Fullbright 1

Mark Fullbright Instructor Agosta English 111-41 07/03/2013 Boosted applications: Which is right for you?

If youre a car nut like me, your apart of the never ending quest for more power. As for you naturally aspirated guys out there, you know there is only so much you can do before money and effort far outweigh the advantages in the horsepower you get. The answer to such a dilemma is BOOST! In a naturally aspirated vehicle the engine uses the differences between atmospheric pressure and vacuum to complete a combustion cycle. Air is drawn in by the difference in pressure each piston causes when it travels up and down in the combustion chamber. Each down stroke of a piston causes a void which is lower in pressure than the air around us called vacuum. When this vacuum is formed the atmospheric pressure rushes in to equalize the void. In turn the pistons up stroke compresses this air, a fuel injector mixes in fuel to be ignited, and then drives the piston back down. This is called a power stroke. This power stroke is where we get our horsepower from. A difference in the amount of air and fuel we can squeeze into the combustion chamber gives us different horsepower ratings. Justin Cesler of MM&FF states, Anytime we modify an engine, adding air (improving airflow) is part of the goal. A new cold-air intake, for example, will generally flow more air and, in turn pick up power.

Fullbright 2

Are you still with me? The object is to cram as much air and fuel into the engine as possible. When you add more air and fuel you have to maintain stoichiometric efficiency which is a 14:1(air to fuel) ratio, this keeps detonation and misfires down therefore protecting engine parts from breaking internally. The more volume of air and fuel at this important ratio, the more power we produce. A good working naturally aspirated engine has a finite efficiency of approximately 33%, that means only 33% of the power produced by internal combustion makes it to the flywheel and does work. With that being said natural aspiration will only get you so far, thats where boost comes in. Boost in every sense of the word boosts an engines efficiency beyond the naturally aspirated figures and compounds horsepower exponentially. The two most common ways to do this are integrating a turbo or supercharger system to your ride. Im here to explain both systems and to give you a grasp on which is best for your application. Before choosing a system you have to ask yourself a few questions before making a decision between a turbo system and a supercharger system. What are my power goals? Is drivability important to me? Will this system fit under the hood? How much does it cost to upgrade? Hopefully this article will get you pointed in the right direction. Superchargers also known as blowers are driven by a belt connected to the engines crankshaft via a pulley of some kind. There are two types which make up the vast majority of supercharger systems. There are centrifugal blowers which look very similar to turbo systems but incorporate a pulley drive. These blowers usually have some kind of piping which will flow through but may not include an air-to-air intercooler and then directly into the existing factory throttle body. Another type of blower is called a positive displacement supercharger. These types of blowers usually incorporate an entire intake manifold and an air-to-liquid intercooler in one. These bolt directly to the top of the engine. This type of supercharger system replaces most of

Fullbright 3

the intake system on the engine. Superchargers offer flexibility because of the different configurations between centrifugal and positive displacement systems. Blowers compress the air and deliver it into the intake manifold which is set to a specific psi. Its typical to see a system run anywhere from a mild 5psi producing 20-30hp over stock to a wild 15+ psi producing well over 100+ horsepower over factory specs! When it comes to blowers and drivability, an increase in throttle response is very noticeable over stock. When you hit the gas, because the supercharger is already spinning, there is an instant rush of power. You feel a huge kick in the back of your seat as the torque kicks in. The gain in power and torque peaks very quickly at low rpm and slowly drops off as the rpms increase. This is very common with superchargers; a huge increase in torque in the low end of your engines power band gives you off the line grunt that you wouldnt get with naturally aspirated vehicles. Depending on how insane you want to go, blowers are known in drag racing for their brutal launches off the tree and are a traction nightmare as power levels increase. HawaiiKid, a well-known and experienced in all boost applications is a member from the Lightningrodder.com forum who exclaimed, I used a centrifugal supercharger, mostly because of the availability of parts and a smaller outlay of money at one time. Also I didnt want to do any custom fab work at the time and all the turbo kits out there had the disclaimer of some assembly required ha ha. According to Vortech Superchargers website, A complete, fully calibrated supercharging system is available for the 2011-2013 5.0L Mustang GT, featuring the V-3 Si centrifugal supercharger with air-to-air charge cooler. The complete, smog-legal system will boost your stock 2011-2013 GT to 605 HP and 473 lb/ft of torque with 7.5-8.5 PSI from the V-3 supercharger at the factory redline. This kit includes all the necessary hardware, wiring, fuel

Fullbright 4

injectors, and tuning software to bolt on to factory locations and finish easily in a weekends time. This is an entry level kit that will net great gains for the daily driven vehicle and cost around $4500 to your door. $4000-$5000 when it was all said and done, (Hawaiikid) Positive displacement kits are a more expensive alternative to the centrifugal kits; however they offer the ultimate in fitment and performance. Whipple a big name in, top mount, blowers offer their complete entry level 2.3 kit though several licensed dealers. Latemodelrestoration.com offers the 2.3 twin screw supercharger kit, seen below, for just shy of $7,000. They state this kit produces 525 horsepower at 6400 RPM / 470 lb/ft at 4200 RPM with 91 octane fuel at approximately 7 psi of boost. With professional installation, labor will cost around $2000 for each kit. Its required to remove large engine components and make small intermediate tech level modifications to your vehicle such as grinding off tabs on the engine for clearance, and drilling holes for hardware. A seasoned tech can install a supercharger in a day or so. Turbo systems are on the other side of the scale. They work the same way that a supercharger does except that turbo is driven by exhaust gasses. Turbo units mount anywhere inline with the exhaust system and produce incredible amounts of boost from a small package. There are two sides to every turbo, the compressor and the impeller. The impeller and compressor are mounted to opposite ends of the same shaft. The impeller is set in a housing which allows the exhaust to flow through and spin the impeller at incredible speeds. This spins the compressor on the opposite side of the shaft in its own housing at the same speed. A turbo uses the left over energy from the combustion process and recycles it to produce boost pressure. These units are very efficient in what they do and spin at incredible speeds like a mini jet engine. Turbo installation is much more intricate than going with a supercharger but performance more

Fullbright 5

than outweighs the effort in this kind of system. A comparison in size of the unit itself is a little underwhelming. For its size and efficiency you get a lot more efficiency and power compared to the size of a comparable supercharger. The Drivability of turbo systems are well known for their stock like a big difference with turbo is the lag you get on take-off. Turbos have to spool up to produce boost so you typically get a sluggish launch and then an incredible rush of power that build up and spikes. Size matters when it comes to your power goals, too small and you dont meet that goal and leave power on the table, too big and you become a victim of too much lag. Another thing about a turbo is its street manners. You can drive a turbo vehicle like a normal naturally aspirated vehicle and get the same gas mileage you would get without the system installed. Its when you put your foot down on the gas pedal that you get that added rush of power and acceleration they are known for. A turbo system is complicated as there is a lot of piping. The rerouting of the exhaust manifolds to the turbos plus the intercooler and inlet. This requires a significant amount of room under the hood (Justin Cesler). With this system your budget needs to be a little more substantial. Along with the turbo itself which will set you back around $700 you have other components which will quickly put a dent in your wallet. A full turbo kit includes a custom exhaust system to accommodate the turbo, a boost control system to set desired psi, and an intercooler to cool the intake air charge. Along with quite a bit of custom fabrication and relocation of stock under-hood components so your turbo kit will fit properly the bill will add up quickly. For a 2011 5.0 Ford Mustang a Hellion turbo kit will cost you around $6,200 to your door though a licensed dealer such as Leathalperformance.com. Its recommended that a professional install the kit and the cost in labor can be in the neighborhood of $3500-$5000. You

Fullbright 6

can expect your car to be in the shop for about a week to button up everything needed to be done to finish the job. Personal experience goes a long way when it comes to booted applications and research is a must if you dont want to leave power on the table or spend way too much for your power goals. There are some vehicles that have turbo or superchargers from the factory and make very easy platforms to upgrade or just experience the differences in performance, feel, and even the cool sound of each system. Get lots of opinions and weigh the cost and you will have your very own system and a smile from ear-to-ear with the boost in performance.

Fullbright 7

References Cesler, J. (2013). Why boost it? Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords (MM&FF), August (62-69) Hawaiikid. Personal Interview. 26 Oct. 2013