Help: Saleen Series 1 Supercharger Questions

3ricchu

New Member
Jan 13, 2008
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Sorry in advance for the longish post!

I recently bought a Saleen Series 1 Supercharger kit for my '00 Mustang GT (~87k miles) and have quite a few questions. I know it's pretty outdated blower tech and not the most efficient, but I was able to score a killer deal on it (<$1000), much cheaper than if I had pieced together a centrifugal deal. I also liked the idea of this system being OEM on many cars, indicating it should be pretty reliable. I plan on putting it on the vehicle over the summer when I'll have plenty of time to work. I've already got the workspace, tools, and tuner lined up.

The blower is a roots type Eaton M90 and I know it produces a good amount of heat under boost, and therein lies the heart of my concerns. I reside in Southern California and with the upcoming summer, I'm really worried about overheating and damaging the car (blower, engine, etc). I have plans to take the car up to Willow Springs for some open track time and really don't want the car to go into reduced power mode with heat soak.

The kit, which I thought was relatively complete, seems to be missing quite a few bits. It has the "big parts" like the blower, intake, an Accufab throttle body, a cold air intake with MAF, injectors and some hoses but it seems to be missing things like an "alternator bracket". I have copies of both the Series 1 and Series 2 installation guides and there are parts lists in the back that list some other random things I don't have (bolts, wires, heatshrink, etc). The lists however don't include the major things like the intake, blower, etc, so I have no idea what else I'm missing.

So onto the questions:
1.) Has anyone actually installed one of these blowers before or have experience with them that could tell me what else I need for the install? I'm pretty sure I'll need that alternator bracket, where might I get one? I gather that Saleen, JDM Engineering and Chicane are the people most people go to for Saleen questions?

2.) The "kit" came with a Kenne Bell heat exchanger, reservoir, and pump, NOT the stock Saleen pieces. I was told he took off his factory Saleen blower and put on a KB blower, so I guess his installer didn't want to uninstall stuff that would work with it. The Kenne Bell heat exchanger looks to be just an '03-04 Cobra unit but it doesn't have fans like the stock Saleen heat exchanger. Will I have problems without the fans?

3.) The Kenne Bell parts didn't come with any installation instructions and Kenne Bell wants to charge me $20 bucks just for a copy of their manual. =( Does anyone have any idea how to put this stuff on? I seem to have some brackets for the pump and reservoir but I have no idea what to do with it. Is the Kenne Bell reservoir large enough? Any help here?

4.) I'm really most concerned about heat control, so I was looking at cooling solutions on a budget. Will a larger heat exchanger help any? For the $250 entry price for a big LFP exchanger, will I see any tangible benefits? I'm really trying to do this on a budget, and I can't spend $700 on a Chicane intercooler.

5.) The blower came with a Chicane 66mm pulley, will my car be able to withstand this boost (8pounds)? Also what size belt is appropriate for this pulley?

6.) My research indicates it will no problem, and that I should be getting about 330rwhp? Is this accurate? Would my car be able to handle the extra heat without cooling upgrades?

7.) Mosaleen idler pulley. I've read the evilgloo forum post. Has ANYONE on this forum gotten more power with this simple pulley or should I just get it to ward off belt slip?

8.) I read some stuff about a bigger, higher flower intercooler pump, would this be better than a larger heat exchanger? I really just need suggestions to keep the heat down, as the kit did not come with a temp. gauge and the car might see some horrific LA traffic during the summer.


Thanks guys, I really appreciate whoever takes the time to read this ridiculously long post. I'm just trying to get as much information and parts ahead of time before the build to cut down the time I don't have the car on the road. I've been trying and will continue to look through forums for more information.

Thanks again!
 
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A couple of things I can tell you to start with...

Get the MoSaleen idler... not much in the way of power gains but it will keep the belt from slipping which would cost you power. It also helps eliminate another common problem with this setup - the belt jumping and hitting the upper radiator hose and eventually cutting through it. You can also run the stock Saleen belt, I forget what size but I'll check the spare that I keep in the trunk.

What size injectors came with it? If you are going to run the 66mm pulley, you need bigger injectors, maf tuned for them, bigger fuel pump and a chip to tune the whole combon. My 99 dynoed at 335rwhp with all of the above plus mid length headers.

Highly recommend having some kind of fans behind the intercooler radiator - without it, you will only be removing heat when the car is moving. If you get stuck in traffic, you will definately have very high intercooler temps.

Something else to keep in mind... a couple of the 99 Saleens burned to the ground because of wiring issues. Saleen added a delay to the intercooler pump and fans so they do not come on until about 20 seconds after the key is on... you might want to consider doing the same...
 
Thanks for the response tfalk, i really appreciate it.

I just ordered a MoSaleen idler pulley and a Saleen alternator bracket today, as well as a Gatorback 112.5 inch belt and a new intake manifold gasket set.

The kit came off an original Saleen and had 30 lbs/hr injectors off of it. I also have an SVT Focus pump ready to go on the car. The pulley came installed on the blower and the original owner tells me he ran this configuration with the 30 lbs/hr injectors. Will this be sufficient?

I'm also planning on purchasing a much larger heat exchanger, either an AFCO or LFP, any comments on these? And would the fans still be necessary with these?

Thanks!
 
Will the 30's be sufficient? I doubt it with the smaller pulley. Mine started leaning out at 4500 rpm. I ended up going with 42's and a late model fuel pump - no fuel problems now.

Regardless of the size of the heat exchanger, the fans are what I would consider to be a necessity if you are frequently stuck in traffic. Without them, no air will be removed from the heat exchanger while you are stopped but you will be adding heat constantly.

If you can spare the $$$, take a look at the intercooler upgrade from Chicane - I've heard it picks up quite a bit of power and really helps dissipate the heat.