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Kenne Bell Supercharged Explorer...

I have been on here for a while now always talking smack of how I plan to do a 2003 4.6 SOHC V8 Explorer project with a Kenne Bell 1.7 L supercharger. Well I lied!!! I decided the 1.7 L supercharger just wouldn’t support enough power, so I went with a 2.2 L supercharger. Just to give people an idea this is the same supercharger (different manifold to fit the 4.6 SOHC) that allot of the 03-04 Cobra fellas are running and making 600+ rwhp with.

Here is an outline of the project:

Install Kenne Bell 2.2 L supercharger for Mustang GT onto Explorer 4.6. Send stock bottom end of engine off to VT engines and have them build a billet 4.6 bottom end for me, send the stock 5R55W tranny off to Level 10 and have them rebuild it to withstand the huge levels of torque that this setup will create. Install small NOS dry shot of nitrous (45-65 shot). Wait for rear end to snap like a twig, yay! Contact DSS and pay out the butt for new custom half shafts and 3.27-3.55 LS differential. Brembo or Baer brakes to stop this pig! Weld racing 5 star lightweight aluminum rims with MT or Hoosier slicks out the back. So on so forth.

Here is the abbreviated parts list:

Kenne Bell 2.2 twin-screw supercharger S1
VT built short block S2
Level 10 rebuilt 5R55W tranny S2
NOS dry kit S3
SCT Xcal2 S1
SCT BA2800 MAS S1
42 lb injectors S1
60 lb injectors S2
VT stage 2 heads w/ blower cams S3
Dual SVT Focus pumps (still returnless) S2
Aeromotive fuel rails S2
KB BAS S2
DSS rear end S3
Headers (most likely going custom on this) S3
Aluminum drive shaft S3
Brembo brakes S3
Clicks/rims S3
Custom adapted Cobra CAI S1
DYNOTUNE, DYNOTUNE, DYNOTUNE!!! S1,2,3
Various other smaller mods S1,2,3


The list of mods is all grouped together but there are actually three different stages of mods there.

Stage 1: 400 rwhp street machine (KB 9 lbs/stock bottom end/stock tranny)

Stage 2: 600-rwhp dynoqueen (KB 15lbs/built engine & tranny)

Stage 3: 600+rwhp (maybe more) weekend racer / fun truck (KB 18lbs/built everything+ heads cams, headers, brakes, rear end, rims/slicks, nitrous)

Hope this gives everyone an idea of what I have been planning for 2+ years.

Here are a few pictures to get the juices flowing. Enjoy!!!
 

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IATs?

Robert, if you're still around could you tell me about your IATs with the intercooled 2.2L Kenne Bell blower? Those of us running Eaton blowers on 2nd generation V6s and V8s are having problems with high IATs. I've read that's less of a problem with the KB blowers.
 



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Robert, if you're still around could you tell me about your IATs with the intercooled 2.2L Kenne Bell blower? Those of us running Eaton blowers on 2nd generation V6s and V8s are having problems with high IATs. I've read that's less of a problem with the KB blowers.

I took a quick look at my datalogs from back when I was tuning my Explorer on 20 psi of boost on the KB 2.2 blower in 2007. It has been many years ago, so I cannot recall the ambient temperature of that day, but my Idle and cruise IAT's were somewhere in the ~150*F range and then after a WOT pull they climbed to ~180*F.

You are correct in that twin screw blowers do exhibit more adiabatic efficiency than an old school roots type blower like the older M62's and M90's; which are the Eaton blowers I assume that you're using.

What are your cruise and WOT IAT's; and are you guys running intercoolers? How badly is your spark getting clipped by the ECM due to high IAT?
 






intercoolers

Thanks for responding!
We're mainly worried about detonation. Two Canadians running forced induction (Dono with 347/remote 7 psi turbo and vroomzoomboom with 347/M112) can only buy 91 octane at the pump. 4pointslow and I have SOHC V6s. 4pointslow has an M122 with 16 psi and I have M90 with 6 psi. We all have intercoolers and IC heat exchangers and 4pointslow also has water/meth for cooling. My IC is just the largest heater core I could find that would fit in my blower manifold. My initial IC heat exchanger was a stock ATF cooler and I have a Bosch IC pump. My initial dyno pulls were on a warm day and my IAT climbed from 132 to 170 at WOT and 6250 rpm.
IATTqLock13.jpg

I have since increased the size and efficiency of my IC heat exchanger and added a suction fan to increase airflow. My IATs are fine and I'm not losing any spark advance due to IATs. I do my own tuning and lose no advance if the IAT stays below 150 deg F. I haven't been back on the dyno since making the improvements but my street IATs have decreased some.

I plan to purchase a 2002 Explorer with the 4.6L engine and RWD. After test driving it I realized I have become used to my Sport's low end torque and will not be satisfied with the 4.6L even after I install the heads from an Aviator engine I purchased with 3 spun rod bearings. I'm seriously considering (in the not too distant future) following your example and installing a Whipple 2.2L with intercooler but only running about 8 psi.

Your cruise IAT of 150 seems high since there probably was little or no boost. Were you pulling outside air? I seem to recall that Whipple's warranty is void if air is pulled from the engine compartment. 180 deg F at WOT and max rpm seems excellent with 20 psi. Do you have a fan on your IC heat exchanger? What IC pump are you using?
 






Thanks for responding!
We're mainly worried about detonation. Two Canadians running forced induction (Dono with 347/remote 7 psi turbo and vroomzoomboom with 347/M112) can only buy 91 octane at the pump. 4pointslow and I have SOHC V6s. 4pointslow has an M122 with 16 psi and I have M90 with 6 psi. We all have intercoolers and IC heat exchangers and 4pointslow also has water/meth for cooling. My IC is just the largest heater core I could find that would fit in my blower manifold. My initial IC heat exchanger was a stock ATF cooler and I have a Bosch IC pump. My initial dyno pulls were on a warm day and my IAT climbed from 132 to 170 at WOT and 6250 rpm.
View attachment 85957
I have since increased the size and efficiency of my IC heat exchanger and added a suction fan to increase airflow. My IATs are fine and I'm not losing any spark advance due to IATs. I do my own tuning and lose no advance if the IAT stays below 150 deg F. I haven't been back on the dyno since making the improvements but my street IATs have decreased some.

I plan to purchase a 2002 Explorer with the 4.6L engine and RWD. After test driving it I realized I have become used to my Sport's low end torque and will not be satisfied with the 4.6L even after I install the heads from an Aviator engine I purchased with 3 spun rod bearings. I'm seriously considering (in the not too distant future) following your example and installing a Whipple 2.2L with intercooler but only running about 8 psi.

Your cruise IAT of 150 seems high since there probably was little or no boost. Were you pulling outside air? I seem to recall that Whipple's warranty is void if air is pulled from the engine compartment. 180 deg F at WOT and max rpm seems excellent with 20 psi. Do you have a fan on your IC heat exchanger? What IC pump are you using?


Finally getting a minute to reply on my phone so I will have to keep it short.

The cruise IAT of 150* does seem high, and I am pulling cool air from outside of the engine bay, but I only looked at a short datalog that I did for a WOT pull. There wasn't much idle cruise time during that log which probably artificially inflated my cruise IATs. I will try to find a log with more cruise if I can.

My WOT IATs are in line with what I would expect considering the adiabatic efficiency of the blower as well as the cooling efficiency of the AWIC. My HE is decently large which does help to maximize heat transfer and keep IATs in check for longer.

For those concerned with detonation due to high IATs and wanting to avoid spark timing clipping, the main thing to do is inject methanol, water, or a combo of the two depending on what you desire. This assumes that all reasonable avenues have been exhausted for increasing IC efficiency first of course. Another option would be to run a small dry shot of Nitrous. Something like a 50 shot or less. That's sort of a bandaid mod in some ways but it would cool the IATs enough so that IAT spark has less chance of getting clipped.

For your plans of running a Whipple at 8 psi on a DOHC 4v 4.6 V8, as long as you are pulling air from outside of the engine bay then you will have zero issues with the intercooled system.
 






IC pump?

Did you install a Bosch intercooler pump? Do you think the pump flow is adequate?
Does the tube in the valley under the intercooler supply hot water to the heater in the driver/passenger compartment?
Did you have any clearance issues between the rear of the blower or plenum and the firewall?
The cheapest way for me to convert a 4.6L 2 valve to a Kenne Bell supercharged 4 valve seems to be to install my Aviator heads and purchase an 03/04 Mach 1 to 03/04 Cobra conversion kit from a salvage yard and then replace the Eaton with a Kenne Bell. Can you think of any reason such a kit would not be compatible with a 5R55S/W?
 






Did you install a Bosch intercooler pump? Do you think the pump flow is adequate?
Does the tube in the valley under the intercooler supply hot water to the heater in the driver/passenger compartment?
Did you have any clearance issues between the rear of the blower or plenum and the firewall?
The cheapest way for me to convert a 4.6L 2 valve to a Kenne Bell supercharged 4 valve seems to be to install my Aviator heads and purchase an 03/04 Mach 1 to 03/04 Cobra conversion kit from a salvage yard and then replace the Eaton with a Kenne Bell. Can you think of any reason such a kit would not be compatible with a 5R55S/W?

For your plans of 8psi, the pump flow would be more than adequate.

Yes, the tube under the intake manifold that runs to through the valley is for the interior heater. It fits with the blower and IC in there but it is tight. There were no clearance issues with the rear of the blower and firewall or hood. When I did my build the 5R55W transmissions were only holding about 500rwhp which was way below what I planned to make; so I swapped a 4R70W trans in and ran it standalone. Since then, the 5R trans have been built to hold much more; about in the 650-700rwhp mark from what I recall so keeping that and building it would be a viable option.

If you only plan to boost to 8psi then why even bother swapping to a 4v top end? If your goal is somewhere in the lower or middle 400's rwhp then it would seem cost/time prohibitive to bother with the 4v swap when a 2v PI headed combo will easily get there.
 






last project vehicle

. . . If you only plan to boost to 8psi then why even bother swapping to a 4v top end? If your goal is somewhere in the lower or middle 400's rwhp then it would seem cost/time prohibitive to bother with the 4v swap when a 2v PI headed combo will easily get there.

Your practical reasoning is correct but the 2002 Explorer will be my last project vehicle (I'm 69) and I wanted to end with a DOHC supercharged engine. I actually enjoy the planning and modifications more than driving.
 






Your practical reasoning is correct but the 2002 Explorer will be my last project vehicle (I'm 69) and I wanted to end with a DOHC supercharged engine. I actually enjoy the planning and modifications more than driving.

Oh ok. Well rock on, then! Makes perfect sense now. Enjoy it! Feel free to pm me with any questions you may have when you get to doing the project. As you can tell, I don't post much here anymore.
 






Hi Robert, good to hear you back here.

Can you mention some of the details of your KB 2.2 system for me? What rpm and pulley ratio does it have, and do you know what actual size the intercooler is?

I ask because I'm settling on plans for my KB 2200. I'm going to mount the IC directly above the lower intake of my SBF, given custom fabricated plenums between the intake/IC/blower. I have a big TFS intake and a large IC in mind.


Also, the SBF heads seem to have gone up a lot since I built my other 347. It may be near to $2000 for nice TFS heads now, and a CHI Cleveland head is not much more than that. If the price difference is not really much more, I'd much rather have a Cleveland head.

The CHI head requires a CHI intake, which are all large tall single Holley patterned things. Mounting an IC over that wouldn't be quite as efficient as using the typical lower with the ports in a long row. I might do that but it would be a new twist.


It would be helpful to know what the volume of your IC is, and the blower rpm's, pulley ratio. I think it's almost assured that an 8-rib belt will be needed, so a custom crank pulley is on my list. The diameter is important, to know ahead of time, before ordering it. Regards,
 






Wow great (and old) thread. I've always wanted to SC an Explorer!
 






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