Hellion VS Powerhouse for S197

[RedDragon777]

Well my ideas turned in a different direction after i was exposed to a friends turbo car and now i am looking into a turbo set up for my car over the TVS. I have narrowed it down to HP Performance, Hellion, and Powerhouse. The HP kit has not really sparked my interest but ever since i bought my car back in 06 the two main companies you would here about when it came down to turbos was Powerhouse and Hellion.

My plans are to first build up my motor. The car is an 06 GT with 3.73 gears, automatic, CMCV delete plates and JLT intake with off road H pipe going to some Pypes Pype bombs. I am going with livernois forged rotating assembly, ARP head studs, GT500 fuel pumps, 60# injectors, HPX MAF, TCI or Circle D 3K stall, and i already have an Xcal 2 with tunes from VMP. I am going to have all this ready before i put down money for a turbo so i know i will have a proven set up for any FI i choose.

What i want to know is what are the main differences between the two aside from extras seeing as i will be going with a tuner kit? Which has more room to grow and which has a better fit and finish. I know the Hellion is all polished but the pipes sit low and my car has the FRPP handling kit and the roads around here are not the best.

 

[rford426]

Hellion hangs as low as a weiner dogs dick....Creating all kinds of clearance issues...

I run a HP kit good design customer service blows...Haven't hears a single BAD thing about powerhouse...Might look into THP (Turbo Horse Power) as well!!!

BUT IF I were you since your in TX if you don't mind dropping some coin I would get in touch with Mike Noriega @ Noribilt and have him build you a kit from scratch with forward facing headers...Noribilt is in San Antonio.

 

[jodadejss06gt]

I have the powerhouse kit and have only had one issue with my kit that was ironed out by me going open wastegate. I've got 20k miles on the kit since aug 10'. I think it has a lot of room to grow in the future. The kit does have some tight spots but doesn't have any low hanging spots either. The car is lower than the piping. I did have to get a hanger mounted to my mid pipe to pull that up a litttle bit, but other than that its good to go.

Search jodadej on youtube with tons of videos of my car in action on the stock block. There are a few on here in the video sections. I can answer most questions about the kit as how things are ran and the sort as I put the kit on in my garage. Mike from PH has great customer support and is very willing to help if there is an issue, which he did for me.

 

[benjytps]

We have a pretty good bit of experience with both kits. There are pros and cons to each but I wont go into great detail there. The powerhouse kit in my opinion is the better choice.

 

[Bullitt357]

The Hellion kit has been on mine for almost three years. I have never had any clearance issues and the roads up here suck monkey balls. I had one on my 01 Bullitt as well and no issues there either.

 

[RedDragon777]

I think i might end up going with the Powerhouse.

When i first saw the hellion kit i thought it strange that they would route the piping under then through the K member, but i felt it was a flawed design from the start. i only thought about it now since a buddy of mine that owns a shop has done a couple of hellion kits but all on 03 cobras, Lightnings, and one Fox body. I know on those set ups none of them have the piping set up like on the S197 so i started searching forums to see what was better.

Joda, your vids on youtube are the reason i even remembered the Powerhouse kit all i found online were either Hellion or custom kits with one or two HP kits thrown in. I know Hellion is a big name in Mustang Turbo set ups but i feel they are chasing the biger cars a little too much and leaving the 4.6 gt owners behind. They have alot more development in their GT500 and Cobra kits than they do in their S197 GT kits. another kit i saw and threw out the window right away is the STS kits. I drive my car in the rain sometimes, i still do not understand how those kits do not suck up water.

 

[Stolen 98]

Call Mike at powerhouse...very cool guy, he'll address any questions or concerns you might have.

 

[TurboX]

I have a Hellion kit and made 550RWHP 5XXRWTQ and ran a 11.59@125 with a 2.4 60ft time. I dropped a forged motor in, went e85 and turned up the boost and was 7XXRWHP/7XXRWTQ and trapped over 130, still with crappy 60ft times. I am now changing my combo again and hope to be deep into the 10s at over 140 and slicks for the shitty 60ft times.

I haven't seen anybody else's kit so can't comment but I can say, the low pipes are not a issue on my car. My chin splitter is more a issue than a pipe that might hit on a huge speed bump, its a sports car not a truck.

 

[KenB]

I'm doing a custom setup on mine. Here is a picture of a test fit

 

[RedDragon777]

I have a Hellion kit and made 550RWHP 5XXRWTQ and ran a 11.59@125 with a 2.4 60ft time. I dropped a forged motor in, went e85 and turned up the boost and was 7XXRWHP/7XXRWTQ and trapped over 130, still with crappy 60ft times. I am now changing my combo again and hope to be deep into the 10s at over 140 and slicks for the shitty 60ft times.

I haven't seen anybody else's kit so can't comment but I can say, the low pipes are not a issue on my car. My chin splitter is more a issue than a pipe that might hit on a huge speed bump, its a sports car not a truck.

those are great numbers, are you still using the 62mm turbo that came with the kit or have you upgraded to the 76mm? and i know the height thing should not be an issue but around here even my off road h has taken a beating and my chin spoiler has some bad horror stories too.

 

[stkjock]

Moved, OP -please review the rules.

 

[RedDragon777]

I'm doing a custom setup on mine. Here is a picture of a test fit

that is going to be one sick set up. i just cant commit to twins because this car will still see some road racing and my wallet cant handle a custom set up plus the cost of extra tires and brake pads

 

[despinos]

THP and hellion are local to me, both good companies. I personally think the THP is a better design. Hellion hangs too low and uses a Turbonetics turbo which i don't care for. Powerhouse is a solid kit too. If it was my money it would go to THP or Powerhouse

 

[rford426]

HP is local to you as well if you are in NM...^^

 

[despinos]

correct. What I meant was local as in same city, Albuquerque. HP is in roswell so i have never gone by and checked them out, they're about 200mi and 4hrs away

 

[myystanng]

Hp Customer service sucks and sucks bad. I have had their kit with a few mods required to install the kit for 2 yrs with no issues.

THP is my vote.

 

[RedDragon777]

Ok i am dumb, i looked at THP one more time since you guys keep bringing it up and i did not notice their single turbo kit. All i noticed was their twin kit which was closer to the price of the TVS. Their single kit looks really good and is making me rethink my decision about Powerhouse. The price for both kits comes around the same but for the price of the Tuner kit from Powerhouse i get 39# injectors, Jet Hot coated piping, tuner (even though i dont need it), and their upgraded intercooler on the THP kit.

 

[despinos]

Here you go sir info on the single kit:

http://www.turbohorsepower.com/3vgtcomponents.html
http://www.turbohorsepower.com/3vgtfaq.html

 

[WarFords]

Powerhouse all the way!

 

[Bullitt357]

Stainless steel > jet hot coated mild steel > mild steel.