Just ordered my Kenne Bell to replace my stock Eaton. Just wondering if anyone could tell me what to expect after I get it on this week. I read up and everything I saw said I should gain a minimum of 80 rwhp. Any info is appreciated. Thanks,

Phil

 

Damn, you haven't had your L for long and already throughing a KB on it huh? Ain't nothin wrong with that. Just make sure you don't crank up the boost to much because of those weak a$$ rods these things come with. You prolly don't want to go any higher than 14 or 15 on the boost.

Good luck.

 

Do you have Long tubes? I gained 200 rwhp with my KB, but that was at 21#s of boost. Dans 03 , while maxing out his stock injectors, made 500 rwhp at 17#s of boost.

 

make sure you tell the guys at kb you have a six pound lower

but to be exact you need to measure the lower 9inch is a six lber

to my limited drug induced hazed over partial labotamy brain

 

Don't think you'll gain 80 rwhp unless you also run a lot more boost. But an Eaton at 14 psi and a KB at 14 psi will not be anywhere near 80 rwhp, at least mine certainly isn't. Have not dynoed it, but you'd notice that much of a gain very easily. I'm guessing I'm at 460 rwhp since I run the factory manifolds and cats, but I made 427 rwhp with the Eaton. Now if I wanted to run a lot more boost I'd agree, but on the stock longblock you're taking your chances.

Jody

 

Phil, there was a great article in Truckin magazine in October of '02 about the gains with stock engine an identical mods - KB vs. Eaton - if you want to expand your reading.

I don't have a apples to apples comparison to give you, but I can share this and I believe it firmly that your tune (tuner) has everything to do with the hp and torque you are going to produce! Regardless of the s/c - the tune is critical.

I am running stock internals so my first order of concern was/is keep it safe and get as much hp as I can without loosing a rod. As Pete mentions above - I am running 16lbs of boost, JLP 9" (6lb) lower, Reichard 3.20" (2lb) upper with the Metco idler system. I dyno'd 496/562 on a very humid - 90 degree south Florida Day (you know what I am talking about). My shift point is still at the factory 5200 rpm, my a/f is at 12.1 and most important (in my opinion) my timing is only 2 degrees off stock at 14 - all on 93 octane. My best run so far (there have been four quarter runs) landed me a 12.2 at 111mph - not exactly knocking my socks off, but I did learn from one of the best John at JLP that my conservative tune was "very conservative" and that's o.k. with me (for now). A 2400 stall will land me in the 11's (here's hoping).

I did a lot of research before I decided on 16lbs boost, I have 5600 miles on my L - all flawless and I installed the KB at 500 miles. Again you can get aggressive with your tune and risk it or play it safe - your choice. Quite frankly for all I know - even playing it safe on a stock lower with this much Hp may be unrealistic, but only time will tell.

Bottomline you will love the power, welcome to the club. If I had to do it all over again I would either go the KB route or a really strong 14lbs boost plus NOS 100 shot with the Eaton. That 80 hp gain - that's pushing it in my opinion, maybe 50 to 65.

D-Day

 

A previous post of mine:

"HP level" has nothing to do with it. It's all about the tune. A truly "conservative" tune is the one installed by Ford.

"Knock is virtually always the cause of failure in a supercharged engine." "The pressure spike caused by the [detonation] explosion can reach several thousand PSI, and pressure rise is rapid enough to be considered an impact load. These temperatures and pressures are almost ten times higher than those accompanying controlled combustion. . . No metals in existence today, no forged pistons, no special head gaskets can withstand sustained detonation."

Corky Bell, "Supercharged!: The Design, Testing, and Installation of Supercharger Systems," pp. 27, 178.

Further, the load on a rod is a mixture of tensile loads at the top of the compression and exhaust strokes and compressive loads during the power stroke. Yet on the power stroke, the compressive load of combustion helps to mitigate the tensile loads, which are unchecked during the exhaust stroke. Thus, the tensile loads on a con rod are greatest when at TDC on the exhaust stroke, where it is purely a function of piston weight, RPM, and stroke -- not boost.

Bottom line: At 14 PSIG, peak rod pressure is only up about 20%. See Bell, pp. 21-24. With detonation, peak rod pressure is up about 1,000%.

And detonation does not have to be audible to be damaging. Superchargers mask the sounds of detonation. And detonation strong enough to cause forces many times greater than normal combustion may not even be audible -- on an NA engine.

The Ford engineers use Kisler probes to watch cylinder pressures in real time. Detonation has a distinct pressure spike. This spike can be 100% greater than normal and still not be heard. Under these inaudible detonation conditions, if a rod is marginal, it will break. You now have a broken rod and no audible detonation. The stock rods are NOT weak -- they are just the weakest link in the chain. Be conservative with the tune and all should be fine.

 

Tom, you game he a headack.

 

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the input. Just wanted to hear some info from people and not articles or distributors. I am not going to run anything over 14 or 15 lbs, for the engines sake. I'll let everyone know the results at the end of next week, I'm waiting on the heat exchanger to put everything on. Thanks again.

Phil

 

Hey man if this is the guy on Macdill with the Sonic Blue Lightning look me up on the global @David Sykes, SSGt. I work with Clark. Some friends and I are planning a track trip here soon you should come with us. Also if you get a chance stop by the sheetmetal shop so we can check out your truck. Good luck w/ the KB.

 

So where are all the Eaton that have been taken off? I figured they would be for sales and I could get one and send it off for porting and not be without one for a while...

 

In a box for a rainy day, you never know with aftermarket parts. If my KB ever goes out of warranty the Eaton is going back on. You can find them on ebay now an then.

D-Day

 

Yea, I was gonna sell my Eaton, but you just never know. It will be on the shelf for a rainy day. Dave, we will have to get together at the track, just let me know when and we'll go. Thanks again guys for all the help.

Phil