Recommendations for street blower...

[Fox Hound]

I have a totally stock motor and was thinking about adding a blower. What are my choices, who has the best warranty, who has the best customer service, who has the easiest installation, who has the best reliability and who requires the least amount of maintenance? My applications is for all street, daily driver, torque and HP curves to match stock cam. Can I get 300HP at the rear wheels?

[Piston]

Two brands come to mind.

Vortec or ATI.

ATI comes with intercooler and the intercooler is mandatory. Self oiled. Because its self contained you might be able to put better lubrication that is suited for a blower.

Vortec doesn't come with intercooler. Both make similar power. Need to drill in oil pan to get oil to it. So with every oil change you are changing the oil on the blower too. Definately have to run Mobil1 then.

I heard that the ATI needs a intercooler otherwise it gets too hot. While the vortec doesn't need one. Keeping in mind that for street applications you want your car to run cool. So the best solution might be a vortec that is intercooled. I really haven't done much research on this at all and perhaps someone on the board can elaborate more. Which ever way you go check out the Anderson b2 cam for your blower/nitrous application these cams are roudy even NA. I got one and this thing put my whole combo together thank god I ditched that e303.

[91GTturbo]

Originally posted by Fox Hound
I have a totally stock motor and was thinking about adding a blower. What are my choices, who has the best warranty, who has the best customer service, who has the easiest installation, who has the best reliability and who requires the least amount of maintenance? My applications is for all street, daily driver, torque and HP curves to match stock cam. Can I get 300HP at the rear wheels?

You might also want to consider a Kenny Bell roots style blower. A roots provides instant boost as soon as you're WOT. The ATI and Vortec blower build boost as you build rpms. As far as easy of installation, the kenny bell is slightly easier. All of these are well established companies, so I imagine customer service is good with all. Reliability and maintenance would probably be on the side of the kenny bell, although the others are pretty good to.

300 hp is easily achieved with all three mentioned. A buddy has a completely stock car with a Vortec A-trim on it. It makes 270 rwhp (6 lbs of boost), which is about 310 fwhp. All he has installed is their kit with the addition of an fmu for fuel purposes. With an aftermarket exhaust system and a little better fuel system he would easily be over 300 at the rear wheels.

[1BAD89]

Can I get 300HP at the rear wheels?

Just for your information, you coud get 300+rwhp with heads, cam, intake..for around $2500 you get EVERYTHING you need, injectors, fuel pump, mass air, throttle body, heads, intake, cam, etc... etc... just thought I might mention that, because the cost of a decent blower is about $2500. And with that you still only have the blower and not all the little stuff. Justin.

[1995MGTS]

I went the intake, cam, heads, exhaust way first and then added the blower. If I could do it all over, definitely the blower first. I remember my first time at Swanson Performance and the guy before me had an almost completely stock 5.0 with the only mods being an S-trim, o/r h-pipe, and of course a custom Autologic chip. He walked out of there with a 320rwhp stang. I don't remember the torque though. Sure its possible to hit that with heads, cam, etc. but you have to add all that to get there.

I have never used anything but Powerdyne but would not recommend it, especially on a stock car. Unless money is really an issue, go with something you can grow with. I have had absolutely no problems with my PD unit but I am pretty much done without putting the belt driven blower at risk. I bet you won't have to worry about the durability of an S-trim or NOVI 2000. Good luck.

[Piston]

Here is what I did to get me 325rwhp.

TFS Stage II ported Heads.
Edelbrock Perfromer Upper/Lower Ported. Should of used the holley systemmax or the RPM, ohh well.
New 1.6 RR (Had to use these because my heads were milled)
b2 anderson cam (This is where the power is hidden althought it's a blower cam I'm using it N/A, I hear the NA cam is way better my buddy slapped it in his car and that thing became a beast overnight)
24lb Injectors (should of gotten 38lb for future upgrade PMS can detune them)
PMS with Dyno Tune
75 MAF with 70 TB and Mac Cold Air kit
Full Tubes off road H-pipe (no-cats).
MSD Ignition and coil.

[Sonics2042]

Originally posted by 1BAD89


Just for your information, you coud get 300+rwhp with heads, cam, intake..for around $2500 you get EVERYTHING you need, injectors, fuel pump, mass air, throttle body, heads, intake, cam, etc... etc... just thought I might mention that, because the cost of a decent blower is about $2500. And with that you still only have the blower and not all the little stuff. Justin.

I consider the A-Trim blower 'decent'. Only 5-6 psi, but good enough for most people. It runs like 1700-1800 dollars, and can be installed with no additional parts purchased. Of course, other mods will compliment it.

Thanks,
DoranW

[5.0]

ATI procharger is the way to go there a lil more $$$ but they have a good warrenty and run cooler( with the intercooler) than most of the other blowers and if you got a vortect and you wanted to make it run cooler you would have to move your battery to use there air to water cooler. so with the ATI running cooler it gets better boost and your engine doesnt risk detination. Get the 9psi self contained model youll crap your paints with the hp it will provide. ATI is the way to go i can't stress it enough

[Fox Hound]

I think I'll stick with a blower as a bolt on. Changing heads, cam, intake etc. sounds like a lot more work, plus I'd be messing with the internals and there would be more chances of screwing something up somewhere. Adding a blower is an external thing and would have less chances for disaster.

"Get the 9psi self contained model youll crap your paints with the hp it will provide. "

Wow!!! Is this what they call "seat of the pants HP meters"? I think I could live with wet pants for a while.

Any more suggetions? Sound like ATI is pulling ahead here...

[USMC302]

I have the Vortech, it was pro. installed, but like mentioned before, no intercooler but the car runs really cool still even here in New Orleans with the high humidity and hot temp in the summer. great for everday street driving too. You will need to look into getting a larger fuel pump with the blower as well as a meter and maybe some injectors. Good luck whatever you choose though!

[sn95gt19]

i personally want the kenne-bell, i have heard that the full boost at 2000rpm is awesome, i have not heard anything about driveability, or reliability though, if anyone could give both of us some info on the driveability and reliabilty of the kenne-bell

[Sonics2042]

Drives like a big block. People say they are more fun to drive around the city. Vortech makes more power as RPMs increase, so comparable boost betweent the two types will have the Vortech shaving more off the ol' ET.

They are also less effiecient. I don't really like them, but I know they have a decent fan base.

Thanks,
DoranW

[RED92LX50]

Unless you are buying used parts, or getting some other fantastic deal, I don't see how you can do the whole heads/cam/intake/tb, etc. for anywhere near $2500. To me it looks more like $4000 (while an A-Trim with bypass valve, new fuel pump, and adj fpr will run you around $2000 total) - and probably be a much easier install:

SysteMAX II Requirements $2000
(Emissions legal CAM)

Ford 1986-93 5.0L H.O. EFI V-8 engine equipped as follows:
70mm Mass Air Flow Meter $225
24 or 30 lb./hr. Fuel Injectors $225
65 mm or larger EGR Spacer $100
65 mm or larger Throttle Body $200
190 lb./hr. Fuel Pump $125
1.6:1 SVO Roller Rocker Arms $225
Late Model Valve Covers $125
Adj. Fuel Pressure Regulator $100
1-5/8" Headers $300
X-Pipe $400
Misc, Gaskets, Champion RN14YC Plugs $200

Total $2000
+ $2225
-----
$4225


A set of 1-5/8" tube headers, used in conjunction with high-flow/ low-back-pressure mufflers is definitely recommended. A 3.73 axle ratio, for either automatic or manual transmission vehicles, will allow you to take better advantage of the engine's higher RPM torque and horsepower.

[1BAD89]

Most of those prices are really high. Listen I've done the heads, intake, cam, etc, for around $2500 too. These are not the prices I paid, these are straight out of JEGS.

Trick Flow heads: $1000
Trick Flow intake: $400
Cam: $150
255lph Fuel pump: $90
C&L 76mm Mass air: $169
30# injectors: $219
BBK Long tube headers:$239
BBK O/R shorty H-pipe: $109
70mm TB: $189
ADJ. Fuel Reg. $89
EGR spacer: $59
Valve covers: $80(you can pick up some killer ones for $59 also)
And your misc, gaskets, plugs(a ridiculous $200, but just for kicks I'll keep it)
$2993, and in my other post, I was not including headers, or H/X-pipe, to me that is not heads and cam. But your basically saying, stock headers, and h-pipe with the blower, and stock everything else? LOL, give me a break. That should make some killer hp.

[RED92LX50]

True, I did sneak in the Headers, X-Pipe, and $200 misc. But I was under the impression that the A-trim with no mods other than the fuel pump and fpr (they don't even require the bypass for 5-6psi) would run you right under $2000 and give you about 70rwhp. For the heads/cam/intake your numbers (from Jegs) came close to $3000 and I would guess you would be getting about 100rwhp (and the install is more difficult).

One thing I was wondering, is a blower better for the street as it does not produce boost until near 3Krpm - so you would be able to get a good launch as traction would not be as much of an issue. Versus the heads/cam/intake which would have more power throughout the entire rpm range - would this make it harder to hook on the street. I ask, because I recently had 4.10's installed, and they are awesome - I don't have any problems with traction (I dynoed at 202rwhp!). It seems to me (with my current combo) that having a blower kick in around 3K would be perfect...any comments welcome!

[1995MGTS]

I still think the Vortech is going to get you where you want to be cheaper and quicker (if we are talking new parts). It is easier to bolt-on than the heads, cam, intake package. Regardless, you are going to need a good tune to maximize your performance.

I will mention another example that I saw last year at a car show. A 95GT had only a 6lb Powerdyne, cat-back, and custom chip. His dyno sheet was on the car--271rwhp/320rwtq (for some reason his numbers stuck in my head). Obviously peak numbers aren't everything but it goes to show what a little blower with hardly no mods can do. I know many n/a packages can best that but it requires a complete exhaust on top of the other stuff. If I am wrong, someone please show me. I am no expert by any means.

The S-trim/off-road h-pipe/custom chip package I mentioned in my earlier post made such great power for so little mods. Add a complete exhaust, maf, tb, etc to these packages and watch the numbers go up. 300rwhp is maxing most streetable n/a set-ups that I have seen and obviously some make more or less depending on the combo. I firmly believe most blowers are just beginning at that point. Just more of my two cents.

[1BAD89]

For the heads/cam/intake your numbers (from Jegs) came close to $3000

Minus the headers, h-pipe, and misc. it is under $2500.