Whipplecharger... any good?
 

Hey friends, in the next year I am giong to have a supercharger installed on my 98 cobra. Originally my plans were to go with a s-trim vortech (as vortechs are so popular). I was wondering if there are any real advantages to having an eaton supercharger or kenne bell whipplecharger over a centrifugal supercharger. I have lately started to give the whipplecharger some serious thought. Installation seems easier, and it -claims- full boost at 2k rpm all the way through 5k. My cobra is lacking in the low-end torque dept and I thought this would be a quick fix. Mod-wise my cobra is pretty much bone stock (K&N, dynomax exhaust, and some exterior mods such as a 95 cobra R hood/ steeda stage 1 suspension upgrade). Any thoughts? Thanks.

Roots is where it is at
 

root style supercharger give you the more boost at idle check out the 4.6 Saleen Kits or look at www.eaton.com for more info on there blowers which are used in the Saleen kits. They look cooler to I must say.

Roots style give you a flatter torque curve and make boost much earlier. With centrifugal blowers the boost increases linearly with RPM. They don't have as much low end response, but have more top end horsepower.

I wouldn't get a roots blower,thats even if the make them for your application. They are great for low boost street use, but lack the power making ability and effiecency of the two other blowers in higher boost applications.
I would go with a screw type charger because it develops boost in the same quick way as a roots, but is more effiecent and can produce more boost if you ever want to upgrade in the future. I agree with you in that your car could use the low end output that only the screw type will give you. A Kenne Bell will turn your Cobra into a Vette Killer. Add a big MAF and H or X-pipe pipe with that blower and I don't see why you couldn't pump out mid 400 hp levels. Then, a better fuel system after that, and you'll have over 500+hp and easy 11 sec time slips.
The centrifugal's are great blower's and can produce some killer HP #'s, but on the street you are going to have to wait for boost while that LS1 with bolt's on's is already pulling on you. If its a car that see lots of track time, then I would recogmend the centrifugal, but since its a street car, I think the Kenne Bell is a perfect choice.

The Kenne Bell's are pretty cool but they don't make quite the peak power of a centrifugal blower. I think the best blower out there right now is the Procharger P1-SC or the DI-SC. With the P1 you'll be looking at mid 11's. With the D1 and some minor tuning you could see high 9's and still be a reliable daily driver. Plus the new Prochargers are self-contained (that's what SC denotes) which means they are easy to install. It all depends on where you want to make power. The twin-screw Kenne Bell kit makes awesome low end torque which is what the 4V lacks. But the centrifugal will give you the most peak power. As for roots blowers, there currently aren't any for the 4V.

Ty for the information...
 

Wow, I posted this forum about 3 months back and all of the sudden the responses come pouring in = ) Since that time I've done a lot of research on different power adder applications. If I choose a supercharger it will be a kenne bell for sure. Recently, however, I have been leaning also towards a TDC stage 1 turbo. I know it doesn't develope the low end torque the KB will, but a friend of mine has an 89 turbo trans am and it is severly badass. While my mustang was in the shop getting the new hood put on I took a few spins in his trans am and that turbo howl is haunting me. I was concerned with the lag associated with turbos, but the fellas at TDC informed me that their system doesn't have have lag. It will be a year before I can afford a power adder so have some time to think about it. Thanks for the information everyone.

If you went with a TDC setup, you would be very happy. I have had it since August and 3K+ miles later, it's still running strong. The last thing I would worry about is a Kenne bell blown 4.6 on the street. He may get out on me like most cars, but once the turbo is spooled, it's all over. A highway race wouldn't even be close. I had a V2 S-trim @ 12 psi for over a year and it's not even close to how the turbo pulls from 80-150 mph. A turbocharged Cobra would be insane. I can't wait to get a ride in one. If I can put my bone stock long block 2V in the 10s with 16 psi, a Cobra would be a rocket with 16 psi. If you decide to go with a blower, get a centrifugal. People say that roots and screw type blown cars are faster on the street than centrifugals. That is not totally accurate. Any person with a centrifugal will usually have it geared or have a loose enough converter to compensate for the delay in boost. I would be interested to see an 1/8 mile test between roots, screw type, centrifugal, Spray and turbo 4.6 2Vs shootout in a magazine.

The only problem there is that there currently aren't any turbo kits for the 4V. TDC is working on one though and it should be out later this year. A turbocharged 4V would haul @$$ like nobody's business. You could probably make your own turbo kit for your Cobra by buying all of the parts separately but that would very diffucult and expensive.