overall CXRacing are great people and easy to work with.

Also ordered a 3.48 pulley if needed to compensate for possible intercooler issues during tune.

Victor

CXRacing 4" intercooler

5/8" 6061 Aluminum bumper spacer plates

Bumper installed with spacer plates

5/8" trimmed off back of foam bumper with bandsaw. Final cut around foam location posts not shown.

 

[mingreyvert]

Nice let us know how you do

 

[vkmaynard]

Another Issue

Finished the bumper assembly. The milled 5/8" space worked great. About 0.25" clearance between the 4" core and the steel bumper. The foam bumper needed 5/8" trimmed of the back to make up for the spacer plate and the fog lights needed the flanges removed to clear the intercooler piping.

The car would not run after returning to factory tune or another temporary tune for blow thru with the new Pro-M MAF assembly.

Missed welding a bung for the IAC after the new blow thru MAF. Another trip to get the welding done yesterday. Drove it to work today. My daily driver car has been offline since 1/31/2015

Dissembled the CXRacing BOV to cut down the smaller of the two springs spring. Zero bypass at idle with adjust screw all the way out. Measured 18 PSI vacuum at idle. Used a vacuum gun to help set up the spring tension. Also calculated the surface area of the BOV valve and determined that 10.8 lbs of force pressing on the valve face = 10 PSI boost. Used a socket that just fit in the hole and a digital postal scale to measure the pressing force.

Now have choo-choo surge sound not present with the stock Vortech setup even with cruising at 70 MPH. Probably needs a little tightening. Not sure how to eliminate.

The tuner overall has been very helpful and patient. Will have results and a YouTube video tonight.

Victor

 

[Kay-tar]

Awesome work man!
The reason why you are hearing a different sound might be because your old setup was a recirculating blow off valve, the one you are using now is open to atmosphere blow off valve. The reason for this is because you had a draw-through setup, now you have a blow through.

 

[vkmaynard]

Eric at Piedmont Custom Motorsports is a master for sure. Super careful stepping up the tune.

He did a look over before starting.

He removed the BOV and reduced the spring pressure even more by tossing the second spring and cutting one turn on the coil. The CxRacing BOV is really a POS. Very annoying loud (even piped back to intake) with no chance of working as shipped. Causes a lot of noise in the MAF. Don't waste your time welding on their Flange. The shipped BOV was quite. Going to another brand like Vortech.

He first drove like grandma to check out the driveability the key pushing, tuning and cooling my car. Finally tried one last deg advace and determined the marginal 10 HP midrange gain not worth the risk betting on bad gas. He could not be a safer tuner. Extremely happy with histuning perfection.

The 265 LPH fuel pump maxed out. He said I should have purchased the Aeromotive 340 LPH. My guess was based on Vortech advertising of 429 HP at the crank. Not what actually happened to my surprise. Going to replace it this weekend don't need a disaster if the voltage sags. He said the 38 lb injectors have plenty of flow to make it over 500 RW HP. Not going there.

Final numbers 394 hp / 395 ftlb torque SAE 0.98 adjusted or local conditions. Max boost was 10 psi.

With a conservative 15% drivetrain loss the is 470 hp /471 ftlb at the crank. Way more than Vortech advertised with their after cooler.

 

[99FiveOh]

Awesome project! Curious about the pump maxing out though. Unless returnless fuel systems have different power handling capacities, that pump should get you to mid/upper 400's to the wheels.

 

[mingreyvert]

What pulley did you end up using

 

[99FiveOh]

He said he went with a 3.48" pulley in an earlier post.

 

[vkmaynard]

Dyno Results

Non SAE adjusted 402 RWHP / 403 RWT. SAE 0.98 adjustment for that run was 394 RWHP / 395 RWT. Max 10+ psi boost with stock 3.6 pulley.

Not bad for a fully stock car with T56 installed.

The DeatschWerks 265 LPH maxed out along with the system. I believed the Vortech advertising of 429 crank HP thus buying a 265 LPH pump (theirs is a 255 LPH). Already ordered an Aeromotive 325 LPH (11165) per Eric. He said the 38 lb injectors are good to over 500 RWHP.

I can't say enough great things about Eric (owner/tuner) at Piedmont Custom Motorsports in Raleigh, NC. He was super helpful on the fab design and careful with my daily driver. He very slowly eased into the tune. In the end he maxed out the timing with one last degree and said it was not worth the extra 10-15 RWHP gain for the margin of safety lost due to many possible factors like bad gas. He remove the last timing push. Finally he drove the car around with his PC to verify real world driveability. Their Dyno Jet eddy current option was kind to my new clutch.

The CXRacing BOV is a POS! Very loud and obnoxious, even piped back to the intake. Eric had to further mod the spring to make it work. Going machine a pipe coupler and bolt to the CXRacing flange to use the original Vortech Bypass valve.

Will probably do touch up tune on the fuel pump install and consider using the 3.48 pulley if Eric blesses the safety level for my stock internals.

Victor

Dyno Run Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUc4-CeZ2XM

 

[mingreyvert]

Nice job those are solid numbers sweet ride

 

[vkmaynard]

Last Upgrade

Eric said that I can "safely" use the 3.48 pulley with the new fuel pump. Obviously if I constantly use full power on my car it will shorten the life of the motor.

The drive shaft still needs to be lengthened by 1" due to problems caused by Triangle Driveshaft in Durham. Don't use them; terrible workmanship. They also welded the tranny yoke end off-center by 0.025", 5x max allowed.

So maybe next Wednesday back to the Dyno for a followup final tune.

Victor

 

[vkmaynard]

BOV Fix

Reduce 95% of the BOV noise by reworking the valve. Now you can also hear a woosh sound on deceleration and way less flutter.

Saw that Tial has special springs for supercharger in the 2-3 psi range http://www.tialsport.com/documents/w3_tial_qqr_sp.pdf. The supplied Bosh valve started to open at 4 psi. As shipped this valve opened at 30+ psi. Dyno with initial spring mods opened at 12 psi. So cut the spring down to about 1/3 of it's original height a little at a time. Set screw still capable of additional tension.

Then noticed that the valve would jam open from test to test. So I disassembled the plunger and machined down the front edge by about 0.03" and chamfered the edges (used lathe but drill press and file will work). Also machined down the overly large part behind the o-ring to reduce flutter due to vortecies (probably going to machine more).

The valve still jammed some so sanded down the rough edges on the seat. Lightly oil plunger shaft with marine oil. Smooth operation. Also oiled the screws that were already to corroding.

Victor

 

[vkmaynard]

Awesome project! Curious about the pump maxing out though. Unless returnless fuel systems have different power handling capacities, that pump should get you to mid/upper 400's to the wheels.

According to the manufacturer that pump should have worked. Maybe a defective unit. Not willing to try another at $150 per retry.

Victor

 

[vkmaynard]

The BB&K throttle intake was sticking at idle. Solution according to the manufacturer was to open the throttle using the idle set screw to reduce the vacuum. Was closed tightly. 1/8 turn worked perfectly.

Victor

 

[vkmaynard]

More BOV Fun

Did some more work on the BOV. Reduced the opening spring pressure to around 3 psi and machined down the larger diameter of the valve. Much less noise but still annoying and probably not good for the motor with the flutter.

Finally gutted the CXRacing BOV and sealed the the cap to make it into an elbow for testing. Installed the original Bosh bypass valve at the Power Pipe. Now same flutter problem. So proves what others have said about the FMIC causing flow problems. Needs a much larger discharge I guess. Wonder if there is an FMIC resonance. The stock unit was quite before.

Calling Tial, Vortech and TurboSmart tomorrow to buy one of their units after the Q&A interview.

Looking at the Tial with 2 psi spring and 1.5" outlet.

Any suggestions for something super quiet in a bypass config with no flutter?

Victor