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SOHC V6 Supercharger

The purpose of this thread is to discuss the design and possible development and installation of a supercharger for my 2000 Sport SOHC V6 engine. I have no first hand experience with forced induction systems and want to learn from forum members that have them on their vehicles. While I don't plan to implement a turbocharger system, there are many problems common to all types of forced induction systems.

The easiest and least expensive solution would be to modify a Ranger SOHC V6 Banshee kit and purchase a used Thunderbird supercoupe positive displacement blower. However, the kit makes no provisions for an aftercooler which I think is beneficial even with only 5 psi of boost.

The Explorer Express supercharger kit includes a quality looking manifold but one is very difficult to obtain.
sc1.jpg

Once again, there are no provisions for an aftercooler.

I suspect the best solution for me would be a centrifugal supercharger with a water aftercooler. With my oil coolers and remote filters I have very little room in front of the radiator for an intercooler. I am interested in a boost in the range of 5 to 8 psi - enough for a significant performance increase but not so much to adversely impact reliability and require beefing up of engine internals or the transmission/torque converter.

Procharger sells a kit for the 2005 - 2010 Mustang V6.
MustangSC.jpg

But the Mustang configuration is opposit to the Explorer - intake on left and battery on right. Also, there is a lot more room between the engine front and the radiator rear on the Mustang than on the Explorer.


Vortech also makes a kit for the Mustang but there are the same problems.
MustangSCV.jpg

MustangSCV2.jpg


The logical location for a centrifugal supercharger is the same side as the air filter box and intake manifold inlet port. Unfortunately, that is where the alternator is located. I'm investigating the possibility of replacing the belt driven power steering pump with an electric motor driven pump and then relocating the alternator to the old power steering pump location.
 



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I didn't know that you had to relocate the IAC also. With the many alterations that you have to make to the TB, inlet piping, IAC, cables, maybe the Mustang TB would really be the easier solution.

The 302 IAC's bolt to the TB, maybe the V6 IAC would also(I just know it's a different part number). You will still have to deal with the bolt patterns for the inlet piping etc, but maybe that will not be any worse for the cable attachments.

I plan to use a Mustang EGR plate(just the thin 1/2" thing) to utilize the cable mounting points from that. That will allow me to leave my 75mm Accufab TB untouched I think, and then the cables become different lengths etc. Like you I will already be dealing with unique lengths due to moving the TB location. So another change to that is no big deal before cable are selected etc.
 



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Banshee kit received!

The Banshee intercooled supercharger kit was delivered today (7/3/13)! There was no external damage to the shipping carton and everything inside was well packed.
KitWrapped.jpg

Upon initial inspection everything was included and arrived in good condition.
KitUnwrapped.jpg

The photo below shows the intercooler in place within the intake manifold.
ManifoldIntercooler.jpg

The plugged brass elbows on the right are the ports for the coolant.
 






The Banshee intercooled supercharger kit was delivered today (7/3/13)! There was no external damage to the shipping carton and everything inside was well packed.
View attachment 74182
Upon initial inspection everything was included and arrived in good condition.
View attachment 74183
The photo below shows the intercooler in place within the intake manifold.
View attachment 74184
The plugged brass elbows on the right are the ports for the coolant.

Looks good.is the cost a secret? :shifty_eyunderstand if he wants that to be left between him and future buyers
 






Cool, new parts laid out on the table. I like the main pieces being made black, it looks well thought out.
 






still in testing

Looks good.is the cost a secret? :shifty_eyunderstand if he wants that to be left between him and future buyers

I suspect that before Ronald advertises the intercooler as an upgrade or kit option he wants some performance data. When I get the unit installed I'll measure IATs for the intercooler without coolant and again with coolant flow to see how effective it is. My custom tune will be for a functional intercooler.
 






I suspect that before Ronald advertises the intercooler as an upgrade or kit option he wants some performance data. When I get the unit installed I'll measure IATs for the intercooler without coolant and again with coolant flow to see how effective it is. My custom tune will be for a functional intercooler.

I would suspect your iat will be a little higher than if no core was in there at all, even if it has no water.I would think after a couple of minutes of running the fins would heat up and hold heat and would cause the temps to be higher.especially after some wot pulls.I would assume it would be hard to make a base tune for it to be able to run wot dyno pulls.think the heat would throw all the data off for anything other than wot pulls.
 






The intake and IC parts will all be close to the heat built up in the air, the IAT figures. The IC will add a little restriction(heat), but it ought to be similar to a non IC setup.

The IC will store heat, making cooling the IAT's take longer if the engine is run hard for a long time(racing). For as little as it will be used before adding the coolant, it should be generally representative.
 












I like those connector locks, is that one the same shape and size as the two on the SOHC engine? I forgot where they are, one is on the left valve cover for a sensor maybe? Those work great, but they could be easy to lose too.
 






possible IACV base

I didn't know that you had to relocate the IAC also. With the many alterations that you have to make to the TB, inlet piping, IAC, cables, maybe the Mustang TB would really be the easier solution. . .

I paid dearly for the rare Ford racing prototype 75 mm ported and polished throttle body and definitely want to use it if possible. Also, I don't want to change throttle bodies to see what the performance improvement is just for the intercooled supercharger upgrade.

I found a possible solution for mounting the IAC valve and creating two chambers inexpensively and with only a little work.
IACVMountTop.jpg

It's a weatherproof electrical box with cover plate. It's UL approved for marine use and made of a strong resin type material. I'll try to determine the temperature limits. I could cut a flat plate and epoxy it in the location shown in red to create two chambers. The small chamber is for inlet to the IACV and the large chamber for outlet. There are half inch diameter FPT ports at each end that will receive NPT to hose barb adapters. With a Tee barb fitting I can double the output ports. I could drill holes aligned with the IACV ports in the cover plate and mounting holes.
IACVMountBtm.jpg

There is an additional knock out/threaded port on the bottom of the box that I could use for other intake connections. The second chamber would be equivalent to downstream of the throttle plate. I'll need to find some spot and way to mount the IACV assembly.
 






Only flow during boost

I'm under the impression that there is no flow thru the intercooler except when there is boost. When there is no boost all flow is thru the bypass valve. I think the IAT sensor is located where it will read the correct temperature for boost and no boost conditions.

I've considered not installing the intercooler core to get IATs without it and then installing it to see what the difference is but that might be a lot of work and I wouldn't be able to control ambient temperature which would affect the results.
 






The IAC box is very creative. I think the hardest part will be sealing the divider to the valve. A generous amount of silicone and drying time might be the ticket. When I was modifying my throttle body I learned that ANY leak no matter how small would cause a drastic increase in engine rpm. Leak issues will not be tolerable especially on a pressurized setup.

Correct me if I'm missing something, but will that box handle your boost pressures?

EDIT: nvm. The box will be somewhere after the TB and before the charger. So it will see some vacuum. I like the idea of a remote mount IAC.
 






I'm under the impression that there is no flow thru the intercooler except when there is boost. When there is no boost all flow is thru the bypass valve. I think the IAT sensor is located where it will read the correct temperature for boost and no boost conditions.

I've considered not installing the intercooler core to get IATs without it and then installing it to see what the difference is but that might be a lot of work and I wouldn't be able to control ambient temperature which would affect the results.

The blades still spin and air does flow over it.the bypass is just for a smoother idle and to prevent boost all the time like when cruising. Or to let boost escape when you let off the idle fast during boost.

The numbers shouldn't be far off at all, bust would assume a 10-20* difference if it was in there and not in there except wot, that should be same or very close.I would take it out for a true test but don't know how you would seal the holes.also unless everything is in a controlled environment I don't think it really matters that much
 






All of the air ingested by the engine will flow through the IC, all of it. The IC is in the path right before the heads, if you take it out(from a sealed plenum) then the only holes to plug would be the coolant holes, I think.

The blow off valve is only for excess air(boost) to return to the inlet pipe before the blower. So that recirculating air is heated air that will heat the IC, but under mild normal conditions that should be very little.
 






only coolant holes

The only holes that were added to the intake manifold to install the intercooler were for the coolant flow. Those are sealed and the elbows can be plugged as shown in the earlier photo. It is relatively easy to install/remove the core. In fact, I have to remove the core in order to install the manifold. As I recall there is no gasket between the manifold top plate and the base - only sealant. So the only impact of testing with and without the core installed is time - no materials.

It is obvious that I need to learn more about the air flow paths with the blower and bypass.
 






The only holes that were added to the intake manifold to install the intercooler were for the coolant flow. Those are sealed and the elbows can be plugged as shown in the earlier photo. It is relatively easy to install/remove the core. In fact, I have to remove the core in order to install the manifold. As I recall there is no gasket between the manifold top plate and the base - only sealant. So the only impact of testing with and without the core installed is time - no materials.

It is obvious that I need to learn more about the air flow paths with the blower and bypass.

I would say remove it then.

They get tricky as there is different kinds.ford and gm use two different kinds.
 






checking datalog config file

I bought a new laptop more than a year ago when the old one failed. Unfortunately, it was the only computer that had my datalog conguration files on it so I had to generate a new one for WOT testing and to check the knock sensor impact. While in the garage I decided to datalog an engine rev to make sure there are no datalog problems. The engine seems to be more responsive to the throttle with the new exhaust system but that may just be an impression because the exhaust is so much louder than stock. However, I did notice for the first time that the fuel enrichment can no longer keep up with the engine speed increase. It will be interesting to see if replacing the stock fuel pump with a high flow pump will make a difference. Not that it's important since engine response in Park/Neutral doesn't really matter. See post #21 of the following thread for more details: SOHC V6 knock sensor replacement

I hoped to have my fuel pump by now but I erroneously mailed a check to James Henson's shop (that he rents from someone who only has a PO Box) instead of his office so I'm waiting to see if the check comes back or if James eventually receives it. So I guess the next step is to burn the rest of the 87 octane fuel in the tank and then add some premium fuel. I have some tasks that I can't perform with the Volvo that I can do with the Explorer (move extension ladder, mulch, rocks and concrete edgers).
 






That's progress, keep going.

I haven't done any data logging yet, but will any laptop do, mine is about five years old now? Plus the battery only lasts about ten minutes.:(
 






datalogging laptop

That's progress, keep going.

I haven't done any data logging yet, but will any laptop do, mine is about five years old now? Plus the battery only lasts about ten minutes.:(

If your laptop has a USB port then it should be adequate for an SCT Power Flash. I imagine the same is true for any of the other PC based datalogging programs. Before I purchased the X3 I used Dynoscan. I bought a cigarette lighter to PC power adapter and recorded data for the entire first half of my 100 mile round trip gas mileage test route. Ten minutes is more than enough for a WOT test. My third gear 0 to 90 mph WOT tests lasted less than 1 1/2 minutes and that was pulling a continuous uphill grade to increase the time for better resolution of A/F ratio, etc.
 



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Cool, and because prices have dropped a lot of course.
 






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