help me choose: Roush tvs vs Kenne bell stage 2

[DrSmith]

I am almost never going to be able to land on this, too many choices. Why roush tvs over the kenne bell stage 2? I want a blower that will allow me to grow later if I change the engine. Which of these two are the better choice? I am sick of waiting to make the buy, but I keep reading how many people upgrade later on, as they get used to the power. I don't know what all I am going to do with my car. Autocross for sure, but there is a dragstrip not far from where I live.
Any input would be helpful!
Doc

 

[NastyStang113]

Roush TVS without a doubt. It's going to make plenty of power, more than enough for drag racing and especially autocross. A lot of guys end up taking there KBs off who are heavily into racing because of tensioner problems and throwing belts. It can ruin your day when a tensioner bends, throws a belt and dents or goes through your hood. My car is making 530 rwhp at 11 lbs with a Roush TVS on the factory longblock. The only other performance mods are a Magnaflow catback and O/R X Pipe. I bought the kit and had it tuned by VMP Tuning. Highly recommend VMP.

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/798194-nastytgt-roush-tvs-524-rwhp.html

 

[StonePony]

I would recommend the KB over any Roush product. I have used it for 4 years without a single issue and I have been heavily in to drag racing for all that time. My engine has factory shortblock and heads also. The Roush TVS hasnt even been around for two years.
My KB never threw a belt or bent a belt tensioner and I have been running 12 PSI for almost 3 years.
I know Jim Bell since 1979 and he runs one of the best engineering teams in this business and you get KB's technical knowledge at your disposal. None of the KB owners I know had to give up their KB twin-screw becauise of belt issues. I saw one guy on the forums that had extended problems with belts on his KB but after years of trying to fix it he found his other pullies were not aligned correctly.
It wasnt the KB that caused the belt to get thrown. KB wraps their belt around the pulley a little more than some other positive displacement blowers.
If you want to get a blower that you can grow with as you want more power go for the "Mammoth" and you cant go wrong.

 

[AutoXRacer]

I'd say ROUSH TVS...
No need to worry about whether a ROUSH part has been around 1 or 5 years... Before ROUSH puts out parts, its been tested and proven...

ROUSH TVS all the way...

 

[snaggeltooth]

to kinda add another question .. What is life with a SC on a Daily driver .. I am seeing the 09 Rousch 427R coming into my price range .. Would it make a good DD...

 

[1996lasercobra]

I've had a Kenne Bell 2.6L on my 06 GT. Definetly go stage 2. I have sent Matt at Kenne Bell countless questions and he has always answered and came through for me. I can't speak for the other blowers having not tried them, but I love my Kenne Bell and drive it everyday come ran, shine, or snow.

 

[flounderlipps]

I have a 2.6L Kenne Bell also but Im not going to tell you to buy it cause I have one. The only problem I have with Kenne Bell is the numbers they post on thier web site. You ain't getting 500 to the tire with the 2.6L stage 2 with a 4" pulley (8psi).
You can't go wrong with almost any blower on the market today as long as its intercooled and can grow with your needs. The only blowers I would stay away from is the Roush M90 and the Magnson.
Jump in the water is fine.

 

[anthony05gt]

I've got a Whipple and here's my opinion between the Roush TVS and the KB. The TVS is a killer set up with serious low end torque. That new compressor rotor design along with the case works very efficiently. It won't make quite the power in the higher rpm range as the KB and it won't offer the room to grow that the KB will. Kenny Bell's blowers are among the very best in the world. The cases are CNC machined from billet material and they do offer the best belt wrap around the snout pulley (the most pulley coverage). I do know of several people that had bent tensioner issues (drag radial racing) and I never asked what the solution was, but I suspect it was a better tensioner which is typical.

Bottom line to me...if I was going to stay at or under 12-14 lbs boost I'd probably do the TVS, only because it has a little harder hit of torque down low below 3000 rpm's. Not a lot more torque, but enough to notice slightly. If I were planning on a built shortblock in the future and was going to turn the boost up and try to get the most out of a compressor I'm sure the KB would be my choice.

 

[AutoXRacer]

to kinda add another question .. What is life with a SC on a Daily driver .. I am seeing the 09 Rousch 427R coming into my price range .. Would it make a good DD...

Lets ask the right question, what is a DD without a supercharger...? BORING!!!

The ROUSH cars are as dependable and reliable as a stock NA Mustang.
The ROUSh superchargers are rated over 100,000 miles maintenance free...plus you get ROUSH bumper to bumper 36 months/36,000 mile warranty along with Ford's 5yr/50,000 mile powertrain warranty.

I have put over 30K miles in one year on my Stage 3 ROUSH without any issues. Its a fine DD... The NA Mustangs were too boring (slow) to be driving on a daily basis. Plus the compliments and looks you get on the road are a bonus...

Go for it without a doubt!!!

 

[1996lasercobra]

Just putting this out there to make things a little thicker for you. If your going to change your hood to a 1" or greater cowl, you could get the 2.8L Mammoth with the biggest possible pulley, any thing smaller would probably roast your stock pistons and shatter your rods, but man the room to grow is big, but you'll also need a tuner, injectors, pump, etc. I'd contact Matt at Kennebell to see what the price difference would be between the stage 2 and the mammoth (sometimes called stage 3).

 

[DrSmith]

I have been told by kb that I can't put a mammoth on my stock engine. I would go this route it they said I could. I thought I could just keep the boost low and buy the mammoth kit, then when I was "bored" with it, I'd build the engine and go from there. My time frame for this car is long, I could upgrade it all later, I just don't want to waste 6k on the wrong blower.
Thanks, I am still trying to figure this out, it is driving (no pun intended) nuts.
Doc

 

[1996lasercobra]

I have been told by kb that I can't put a mammoth on my stock engine. I would go this route it they said I could. I thought I could just keep the boost low and buy the mammoth kit, then when I was "bored" with it, I'd build the engine and go from there. My time frame for this car is long, I could upgrade it all later, I just don't want to waste 6k on the wrong blower.
Thanks, I am still trying to figure this out, it is driving (no pun intended) nuts.
Doc

If you can wait,you may want to do the forged short block first so you don't have to take the blower back off. The blower is like nitrouse and swapping to beigger jets, you feel the increase in power and you like it. But what's this, more power is only a pulley swap away and before you know it your like me, tearing the engine apart to forge it ,so you can add more boost. The quickest driver in the world wants to go quicker. Can you draw in line, I cann't.

 

[AutoXRacer]

Frankly, how much power are you looking to make...?

Is this a daily driver car? Or a trailered weekend race car?

Everyone I've met that has boosted their car to 800HP plus power has reduced it to around 650 RWHP. They all said the same thing, for the street its pointless and undriveable, even on the track (road course) its pointless...

I guess the only guys that care to have that much power are drag racers with super sticky slicks...and usually those cars aren't street driven.

Realistically, the TVS will give you all the power you need...
Do you really think you'll be needing more than 800HP...?

 

[DrSmith]

you make a great point

AutoX,
Your point is well taken, this car will be a daily driver and I am starting to auto cross. I just wanted to get the biggest blower I could, then if down the line I wanted to go with a forged bottom end, I could make all the power I wanted with the same blower. I am planning on keeping this car, so putting money into it down the line is in the budget. If flippin ford had given me options when I ordered the car, I would have done the best I could and then lived with it. Or may be I heard wrong, that you can't get a factory blower when you build your car. Anyway....
This all started when I drove a buddy's cobra r, the thing was so brutal it was awesome. I love my 06 and it has great power, but I want to be thrown back into my seat like I was in his car.
I am glad to hear that some of these cars are not great DD, this will help me with the choice. If this was cheaper or you could sell the blower if you didn't like it, I would not be worried about making a mistake. I wouldn't buy a used blower, so I doubt I could recoup much if I were to sell one I was unhappy with.
My wife had a great point about my kids, asking if we really wanted a monster car in the garage. I expect them to take the car out sometime in the future...so I will take this into consideration as well.
thanks for all your input. If I could get the mammoth and keep the boost low, then this would be done. I will look more at the stage 2 kits.
thanks,
Doc

 

[AutoXRacer]

Just on a side note, with the power I have now...its way overkill for autocross.
I knew a guy who bought a GT500 who autocrossed all the time, little by little he modded his car until it was undriveable/useless in autocross. Little 4-cylinder cars where beating him bad!!!! He just had way too much power; over 700 to the wheels...

He decided to lower his power to more moderate levels... I think he ended up with 600-650. And that still was too much for autocrossing.

Just a side note.

The TVS will get you up to 800HP... Anything beyond that, I think you will have to run race fuel $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$....

 

[Sparty92]

On a racetrack or auto-x, a 350hp (or less) Mustang with proper suspension will smoke most cars with higher HP (only). Heck, a stock HP Mustang with killer suspension would crush most other cars.

The same holds true for the street. I was once "approached" by a Charger SRT8 before. We were rollin' along and he kept goosin' the gas pedal. I was in 2nd gear at 4K, he was in a dorky automatic. Well, from 2nd gear well into 3rd gear, we were side by side. Yes, his car weighs more, but it's also rated at 426hp at the flywheel. I have a K&N drop-in filter. Whoopee! (He asked me if I had a SC....he said it sounded like I did. I told him my car was stock. I'm sure that ruined his day.)

My idea of a perfect street-able Mustang (and the goal for my car)...is about 380hp at the wheels with bolt-ons. This will prolly need heads/cams, but essentially bolt-on stuff. Add a Griggs Racing suspension and my car would eat quite a few "better" cars for lunch, and dinner.

If you have too much HP, you'll lose every time on the street. Unless you have the suspension (and tires) to make it work. Some nights on Woodward Ave. you can find cars with full-on slicks. Those are they guys you don't wanna mess with.

 

[AutoXRacer]

My idea of a perfect street-able Mustang (and the goal for my car)...is about 380hp at the wheels with bolt-ons. This will prolly need heads/cams, but essentially bolt-on stuff. Add a Griggs Racing suspension and my car would eat quite a few "better" cars for lunch, and dinner.

Honestly, at 380 RWHP, you'll be happy...but the hunger for more power will continue to grow...

I bought my ROUSH saying I wanted a car already setup with the right amount of power. In stock trim I dynoed at 368 at the wheels (435 flywheel), I was really happy with the power...but over time I just wanted a little more. So I upgraded to a 500 hp kit which yielded 432 hp at the wheels.

I can now say I am happy and will probably not seek to go any higher...its adequate for the street and overkill for the track. Over course I would welcome an extra 50 or so more horses, but for the cost ($2K-3K) to get it, its not really worth it to me. I have absolutely no traction in 1st and 2nd and thats not dumping the clutch...thats cruising and then WOT... Even in 3rd gear I get wheel spin if I am aggressive with the throttle/clutch; at 70-80 MPH!!!!!!

Sparty, I recommend you set your goal to 500 at the flywheel...

 

[Sparty92]

I have absolutely no traction in 1st and 2nd and thats not dumping the clutch...thats cruising and then WOT... Even in 3rd gear I get wheel spin if I am aggressive with the throttle/clutch; at 70-80 MPH!!!!!!

Sparty, I recommend you set your goal to 500 at the flywheel...

See? That's my point. If you are spinning in 1st and 2nd off the line, I'll be driving right by you!

That, and I don't have the $8,000 to do a blower the "right" way. That is, all the supplemental parts and doo-dads that "should" go on the car so it doesn't blow up.

My car seems "fairly quick/fast" as it is now. To have too much power that it makes 1-2nd gear worthless...isn't my idea of fun. I want to be able to accelerate like a Ferrari. Smoke the tires if I wanna, but basically just kick ass off the line. Being quick 0-100 is enough, and to carve corners too.

 

[AutoXRacer]

Thats called throttle modulation!!

I was talking about WOT when I experience loss of traction...
In those cases, you have to slightly lift off the throttle and find the sweet spot where you are no longer spinning and increase the throttle as the rpms increase.

You can't drive it just flooring...

Even Ferraris and such can't be floored in 1st or 2nd gear... And the only way you'll smoke the tires is by having a worthless 1st and 2nd gear...in WOT...

 

[Sparty92]

If you examine the price/horsepower of a supercharged car to an otherwise stock car with some bolt-ons, you'd be surprised at how close the performance to both really is.

I just read an article on the Stage 3 Roush vs. a Lingenfelter Camaro SS. The Roush did 0-60 in 4.2 sec. I would think a stock car with bolt-ons and gears could easily match that time.

So given that example...you might not be getting "much" for the cost of a supercharger...over a bolt-on car...in terms of streetable performance.