Kenne Bell or Centrifugal?

[Boosted92LX]

I know this subject has been hashed over a hundred times, and yes I know the difference between the two. I know the pros and cons, the benefeits of each compressor. I've already got a few opinions from a previous thread, But what I want to know is which would YOU choose if someone handed you money and said, "Here, go buy a blower!" For an '86-'93 fox would YOU rather have the KB or the Vortech/Procharger/Paxton?

* I'd put up a poll but I'm too dang dumb to figure out how to do it! Or is it old... or both???

 

[FoxGT87]

If it was me i would choose a centri blower for the same reason that you can not put up a poll. I feel I would be way over my head to fab an intercooler to make the roots blower worth having on the car. I would totally go with a Vortech in a heartbeat if someone gave me a check and said "Do as you wish"

 

[ID89GT]

I would buy a kb. Perfect for a street car, and that's all I plan on using mine for. Nothing like instant boost

 

[TRICKYGT]

Kenne Bell 100% for me. Pricing it out right now. The bank owes me a favor....

I want that sick whine with the low end torque, not the chirping bird idle.

 

[2000xp8]

Vortech
Without the intercooler a KB is just ineffective on a pushrod engine, makes too much heat, then blows head gaskets. There also isn't much room to grow with one.

 

[tannerc91gt]

Centri all day

 

[90lxcoupe]

if you want to make less than 400hp its a wash, anything over that centrifugal is the way to go

 

[wythors]

I want that sick whine
...

Sadly, Kenne Bell's no longer have any sound at all.

I've had a KB before and, for the instant tire-frying torque reasons, would do one again in a heartbeat. You can't beat the driveability on the street.

As I said, I've had one and I also have two friends that have run them for years. Contrary to Mr. 2000xp8's assertion, none of us have ever had a problem with a head gasket and all of them are in the reliable 400 rwhp range.

 

[TRICKYGT]

Sadly, Kenne Bell's no longer have any sound at all.

I've had a KB before and, for the instant tire-frying torque reasons, would do one again in a heartbeat. You can't beat the driveability on the street.

As I said, I've had one and I also have two friends that have run them for years. Contrary to Mr. 2000xp8's assertion, none of us have ever had a problem with a head gasket and all of them are in the reliable 400 rwhp range.

Thats where I want my power in the 0-4000 range as I rarely race and am so far ticket free. I want boom up to 60 to toast just about everything from the lights. Proving a point is valid when it comes to rice.

 

[gt40_2003wes]

i think it's rice when the reason ppl put a KB charger on is because they want that WHINE i mean wtf pay 2 grand more then a centri charger and get less power just for that SOUND? RICE

 

[Gearbanger 101]

I vote Kenne Bell as well. You can never have too much bottom end torque. They may not have the top end charge of a centrifugal, but it's not like they fall flat. The Eaton on my last car pulled hard all the way through the power band....it just pulled harder down low. Looking at it the other way...you could buy a Centrifugal and get that great mid range/top end charge and pick up nothing on the bottom end at all?

Unless you've got the displacement to make up the difference down low, you're not going to be overly impressed with anything below 4,000RPM running a centrifugal charger.

So, you decide....

Positive Displacement = Superior low/mid range torque/horsepower that diminishes (but does not disappear as some believe) as RPM climbs

or

Centrifugal Huffer = No gain in low end torque, moderate mid range and hard pull to red line.


And contrary to the above post, enjoying a Positive Displacement whine at full cry isn't rice. It's no different than the reason 99% of the members here choose to upgrade their exhaust systems. A nice sounding car is half the battle. It might as well sound mean at both ends.

 

[TRICKYGT]

i think it's rice when the reason ppl put a KB charger on is because they want that WHINE i mean wtf pay 2 grand more then a centri charger and get less power just for that SOUND? RICE

WOW! Dang! Certainly not rice. I want to play with the big boys in town. I see the average mildly modded stang as a mid range fighter. Can kill the average rice but stands no chance again the vettes etc. I want to head up a league. The 'whine' is just a product of love and not the reason I want the Kenne Bell. Most of the rice I come across at the red light usually think twice with a stab of the right. My exhaust setup sounds like a beast.

Look at my sig. The parts I have added are all about driving and making it my car the way I want it. Car looks mildly tweaked from stock but nowhere near rice. No body kit, no Euro taillights (I hate those) no coffee cans hanging out the back.

Low end torque is what I want. If I kill a few Eclipses and Celicas along the way thats just a bonus!

 

[TRICKYGT]

And contrary to the above post, enjoying a Positive Displacement whine at full cry isn't rice. It's no different than the reason 99% of the members here choose to upgrade their exhaust systems. A nice sounding car is half the battle. It might as well sound mean at both ends.

He said it!

 

[MY 85 GT]

I must have a weird centrifugal blower then MY powerdyne BD11a spools up Fast i make boost almost instantly...I run 10 psi, the car can fry the tires at will....I just installed a snow perfromance stage 2 kit and WOW its like a nitrous shot on top of the BOOST...Maybe its the way i have the car set-up maybe its the way 928 motorsports performance upgraded it, all i know is i see boost at or around 2000 rpms thats low isnt it?....pulls to redline no problems...My vote is for centrifugal...

 

[1991notchbackLX]

I know we're talking foxes here, but my cobra swap car made 457 ft/lbs of torque at just below 2000 RPM. That's right off idle as far as I'm concerned. The power was INSTANT. If you feathered the throttle on that car, it would scream and plant you in your seat. If you want to talk about a useful and fun power band on the street, you can't beat it. I'd do another Eaton/KB/Whipple car in a second. Not everyone's car lives it's life 1/4 mile at a time with lexan windows and dzus fasteners holding on every panel.

 

[90lxcoupe]

Most centrifugals will make boost before 4000, and when the boost comes on its pretty violent. At least wint my novi 2000 it was that way. Ran like a raped ape after 3500. Still made more power than NA under 3500 too. On a mod motor, the PD blower is an obvious choice, but not on a windsor

 

[1991notchbackLX]

Most centrifugals will make boost before 4000, and when the boost comes on its pretty violent. At least wint my novi 2000 it was that way. Ran like a raped ape after 3500. Still made more power than NA under 3500 too. On a mod motor, the PD blower is an obvious choice, but not on a windsor

I agree 100% Jeff. I've been in some centrifugal blower cars that scared the **** out of me in boost. It's really just a matter of preference, driving style, and where/when you want your power. I know comparing my mod motor to a pushrod is apples to oranges, but the basic principles are the same I think.

For efficiency, they don't call them "Heaton" for nothing. You're going to get high IATs on a non-intercooled PD/roots blower on a pushrod, but the question is, does it matter to you at your desired power level and price point?

 

[2000xp8]

Not sure why people think that the kb is so much greater down low than a centrifical, is it different? Ya, but not by much.
Any supercharger adds power down low, most of the time more than you need.
How often in a race or even when driving hard are you going to see 2500rpm?
Probably none, you'll spin the tires sending the tach straight to 6000rpm, then you will shift and you will be at 4000rpm or higher the rest of the time.

Any properly built vortech car runs just fine, you guys act like it's trailer hitching under 3500rpm, it's not.
Head to head in a race, the vortech car would likely win every time.

The KB pricing? It must be some kind of joke, for it to make any kind of real power you need the $3700 kit.
You can buy a set of aluminum heads for the difference in pricing from a vortech.

I know plenty of people that have used the KB, all of which blew the head gaskets sooner or later. Yes they drove the cars hard, but why else would you put a supercharger on?
Switched to vortech's and never looked back, i guess the extra 100rwhp you can get may have something to do with that.

 

[gt40_2003wes]

I vote Kenne Bell as well. You can never have too much bottom end torque. They may not have the top end charge of a centrifugal, but it's not like they fall flat. The Eaton on my last car pulled hard all the way through the power band....it just pulled harder down low. Looking at it the other way...you could buy a Centrifugal and get that great mid range/top end charge and pick up nothing on the bottom end at all?

Unless you've got the displacement to make up the difference down low, you're not going to be overly impressed with anything below 4,000RPM running a centrifugal charger.

So, you decide....

Positive Displacement = Superior low/mid range torque/horsepower that diminishes (but does not disappear as some believe) as RPM climbs

or

Centrifugal Huffer = No gain in low end torque, moderate mid range and hard pull to red line.


And contrary to the above post, enjoying a Positive Displacement whine at full cry isn't rice. It's no different than the reason 99% of the members here choose to upgrade their exhaust systems. A nice sounding car is half the battle. It might as well sound mean at both ends.

and contrary to to popular belief centrifugal chargers do make boost below 4k rpms...on that point aswell who races below 4k? what are you guys doing 50 mph rolls in 4th? as soon as you hit the gas in first or second it spins past that 4k mark.

 

[garyd85gt]

Vortech
Without the intercooler a KB is just ineffective on a pushrod engine, makes too much heat, then blows head gaskets. There also isn't much room to grow with one.

now that's just wrong- you need to inject meth, yes, but then you are adding octane and cooling. My KB makes 11 psi, never goes over 180 IAT and runs 25 degrees timing. INSTANT boost from idle up....