Pre-Kenne Bell

[2000BLKGT]

Well, I'm looking to keep the stang as my street car...so would 4:10s and 6psi be my best choice? The 6psi kit is also MUCH cheaper than the 9psi intercooled.

I went with 6psi, because I've heard alot of talk about the 400rwhp threshold and the weakness of the stock 2V internals. Safety is all in the tune...but staying well away from the 400 mark gave me peace of mind. IMO...the 4:10s with the 6psi kit make her a real handful. ex: yesterday...crusing in 3rd gear about 45mph...I just squeezed the pedal getting into boost and she broke loose like it was nothing...275/40/17s on the rear...totally dry pavement

340rwhp sounded fine to me for a street car. I spent the $$$ I would've on the intercooled set up and popped for polished instead.

 

[AmBo]

Interesting approach. I think I like that idea. 4:10s and 6psi. So the car still gives ya a handful? Does the 6psi whine loud? I wanna be able to hear the whine over my exhaust. ;-)

 

[hognutz]

if you are buying the 9psi kit I would just save money for thier updgades. maf, tb, cold air.

beef up the rear suspention and rear end.

To me ther is not much need for other power mods as 400rwhp is plenty on the stock shortblock.

Now if you are getting the 6psi kit I would do 3.73 or 4.10 gears and beef up the rear.

I alwasy do exhaust for sound but the power you will gain will be so minute in terms of what the supercharger is giving you it is not a must have for power.

I am leaning toward the 6psi with 3.73's or 4.10's (have not deciede which) and 31spline axels and new LS.

I like the power of the 9psi but if you ever hooked it up you would kill you rear end in heartbeat. so I am spendign the 1k I save on the 6psi on the rear end. As if I try to drop 6k the wife will proably try to break out the strap on and make me squeal like a pig.

 

[2000BLKGT]

Interesting approach. I think I like that idea. 4:10s and 6psi. So the car still gives ya a handful? Does the 6psi whine loud? I wanna be able to hear the whine over my exhaust. ;-)

The whine is worth the price of admission. Had the car out for about 2 hours yesterday...never turned the radio on. I'm running a bassani catted X and a Borla catback...so she's not the loudest set up. But when I take her down the street...people stop in their tracks...nice exhaust note...blower whining with every punch of the gas...it's a beautiful combo.

And she's definitely a handful...had the wife in the passenger seat last year...shifting from 4th to 5th at 100mph...and you could feel her searching for grip. Asked the wife if she felt it...she felt it.

The combo is exactly as I had anticipated...she's a ton of fun. I won't win any dyno bragging contest...but I was always more partial to the shiny stuff anyway.

 

[hognutz]

And she's definitely a handful...had the wife in the passenger seat last year...shifting from 4th to 5th at 100mph...and you could feel her searching for grip. Asked the wife if she felt it...she felt it.

how is the traction with the 4.10's. is it just stupid? I am proably getting the 6spi kit and can't decide on gears.

 

[2000BLKGT]

how is the traction with the 4.10's. is it just stupid? I am proably getting the 6spi kit and can't decide on gears.

It's not too bad.

You'll never mash 1st gear...you gotta squeeze it to get going...1st is done in like 1 second...shift into second smooth...if the foots to the floor...you're shredding the tires...squeeze the throttle...shift into 3rd...you can be aggressive but you will feel her searching for grip...same holds true going into 4th...and even 5th.

As I said above...45mph walzing around in 3rd...I never even mashed it...and she broke loose.

She's tricky to drive...and that's what I wanted.

But if you granny-shift her...anyone could drive the car.

 

[AmBo]

2000blk, so all you have ever bought for your car was the 1.7 6psi kit? Your engine looks so modded. What is the Steeda cover over the intake? What is a complete list of parts you have put in your car?

 

[2000BLKGT]

2000blk, so all you have ever bought for your car was the 1.7 6psi kit? Your engine looks so modded. What is the Steeda cover over the intake? What is a complete list of parts you have put in your car?

My engine has lots of polished stuff along with the polished KB

Team Breed cam covers
The Steeda CAI (the Steeda cover is the heat shield for the air filter)
Chrome Powermaster alternator
custom fabbed billet alt. bracket
pretty much every cap or cover available from Steeda or MGW or UPR
the polished coolant tank is from Canton..the tank cap is from Billet Specialties
the rad hose is a Coolflex piece

Probably forgot something...but the only polished pieces I did with the KB were the cam covers...figured it would be easy enough with the intake manifold off the car...and we threw on the Steeda CAI as well. The rest of the jewelry went on after the lung.

We just did a slick battery mod yesterday..with a billet hold-down from odyssey that use an optima blue top.

The car has had pretty extensive mods in other places too..but that about covers the engine bay.

 

[02mingreyconv]

Do not spend any money on the bolt ons right now. Go with the 9psi intercooled kit and add the 'big tube kit' and that will give you everything that you need.

Go with forged internals before you install the blower. The limit of the stock internals are 400-450 rwhp and believe me, 400 hp might sound like alot but once you get used to it you crave more. The only way to get more is to increase the boost. The KB is capable of 14#, but you will need forged internals to run that kind of pressure.

Other mods that are worth while are exhaust, although KB states that there are very small performance gains to be had from an aftermarket exhaust. But you will love the sound.

Subframe connectors are a must and I would definitely upgrade the suspension. Get rid of that 4x4 look. You might also want to get wider tires... traction is a problem when you are pushing 400/400 plus.

You can also invest in the gauges. I did not like the KB gauges at all. They even look cheap. Go with a set of Autometer gauges, they have plenty of different model lineups.

My next mod will be brakes. Everything moves faster now and I desperately need more stopping power.

Oh, save up some money for a dyno run and preferably a dyno tune. KB's chip is pretty much a mail order chip and might be close but not on the money. For me it was dangerously lean, not to mention that I picked up 20/20 with a custom SCT tune.

Also do a before & after dyno runs. The kit is not designed to give you x amount of hp but an x amount of hp gain (about 160-180 for the 9psi big tube kit).


And lastly, do the install yourself. You only need a minimal amount of tools to do the job and it can be done in your garage. It took me and a buddy 14 hours from start to finish (4 hours for dis-assembly and 10 for the assembly). The instructions are increadible.

Good luck with your plans! You will not regret it.

Joe

 

[cavepony]

Just FYI ,My pre-KB mods are going to be
SF + STB + Steeda cat back+3:55
(have 'em, trying to get some one to put 'em in)
and I am putting together my suspension strategy.
I will probably be ordering the f3004-nc chip with the 90 mm big tube kit/75 mm TB with the switch chip for 87-93 octane for a few months before I order the KB. I am trying to confirm with them that they can reprogram the switch chip for the SC later.

 

[sgarlic]

It's weird.. I asked the exact same question like 3 months ago, and got 2 replies. Just do exhaust, gears (NOT 4.10's), get your gauges wired in and ready for hookup, new shifter, and subframe connectors, and you'll be plenty prepared.

 

[AmBo]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I think I have a decent idea of what I have to do now. So this summer I'm going to focus on getting hte car rock solid (new shocks/struts, handling, suspension, brakes, etc...) and ready for all the power coming my way. Then next year I'll try to convince the woman that it's okay for me to drop close to 5k into my car. ;-)

 

[tooblue02]

couple more things for ya, I had 4.10's in mine when first installed and it was crazy! had to sitch the gears out. 700rwhp on the 1.7L is not possible period, max is about 550rwhp from what I have heard and talked to people about that are running the 14# pulley. STB is a good idea but you have to get one that will fit over the blower and I haven't found one that will (thinking the MM 03-04 cobra one will) Subframes are a must and brakes are a good idea. I am really happy with my car now, but like some have said, you will get used to the powr and want more and thats when things break. Hope this helps.

 

[300bhp/ton]

Yeah, gears are a good idea to plus any styling mods you may want (wheels and such). KB recommend the 3.73 gears as the 4.10's will over rev the blower.QUOTE]

4:10s won't "over rev" the blower....trying to run an 18# pulley on the 1.7l that's designed to max out at 14# will over rev the blower.

KB recommends 3:73s as the maximum gear for the purpose of getting better 1/4 mile times....according to their testing, 4:10s just loose grip.

I've got 4;10s in mine (only running 6psi), but she's a street car...so the 4:10s make her more fun IMO. I've got a buddy who's forged motor is going in right now...he's going to run 14psi...with 4:30s!!!!!!!!!!but he's got a T56 6-speed in her as well.

Gears won't over rev the lung...just makes your shift faster and spin further.

My advise is like the rest...good exhaust, suspension and brakes.

thats nice, but I was just quoting KB themselfs, try and read there info, hey???


Check it out here: http://www.kennebell.net/techinfo/ford-techinfo/46gtTechTips.pdf , Half way down page 7.

So who's right, KB themselfs or you 'quoting' inaccurate info

 

[AmBo]

Yea agreed. KB DOES say to get 4:10s but I want to enjoy slamming through gears so I would deff go with the 3:73 gears. Just personal preference. I'm not looking for the world's fastest drag car, just looking for a fun street car.

 

[Dan_Soprano]

3.73's are MORE then enough gear.......

 

[2000BLKGT]

thats nice, but I was just quoting KB themselfs, try and read there info, hey???


Check it out here: http://www.kennebell.net/techinfo/ford-techinfo/46gtTechTips.pdf , Half way down page 7.

So who's right, KB themselfs or you 'quoting' inaccurate info

Yes...I've read that piece.

IMO...it's worded as such to say "buy our charger because you don't need gears like other blower set ups".

That piece is contradictory...it says don't go over 18,000 max...but the stock 3:27 x 6000rpms = 19,620...so what's the point? That tells me you're going over with the stock set up. Does KB want you to drop down to 2:73s??? I doubt it...also mentioned that 3:73s are the best gear for the 4.6...3:73 x 6000 = 22,380. WTF??????

KB said I wouldn't need to upgrage my stock fuel pump either...first dyno run...she bucked under boost...KB would suggest a tuning issue or a vacuum leak...we swapped in a new high flow pump...no more bucking. I was also told not to go with the CAI that I went with and to buy their CAI. My set up works just fine and produces good power (we gained more rwhp than KB did). I was also told I wouldn't need a custom tune...but I didn't want to get into the mail order game.

I'm not suggesting that they don't know their stuff (far from it)...but I read every page of that site 10 times over, before purchasing...and there's definitely areas that are more "sell" than fact.

It make sense to me...KB wants everyone to understand that their piece, while considerably more expensive at first glance, is actually pretty efficient versus it's competition when you compare all the stuff you would need with a competitor's set up to get similar performance.

At least thats the way I read it.

 

[300bhp/ton]

Yes...I've read that piece.

IMO...it's worded as such to say "buy our charger because you don't need gears like other blower set ups".

That piece is contradictory...it says don't go over 18,000 max...but the stock 3:27 x 6000rpms = 19,620...so what's the point? That tells me you're going over with the stock set up. Does KB want you to drop down to 2:73s??? I doubt it...also mentioned that 3:73s are the best gear for the 4.6...3:73 x 6000 = 22,380. WTF??????

KB said I wouldn't need to upgrage my stock fuel pump either...first dyno run...she bucked under boost...KB would suggest a tuning issue or a vacuum leak...we swapped in a new high flow pump...no more bucking. I was also told not to go with the CAI that I went with and to buy their CAI. My set up works just fine and produces good power (we gained more rwhp than KB did). I was also told I wouldn't need a custom tune...but I didn't want to get into the mail order game.

I'm not suggesting that they don't know their stuff (far from it)...but I read every page of that site 10 times over, before purchasing...and there's definitely areas that are more "sell" than fact.

It make sense to me...KB wants everyone to understand that their piece, while considerably more expensive at first glance, is actually pretty efficient versus it's competition when you compare all the stuff you would need with a competitor's set up to get similar performance.

At least thats the way I read it.

cool, no worries man I hear what your saying.

So what sort of power are you putting out with that KB on there , and as you actually have one I guess your pretty qualified to answer. KB claim that low 12's should be possible with the 9psi kit on a stock motor. Would you agree/disagree with that.

Cheers.

 

[Black2001GT]

The whine is worth the price of admission. Had the car out for about 2 hours yesterday...never turned the radio on. I'm running a bassani catted X and a Borla catback...so she's not the loudest set up. But when I take her down the street...people stop in their tracks...nice exhaust note...blower whining with every punch of the gas...it's a beautiful combo.

And she's definitely a handful...had the wife in the passenger seat last year...shifting from 4th to 5th at 100mph...and you could feel her searching for grip. Asked the wife if she felt it...she felt it.

The combo is exactly as I had anticipated...she's a ton of fun. I won't win any dyno bragging contest...but I was always more partial to the shiny stuff anyway.

That is beautiful.

 

[2000BLKGT]

cool, no worries man I hear what your saying.

So what sort of power are you putting out with that KB on there , and as you actually have one I guess your pretty qualified to answer. KB claim that low 12's should be possible with the 9psi kit on a stock motor. Would you agree/disagree with that.

Cheers.

I'm running 6psi and putting down 340rwhp (338 actually)...now KBs test car put down 350 (I think)...but my stock baseline (with a catted X and catback) put down 223 rwhp. How KB's stock GT put down nearly 250rwhp is beyond me. So we gained 115, and I think they gained 103.

I would think 12s are definitely doable...the power is there but it's all about getting grip to get into the 12's. So you'd need a tire at least...then you'd start snapping the stock axles...so 31 splines would be needed too.

Not my deal.

Mine's not going down the 1/4...I need one less obsession in life. On the flip side...we just installed a new Flaming River steering rack to get rid of the sloppy stock steering feel...she turns like a go-kart now (full Steeda susp too)....much less turns lock-to-lock...and no disconnected feel now.

She's a bunch of fun...a nice street car.