13Yote
Junior Member
Hello, figured I'd do this writeup since there's not much centralized information for this kind of swap. Below will be my experiences/solutions on doing this swap. Note that this is done on an 11-14 car, and while most aspects will stay the same, there will be minor differences for the 15-17 and 18+ crowds.
Background:
I've spent the past ~6 mo. piecing together information and making this build happen on weekends between college. I have a 2013 Mustang Gt 6 spd with the usual supporting mods - OPG, crank sprocket, 1 7/8 long tube headers, and single piece driveshaft.
I've heard whisperings of this swap at the beginning of the build and saw one for sale by Shelby Auctions on Ebay and pulled the trigger.
What is the Predator Supercharger?
This is the factory supercharger on all GT500s from circa 2019 till present. Shelby Auctions regularly sells them on Ebay as they convert factory Ford Shelbys into real Shelbys. At the time I bought mine, the head units were selling at about $2500 a pop plus any goodies they left on the unit (like injectors/fuel rail or throttle body). The supercharger itself is a 2.65L TVS, front feed, blow-up (compresses air and pushes up through intercooler) style supercharger. This can be related VERY closely to the VMP Odin line in almost all aspects. This supercharger conveniently fits right onto all generations of the coyote engine - given that the GT500 Predator engine has the same architecture as a larger Coyote. It also supports port injection, which enables it to work with all generations.
Cool story, how do I get it to work?
Fitment/Drive
Locating Dowels
This is going to be the biggest hurdle of the install. This is because the locating dowels on the supercharger are larger than the locating holes on the head of the engine. The solution? Drill out the holes. As an engineer I've tried to vet any other way and the simplicity of simply drilling out the holes far outweighs any other method. (If you want some of the ideas I was working on, PM me). Besides, if you wanted to return the heads to stock, you'd just have to press dowels into the holes to step them back down.
Most people that I've seen used step drills, which work well. I opted to use regular drill bits and step up in size until I had about 0.020" clearance. Since the head is aluminum, this was quite easy to do. The dowels from the supercharger don't stick out much more than a quarter of an inch, too, so you don't have to drill too far down.
Once this is done, the supercharger should sit right down perfectly.
Fuel Rail Bolts
As far as I can discern, this should mostly be a non issue. The normal superchargers SHOULD have thru-holes for studs to run from the head to the fuel rail mounting flanges. I have heard that there was a run of ~300 units from Ford that did not have this hole, to which you'd need to drill a clearanced thru-hole to accommodate an M6x1 stud (about 160mm long).
Belt Drive
This was covered by VMP Performance and their no grind FEAD kit. This is a very common drive for a couple different superchargers, so getting your hands on one should be easy. With my chosen pulley size (3.5), the belt size was 69 1/8".
Pulley System
Again, this was covered by VMP. They sell an adapter that threads onto the snout of the supercharger and converts to their 6 bolt pulley system. They also have a detailed video on how to do this - pretty straightforward. The only tip is if the shaft is being difficult to remove, try prying (gently) from above. Looking at the snout, there's an angle from the ~10 o'clock position that helped a ton. As stated above, I'm running a 3.5 in. pulley. This was based off results from pulley sizes on a gen1 coyote using the VMP gen3r supercharger (same rotors as the Predator supercharger), which should net between 6 and 700 whp.
Fueling
Injectors and Fuel Rails
This one's pretty cut and dry, just like any other power adder you're going to need a boost-a-pump for the stock fuel pump. Preferably a new fuel pump/system, but we're not made of money over here. If you get lucky, your supercharger will come with the factory fuel injectors and fuel rails. These will work fine up to - I think - about 900 rwhp. Just make sure you get them cleaned first.
If you need to source these parts, both Lethal Performance and VMP have good options for fuel rails. Injector dynamics or any other related company should be able to provide injectors for the use case, just make sure they're for a GT500 not the car you're putting them in as they're being fitted to the supercharger.
Also, there's a pressure sensor port on the Predator Fuel rails that may need to be plugged. I used this opportunity to run a custom fuel pressure gauge, but a standard NPT plug will suffice as well - should be 1/8-27 NPT thread.
Fuel Line
The factory fuel line will plug into the Predator fuel rail, as they both utilize the 3/8 push connector. However, if you're a perfectionist like me, you can replace your whole fuel line with braided AN line (it's not that bad). A 20ft 6AN kit from Evil Energy did the trick. Make sure to get a 3/8 push fitting for the fuel rail side and a 5/16 push fitting for the fuel hat on your gas tank. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME SIZE. The push fitting for the fuel tank side will need to be shaved down so that the fitting itself can push down on the nipple far enough to lock.
Air
Tapping the Lid
Yes I cringed at this one, too. You must tap the supercharger lid to place an IAT sensor in. This is to gauge air temp AFTER it is compressed. I sent my lid into a machine shop to do this since its at a weird angle - so I don't know the thread pitch exactly. VMP makes a wire harness to tap this sensor into the stock MAF harness, I assume it cancels the temp picked up at the MAF sensor and replaces it with the IAT 2 sensor.
Also, while the lid is off and being serviced, now would be a great time to tap the lid for a boost reference if you want a boost gauge. Found this out the hard way. See below for locations. Image from Duggan Racecraft YT and OrlandoMustangResto YT.
Intake
As far as I've found, the two intakes that work for this setup are the JLT 2 CAI and the AIRAID CAI. Both will need some creativity and persuasion on your part, but it's doable. Other intakes may work.
Throttle body
The stock Predator throttle body uses different electronics than our cars (11 thru 17 I think) so it can't be used at this time. No worries, though, as VMP provides an adapter plate to run the stock throttle body. This also angles the TB to be right side up.
It is worth noting that VMP also sells a TB harness adapter which should also be purchased as the stock harness can barely reach the TB and making it reach will cause undue stress on the wire connections.
Water
Intercooling System
This can be done a number of ways. OrlandoMustangResto used a Whipple degas bottle from VMP which can mount on the strut tower and works well. I wanted something more unique so I found a reservoir from Canton racing (intended as a degas relocation bottle for Paxton supercharger kits) and welded another aluminum bung for a 3/4 heater hose. This provided an inlet and an outlet for the system. (link)
The majority of the system is standard stuff highlighted by VMP in a couple of their videos - their installation video regarding their Odin kit on an 11-14 car and their installation video for their triple pass heat exchanger on 11-14 cars.
NOTE: Make sure to burp the pump for the intercooling system. Just fill the system, key on, then loosen the output hose on the pump until water comes out. Inspect the reservoir for coolant flow and reinstall the hose.
Engine Coolant System
The stock heater hoses could - probably - work with this build. Like the TB harness, they'd be stressed a little too much for my liking. The passenger side has to reach around the supercharger a little more and then has to reach over the taller fuel rails. My solution to this was to buy a 3/4 heater hose connection (link) and another push fit heater hose connector (link) and extend the factory heater hose. This can be done for both sides. Just note that the passenger side is 3/4 hose and the driver side is 5/8 hose (I only realized this after trying to install a 3/4 system, which still works).
Note that the driver side tube that runs from the water pump to the heater hose will likely need to be bent out (right if looking at the engine) to clear the throttle body. Just pull the tube, heat it where it needs to be bent, bend, and repaint where needed. Make sure to pull the oring on it prior to heating too.
PCV/Vacuum Lines
**The following will refer to an annotated picture of the supercharger**
PCV Lines
The passenger side valve cover will be routed to #1. The driver side valve cover still goes to the intake, so nothing changes there.
Other Vacuum Ports
#2 from the factory is intended to route to the brake booster. For my application, I routed it to the purge valve.
#3 is the line I used to go to the brake booster. It matches the factory line size more. I have not yet incurred any issue with loosing brake pressure with this either.
#4 you can't see from the diagram but it's a little nipple just to the left of #1. This is for the bypass valve. Route a vacuum line from this port to the top of the bypass valve. The bottom nipple on the bypass valve will need to route to a dump somewhere AFTER the MAF sensor but BEFORE the throttle body. I tapped a barb fitting on my intake tube and it dumps there.
The MAP sensor port on the top of the throttle body housing will need to be plugged as well, VMP makes a good plug for this case.
Tuning
I decided to pursue VMP Performance on this. They seemed familiar with the components in this swap so it seemed safe to assume they're familiar with the circumstances. Given the rotor pack and its similarity to other superchargers, I'd assume other tuners could perform as well. I am currently in this step of the process, conducting email tunes, and having no issues thus far.
Closing Remarks
As a college student, I initially pursued this supercharger in hopes it'd be cheaper than other options. That is not the case... at all. Is it more unique than other options? Sure. It was a fun project, and it'll be fun to pop the hood at a cars and coffee. However it was not an overnight process by any means. This project isn't for the weak.
VMP was a large help in this process, likely due to their Odin line. They will have the vast majority of odd parts you may need. They do offer a predator swap kit, however I found myself swapping out the majority of the parts in the kit - so if you want the bare minimum components it'll be ok, otherwise, I'd piece together my own kit from them.
I'd like to thank
VMP Performance
Mustang Lifestyle
OrlandoMustangResto
LowBoostMike
DugganRacecraft
I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has or go into further detail. If you've made it this far, thank you. I also have a YT channel by the name of RichardsPerformance or RandR25 where I have a rough video series of the whole process. I'll publish a final video eventually, I'm just in the trenches of finals in college.
Background:
I've spent the past ~6 mo. piecing together information and making this build happen on weekends between college. I have a 2013 Mustang Gt 6 spd with the usual supporting mods - OPG, crank sprocket, 1 7/8 long tube headers, and single piece driveshaft.
I've heard whisperings of this swap at the beginning of the build and saw one for sale by Shelby Auctions on Ebay and pulled the trigger.
What is the Predator Supercharger?
This is the factory supercharger on all GT500s from circa 2019 till present. Shelby Auctions regularly sells them on Ebay as they convert factory Ford Shelbys into real Shelbys. At the time I bought mine, the head units were selling at about $2500 a pop plus any goodies they left on the unit (like injectors/fuel rail or throttle body). The supercharger itself is a 2.65L TVS, front feed, blow-up (compresses air and pushes up through intercooler) style supercharger. This can be related VERY closely to the VMP Odin line in almost all aspects. This supercharger conveniently fits right onto all generations of the coyote engine - given that the GT500 Predator engine has the same architecture as a larger Coyote. It also supports port injection, which enables it to work with all generations.
Cool story, how do I get it to work?
Fitment/Drive
Locating Dowels
This is going to be the biggest hurdle of the install. This is because the locating dowels on the supercharger are larger than the locating holes on the head of the engine. The solution? Drill out the holes. As an engineer I've tried to vet any other way and the simplicity of simply drilling out the holes far outweighs any other method. (If you want some of the ideas I was working on, PM me). Besides, if you wanted to return the heads to stock, you'd just have to press dowels into the holes to step them back down.
Most people that I've seen used step drills, which work well. I opted to use regular drill bits and step up in size until I had about 0.020" clearance. Since the head is aluminum, this was quite easy to do. The dowels from the supercharger don't stick out much more than a quarter of an inch, too, so you don't have to drill too far down.
Once this is done, the supercharger should sit right down perfectly.
Fuel Rail Bolts
As far as I can discern, this should mostly be a non issue. The normal superchargers SHOULD have thru-holes for studs to run from the head to the fuel rail mounting flanges. I have heard that there was a run of ~300 units from Ford that did not have this hole, to which you'd need to drill a clearanced thru-hole to accommodate an M6x1 stud (about 160mm long).
Belt Drive
This was covered by VMP Performance and their no grind FEAD kit. This is a very common drive for a couple different superchargers, so getting your hands on one should be easy. With my chosen pulley size (3.5), the belt size was 69 1/8".
Pulley System
Again, this was covered by VMP. They sell an adapter that threads onto the snout of the supercharger and converts to their 6 bolt pulley system. They also have a detailed video on how to do this - pretty straightforward. The only tip is if the shaft is being difficult to remove, try prying (gently) from above. Looking at the snout, there's an angle from the ~10 o'clock position that helped a ton. As stated above, I'm running a 3.5 in. pulley. This was based off results from pulley sizes on a gen1 coyote using the VMP gen3r supercharger (same rotors as the Predator supercharger), which should net between 6 and 700 whp.
Fueling
Injectors and Fuel Rails
This one's pretty cut and dry, just like any other power adder you're going to need a boost-a-pump for the stock fuel pump. Preferably a new fuel pump/system, but we're not made of money over here. If you get lucky, your supercharger will come with the factory fuel injectors and fuel rails. These will work fine up to - I think - about 900 rwhp. Just make sure you get them cleaned first.
If you need to source these parts, both Lethal Performance and VMP have good options for fuel rails. Injector dynamics or any other related company should be able to provide injectors for the use case, just make sure they're for a GT500 not the car you're putting them in as they're being fitted to the supercharger.
Also, there's a pressure sensor port on the Predator Fuel rails that may need to be plugged. I used this opportunity to run a custom fuel pressure gauge, but a standard NPT plug will suffice as well - should be 1/8-27 NPT thread.
Fuel Line
The factory fuel line will plug into the Predator fuel rail, as they both utilize the 3/8 push connector. However, if you're a perfectionist like me, you can replace your whole fuel line with braided AN line (it's not that bad). A 20ft 6AN kit from Evil Energy did the trick. Make sure to get a 3/8 push fitting for the fuel rail side and a 5/16 push fitting for the fuel hat on your gas tank. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME SIZE. The push fitting for the fuel tank side will need to be shaved down so that the fitting itself can push down on the nipple far enough to lock.
Air
Tapping the Lid
Yes I cringed at this one, too. You must tap the supercharger lid to place an IAT sensor in. This is to gauge air temp AFTER it is compressed. I sent my lid into a machine shop to do this since its at a weird angle - so I don't know the thread pitch exactly. VMP makes a wire harness to tap this sensor into the stock MAF harness, I assume it cancels the temp picked up at the MAF sensor and replaces it with the IAT 2 sensor.
Also, while the lid is off and being serviced, now would be a great time to tap the lid for a boost reference if you want a boost gauge. Found this out the hard way. See below for locations. Image from Duggan Racecraft YT and OrlandoMustangResto YT.
Intake
As far as I've found, the two intakes that work for this setup are the JLT 2 CAI and the AIRAID CAI. Both will need some creativity and persuasion on your part, but it's doable. Other intakes may work.
Throttle body
The stock Predator throttle body uses different electronics than our cars (11 thru 17 I think) so it can't be used at this time. No worries, though, as VMP provides an adapter plate to run the stock throttle body. This also angles the TB to be right side up.
It is worth noting that VMP also sells a TB harness adapter which should also be purchased as the stock harness can barely reach the TB and making it reach will cause undue stress on the wire connections.
Water
Intercooling System
This can be done a number of ways. OrlandoMustangResto used a Whipple degas bottle from VMP which can mount on the strut tower and works well. I wanted something more unique so I found a reservoir from Canton racing (intended as a degas relocation bottle for Paxton supercharger kits) and welded another aluminum bung for a 3/4 heater hose. This provided an inlet and an outlet for the system. (link)
The majority of the system is standard stuff highlighted by VMP in a couple of their videos - their installation video regarding their Odin kit on an 11-14 car and their installation video for their triple pass heat exchanger on 11-14 cars.
NOTE: Make sure to burp the pump for the intercooling system. Just fill the system, key on, then loosen the output hose on the pump until water comes out. Inspect the reservoir for coolant flow and reinstall the hose.
Engine Coolant System
The stock heater hoses could - probably - work with this build. Like the TB harness, they'd be stressed a little too much for my liking. The passenger side has to reach around the supercharger a little more and then has to reach over the taller fuel rails. My solution to this was to buy a 3/4 heater hose connection (link) and another push fit heater hose connector (link) and extend the factory heater hose. This can be done for both sides. Just note that the passenger side is 3/4 hose and the driver side is 5/8 hose (I only realized this after trying to install a 3/4 system, which still works).
Note that the driver side tube that runs from the water pump to the heater hose will likely need to be bent out (right if looking at the engine) to clear the throttle body. Just pull the tube, heat it where it needs to be bent, bend, and repaint where needed. Make sure to pull the oring on it prior to heating too.
PCV/Vacuum Lines
**The following will refer to an annotated picture of the supercharger**
PCV Lines
The passenger side valve cover will be routed to #1. The driver side valve cover still goes to the intake, so nothing changes there.
Other Vacuum Ports
#2 from the factory is intended to route to the brake booster. For my application, I routed it to the purge valve.
#3 is the line I used to go to the brake booster. It matches the factory line size more. I have not yet incurred any issue with loosing brake pressure with this either.
#4 you can't see from the diagram but it's a little nipple just to the left of #1. This is for the bypass valve. Route a vacuum line from this port to the top of the bypass valve. The bottom nipple on the bypass valve will need to route to a dump somewhere AFTER the MAF sensor but BEFORE the throttle body. I tapped a barb fitting on my intake tube and it dumps there.
The MAP sensor port on the top of the throttle body housing will need to be plugged as well, VMP makes a good plug for this case.
Tuning
I decided to pursue VMP Performance on this. They seemed familiar with the components in this swap so it seemed safe to assume they're familiar with the circumstances. Given the rotor pack and its similarity to other superchargers, I'd assume other tuners could perform as well. I am currently in this step of the process, conducting email tunes, and having no issues thus far.
Closing Remarks
As a college student, I initially pursued this supercharger in hopes it'd be cheaper than other options. That is not the case... at all. Is it more unique than other options? Sure. It was a fun project, and it'll be fun to pop the hood at a cars and coffee. However it was not an overnight process by any means. This project isn't for the weak.
VMP was a large help in this process, likely due to their Odin line. They will have the vast majority of odd parts you may need. They do offer a predator swap kit, however I found myself swapping out the majority of the parts in the kit - so if you want the bare minimum components it'll be ok, otherwise, I'd piece together my own kit from them.
I'd like to thank
VMP Performance
Mustang Lifestyle
OrlandoMustangResto
LowBoostMike
DugganRacecraft
I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has or go into further detail. If you've made it this far, thank you. I also have a YT channel by the name of RichardsPerformance or RandR25 where I have a rough video series of the whole process. I'll publish a final video eventually, I'm just in the trenches of finals in college.
