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.

 

[tmcphail]

I would go with an NX wet kit, you can set it up with a WOT switch. There are some many options when it comes to this to do it right that exist nowadays.

 

[rocket 5979]

I don't know if it is still made, but I believe it was Zex that made a wet kit with a solenoid that would only kick in the spray when you were at WOT. That to me would be the safest route to go if the kit is still around and of good quality. I have no experience with Zex nor do I know anybody that has but the concept sounds feasable.

There are many many ways to control the nitrous solenoids. The only different thing Zex does is package those solenoids and little controller module into a little box rather than let the solenoids hang in the open. I am not saying Zex is a bad brand because it is not, but it isn't quite as advanced as what some people seem to believe.

If I person wanted to do a nitrous system I would recommend at least having a WOT and RPM window switch controlling when the nitrous hit and when it shut off. The funny thing is that at the price of those items you are almost better served to just spend another $20-$30 to get a small progressive controller for around $200-$225. They give way more control than the previously mentioned switches and usually are set up to control two channels (aka dual staged shot if you want it). The wiring is not as simple as the previously mentioned ways to activate nitrous but it is not that bad if you want maximum control.

I know I just added to the mess with the above post but it might be best if we refrain from taking this topic off subject even more.

 

[zachow3]

Well I went ahead and purchased a Ford Racing centri###al supercharger (P/N 397-M-6066-E50) from Jegs .com for 2k. Direct bolt on. No muss no fuss. Should provide the extra power I am looking for. And again this is my daily driver and not a drag truck and 6 PSI on the stock internals of the engine I would think would not overstress it. The rest of the drivetrain is fine though I may do some transmissin work in the future, perhaps a shift kit and/or torque converter. The KB units look like an excellent choice but I dont have the facilities to fabricate parts and the EE unit, though a bolt, on sounds inefficient for the price. I guess I will find out if I made a wise choice shortly. Does anyone know if I will need to retune after I install this kit? James at Henson Performance tuned my truck but I havent contacted him about that yet. I'm going to do some before and after data logging on my Livewire and see just how much difference this supercharger makes.

 

[jah81592]

Yes the truck will need to be retuned, you can contact me directly for tuning options with the supercharger kit. I highly recommend me being with the vehicle but, there are other options. Gimme a shout, I will gladly help. Thanks for your support-j

 

[rocket 5979]

Should provide the extra power I am looking for. And again this is my daily driver and not a drag truck and 6 PSI on the stock internals of the engine I would think would not overstress it. The rest of the drivetrain is fine though I may do some transmissin work in the future, perhaps a shift kit and/or torque converter. The KB units look like an excellent choice but I dont have the facilities to fabricate parts and the EE unit, though a bolt, on sounds inefficient for the price. I guess I will find out if I made a wise choice shortly.

You will be happy with that centrifugal supercharger pullied for 6 psi of boost. I know I mentioned durability issues with the internal belt and bearings but that is looking at it from an optimal standpoint considering all options both bolt-on and custom. Still supercharger kit with a BD-11 head unit is much better than N/A. I have a feeling that you will enjoy your truck quite allot once you get the supercharger in and tuned by James.

I suggest an injector upgrade to supply the proper fuel with the kit. The kit should come with an FMU but those are garbage. Spend a little extra money on bigger injectors to ensure you have proper fueling for the supercharger.

 

[tmcphail]

True, never ever skimp on the fuel system.

 

[justin146]

Well I went ahead and purchased a Ford Racing centri###al supercharger (P/N 397-M-6066-E50) from Jegs .com for 2k. Direct bolt on. No muss no fuss. Should provide the extra power I am looking for. And again this is my daily driver and not a drag truck and 6 PSI on the stock internals of the engine I would think would not overstress it. The rest of the drivetrain is fine though I may do some transmissin work in the future, perhaps a shift kit and/or torque converter. The KB units look like an excellent choice but I dont have the facilities to fabricate parts and the EE unit, though a bolt, on sounds inefficient for the price. I guess I will find out if I made a wise choice shortly. Does anyone know if I will need to retune after I install this kit? James at Henson Performance tuned my truck but I havent contacted him about that yet. I'm going to do some before and after data logging on my Livewire and see just how much difference this supercharger makes.

Your truck has EV1 style injectors, so if you ditch the FMU, look from some injectors from a 2nd Gen Lightning. You may as well get the MAF from the same truck. Then all you'll need is a fuel pump.

 

[reserved50]

Well I went ahead and purchased a Ford Racing centri###al supercharger (P/N 397-M-6066-E50) from Jegs .com for 2k. Direct bolt on. No muss no fuss. Should provide the extra power I am looking for. And again this is my daily driver and not a drag truck and 6 PSI on the stock internals of the engine I would think would not overstress it. The rest of the drivetrain is fine though I may do some transmissin work in the future, perhaps a shift kit and/or torque converter. The KB units look like an excellent choice but I dont have the facilities to fabricate parts and the EE unit, though a bolt, on sounds inefficient for the price. I guess I will find out if I made a wise choice shortly. Does anyone know if I will need to retune after I install this kit? James at Henson Performance tuned my truck but I havent contacted him about that yet. I'm going to do some before and after data logging on my Livewire and see just how much difference this supercharger makes.

yea throw away that FMU it is a pile of garbage and get larger injectors and some sort of wideband unit to tune it for a programmer etc. Even on a 100% stock Exploder it will pull nice, and DO NOT overtighten the blower belt, just enough to stop slip and it might need re-adjustments here and there depending on the belt.

 

[jah81592]

For your application I would recommend a set of 42# injectors with a Lightning MAF meter.-j

 

[zachow3]

Wow, going from 19# to 42# injectors seems like a big jump for a stock engine with a little bit of boost. Will this destroy my already terrible mileage?(Under normal driving conditions of course) or is the extra flow there for a heavy foot? What size fuel pump would I need? My last perfomance build was a '70 Mercury Cougar. But those cars were easy, everything was mechanical. I deal with the new breed of computer controlled engines on a daily basis. But unfortunately there attached to commercial airliners, kind of like a turbo/supercharger combo.

 

[tmcphail]

If calibrated properly that size injector will not adverserly affect MPG or drivability at all.

 

[zachow3]

If calibrated properly that size injector will not adverserly affect MPG or drivability at all.

So it sounds like the 42# injectors are optimal for my set up? And the MAF, James says a lightning MAF but from my own research there are lightning trucks and cars with different sizes. Any thoughts? Also looking for a recommendation on a good fuel pump.

 

[tmcphail]

42's and a 90mm L maf are a really good combo.

Pump wise I am sure someone will kick in what you need I can't pull that off the top of my head this second.

 

[rocket 5979]

Just swap in a Walbro GSS342 and you will be good for the fuel pump.

 

[zachow3]

Just swap in a Walbro GSS342 and you will be good for the fuel pump.

So i need to drop the fuel tank to replace the fuel pump? From my research that is the only way to do it, Unless I cut an access panel, which I would prefer not to do.

 

[justin146]

So i need to drop the fuel tank to replace the fuel pump? From my research that is the only way to do it, Unless I cut an access panel, which I would prefer not to do.

without cutting the floor, dropping the tank is the only way to do it. I got lazy with this part of my truck and paid my local Ford dealership to install it. I think they charged me about $100- well worth it IMO

 

[reserved50]

42s, 255liter per hour pump (comes with 190lph pump in the kit?, and will work on a stock Explorer), 90mm Lightning MAF, tune,wideband O2 and gauge combo, do not install the FMU or drive it till you install a computer tune. Any gas station etc can also install the pump it shouldnt be rocket science for any shop.

 

[turbo cat]

centrifugal superchargers generally build more upper rpm power. It still may be a little sluggish coming off the line but once its up to speed also youll have the motor going before the bosst starts showing so that will help. Eatons and whipples build boost fast at very low rpms which creates alot of cylinder pressure on a motor thats not turning very fast=more stress. Centrifugal charges sound more like a turbo than a blower they dont whine like an eaton youll love the sound

 

[zachow3]

Had a little setback. The Ford Racing S/C I ordered for the '96-'97 5.0's has been discontinued. Tried three different vendors but no luck. There is a kit for the '98. What is the difference between these model years? The picture looks identical but that could be deceiving. Minor mods would be ok if needed to make this kit work. I have the inectors, MAF and fuel pump all picked out but I am reluctant to purchase these untill I know the S/C is compatible. And yet another question... Is the stock fuel rail sufficient for the 42# injectors?

 

[CDW6212R]

The stock fuel rail is good enough for likely 400hp, more than you will reach. The main difference from the 96/97 is the EGR system. The intakes are a little different, the EGR uses the right manifold as the source for exhaust gases. The DPFE sensor etc. will be a hair different. You might be able to use the 98-01 EGR stuff with the older PCM, but you may have to use a 98 PCM and disable the PATS(98+). Who knows about those fine details?