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Sunday, 08 May 2011 07:36
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Pumped Up
Friday - April 29
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Thursday - May 5
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Saturday - May 7
Holding My Breath
Sunday - May 8
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Wednesday May 18
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Power, you always want more. Being a 4000lbs car the Challenger needs a powerful engine to get the 1/4 mile time I was hoping for. I did manage to pull off a 12.91 but most of my times were in the 13.3 range. I was hoping to get to low 12s and possibly high 11s. I started looking into power adder options even before I purchased the car. I looked at various centrifugal superchargers, NOS systems, and even Turbos. There was a lot of aspects that affected my decision. I wanted at least 150HP gain but I also wanted whatever addition to look decent. I also wanted it to allow the car to pass the emission testing we have in BC.

 

Turbos definitely gave the power but I did not like how these systems mounted under the vehicle. Some require removal of the CATS so I decided against this route.

NOS kind of scares me, it seems too hard on the engine so I decided against this route as well.

I looked at centrifugal superchargers like Vortech and ProCharger. I did not like the look of the Vortech with its inter cooler over the left cylinder bank. I was leaning towards the ProCharger. They were the only company that sent me an installation manual when asked. The problem with the ProCharger was the lag for the supercharger to build boost and I also did not like the visible inter-cooler through the front grill.

I then heard about the Twin Screw Supercharger offered by Kenne Bell. Twin screw interested me as it builds boost at low RPMs and also generates much less heat than a Roots style supercharger. I started doing more research in this area. Kenne Bell has a long history of developing superchargers. Their website offers lots of useful information on their technology, comparisons with other technologies, and general tech tips on such things as fuel systems. In searching forums everyone was praising the Kenne Bell unit. It also has the capability of producing over 20psi of boost if ever required so there is lots of room for expansion in the future. And, IT LOOKS COOL. So I pulled the trigger and purchased a polished 2.8L kit from Mr. Norms Garage. Three weeks later two HUGE boxes showed up at my front door.

I figured I should have a boost gauge so while waiting for the supercharger to arrive I installed some gauges and additional wiring required for the inter-cooler water pump. Check out my gauge install section for details.

The installation manual is huge for this kt. Everything you need to complete the install is included, even some special tools like a fuel rail disconnect tool. The only thing missing was a fitting and hose used to bleed the coolant system at the end of the install. I did not follow the instruction sequence completely as I was doing this install in my tiny garage so I wanted the car drivable until the last possible moment.

I wanted to get the tedious things out of the way first so I completed all the electrical work first. I had already installed the power system required for the water pump so adding the provided relay and harness was very simple. I then installed the boost-a-pump system used to increase the fuel pump voltage during boost conditions. The Boost-a-pump is installed in the trunk on top of the rear PDC unit. It is wired inline with the fuel pump power. It then has a long wire that connects to a pressure switch in the engine compartment. The manual says to run this line under the vehicle but I did not want to drill a hole in my trunk as instructed. I took the time to run this line through the inside of the vehicle. I routed this line along the main power lead from the battery, then to the drivers side of the car under the rear seat, then under the rear quarter panel, under the drivers door sill, behind the kick panel, and then through the same hole in the firewall that all my gauge wires went through. It then runs behind the engine and was temporarily coiled up by the evap valve. Lots of interior parts had to be removed to route this wire. The service manual sure helped. There are lots of snaps to release and knowing where to pull will help prevent damaging any panels.



Last Updated on Friday, 03 June 2011 10:32