Question for power adder gurus

[poncho@home]

Ok, I am sure this is a common question, but its not easy digging through all the posts to find a solid answer.

What is the preferred power adder setup for a street car that will see occasional drag strip use.

Not looking to go all out, just a decent bump in power from stock, but emphasis on reliability and street-ability.

Car is '17 GT premium, MT82, 3.31 gearing. Some rear work done to help the HOP and will be on 26" bias ply and GT350 halfshafts and a FTBR shifter bracket

Will retain stock exhaust with a Steeda hpipe.

Considering adding a supercharger or just staying NA and just doing headers and 18+ intake manifold.

Thanks in advance for any feedback

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[TGYNYY]

A tune and a new rear

 

[JDUBU]

If your a manual car I would do a PD style blower. Auto I would do centri or turbos. Seeing in your sig. your a manual I would suggest a PD blower even though I have a centri. I think others would have counter points but the whipple's are just more fun for daily and have a more on demand style power delivery.

You might be happy as suggested with a tune and some tires/ bolt on scenario?

 

[NGOT8R]

I know many blower fans will disagree with me, but I gotta say don’t overlook nitrous here. It would be perfect for occasional drag strip use and also net a better ET than any NA runs. In my case, I have a nicely tuned FBO car when running NA and an extra 170 whp on tap, which is derived from a 150 hp shot of nitrous. When done running at the track, I can go back to running NA and out less strain on the motor and/or not have an urge to wring the car out at max power more often (if supercharged). Having said that, I like the idea of any power adder.

 

[CJJon]

I know many blower fans will disagree with me, but I gotta say don’t overlook nitrous here. It would be perfect for occasional drag strip use and also net a better ET than any NA runs.

Nothing against NO2, but this is the exact scenario that gets people in trouble - the occasional user. NO2 is fiddly and things can go bad quick. Getting a system dialed in isn't all that easy, especially so for a newbie.

 

[NGOT8R]

Nothing against NO2, but this is the exact scenario that gets people in trouble - the occasional user. NO2 is fiddly and things can go bad quick. Getting a system dialed in isn't all that easy, especially so for a newbie.

I agree things can go bad with nitrous, but things can go bad on blower or turbo cars as well. I would advise anyone that decides to use nitrous, not to cut any corners, wire it up properly, add as many safety features as possible (colder plugs, BAP and E85 fuel tested at 85% or higher ethanol), use a progressive controller (covers rpm activation, tps activation, fuel pressure safety switch etc.), purge kit, bottle heater and most importantly, get a tune before using it. I burned through 30 gallons of One Ethanol while carefully data logging for nitrous and followed all instructions from my tuner to the letter. Of course all power adders come with a risk and nothing is 100% foolproof, but in my case, I took every step that I know of to mitigate the risk of something going awry.

 

[Cory S]

I ran centrifugal (always Vortech/Procharger) for the last 22 years. Last year I decided to give the TVS/PD compressors a shot. I honestly will not go back to centrifugal again.

 

[FastCarFanBoy]

PD blower

 

[SolarFlare]

What kinda rolls do you do? If you’re a good driver and prefer lower rolls a centrifugal will do. If mainly 60s in 3rd then a VMP gen 2R or gen 3 or a Whipple will be your friend.

 

[Jackson1320]

I agree things can go bad with nitrous, but things can go bad on blower or turbo cars as well. I would advise anyone that decides to use nitrous, not to cut any corners, wire it up properly, add as many safety features as possible (colder plugs, BAP and E85 fuel tested at 85% or higher ethanol), use a progressive controller (covers rpm activation, tps activation, fuel pressure safety switch etc.), purge kit, bottle heater and most importantly, get a tune before using it. I burned through 30 gallons of One Ethanol while carefully data logging for nitrous and followed all instructions from my tuner to the letter. Of course all power adders come with a risk and nothing is 100% foolproof, but in my case, I took every step that I know of to mitigate the risk of something going awry.

By the time you pay for all of that and install it you could’ve had a supercharger

 

[NGOT8R]

By the time you pay for all of that and install it you could’ve had a supercharger

No sir, I don’t think I could have (at least not the one I would choose anyway). I have about $4K invested in my nitrous setup (no labor, as I installed it myself). Super chargers cost $2K-$3K+ more (depending on which SC), plus labor, unless of course the end user does his/her own install. Don’t get me wrong, SC Mustangs are cool (I’ve had two). I just wanted to suggest nitrous to the OP, just in case he hadn’t considered it. The only negative to nitrous is having to fill bottles, but if the OP will only run at the drag strip occasionally, it might be a viable option for him.

 

[SolarFlare]

In my opinion that just sounds like having a slow mustang 95% of the time and a somewhat quick mustang 5% of the time. And you’re still racking up cost due to bottle fills

 

[vtknight]

I have enjoyed PC/centri setups - and for day to day driveability are great. It was on a manual car and I found that for track - 60' was problematic/tricky. The PD style blower (Gen V Whipple) was easier for 60' and I have an auto this time (10R80). That said - Solarflare who posted above me is doing solid work a the drags with his Centri. I definitely am wary of spray - being honest I haven't used it much - and I do not think it is comparable to an FI setup when it comes to tuning and setup accuracy. Spray is something you have to get right and while tuning any car FI or otherwise is critical - the knowledge for spray and getting it right is more tricky - plus as SF said above - it is really only a "sometimes" solution - so you are using it at the track and on special occasions - or you will go through a lot of bottles.

 

[NGOT8R]

Nitrous (or the Plague as many people view it), is definitely not for the faint of heart. I’m ok with a slow car 95% of the time because I don’t plan to run mine out the back door on the street. Hell, data logging for my Lund tunes had me nervous as hell about getting pulled over at those speeds. As for me, I’ll cruise mine on the street and run it out the back door on the bottle at the track. My street racing days are done and over with.

 

[Dom1232]

I did FBO E85 ported 18 mani 6 months ago. I’m currently bolting a Paxton / OPG on LOL. It was fun but not nearly enough for my taste. I could beat or stick with most lightly modified M series cars or even beat stock hellcats but I’d rather gap them by 3-4 cars. I like the centri setup because it’s a turbo like feel and I really only roll race these days Wastegate setups are always an option if you feel like the bottom end is lacking but I have a buddy with a similar setup making 700whp with a 6r80 and it feels like an animal even from a dig. I will mention that I’ve never driven a stang with a PD just previously turbo bmws.

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