wcgman

Im new to the FI scene. I have a 2010GT that The Boss gave me the green light on boosting it. I live in Denver and occasionally get up in the mountains, but figure 5500 ft. on a regular basis. Also, I do drive in the cold and occasionally am at work when the snow starts to fly...I get outta there before anything sticks tho.

The question is at this altitude and with temps dropping below freezing on a fairly consistent basis in winter, what SC options should I look at and also how should I drive differently to prevent damage to the SC or engine components? Those are things I never thought about until reading other folks having problems with running at high altitude or cold temps and causing damage, even when installs are done by pros like Brenspeed.

My first inclination was to get hooked up with a Saleen SC at Brenspeed, but now I'm rethinking the FI thing completely...maybe I should be looking at Turbos? Heck I dont know! Your educated and experienced input is appreciated! Thanks

outceltj

I live in indiana and last year the temps dropped to -20 and I didnt have a problem. I now have the stage 3 saleen from brenspeed. People that have problems are generally quick to point the blame to the installer so dont let those people sway ur decision. Having a boosted motor is fun and can be for a long time. A little common sense goes a long way. Always keep an eye on things and know what u can and cannot do. Like if your going to drag race do not let the car shift into Overdrive always keep the TCS off. Just a few things you should know before getting FI. THose two things are mostly overlooked. Do not go over 450 to the wheels but thats up to you. Some do and have no problems.

wcgman

Thanks for the feedback. Im manual, so OD no problem. Didnt know about the TCS...do you just do the quick TCS off or do you do the one where you hold it for 5 seconds to turn everything traction related off? Not sure what stage saleen it is, but its saying 475 at the crank which one site said translated to 410 to the wheels. Yeah, as far as folks saying about the installer, it looks like I could even do the install in my garage, but why would I when it could run me 750 to have someone else do it and get a warranty? If there's problems though, that's one thing I didnt think of til now...Indiana is a LONG way from Denver...

Pop's Stang

Great story! Welcome to MF!

moochman4life

This has been talked about a little before, and some searching will turn up a little more info, but Vortech blowers aren't designed for operating under 25 degrees, so if you live with cold for a part of the year and still want FI, you should take that into consideration. The Vortechs are the only centrifugal blowers I know of that have this issue. My buddies Procharged 93 Cobra has no issues. I was actually forced to drive mine a couple times around 20 degrees and there sounded like a small amount of metal-on-metal scraping. Everything is still fine...haven't had any issues, and this was a year, 10k miles and many track days and road trips ago. Trust me, I didn't want to drive it...I had to move it because of snow. Nature of the beast. Of course, I didn't know about the -25 thing until I after I built my kit. :/

Other than that, I honestly couldn't be any happier with the performance.

outceltj

And if u do it now they have 1/2 price installs. Since ur a stick I think it's bad to go into fifth under full boost but I could be wrong. And on my car I just hit the button for TCS and it's disengaged. When the TCS is activated I think it pulls timing when it feels the tires slip (I think) which is bad for FI. Give Chandler at brenspeed a call man. He's a good dude and will answer these q's for ya. Atleast that's what I have always done. Research on here and then ask the experts

wcgman

Whooooaaa...1/2 price installs? What is this you speak of!?!? Is this is a Saleen promo? Do you know how long it's in effect and if this applies to all Saleen speed centers...it might make it more attractive. Is there anything you can tell me further like maybe where you heard that, etc??? Thanks so much!

outceltj

^^^^ Its on brenspeeds website and if u call chandler now I think they may work with you if u cant get there in december but want to try and get the deal but for a later date. As far as all saleen facilities i doubt that. Brenspeed does it every year b/c im sure its much slower in the winter and it keeps the money wheel turning. They advertise this on facebook mostly. They had 1/2 price november installs also.

wcgman

So I made my decision. Turns out through a friend that a local ford dealer had a roush m90 that a customer never showed up for, so I got a smokin deal installed and out the door. Car should be ready on Monday

outceltj

Awesome that had some great deals on them about a year ago