is this esentially a Whipple made for Ford to put their stamping on? anybody running one of these on their car? i am not looking to get one right now today, but in the near future would like to surprise my wife with one on her car. yes i know, a woman don't need a supercharger, but she can actually drive so it don't bother me to give her more power...
I know I wouldn't want to be suprised by the fact I had more power at the moment I stomped the go pedal. Perhaps right before I drove off would be nice.
Here is a picture of the Ford Racing Whipple. http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=9765
You may be right, but from what I've read on another site (s197forum.com) is that the Whipple is more efficient at higher boosts than the KB is. I think I read on there or somewhere else that the KB looses efficiency at around 15-17psi and the Whipple hasn't lost efficiency yet and has been pushed to around 18-19psi. I was also under the impression that the KB was a twin screw design type supercharger...
um, so the KB and Whipple and FRPP are all twin screw designs... i am pretty sure the whipple is made by Kenne Bell. i am not looking to turn 18lbs of boost, just get a good extra 100 horses or so on a stock engine...
Kenne Bell would be fine then. I don't know the technical details of the Whipple/FRPP s/c and the Kenne Bell s/c, but from what I've read the Whipple is more efficient when you are hitting higher boost. Also, the whipple will give you that "03 cobra sound" whereas the KB is quieter (from the videos I've seen). With all three of those chargers you will get the "insta-torque" when you mash the peddle at almost any RPM.
I seem to recall that Whipple went their own way a while back. I do believe that is what this page says here. http://www.whipplesuperchargers.com/content.asp?PageID=80
Whipple actually supplied KB for a while. Whipple was the sole US importer of twin screw compressors for the aftermarket and eaton was for the OEM's. The overseas production backlogged badly. KB and whipple have since parted ways. Whipple rebounded from the production delays by engineering and producing their own in the US while making significant advancements along the way in terms of performance, durability, and servicability. Ford's involvement is critical. Ford supplied numerous parts to the kit that are OEM such as the GT500 fuel pumps, 03-04 Cobra reservoir, spark plugs, and injectors. The biggest Ford contribution was Ed Badillo. He is the OEM calibration consultant that tuned the Aston Martin Vanquish and numerous othe Ford performance derivatives. You may familiar with his association with Prodrive/Badillo. Prodrive is an OEM racing development consultant and motorsport powerhouse in europe. They are one of 4 companies that are certified by SEMA and Ford to be competent enough to modify the Ford calibrations for performance parts. The other three are Roush, Saleen, and one other that escapes me. The tuning is the most COMPLETE program done. The software and hardware of other aftermarket solutions DO NOT have access to all maps and strategies. There are numerous strategies employed that monitors the vehicles performance and adjusts power output accordingly if it goes out of spec to reduce engine damage and premature failure of catalytic converters and other expensive parts. These calibrations were developed on Ford's Arizona Proving Grounds using test mules driven there and also thousands of miles across the country through various elevations and both hot and cold environment testing. They are conservative in the sense that they retain and CREATED OEM factory durability monitoring strategies. But there is not a lot left in a custom tune to warrant it. It is true that some of the development of these calibrations led to creation of safety strategies being implemented in future vehicles. And it is 50 state legal. These are important clarifications. Many guys are throwing down some great power numbers at the rear wheels with the Ford calibrations. Whipple supplies the supercharger assembly. Ford supplies there expertise and the result is a very good OEM quality kit that performs properly on stock drivetrains even. It is about as "bolt-on" as any power adder can be for these cars.
Bevga explained it pretty well. The Whipple kit is the most complete supercharger kit available for many reasons, but mainly the fuel system is superior to all other kits. As far as the other twin screw blower kits go, the Whipple has the largest intercooler and heat exchanger (Fluidyne aluminum) teflon coated rotors inside the compressor, site glass for oil level inspection, FRPP zero heat range plugs. I have one on my car which I installed myself. I'm very impressed with the quality, fit and finish, etc. It's not the same basic thing you buy from Kenny Bell. Kenny Bell's blowers are well built systems, only not as complete as the FRPP/Whipple kit.
Those that have these superchargers, where are you buying them? I don't trust ebay because there is a reason that those prices are so low more often than not.
I originally wanted a KB, because they were so great for the previous generation. But it seems Whipple and Saleen are better for the S197. The KB for these cars also seems to leak a bit of oil.
I've heard a lot of reports that the KB's leak a bit of oil near the pulley. That's not to say it's not a fine piece of equipment, nor is that to say it happens to every one. I, personally, am going with a Saleen charger from Brenspeed. But all three are great.
Here is SOCAL Muscle Motors is a FRP dealer and installs all FR parts. I had them dyno tune my old S197 with it's Vortech and they did an amazing job. Brought the car to life all while keeping is smooth as silk as a daily driver. They install the Ford Racing SCs and offer very good service and install warranty.
