modaddict

What's the 'best' Blower?...

I see so many of these threads on here so let's compile our opinions here...

Yes, it is a fact that 'brand loyalty' and what someone has on their car has a great influence on what they recommend as the 'best' blower but the reality is there is no 'bad' blower. There is simply different benefits depending on your driving needs.

No matter what anyone tells you, when it comes to blowers and daily driving, a watercooled kit is the ONLY way to go. If you're going to shell out the money for a blower, don't be cheap and make sure to get the 'cooled' version. I always get asked, "why is water better than air to air?" Well the simple answer is because water is controlled and air is not. If you live and drive in a place where the air is constantly cold then that's great, but the majority of us drive in weather climates where the air changes often and especially when doing some driving in hot weather, the air to air cooling can be a real nutcracker to your blower. Your blower gets hot, your IAT's get high, and a can of worms is potentially opened. Remember that HEAT is on the top of the list for BAD things for your car.

So you now have to look at what your needs and future needs are going to be. For the sake of keeping this simple for now, I'm going to keep this talk about STOCK MOTORS AND ACCEPTABLE STOCK BOOST LEVELS...

If you are really concerned with the longevity of your car and being the safest possible on your internals, as well as doing lot's and lot's of daily driving over long distances, and really just looking for more top end power, then a centrifugal is probably your best bet. For the cooling reasons I listed above, I really have to put my 'best buy' opinion on the Vortech. It was the very first watercooled s/c out for the S197 and is a really good and reliable unit. Easy to drive that thing cross country and you have to really try to ever see max boost and with most normal driving, you will rarely see max boost anyway and no boost unless you 'try'.

Now the big TS debate...lol

Okay, we all love our blowers but the reality is the Saleen, KB, and Whipple can all achieve the max power for the stock motor. Yes, it is a fact, the Whipple and Saleen design runs cooler and lower IAT's than the KB but it is also a fact that at acceptable stock motor boost levels, none of them are running too hot in any way to make a justifiable decision to pick one over the other. When you get into big boost, then this is actually a serious issue but we are talking about stock motor levels and at those levels, all of them are more than good enough to do the job. Yes, it is a fact that you can make more boost with the Whipple and KB but again, we are talking about stock motor boost levels and all 3 of them can achieve the same rwhp number with a proper tune and pulley combination. So how do we decide which is 'better'...

We can't because on stock motor levels, they are almost identical. The reality is your choice should really only based on the these factors in order of preference...

#1 - which one whoever is going to tune your car has the most experience and track record with
#2 - which one looks/sounds the best to you
#3 - which you can get the best deal on

IMO - the TS is the ultimate Daily Driver of blowers because it gives you instant full boost when you want to have seat of your pants fun stabbing the throttle. It is also a myth that a TS is in boost 'all the time'. You can drive your TS across the state and never be in boost easily. The flip side to the TS is that it is easy to be in full boost and you will find yourself there often so if you're not interested in that 'instant' power and really just want more overall HP to your car reliably, and you also don't want to spend the money on a TS, then a centrifi might be a better choice for you.

I am not mentioning the roush or magna charger because I cannot think of any reason they would be worth the investment...[8D]


The bottom line is that in talking about stock motors, any s/c choice you make is a good one and my advice to get the one you your tuner works the best with and the one you like the looks of and brand name the best...

BUILT motors and FUTURE built motors are a whole lot more complicated and definitely need their own episode just for that...[8D]

CK

MexGT

I've always seen them in that way lol

Another nice write-up !

onederful100

nice episode, you kept it simple so even I could understand. i've gone over this question many times in my head, which SC is best. the first thing that comes to mind is whipple. sure its expensive, but you only live once, so i'm gonna live it up. at first i thought of going cheap w/ the paxton, then changed my mind to the saleen, but all money aside, i like the whipple, the sound, the looks, the instant boost, plus the black one will look bada$$ in my black GT. i'm gonna order very soon, so i'm keeping my eye on these blower talk episodes.

blackS197

KB and Whipple were my 2 top choices.Animportant factor was the sound (Cant get enough of the whine for daily driving). Talked to ST motorsports and they recommended the whipple since I was looking for a nice whine ataround 10psi. I heared KB is virtuallyquiet until you really hit serious boost. Although I did not purchase my SC from ST they said the full kit for KB and Whipple were the same price. Just a preference for sound so I went with whipple. If KB was just as loud I would of probably went with Kenne Bell.

acstone7

These episodes are sweet, looking forward to the saga

ziperhead

I would like to probe you on non intercooling. Here were my thoughts when I selected my kit. Please beat on me if I get to far out there. I selected the KB 2.6 non intercooled for a few reasons. I am running a 06 Automatic and was really concerned about how much hp and torque the trans could handle. I selected the 5 psi version since the advertised HP was + 129 and + 61 lbs of torque and mostimportantly the air filter was external to the car to assist in keeping it cool. I live in NY and seldom do we get in the 90 degree temps. I may be assumming to much but Kenne Bell would not sell a non intercooled version if it won't last.
Know with that said, I waffle back and forth wetherI should I have intercooled.
Love to hear your thoughts on the non intercooled versions as well.

MustangGT0405

Totally agree with CK. Not that this will ever stop the repetitive threads but it is good info.

I chose the Whipple for 3 main reasons.

1. Cost got a really good deal and it came with more parts than the other guys (GT 500 pumps )
2. Look, when I pop the hood I want to see a blower and not explain why it look like an intake (Saleen)
3. Sound, these things just sound sick.

I think I would be just as happy at the 450rwhp level with any of them but the whipple was the best choice for me.

As far as the centri's being more reliable, not sure. Gradual boost is probably nicer to the rods but I would have to think if they are going to let go, they will let go.

My stang is a daily driver so we will see how many S/C miles I can get before calamity. I would think in the 8-10psi range I should see at least 80 k miles. (Although I am not a track junkie so the driving will be spirited but not insane.)

If I do grenade something I will probably go with a built MMR shortblock (the base one) and continue to run it at 10 psi for a true bullet proof ride.

Love the blower talk threads and do think they should be stickied.

MustangGT0405

I am not the all knowing CK, but I was big on the non-intercooled whipple for a while and will tell you what I learned.

About every major tuner I called said not to do it. I think this is because in order to remain safe the tune has to be so conservative you are leaving tons on the table. Also the increase in cost is really minimal to get the intercooler. I was looking at whipples and for an extra $1200 I was getting intercooling and GT 500 fuel pumps ($700 by themselves).

$1200 is alot but not when you are already dropping $4500. With intercooling you pick up tons of horsepower in your ability to up the boost and tune the car better. I was told to buy the intercooled kit and then run the 6 psi pulley. With that I could get a solid 400 rwhp and be as safe as could be.

I figured that 8psi was a good compromise for me so that is what I plan on running my whipple at. (If I ever can get it installed [:@]) Hope to see about 425rwhp to start.

I would say that if you went out and bought the intercooler stuff and had the car tuned you could pick up an easy 30rwhp safely. Then in the future if you ever want to go nuts its is just a pulley swap away.

Thats my 2 cents.

Thanks,

modaddict

It's not that they 'don't work' - it's mainly that you are going to be limited if you ever want some more power. For your KB, you are going to have to stay right there to be reliable. That may be fine with you and then that's great - but you don't have the same ability as the intercooled guys to turn the boost up if they get the urge to do so.

If you look at the difference in price versus the intercooled kit and now look at the difference in power and feel of 10 psi versus 5 psi - you kind of see where I'm coming from, ya know?

modaddict

I am certainly not 'all knowing'...lol

Hell, I've broken more crap than just about anyone...[:@] and I'm always learning new stuff almost on a daily basis. Some things I think are right turn out to be wrong. I'm on here not only to share but to learn as well. I've said all along, don't take my word as gospel and I encourage you (speaking to everyone here) to take my opinion and ask around and compare it to what other professionals think. Most of the stuff I post about though is stuff I base my opinion on from actual real world experience and doing it on my own car. I try not to make any opinions on something I read on a forum or magazine, or what some vendor told me. I try to stick to what I have seen with my own eyes cause that's the only things I can be sure of is accurate...[8D]

I actually love to be proved wrong about something with these cars cause that means I learn something and I like that. I just don't like someone trying to prove me wrong with what they've 'heard' or 'read' cause I am very aware of how much BS is put out there to sell you guys mods...