Here's my .02...

DON'T BUY A KENNE BELL!

I've had mine for about 8 months and I fight detonation problems left and right. Sure, it runs good (6 pounds), and looks good, but I've had Ken make 4 different chips for me and detonation happens on and off. Plus, Ken has got to be the worst customer service person I have ever dealt with. He won't even deal with the problem anymore, so I'm kind of stuck. I have it in writing that he won't do anything anymore and when my motor blows I'm going to make him buy me a new engine and then put a different supercharger on. If I take him to small claims court, he has to come to my state to defend himself...

I'm done venting now...

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hytek1dr@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Freeway/7515/

 

HI!... FORDMAN : Sorry to hear about your BAD luck with your KENNE BELL. I've heard a ton of complaints about KB's chip. I don't think they know how to DO a chip right. MIKE TROYER told me already about detonation with the KB superchargers. I'm most positively sure if you give MIKE TROYER a call, that he with all his wisedom can fix your detonation problem. I would definatly go with a SUPERCHIP custom programed for your KB from him. The one thing that I don't like about KB's kits for our trucks, is that they use a "BOOST-A-PUMP". This increases voltage to the stock fuel pump to FORCE it to pump MORE fuel than it is capable of. PLUS KB"s kit makes the stock 19 lb injectors FLOW up to their MAX capabileties, which is NO good. When I get mine, I will be getting a custom chip (ANOTHER ONE) from MIKE TROYER and be running 36lb injectors and a aftermarket fuel pump. So hopefully this will eliminate the detonation prone KB problem. Best of luck to ya! P.S - Give MIKE TROYER a call, you got nothing to lose! LOL!

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NEAL " THE H.P FREAK"
'99' F-150 XLT SPORT, oxford white, reg cab shortbox stepside,5.4, auto, 4.10L.S, captain's chairs, bedliner, GTS carbon fiber headlight covers, ***** CEPECK clear halogen driving lights, GTS slotted tailight covers (painted oxford white), fiberglass smooth wiper cowl (painted OXFORD WHITE), FORD locking lug nuts, tinted windows,true duel exhaust with 2.5 inch mandrel bent pipes and FLOWMASTER 3 chamber mufflers with 3' tailpipes exiting before the rear wheel like the LIGHTNING, HELLWIG rear stabalizer bar, 3 AUTOMETER guage pods, filled with tranny temp, engine temp, and oil preasure AUTOMETER "PHANTOM" guages,custom fabricated air intake trac and huge K/N filter, TPS mod, BELLTECH 2-inch rear drop, custom programed SUPERCHIP, BAUMANN ENGINEERING shift kit (on stage 5 setting)BYPASS CLUTCH CONTROL VALVE/PREASURE REGULATOR VALVE, ASP POWER PULLEYS, custom tig welded and ported JBA "JET BLACK coated headers, twin DERALE 16 INCH ELECTRIC FANS, PERMA COOL 14"/10" tranny cooler with 10" electric fan, custom ported (STOCK) throttle body, custom digital air intake temp sensor, custom ported TB intake elbow, relocated ATS.


FUTURE MODS : FORD SVT 24LB INJECTORS, CUSTOM SUPERCHIP FLIP-CHIP, BBK 75MM THROTTLE BODY, 80MM PRO-M MASS AIR METER, AADI F1 RAM AIR HOOD WITH CUSTOM FABRICATED RAM AIR SET-UP, CAL-TRAC TRACTION BARS, EXTRUDE HONED INTAKE MANIFOLD, SHM CUSTOM FUEL RAILS, SHM "RACE WATER PUMP, 90/10 FRONT CE SHOCKS, 70/30 REAR CE SHOCKS, BELL TECH 2/4 DROP, EXPEDITION CENTER CONSOLE, HARLEY DAVISON F-150, LOWER FRONT VALANCE (painted oxford white) and a KENNE BELL BLOWZILLA SUPERCHARGER.

ESTIMATED H.P TO DATE : 330H.P / 425ft/lbs of torque.

CURRENT PERFORMANCE : 1/4 MILE - 14.53E.T * MPH - 93.00 * 0-60MPH - 5.8 * 1/8 MILE - 9.2 * 60 FT - 2.0

OTHER TOYS : "83" PRO STREET FORD RANGER : 351-w stroked to 408c.i 625H.P (natural), 875H.P with 250H.P "BIG SHOT" N.O.S kit, tubbed (crome moly tubing), 12 point chrome moly roll cage, 4-link with coil overs, MUSTANG II front suspension, c-4 tranny (race prepped), 4000rpm stall converter(8 INCH), 3" chrome moly driveshaft,AUTOMETER guages, 15.50 MICKEY THOMPSON rear tires, 4" M/T front tires, CENTERLINE CON-VO PRO rims, fiberglass hood - bumper - prostock hood scoop, wishbone trac-link, two chrome moly driveshaft loops, 16 gallon RCI fuel cell,etc

 

flamedf150 -

Very nice flame job. I took this picture of your truck at FFW in October.

http://www.svtlightnings.com/go_rila/


[This message has been edited by sixpipes (edited 12-02-2000).]

 

HI!... BIGRED2 : It's not a stupid question.LOL! Injectors arn't an issue with me because I have to upgrade to 24lb injectors anyway. My 19lb injectors are only good to about 300H.P and I'm WAY above that. My truck is massively running out of fuel on top end in the 1/4 mile right now. If I need to run bigger injectors than that, it's not a concern either because I have "OBTAINED" 36lb LIGHTNING injectors from a freind that works at FORD's. I want to upgrade to a bigger fuel pump anyway because the stock one just can barely handle what I'm putting out fot H,P now. By the way, I live in CANADA and a HOLLEY kit goes for about $7000.00(CAN) !!! That's just insane. The KENNE BELL which I am leaning towards right now is only $5000.00(CAN). I am still looking so by all meand I will check out WIPPLE's set up also.

------------------
NEAL " THE H.P FREAK"
'99' F-150 XLT SPORT, oxford white, reg cab shortbox stepside,5.4, auto, 4.10L.S, captain's chairs, bedliner, GTS carbon fiber headlight covers, ***** CEPECK clear halogen driving lights, GTS slotted tailight covers (painted oxford white), fiberglass smooth wiper cowl (painted OXFORD WHITE), FORD locking lug nuts, tinted windows,true duel exhaust with 2.5 inch mandrel bent pipes and FLOWMASTER 3 chamber mufflers with 3' tailpipes exiting before the rear wheel like the LIGHTNING, HELLWIG rear stabalizer bar, 3 AUTOMETER guage pods, filled with tranny temp, engine temp, and oil preasure AUTOMETER "PHANTOM" guages,custom fabricated air intake trac and huge K/N filter, TPS mod, BELLTECH 2-inch rear drop, custom programed SUPERCHIP, BAUMANN ENGINEERING shift kit (on stage 5 setting)BYPASS CLUTCH CONTROL VALVE/PREASURE REGULATOR VALVE, ASP POWER PULLEYS, custom tig welded and ported JBA "JET BLACK coated headers, twin DERALE 16 INCH ELECTRIC FANS, PERMA COOL 14"/10" tranny cooler with 10" electric fan, custom ported (STOCK) throttle body, custom digital air intake temp sensor, custom ported TB intake elbow, relocated ATS.


FUTURE MODS : FORD SVT 24LB INJECTORS, CUSTOM SUPERCHIP FLIP-CHIP, BBK 75MM THROTTLE BODY, 80MM PRO-M MASS AIR METER, AADI F1 RAM AIR HOOD WITH CUSTOM FABRICATED RAM AIR SET-UP, CAL-TRAC TRACTION BARS, EXTRUDE HONED INTAKE MANIFOLD, SHM CUSTOM FUEL RAILS, SHM "RACE WATER PUMP, 90/10 FRONT CE SHOCKS, 70/30 REAR CE SHOCKS, BELL TECH 2/4 DROP, EXPEDITION CENTER CONSOLE, HARLEY DAVISON F-150, LOWER FRONT VALANCE (painted oxford white) and a KENNE BELL BLOWZILLA SUPERCHARGER.

ESTIMATED H.P TO DATE : 330H.P / 425ft/lbs of torque.

CURRENT PERFORMANCE : 1/4 MILE - 14.53E.T * MPH - 93.00 * 0-60MPH - 5.8 * 1/8 MILE - 9.2 * 60 FT - 2.0

OTHER TOYS : "83" PRO STREET FORD RANGER : 351-w stroked to 408c.i 625H.P (natural), 875H.P with 250H.P "BIG SHOT" N.O.S kit, tubbed (crome moly tubing), 12 point chrome moly roll cage, 4-link with coil overs, MUSTANG II front suspension, c-4 tranny (race prepped), 4000rpm stall converter(8 INCH), 3" chrome moly driveshaft,AUTOMETER guages, 15.50 MICKEY THOMPSON rear tires, 4" M/T front tires, CENTERLINE CON-VO PRO rims, fiberglass hood - bumper - prostock hood scoop, wishbone trac-link, two chrome moly driveshaft loops, 16 gallon RCI fuel cell,etc

 

Neil, according to the Bell catalog, the 5.4l stock delivers 175hp and 260ftlbs of torque, adding the blower it goes to 256hp and 361 ftlbs. this is at the rear wheels. While I have not put one on my truck, I did however install the 1500 (1.5l) on my 5.0 mustang. With just 6 psi of boost, I dropped 1.3 seconds off my 1/4 mile times.This is with an AOD car with a 2400 stall 12" converter and 3:55's. the Bell has its advantages over other types of blowers, which also have their own advantages.as far as intercooling goes, any time you compress air it is heated,you don't need a higher octane fuel with 8 psi of boost, however at 8 psi the intake air charge temp is around 200 degrees, and when your act sensor sees this it pulls approx 6 degrees of timing out(read kills the power), so an intercooler will keep the temp lower and the EEC will pull less timing. With out a distrubtor, you really haven't got control of the timing, if you did you could just dial it back in as static advance, just make sure you have the octane or you'll have 8 new aluminum ashtrays for your garage.You are wise going with a larger injector and custom chip set up, because the Bell, full boost will come on at 1800 rpm, as soon as you see boost the Boost-a-pump or FMU will raise the fuel pressure, well you may need that additional fuel at a higher rpm, and not so much now, creating an rich condition that kills the power.as far as operating in the cold, first you'll see more boost, colder=denser air, second these compressors were actually designed to pressuize airline cabins and cold storage units. Mine does sometimes have a slight growl when its cold(like a quiet p/s pump)but never any problems. and to Fordman, I chased a detonation problem myself, after the install of edelbrock heads, wasn't the heads, or the blower, it was a bad plug, so don't over look anything, pull all the plugs and look them over to make sure they all look the same, if you find something strange, replace it. also if you suspect blow-by, oil vapors will lower the effective octane rating of the fuel, so go to a synthetic and see if that has any affect. feel free to e-mail me with some symtoms, I'll see what we can come up with. Bell blowers are excellent especilly so with an automatic and lower gears, the service does lack, but the are so many resorces on the net I'm sure you can get any tuning or problems solved.

 

Neal

Just a dumb question here. Why are you buying the KB when you will have to foot the bill for new injectors and fuel pump. Wouldn't the Holey be a better choice, I have heard that the kit comes with injectors and a pump. Also, Whipple is close to releasing its kit, don't know what will be included.

 

HI!... JSTANG : Thanks for the info! That's exactly the kind of responce that I'm looking for. 1.3 seconds? COOL!!!! If I could get the same time reduction that you saw, I would be running a 13.2 1/4 mile time at my current 14.5E.T!!! DEFINATELT COOL!!!lol! My goal right now is to get my truck to run a 13.8 - 13.9 E.T NATURALLY ASPERATED! Then I will add a supercharger. As for the 5.4 figures in the KENNE BELL book, I beleive they are RW #'s for the older 235H.P (flywheel) 5.4 engine. I have learned from MIKE TROYER from SUPERCHIP's that our F-150's with 4R70-W's lose exactly 65H.P throught the drivetrain. That makes the 235H.P 5.4 have roughly 170H.P at the RW's and the new 260H.P "PI" 5.4 have about 195H.P at the RW"s. They did a test about the KENNE BELL "BLOWZILLA" in the NOVEMBER "99" issue of SUPER FORD. They installed the KB kit on a "98" 5.4 (235H.P) F-150 and made 280,9H.P/362.4lb-ft of torque at the RW"s. The only mods to the truck were a "DROP IN" K&N filter and JBA headers. It's baseline run with the headers and filter was 185.3H.P/279.9LB-FT of torque. That's only roughly about 15H.P more than stock RW H.P. So the JBA's are worth about 15H.P and the "DROP IN" K&N filter about "NOTHING", so the figures they give are pretty close I would think. By the way, what did your STANG end up running BEFORE and AFTER the KB install (E.T's) Thanks again for the info.

 

DOUBLE POST!

[This message has been edited by Neal (edited 12-03-2000).]

 

I disagree that cooler air charge makes more power(to some extent its true)the benefit of intercooling (aftercooling) only allows you to run more timing or boost on a given octane of fuel, this is where the the power comes from.for a street application if you had 2 identical set ups only difference was an aftercooler, you would not see any gains with the aftercooler. however you could add timing, or more boost with the same fuel, this is the gain in power.if the aftercooler changed the density of the air,it would create pressure within itself. denser air contains more o2 with the same volume, and an aftercooler doesn't change the volume, only the tempature.with lower boost levels the gain offered by intercooling is negated by parasidic losses.think about it, at 8 psi in a positive displacement blower the discharge temp is about 200 degrees, if you used an air to air that could scrub off 100 degrees, you would still only be able to advance your timing 3 degrees, maybe a 20-25 hp gain.Neal just remember what often works for a normally aspriated motor isn't ideal for a blown motor, especilly one that will be using a positive displacement blower, so before you get going really deside where you want to go, a centrifical blower may better suit your needs. a cam that leave the valves open(narrow lobe center)to scavenge the cylinders, will just blow boost of a Kenne-Bell blower into the exhaust. killing it on the bottom end.

 

oh, it went from 14.7 to 13.4. then I added edel heads and other parts. I now stand at 12.8, with 8 psi. and a best of 12.55@107 with 11 psi and plenty of octane.

 

Neal, Are you saying that you have the 4R70W transmission? I thought that tranny only came behind the 4.6. I read in the "Transmission" section that all 5.4's come with the 4100E. ??????

Ron

 

HI!... LUTWILLER : As far as I know, the only F-150's that come with the 4R100 tranny's are the LIGHTNING and certain ones with "emission" packages. I have the 4R70-W tranny in my truck.

------------------
NEAL " THE H.P FREAK"
'99' F-150 XLT SPORT, oxford white, reg cab shortbox stepside,5.4, auto, 4.10L.S, captain's chairs, bedliner, GTS carbon fiber headlight covers, ***** CEPECK clear halogen driving lights, GTS slotted tailight covers (painted oxford white), fiberglass smooth wiper cowl (painted OXFORD WHITE), FORD locking lug nuts, tinted windows,true duel exhaust with 2.5 inch mandrel bent pipes and FLOWMASTER 3 chamber mufflers with 3' tailpipes exiting before the rear wheel like the LIGHTNING, HELLWIG rear stabalizer bar, 3 AUTOMETER guage pods, filled with tranny temp, engine temp, and oil preasure AUTOMETER "PHANTOM" guages,custom fabricated air intake trac and huge K/N filter, TPS mod, BELLTECH 2-inch rear drop, custom programed SUPERCHIP, BAUMANN ENGINEERING shift kit (on stage 5 setting)BYPASS CLUTCH CONTROL VALVE/PREASURE REGULATOR VALVE, ASP POWER PULLEYS, custom tig welded and ported JBA "JET BLACK coated headers, twin DERALE 16 INCH ELECTRIC FANS, PERMA COOL 14"/10" tranny cooler with 10" electric fan, custom ported (STOCK) throttle body, custom digital air intake temp sensor, custom ported TB intake elbow, relocated ATS.


FUTURE MODS : FORD SVT 24LB INJECTORS, CUSTOM SUPERCHIP FLIP-CHIP, BBK 75MM THROTTLE BODY, 80MM PRO-M MASS AIR METER, AADI F1 RAM AIR HOOD WITH CUSTOM FABRICATED RAM AIR SET-UP, CAL-TRAC TRACTION BARS, EXTRUDE HONED INTAKE MANIFOLD, SHM CUSTOM FUEL RAILS, SHM "RACE WATER PUMP, 90/10 FRONT CE SHOCKS, 70/30 REAR CE SHOCKS, BELL TECH 2/4 DROP, EXPEDITION CENTER CONSOLE, HARLEY DAVISON F-150, LOWER FRONT VALANCE (painted oxford white) and a KENNE BELL BLOWZILLA SUPERCHARGER.

ESTIMATED H.P TO DATE : 330H.P / 425ft/lbs of torque.

CURRENT PERFORMANCE : 1/4 MILE - 14.53E.T * MPH - 93.00 * 0-60MPH - 5.8 * 1/8 MILE - 9.2 * 60 FT - 2.0

OTHER TOYS : "83" PRO STREET FORD RANGER : 351-w stroked to 408c.i 625H.P (natural), 875H.P with 250H.P "BIG SHOT" N.O.S kit, tubbed (crome moly tubing), 12 point chrome moly roll cage, 4-link with coil overs, MUSTANG II front suspension, c-4 tranny (race prepped), 4000rpm stall converter(8 INCH), 3" chrome moly driveshaft,AUTOMETER guages, 15.50 MICKEY THOMPSON rear tires, 4" M/T front tires, CENTERLINE CON-VO PRO rims, fiberglass hood - bumper - prostock hood scoop, wishbone trac-link, two chrome moly driveshaft loops, 16 gallon RCI fuel cell,etc

 

Has anyone used the Paxton Novi kit? Just curious.

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Moxie Racing

 

well i would love to dyno my 97 4.6,
power dyne sc 85 rwhp 115 fly
headers 10 rwhp 12 or so at fly
gibson exhaust 8 rwhp 10 fly
re-burn superchip 15 to 20 rwhp 25 fly
ported t-body 5 rwhp 7 fly
jabocs ing.+wires 5rwhp 7 fly
+the stock 220 fly
220
175 hp added at fly
=395 fly hp
and when i had my chip re-burned i have the rev. moved to 6200 rpm,and when i shift at 6000 rpm i went from 6 psi befor the chip re-burn to 8 to 8.5 psi.with the higher rpm the sc is spining faster making more boost.so i figer thet is worth about 25 to 30 at the fly
so with that added in i should be at 425 to 435 at the fly wheel.all the number are from seeing what the added stuff did from other peoples dyno.with all of it together they may give more them not.on a stock 4.6 a set of headers will give a good 15 hp,but on a supercharged one it may give 20 or more.so till the dyno this is a far cry from being dead on.but you neverknow.

 

unfortunally you will be disappointed when you do dyno it, horsepower ratings indicate gains. take for instance your Jacobs system, Oh you gained 7hp alright, on the bottom end were you didn't have it before. but I'll bet you it did nothing for upper end hp.in fact after 3000 rpm the Jacobs is not much more effective than the factories. anyway you can't just add up hp figures, because the gains you get are all over the powerband,a modification that nets a gain at 3000rpm may not yeild anything at 5000rpm. so did you gain? yes, but not all in the same rpm.