Need Advice on Supercharging

Anyone have any experience on supercharging the 5.0L? After all the intake and exhaust work I have done and and tuned by Henson Performance (Thanks
James) my little motor still strains to push 2 plus tons down the road. I guess I should clarify that once I'm up to speed it perfoms great. The engine is strong and the truck will go faster then I care to(again thanks to James at Henson Performance for removing the speed limiter). I'm just looking for more power off the line(Damn Civics) and supercharging seems to me to be the best option. I don't want to tear into the engine (thats for another day). So I thought I would ask you all about doing this. I have been researching and can pick up an Eaton M90(rebuilt) for a decent price but the question I have is since I have the internal EGR is this an option? I have seen the one (weiand?) on explorerexpress and it wont work with the internal EGR and there is no way I could afford the $3800.00 anyway. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ttbit]

Hey...I know what you mean about trying to decide on a power combo. Most people told me my combo was best for a truck when I got done. My last play vehicle was a '95 Mustang and I went with a Kenne Bell supercharger. Did all the work and tuning myself and it was a learning curve, but worth it in so many ways.

I thought you might be interested in the dyno to show what power can be had with a SC. I didn't get great HP numbers, but these are true rear wheel numbers and would be fun as heck in an Explorer.

 

[zachow3]

I put the '96 pump assy in my 2001 and the sending unit and all seems to work fine, so you should be good! I think it was just a '96 deal and probably only our two trucks.

That pretty much sums up my luck with this build.:

 

[zachow3]

Hey...I know what you mean about trying to decide on a power combo. Most people told me my combo was best for a truck when I got done. My last play vehicle was a '95 Mustang and I went with a Kenne Bell supercharger. Did all the work and tuning myself and it was a learning curve, but worth it in so many ways.

I thought you might be interested in the dyno to show what power can be had with a SC. I didn't get great HP numbers, but these are true rear wheel numbers and would be fun as heck in an Explorer.

I would be ecstatic with numbers like those. Very impressive. I'm going to leave the tuning to the professionals though. I dont feel competent in that area.

And that would be a kick.

 

[CDW6212R]

Funny, I'm still on the fence about a supercharger or a turbo. Finding space to run two pipes rearward for a turbo is the big drawback. That intercooler size I posted pics of might make space for my KB 2200.

 

[zachow3]

Funny, I'm still on the fence about a supercharger or a turbo. Finding space to run two pipes rearward for a turbo is the big drawback. That intercooler size I posted pics of might make space for my KB 2200.

Is that shag carpet?

 

[ttbit]

Don...You have a KB2200? You know...I messed with many ideas of intercoolers. I made my own water injection to cool instead. It allowed me to run 10 PSI and pretty good timing. No really good option with the 5.0 KB. BTW, the KB helped my gas mileage and I never really had any problems with the setup.

 

[CDW6212R]

I found this KB two years ago from someone giving up on big block Chrsyler build. It's new but has no snout extension. There's a friend(Todd, last page) who has a Ranger with a 302 and a 1.5 KB on it. He and I were both trying to work out how to get an intercooler between the KB and intake. He kept going with the Mustang layout(KB on its back), and I gave up on trying to center it, then decided that there wasn't enough space under the hood. Now I'm rethinking it slightly, I'll see if there is enough room for the two turbo pipes first.

I'd like to orient it just like it sets below, mount it to the passenger side of the intake above an intercooler.
Yes, the people who built this house were in love with all shades of brown and drab, the carpet is marbled.

 

[ttbit]

Interesting. I would not be up to major fabrication and would go with the KB GT40 style intake. I have seen Todd's Ranger in some posts. Very nice.

 

[zachow3]

You know. I've had so much heartburn with this supercharger setup. I've thought more then a few times of selling it and going turbo.

I dont know, just thinking out loud.

 

[CDW6212R]

I have too, and I'm not that far into that yet.

 

[ttbit]

You know. I've had so much heartburn with this supercharger setup. I've thought more then a few times of selling it and going turbo.

I dont know, just thinking out loud.

After all this, you need to get it running to see if you like it. It does get frustrating but you put so much time in now. I almost posted "Sport Trac For Sale" on Saturday, but then Sunday I got the bellhousing bolts out and felt better. I found this thread as I was thinking about this kit myself. I am not looking for a ton of power and saw one used cheap and thought... maybe...

 

[ttbit]

I have too, and I'm not that far into that yet.

If yours was a 1500 I would probably be bothering you at your front door now to sell and go turbo.

 

[CDW6212R]

Todd is the one to hunt the KB's, he has had several, including a 2600. He know how to work with them, and he has done the pulley/bracket fabrication before. It's nice to talk about, but I need to get the 350-400hp I have off of an engine stand. Night,

 

[zachow3]

After all this, you need to get it running to see if you like it. It does get frustrating but you put so much time in now. I almost posted "Sport Trac For Sale" on Saturday, but then Sunday I got the bellhousing bolts out and felt better. I found this thread as I was thinking about this kit myself. I am not looking for a ton of power and saw one used cheap and thought... maybe...

Frustration!!!

Why,Why,Why dont these parts work. They were made for my year truck and yet I'm on my third waterpump in less then 2 months. I think it fried my alternator and I still have vibration issues. The Powerdyne hamonic balancer comes off tommorrow.

I think if I can find a shop that can balance these parts I will be good to go.

Sorry, I had to vent.

Going to the beach on Thursday, my birthday. Going to go play with my boy(Golden Retreiver) and not think about my truck. Were taking the wife's car. Plus I am craving some real seafood.

 

[ttbit]

Enjoy!

 

[slyfoxexplore]

Hurry up! get it done so you can tell me how to do it. I just read 21 pages of this thread and I am all excited to see it in actoin and how I can do it. And another thing I dont meen to hi jack but what you think about pro chargers? I am thinking of fabbing up a kit for one of there chargers. Ya or Na

 

[zachow3]

Hurry up! get it done so you can tell me how to do it. I just read 21 pages of this thread and I am all excited to see it in actoin and how I can do it. And another thing I dont meen to hi jack but what you think about pro chargers? I am thinking of fabbing up a kit for one of there chargers. Ya or Na

I,m not an expert by any means on superchargers. I cant even figure out how to make mine work. I think there are some posts about the Pro Chargers. I thought I remember that they rotate opposite of most centrifugal superchargers and so they mount facing backward. I think. That would create a whole different setup but if it ran off the accessory drive belt and not a seperate pulley(like the Powerdyne) that would be a big plus.

If you go the Powerdyne route then from reading this thread you are aware of the potential problems. At least the one's I've had.

But right now I am on vacation so no progress will be made for a week or so. I've actually gone backwards. Taking parts off that dont work.

How did you manage to fit dual 3" exhaust? I have a single 2.5" pipe and that is a tight fit. Plus I didnt want to loose backpressure. Without it you lose low end torque. A must to get these heavy beasts moving.

 

[zachow3]

Enjoy!

How can you not. I love the beach. Rain or shine.:

 

[zachow3]

Doing a little front end work on the truck today. Replacing the wheel hub assy's. I am using the sticky in the 95-01 Stock Explorer section as my guide.

But I have a question about the hub nut torque. The sticky says 250 ft/lbs. Thats the same torque that holds the main wheel on our 65,000lb airplanes and that nut is like 3 1/2" in dia. Do I really want the nut that tight?

My trusty Chiltons manual says 157-213 ft/lbs with a new nut(which I have). That seems more reasonable. 250 is smoking tight. I feel like my back is going to blow out everytime I break one loose.

So whats right?

My torque wrench only goes to 100 ft/lbs so I need to go to get a loaner from Autozone. Just need to know what range I need.

 

[CDW6212R]

Hopefully those problems will end up being from one bad part. See if everything is fine again after returning all of the stock parts back in service.

For the hub nut, get them basically as tight as you can without breaking them. Use a breaker bar to get them loose, with the tires on the ground. Doing that should give you a good idea of how tight they are. It's a large fine thread nut, and I think the 160+ ft.lbs. range is enough. Most people don't use the 150ft.lbs. limit of their torque wrenches.

...I didnt want to loose backpressure. Without it you lose low end torque....

Those are myths, please forget that idiocy. There is absolutely no need for any back pressure, ever. All engines are tuned for the given parts, restrictive exhaust systems require less fuel, as less air can get pumped through it.

You can always make more power at any given rpm with less restriction. That applies to the intake manifold as well as the exhaust. It may take a better cam and tuning etc, but less restriction is always better.

There is such a thing as going overboard, so don't jump to extremes. A dual 3" exhaust is too much for a 3.0 liter NA engine, but not for a race engine like that. For the 302 a full dual 2.5" exhaust is not too much at all. For maximum power dual 3" wouldn't be excessive. Make the choices once, so if the cost is the same for the bigger pipes, go bigger. But expect to need more tuning. If I manage to build headers, my engine will run lean and need a lot more fuel(tuning).