Adding power to get 800hp to the wheels...not possible without a ton of mods?

[Emt1581]

Unless I read the original post wrong - it mentions mods to "handle the power".
I would assume he meant beefing up the rest of the drive line to handle all the added power.

Don't reinvent the wheel, there are plenty of S550 owners who are putting out the kind of power you are talking about. The issue, at least in my lowly opinion, is how you plan to USE that power.

I would dare say that someone who has 600+ HP in a S550 that does not regular hit the local drag strip is much less likely to break something than someone with 500HP in a S550 who regularly hits the drag strip - all other things being equal (Stock axles, suspension etc etc).

I knew a guy with a pretty stout big block Chevy in a 2nd Generation Camaro. He basically put a built big block and Turbo 400 into a pretty much otherwise stock car. Granted the car had been restored, but still pretty much stock except for engine / transmission. He drove that car for several years with no issues. The guy he sold it to immediately started taking it to the drag strip. In no time at all he had to upgrade the rear end after a failure, the drive shaft, etc etc.

Like I said - it's all about what you want to do with all that power.

Personally, I have ZERO intention to ever hit a drag strip. Almost no plans to hit a track (due to how expensive it is per day). But I drive fast, VERY fast on the highway when no one is around. So the vast majority of the power-adder coming into play will be when I'm already at 50mph+ rather than flooring it from a stop light.

I usually start out slow or, at most, brisk from a stop....then when I'm at 30mph or so I'll get on it, but around town there's not much chance of getting a wide open stretch without an intersection.

Still, if/when I do add power I want to make sure nothing I do on a regular basis is going to hurt the car in any way.

Thanks!

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[BoostedBen]

Personally, I have ZERO intention to ever hit a drag strip. Almost no plans to hit a track (due to how expensive it is per day). But I drive fast, VERY fast on the highway when no one is around. So the vast majority of the power-adder coming into play will be when I'm already at 50mph+ rather than flooring it from a stop light.

I usually start out slow or, at most, brisk from a stop....then when I'm at 30mph or so I'll get on it, but around town there's not much chance of getting a wide open stretch without an intersection.

Still, if/when I do add power I want to make sure nothing I do on a regular basis is going to hurt the car in any way.

Thanks!

I think a lot of it depends on the driver, regardless of how much HP you have. I'm over 600 to the wheels and drive very similar to how you described. The car is in perfect shape and runs amazing and from what I gather is in the somewhat "safe" zone for these engines. I upgraded OPG and sprockets for a "peace of mind" insurance (which there are plenty on here that say you don't need them). I am saving up for the eventual replacement of the clutch which is all I see needing replaced in the near future.

But, to your original question in the title of this thread, if you're goal is 800 to the wheels, I would say at those numbers on a stock bottom end it's probably a just a matter of time before something pops.

 

[Emt1581]

But, to your original question in the title of this thread, if you're goal is 800 to the wheels, I would say at those numbers on a stock bottom end it's probably a just a matter of time before something pops.

Meaning the drive shaft?

Is that something people replace 800+? I've never done that type of swap/repair. I'm wondering how expensive that would be to have done?

Thanks

 

[BoostedBen]

Meaning the drive shaft?

Is that something people replace 800+? I've never done that type of swap/repair. I'm wondering how expensive that would be to have done?

Thanks

I want to say $1500-$2000? Someone on here could probably vouch for a ballpark cost.

The life of the drive shaft is probably in line with everything else. If you start driving like an bunghole and wheel hopping, even at 600 hp things will break.

 

[M151A2]

All very true.
HP is no good if you cant stick the tires to the road. When you stick the tires to the road, things break. Half Shafts and Clutches tend to go first, followed by the xmission.
Soo, tires/wheels = about 1.5k, Half shafts= about 1.5K, Clutch+ about 1.5K.
We are up to 4.5K just on those. BMR or Steeda stuff, another 1K..... the list goes on and on. Oh, this is also no labor in those numbers.
The bottom line is that HP = Lots of money. If you have the money, have fun.

 

[Emt1581]

All very true.
HP is no good if you cant stick the tires to the road. When you stick the tires to the road, things break. Half Shafts and Clutches tend to go first, followed by the xmission.
Soo, tires/wheels = about 1.5k, Half shafts= about 1.5K, Clutch+ about 1.5K.
We are up to 4.5K just on those. BMR or Steeda stuff, another 1K..... the list goes on and on. Oh, this is also no labor in those numbers.
The bottom line is that HP = Lots of money. If you have the money, have fun.

I'm wondering if most people just wait until a part breaks to replace it or if it's done up front? Not sure if this is like a timing belt where, on some cars, if you wait until it breaks it's a catastrophic failure that breaks the motor.

 

[ProChargerTECH]

Today I was talking to a friend of mine who's been into cars for years. We started talking about my car and I mentioned wanting to add power once my warranty runs out.

He said, for my specific model, anything over 600hp is going to require a ton of mods to make it handle the power. I called BS and he said he had another friend that has one and he had to pour a ton of money into it just to handle over 600hp.

I was under the impression that somewhere between 700hp and 800hp was able to be done without swapping out a lot of parts.

Is my friend mistaken or am I?

Thanks

ProCharger D1SC or D1X
1000cc injectors
Fuel system
E85

800+ HP all day everyday.

 

[SVT-DADDY]

Making the power isn't really that hard. For Whipple's is this simple:

3.5 pulley
headers or cat delete
100 octane or e85
BAP
95lbs or bigger injectors

The problem is handling it. My stock clutch started slipping during data logging so that has to go. Axles won't be long after that, then its time to start thinking about the trans.
Then oil pump gears etc.

It's so hard to resist stepping it up but the 600-700hp level seems a lot more livable for these cars.

 

[ahl395]

If you stay on street tires, you probably won't break many drivetrain parts.

The tires will usually just spin before you break an axle, differential, or driveshaft. On Drag radials or slicks the tires will grip hard enough that all that torque is placed on the components, but on a street tire they will just spin before the components are stressed that much. Usually, not saying it's impossible.

Personally I'm over 700whp on stock axles & driveshaft on 305 MPSS tires and I beat the shit out of it. No issues. I did get a driveshaft safety loop though because I've seen how much damage that can do if the driveshaft breaks. I wait for parts to break before replacing them usually, because there's a good chance they won't

 

[Emt1581]

If you stay on street tires, you probably won't break many drivetrain parts.

The tires will usually just spin before you break an axle, differential, or driveshaft. On Drag radials or slicks the tires will grip hard enough that all that torque is placed on the components, but on a street tire they will just spin before the components are stressed that much. Usually, not saying it's impossible.

Personally I'm over 700whp on stock axles & driveshaft on 305 MPSS tires and I beat the shit out of it. No issues. I did get a driveshaft safety loop though because I've seen how much damage that can do if the driveshaft breaks. I wait for parts to break before replacing them usually, because there's a good chance they won't

I just put on Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's which pretty much transformed the car from the shitty P-Zeros. They grip like crazy by comparison.

Never heard of a driveshaft safety loop though. I'll have to look that one up.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Barrel]

Safety loop is one of the better insurance items to install and the BMR one is really easy to install. Won't completely eliminate the damage of the steel tube of death beating up your undercarriage but it should help if it fails.

 

[Boduke0220]

Safety loop is one of the better insurance items to install and the BMR one is really easy to install. Won't completely eliminate the damage of the steel tube of death beating up your undercarriage but it should help if it fails.

agreed, especially if you do half mile shit like we do

 

[Emt1581]

Safety loop is one of the better insurance items to install and the BMR one is really easy to install. Won't completely eliminate the damage of the steel tube of death beating up your undercarriage but it should help if it fails.

I looked it up and it seems like a big bracket that I'm guessing shields the transmission or maybe motor itself if the shaft breaks loose....am I getting warm?

After identifying which type of power adder I want and then the specific model I'm (potentially) going with...I'll do a ton of homework to make it as safe as possible. And if I am not confident about it being 99.9999% safe by then I just won't do it. But do any companies offer a warranty against catastrophic failures aside from the device itself? It would just suck to have done everything right and put in the time/money and then have it implode a few minutes or even months after the install.

I know Roush does if you have a Roush certified tech do the install.

On another note I saw that E85 is about 30 cents CHEAPER per gallon than 87 at the local Exxon. There has to be a down side to using it though. I seem to remember if you leave it in a system too long it begins to eat (or maybe gunk up) the hoses. Last I researched it was for my Husqvarna chainsaw a year or two ago. But so long as they keep making it, and something can be done to make sure it doesn't harm the system...seems like an advantage to use it.

 

[Jay-rod427]

I looked it up and it seems like a big bracket that I'm guessing shields the transmission or maybe motor itself if the shaft breaks loose....am I getting warm?

After identifying which type of power adder I want and then the specific model I'm (potentially) going with...I'll do a ton of homework to make it as safe as possible. And if I am not confident about it being 99.9999% safe by then I just won't do it. But do any companies offer a warranty against catastrophic failures aside from the device itself? It would just suck to have done everything right and put in the time/money and then have it implode a few minutes or even months after the install.

I know Roush does if you have a Roush certified tech do the install.

On another note I saw that E85 is about 30 cents CHEAPER per gallon than 87 at the local Exxon. There has to be a down side to using it though. I seem to remember if you leave it in a system too long it begins to eat (or maybe gunk up) the hoses. Last I researched it was for my Husqvarna chainsaw a year or two ago. But so long as they keep making it, and something can be done to make sure it doesn't harm the system...seems like an advantage to use it.

When the driveshaft breaks it keeps it more in place instead of falling to the ground and flailing around beating the hell out of the underside of your car.

 

[Boduke0220]

I looked it up and it seems like a big bracket that I'm guessing shields the transmission or maybe motor itself if the shaft breaks loose....am I getting warm?

After identifying which type of power adder I want and then the specific model I'm (potentially) going with...I'll do a ton of homework to make it as safe as possible. And if I am not confident about it being 99.9999% safe by then I just won't do it. But do any companies offer a warranty against catastrophic failures aside from the device itself? It would just suck to have done everything right and put in the time/money and then have it implode a few minutes or even months after the install.

I know Roush does if you have a Roush certified tech do the install.

On another note I saw that E85 is about 30 cents CHEAPER per gallon than 87 at the local Exxon. There has to be a down side to using it though. I seem to remember if you leave it in a system too long it begins to eat (or maybe gunk up) the hoses. Last I researched it was for my Husqvarna chainsaw a year or two ago. But so long as they keep making it, and something can be done to make sure it doesn't harm the system...seems like an advantage to use it.

No downside to E85 really. Run a tank or 2 of 93 through every few months to clean everything out but other than that its good stuff. I daily drive my car on it. Your car uses about 30% more than regular gasoline so the cost difference is usually negated with shitty mpg. its really good stuff though, with these high compression motors and boost, the more octane/cooling..the better.

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