Mr. Vapor

Well tis the season, and my dad got his Lightning out of storage.
some quick specs: 2000 SVT lightning #3212, Born June 22, 2000.
Air Raid Intake, PSP 4-stage Flip Chip, PSP Traction bars, Ground Force Suspension, Bassani exhaust, PSP Headers.

last year he ran 13.4 (100% stock)

so last night i took it out, as you know its a 5.4L supercharged V8. Id say its a low 12 second truck now with his mods (granted he can get traction) so i take it out and tool around a bit, and i thought id share my feelings.

first overall, boost comes on strong and hard. The Eaton Blower has no problem making the full 11psi by about 2500 RPMs. now id say my civic is a mid 13 sec car at 7.5psi on the DRAG turbo. but in all honestity, my car feels like a SLOUCH compared to this thing. he may be a half second faster, but it feels like an eternity. the response of the boost i would say is the major factor that makes me feel this way.

the fact that you dont have to wait to feel the boost come on, its immediate and strong, unlike the turbo that must spool. Its odd how only a half second can feel like forever, his truck just feels 100% faster, stronger and more powerful then mine. Even though all the #s are in my favor (HP to Litre, HP to wiehght etc) it was just something i wanted to share.

rioninja

I think the "instant boost" is one of the primary reasons most people opt to go with something like the jrsc over a turbo kit. I think for people who only plan on boosting under ten pounds, a supercharger makes more sense. For those of us who plan on 20 or 30 psi, turbo is the only way to go.

If your gonna keep your boost low, sell your kit and buy an SC

Mr. Vapor

keep my boost low? bahahahah. thats like telling a crack user "ok, you can do crack, but only once a month"

Ben's got my by the *****, he owns my wallet lol.

but definatly, the "instant boost" makes a world of difference. the S/C whine drowns out the exhaust, literally. anyone thats heard a L at WOT can vouch.

Ubermensch

Granted the SC is making the boost earlier in the rpm band, but you have to remember you're dealing with an engine with a ton more torque (even without the SC). Tons of low end torque makes you feel the speed much more than the little honda engines (even though you might be making more hp).

Mike D

well thats one of the benefits of a roots type blower; it creates a nice, linear torque curve. Also you have to remember that the 5.4l engine will create a lot more torque in the low rpms, which may be the cause of you thinking his car is so much faster, and seeing full boost around those rpms is teh result of a well built engine and proper tuning.


the 911 turbo makes about 400-450 hp and 400-450 ft/lbs( dont remember the numbers exactly). Now, when i read an article on it in c&d they said about 80% of that torque was available around 2200 rpms. Again, this goes to show that proper engine set-up and tuning is crucial, whether you are running a supercharger or a turbo.


Mike D

Speed PHreak

Anyone care to remember the specs on a stock new lightining? 380HP/460TQ....no wonder it "feels" faster huh? Oh yeah....I walked away from one last weekend in the rex

falcongsr

my 2 cents:

you need a minimum amount of engine displacement to drive a blower effectively. if you look at all the forced induction production cars, you'll see that the smallest car with a supercharger is 2.3L (mercedes).

turbos are used on all sorts of small displacement engines from Hondas new 1.3L personal watercraft and VWs 1.8T powerplants.

i cant really explain it but i wasnt happy with the feel of the load of the SC on my GSR...

Joe

Malachi

and thats not even 100% of the cars potential, the new RUF's are getting another 50 ponies from the car. The article i read said you can push the porsche to the limit on the bahn and the ruf will just breeze by. I think they were using the GT2's as their model though. :drool: