H/C/I vs. Supercharger

[88GT17MA]

As for getting worse gas mileage with HCI over SC, that's B.S... I get the exact same mileage after the head swap on mine. I kept the factory camshaft, so drivability, emissions, and gas mileage are all there.

Car runs low 13s (13.0-13.1) in an AOD with street tires.. Drives like a stocker.. And there's no expensive tuning that needed to be done to make it run right.. The power is all there in 90 degree weather, and I can beat on it constantly and not have to worry about a lot of the tuning/maintenance headaches that can accompany a SC car..

And the best part.. I still can run 87...

what if 13.0 is to slow?

 

[QDRHRSE]

guys....he has 52k miles on the engine.


Do the supercharger and dont look back, simple as that.

This is exactly what I said like 50 posts ago- I totally concur.

 

[purple87lx]

I dont know a hole alot and im learning as i go but i KNOW that if you do the H/C/I set up depending on the heads,you might have to run a higher octane gas if the heads give you more compression

 

[2000xp8]

Looking back at the original post, I see that he didn't say cost was an issue. So why not get the best h/c/i setup money can buy. It will certainly be more reliable than a supercharged car.

 

[5spd GT]

I think the h/c/i idea is better because it is easier to tune (safer) for the home mechanic and can be just as cheap as a supercharger. I think it more reliable as well in my opinion. But trust me...I want a supercharger.

Plus I don't like parasitic loss from a supercharger.

I got better gas mileage after the h/c/i swap. Went from a best of 20mpg to 24mpg. This is on a nearly 160k bottomend daily driver untuned.

Alls I say is don't leave out the daily driver tune that you would want with a supercharger. Tuning cost money...h/c/i tuning is free IMO.

Don't just put down the supercharger price and that's it is all I'm saying

 

[mustangdaren]

5spd GT, how you like your AFR heads? I am thinking of swapping out my GT40's for a set this winter. I am trying to decide between the TFS TW heads and the AFR 165 heads. That is some killer gas mileage you are getting. I only get around 12-15 mpg which sucks since I have to run 100 octane due to my tune. I am thinking of adding a Snow Performance injection kit so I can run 93 octane and keep my timing set the same.

 

[5spd GT]

5spd GT, how you like your AFR heads? I am thinking of swapping out my GT40's for a set this winter. I am trying to decide between the TFS TW heads and the AFR 165 heads. That is some killer gas mileage you are getting. I only get around 12-15 mpg which sucks since I have to run 100 octane due to my tune. I am thinking of adding a Snow Performance injection kit so I can run 93 octane and keep my timing set the same.

Well that is the best mpg I have ever gotten (I wasn't even on the interstate at all during that run I don't think either). I average 21mpg or so. I'm not really that easy on it either. 30lb injectors/16* timing/190lph fuel pump/39psi FP.

I love the AFR's. The TW's and AFR's are both good. The quality is most defintely there You would probably see a gain of 30 horsepower or so (maybe more) with the swap with the kind of power your running. I would sell the gt40's (I'm sure you are) to help offset the cost and practicality of it though. I'm an AFR fan myself after the research I did...I just chose them.

Yeah I run 93 octane but of course I'm blowerless

Good Luck with it this winter!

 

[IntenseBlue]

AFRs 165s come within 10 horsepower of TWs, but according to MM&FF, TWs are in the same class as the AFR 185s and the 185s are much better.

 

[dstanggt50]

5.0 did a test a while back, took a stock 5.0 and then added h/c/i and dyno'd each part, then comparing the whole h/c/i combo against the stock 5.0 w/a s-trim. The s-trim put out more hp, and cost less in than the h/c/i combo (I think it was about 30hp better, heads were the edelbrock's I think) . If you have the money, I vote for the supercharger.

 

[IntenseBlue]

I remember that. They also added roller rockers and throttle body too.

 

[onebad7up]

Now what about a turbo? It would cause the same amount of damage as a supercharger, right? Both superchargers and turbos are forced induction so they would be risky on a higher miled engine. I did a compression test and all my cylinders are holdin 150, so would it would be safe to go with a power adder?

 

[mustangdaren]

Turbo is awesome but they are $$$$$. My friend has a PTK 67mm turbo on his bone stock 90 gt. I am taking BONE stock other than a set of Cometic head gaskets, 42lb injectors and a Walbro GSS340 fuel pump. At 8 PSI the car is making well over 400hp and over 450 tq at the wheels. The catch is he has over $5k in the kit. With that kind of money you can have a supercharger and H/C/I. It does make for a good sleeper though.

 

[2000xp8]

Turbo's make great power, but it's not nearly as functional as h/c/i or a supercharger. And as daren said to do it right, you need $$$, sometimes over $6000. Most "kits" you buy aren't quite as simple as bolt it on and go.

 

[jeff@dyno]

Do a VORTECH !!!!!! very dependable!!!
I drive a big cam and intake car daily....
In about a month or so it'll have a big HX holset on it.

 

[vikingpower]

either way its gonna be a cool setup. But with a blower you gotta tear apart the engine to replace all the gaskets, that was a really good point that someone else brought up in a previous post here... because even if you initially run 6psi to save the factory gaskets, you're gonna swap pulleys for more boost, its INEVITABLE... then a gasket blows somewhere (usually the head)... and you gotta tear the engine apart to replace it. Thats a hell of a lot of work, something you only wanna do once, like when you get some nice heads, because the stock ones suck ass, just look at the exhaust ports! I wouldnt try to run boost through those straw holes, they rob serious HP even at normal atmospheric pressure. Do the at least a head and cam swap with more exhaust port volume and exhaust duration to help the engine breathe, and upgraded gaskets, then put on the blower.

 

[onebad7up]

Well I guess I will take your advice and replace my gaskets since that is what a lot of people are saying. Instead of doing the blower I am going to do the turbo. I just bought some turbo manifolds off of sonicblue, so I am gonna piece together a single turbo kit. While I am piecing together the kit I plan on going ahead and doing a mild h/c/i. This should give me some good hp while maintaining drivability, don't you think?

 

[vikingpower]

Dont forget ARP head bolts, or even head studs. The stock head bolts will stretch under boost, or so I've read. I'd get some MLS (multi layer steel) head gaskets instead of a regular-style head gasket, or get the heads/block machined for o-rings.

 

[90mustangGT]

Turbo is the way to go. That's opening one mean can of worms, actually a barrell of rattlesnakes which will attack your wallet, but you will see results. I will eventually go towards the road to a turbocharger.