KABOOM! Now off to Brenspeed for a B326 stroker!

[Timmbo]

I'm in the same boat, except I'm thinking 600hp is plenty for me. The TVS1900 is good for 15 lbs of boost. How much boost is Brent running on the 2300 to hit 660hp?

I've seen guys with $27K builds end up with only 600RWHP on pump gas (autoXracer) and I definitely do not want to run E85, so if I hit 600hp then I'll be ecstatic. This is also why I'm wanting to stick with the aluminum block and keep weight down. I can go faster with less horsepower if I'm pushing less weight.

I was thinking Brent was pushing 13 psi but I could be wrong. Probably am wrong. I will ask when I'm up there. I agree with you on your goals. I'm really looking forward to sitting down with Brent and discussing what kind of max power I can expect going with whatever big dog F/I system some day in the future can "reliably" get me there. Man...I so don't wanna be wrenching all the time. I wrench for a living. Kinda of like how a plumber doesn't wanna come home to chase his plumbing issues on his own house. I just want max power and dependability. Surely I can find the safe and reliable edge of that threshold.

 

[Timmbo]

Let me say that I started at 400 horsepower. After a month it felt slow. Spent some money hit 502 after a month that felt slow. Spent some more money 680 rwhp guess what its been a few months that as well has become slow feeling. Id say if your goal is to reach bigger numbers go with a kit that has room to grow. Its like a drug we want more we want more.

Right on the head!

IMO over 550 rwhp with a pd blower is a handful on the street. You have a lot of options. If you want reliable higher hp that is street friendly I'd start looking at a centri or turbo. Sactown has a great deal on a Procharger F1 and there are a few D1 Prochargers in the classifieds too.

If you want to go pd I'd be looking at a dob with a 2.9 Whipple. Any of the options I mentioned will be less than the 7k you referenced. A turbo will do it too. Going with an all new setup will give you an M90 to sell and recoup some of that money. One real nice thing about a centri is that you can go with a small pulley and wastegate to control boost. This allows you fine tune the power buildup to your tastes.

Well the only thing I don't like about centri or turbo is all the piping. Just makes routine maintenance or a simple alternator change is some cases a nightmare. However Prochargers don't seem too bad. I do like the idea of a DOB manifold. Don't know enough about product support and quality to make a decision. I think a 4.0L Whipple will bolt up to that for some crazy boost will it not?

 

[BruceH]

Right on the head!


Well the only thing I don't like about centri or turbo is all the piping. Just makes routine maintenance or a simple alternator change is some cases a nightmare. However Prochargers don't seem too bad. I do like the idea of a DOB manifold. Don't know enough about product support and quality to make a decision. I think a 4.0L Whipple will bolt up to that for some crazy boost will it not?

The quality looks pretty good to me but all I've seen are pictures. gmitch is making some crazy numbers with a big whipple and dob manifold. IIRC he has a 3.4 liter.

Here's the thread. Lots of good info here. http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100357

 

[Timmbo]

^^Thanks for the link.

 

[BruceH]

Here's another one from today. Same motor but different parts.

http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=102704

 

[Timmbo]

On my way up to Brenspeed early Saturday morning. Gonna be chillin in the guest house over the weekend and will be doing about six 30 mile engine break in cycles before my dyno session Monday June 17th at noon. Can't wait to drive that SOB. It's been over a month now. Wish me luck LOL!

 

[TheTeacher]

Oh man.... sorry about your engine but jealous of your upgrade.

This thread scares the crap out of me. Been saving up for boost with a goal of 450rwhp. You took it like a champ though.

Can someone please chime in and assure us newbies its ok to add boost without forged internals (4.6)!!

If you have to go forged, are rods and pistons enough?

 

[ZmanM3]

The guest house is nice and it is a great little area. The guys at Breenspeed will take care of you right!

 

[skwerl]

Oh man.... sorry about your engine but jealous of your upgrade.

This thread scares the crap out of me. Been saving up for boost with a goal of 450rwhp. You took it like a champ though.

Can someone please chime in and assure us newbies its ok to add boost without forged internals (4.6)!!

If you have to go forged, are rods and pistons enough?

It's all in the tune IMO. I bought my car with 13K miles and at that time it had only had 2 oil changes, everything was bone stock and untouched. By 17K miles I had the Roush M90 on it and less than 3 months later I had the 8 lb pulley on it. Currently at 37K miles with almost 200 passes at the drag strip and absolutely no motor issues whatsoever. I still haven't even so much as pulled a valve cover.

Currently planning on upgrading to a TVS1900 and going forged but the dollars always seem so far away and slipping out of my grasp. I will most likely upgrade the blower and just keep it at 8-10 lbs of boost for a year until I can afford the motor.

 

[Sky Render]

It's all in the tune IMO. I bought my car with 13K miles and at that time it had only had 2 oil changes, everything was bone stock and untouched. By 17K miles I had the Roush M90 on it and less than 3 months later I had the 8 lb pulley on it. Currently at 37K miles with almost 200 passes at the drag strip and absolutely no motor issues whatsoever. I still haven't even so much as pulled a valve cover.

Currently planning on upgrading to a TVS1900 and going forged but the dollars always seem so far away and slipping out of my grasp. I will most likely upgrade the blower and just keep it at 8-10 lbs of boost for a year until I can afford the motor.

Yeah, make sure you have a conservative tune. I'd rather have 20 fewer horsepower than have to buy a new motor.

 

[Timmbo]

Made it!

Well 7.5 hrs and 475 miles later I'm here at Brenspeeds guesthouse. I left 9:15 am central and rolled in about 5:45pm eastern time. I only hit one slight snag in traffic south of Indianapolis. Then about a half hour later just west of Indy a massive explosion at a recycling plant filled the sky with thick black smoke. Looked like a nuke! Saw it again on the news tonight. So glad my exit towards Ft. Wayne was just east of that!! I didn't make my first stop till I racked up 350 miles. (not possible if the wife was with me lol) By the way, my Toyota truck that I bought new in 1994 that now has 245k miles got 28 mpg all the way!!

What a nice place this guesthouse is. Just blows my mind what Brent does for his out of town customers. My car was in the garage and appeared to have been...... washed????. Just wow...first class! Was sunny all through TN, KY and Indianapolis. Then I hit rain in Ft. Wayne and here in Pierceton at the guesthouse. Figures, my damn luck lol! Was bummed I wouldn't be able to drive it then low and behold the sun came out. What? SHUT UP! NICE!!! After the streets dried up I took it out for a spin for about 30 miles, top down in the sunshine. Man I have missed driving this car! I thought my first break in cycle would get rained out. As far as performance goes....DAMN! I never ripped it too hard but now it just throws you back with little pedal effort in fourth gear. TORQUE baby...unlike the stock 4.6! All the lower gears are just begging to get ripped through but I behaved myself for the sake of the break in. I'm assuming this is a break in tune..... and if it is it's great! Aeroforce AFR was showing towards the richer side low 11's, high 10's on harder throttle. A safety net I'm sure for the break in tune. The new Exedy Mach 500 clutch is definitely stiffer than stock. Man, does it grab lol! It grabs closer to the floor than stock. However getting the car in first and reverse is easy and all shifts are very smooth.

Can't wait till Monday for dyno day to really get this thing dialed in. I can only imagine what Brent is going to do power wise after he fine tunes this car on the dyno. Looks like the weather for Sunday and early Monday will be good for my remaining five break in cycles. Gotta say so far so good. No leaks, no oil smoke and nothing abnormal. So far I'm extremely happy!

 

[Irishman]

They definitely know how to treat a customer. I have had nothing but great experiences with the guys at Brenspeed. Car looks good, can't wait for some video of what she can do!

 

[Timmbo]

They definitely know how to treat a customer. I have had nothing but great experiences with the guys at Brenspeed. Car looks good, can't wait for some video of what she can do!

Thanks. Me either. I'm enjoying my stay here as a mini vacation for myself. This is a nice area with nice people. I really dig these small little farm towns. I thought TN had agriculture, but not even close to the amount of farms Indiana has. WOW!

 

[ZmanM3]

Breenspeed is pretty first class. They were nothing but great when I took my car there.

 

[Timmbo]

Breenspeed is pretty first class. They were nothing but great when I took my car there.

I have enjoyed reading the guestbooks this morning. A ton of satisfied customers from all over the US. Amazes me how far people drive just for Brenspeed but I understand why. Top notch! Looking forward to performing three more drive/heat/cool cycles today then two more cycles Monday morning before I hit the dyno. The sun is coming out and should be dry the rest of my stay till I leave on Tuesday.

 

[BruceH]

You only have one chance to break it in so don't be shy with it. Give it as much as it will take. You can feel how tight it is at first and as time goes on the revs seem to go higher without being tight. Keep pushing it inbetween normal driving.

Glad you are having a good time. Do they still drink tomato beer and play Youker on Sundays in Indiana?

 

[Timmbo]

Glad you are having a good time. Do they still drink tomato beer and play Youker on Sundays in Indiana?

I have no idea lol. I did find out they don't sell beer here on Sundays though lol.
Hmm...tomato beer and no sweet tea up here? Must be a yankee thing lol.

 

[Drkmrkiv]

Hearing the stories about Brenspeed make me so happy.

Also, boost noobs. I have an 02 Acura RSX-S. bought it off CL for 7k. Had 73k miles on it and a Jackson racing supercharger - roots style. The kid I bought it from was the 2nd owner. The first put the blower and stand alone on it. Then the kid tried his hand at tuning it and thought he blew the motor, hence the low price. The 7k covered the price of the blower and stand alone, so I figured even if the motor was gone I was still way ahead as far as cost... 100 bucks at autozone and resetting all the parameters on the standalone and the car started and ran flawlessly. Compression was spot on on all 4 cylinders. Ran the crap out of it on 11lbs of boost non-aftercooled.

Sold the car at 147k miles. Never did anything other than change oil and 2 belts...

It's all in the tune and to a lesser degree, the quality of parts and the installation of those parts... Lock tight bolts when necessary, align pullies, recheck everything, etc. etc.

You'll be amazed at how reliable a boosted car can be as long as power isn't extreme and you keep an eye on everything.

Good luck.

Oh, and killer build! I'm thinking about buying an 05-06 automatic (for DD) and dropping in a b326 and a gt500 blower and tci ratchet shifter.

 

[Sky Render]

Brenspeed has a guest house for customers? Wow!

 

[Franchi]

Yep! Stayed there two-three years ago when they did my cams and whatnot. Prob be going back once I go with a blower later this year