Whipple (and others) supercharged engine life

jmn444

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First, I'm never sure what is "tech" on here, to me, this subject is, but you guys can move it if you disagree...


Now that that's out of the way, I'm still thinking about the numbers my car made with the Whipple 2.3L and 3.25" pulley on the dyno... and debating going back to the 3.50" to be "safe". I know that the 550 kits have come with as small as the 3.125" pulley, so I'm somewhat incliined to think that it's not a huge risk to run the smaller pulleys, but I thought that starting a thread that people could post some info about their cars may help me and others decide just how big of a risk it is....

So, if you've read this far and are running a stock bottom end, here is what I'm looking for, and it'd be nice if people that have killed their stock blocks would add info as well:

total miles on motor
miles on motor with the blower/turbo
type/brand of power adder
who did the tune
lbs of boost and/or pulley size
rwhp/tq numbers if possible

it may be helpful to know if you drag or track your car and if you were running drag radials or anything that may contribute to the stock internals dying early too...



I will start, even though it's sorta meaningless since mine was just installed recently, motor seems fine so far lol...

21,500 total miles
about 600 miles with the blower
whipple HO kit
ford racing tune
3.25" pulley, est 11-12lbs of boost
519rwhp/484tq
295/30/20 rear tires, normal summer performance, spin on demand.... I drive pretty hard on the street, no drag strip or open track yet...
 

ChiDiddy

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34800 total miles
About 20000 with whipple ho
Can't remember if it's a 3.375 and makes 434 rwhp tuned by Richard at strictly performance.
Driven spiritly everyday and went to the track for the first time last week and achieved 11.8. Easily could have done better as I trapped 117 with a 1.89 launch. Btw my car is automatic. It whipple numbers seem awfully high dude.
 

jmn444

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It was pretty damn cold when I was on the rollers, not sure how much that accounts for... Pretty big gap between our numbers for the difference in pulleys... I do like seeing 20k miles on yours regardless though!
 

KungFuHamster

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boosted stock shortblock=on borrowed time. some have more time than others. lots of variables that come into play here.
 

jmn444

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Yes, definitely variables, but your answer was about all I could find searching, so I'm looking for a better definition on what people are getting out of them. I understand that I could get 1 more mile and have it break regardless of what others experienced, but I can make a better choice about the level of risk I want to take if I know what others have experienced with similar power levels.
 

KungFuHamster

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have you ever seen in person, or better yet, held in your hands a stock 4.6 rod?

if you had, you would be very nervous about having 500+ at the tire.
 

aznjpnboi86

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So far, I have 24,xxx Miles on my car with about 16,xxx Miles with my E-Force. I haven't had any problems and I have done about 20 dyno runs with additional modifications added. I got to 420 RWHP & 416 RWTQ on a Mustang Dyno and I trust my tuner. The farthest I have seen someone is 60,xxx Miles on a Vortech doing the stock bottom end. Running on a stock short block is running on borrowed time but as long as you understand the "safe" limits on the motor, you will be fine. Fuel trim is the biggest because the more fuel being put into the cylinders, the greater than wear within the cylinders. I am currently in Auto Tech School and we looked at an aftermarket turbo'd 4 cylinder car and each cylinder looked like it was scratched with a metal file.
 

TheKurgan

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Enjoy, but start saving for that built shortblock just in case. No way it's going to last very long at that level. If you got 20K I'd be extremely shocked. There's been plenty of threads on the internet to support this theory. :2cents:
 

Vapour Trails

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First, I think that is a very optimistic dyno. I haven't heard of anybody making that much power with the stock throttle body, and your numbers are about 40-50 whp higher that most people see with that pulley. It puts your bhp above 600, far more than what the kit promises.

I am not aware of anybody losing an engine with the Ford Racing tune. It may have happened, but I haven't come across it in any forum. The majority of shortblock failures are due to custom tunes done by asshat tuners. I don't think Ford would sell these kits if they thought they were ticking time bombs. The Ford powertrain calibrators know what they are doing.

That being said, it certainly wouldn't hurt to go up a few pulley sizes to give you some peace of mind, but I don't think it is necessary.

I've got about 10k miles on my setup. I've run pulleys from 3.875 to 3.375 without issue. I've never had detonation and I race a lot, mostly autocross and track which is more stressful.
 
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ChiDiddy

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boosted stock shortblock=on borrowed time. some have more time than others. lots of variables that come into play here.

Why would being boosted put u on borrowed time?? After a certain amount of boost/hp, then ur on borrowed time. I'm pretty confident with my car and as long as I keep it maintained, I could easily see it lasting forever
 

jmn444

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There were a couple super snakes w/ the 725 blowers pushing over 680 rwhp there too... i don't disagree that the dyno was "generous" lol

I don't know what the ss's normally put down though....
 

ChiDiddy

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But if ur referring to OPs numbers, then yes he should starting saving in case the worse happens
 

ChiDiddy

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If it's 725 crank rated, and they made 680 rwhp, I would say it's a generous dyno
 

jmn444

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Yes, but I am assuming no pulley or tune changes.... both cars were within 4 hp of each other, so I think my assumption is safe, but who knows really....
 

Cossiedriver

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25,500 total miles
about 250 miles with the blower, then the engine collapsed......
JDM Edelbrock E- Force Kit
JDM tune
3.5" pulley, est 10lbs of boost

After apr. 250mls 2 rods have bend..... Now I do have a build forged stroker engine with livernois components and ARP studs and bolts. After the engine build the car was dynotuned. So far it last's for over 2500mls
After this experience I would always start with the forged engine... But I managed my trouble with helpfull threads from this Site and guidence from People like SD just to name one....
Joerg
 

Alter Ego Trip

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There are just way to many variables to get any useful information out of this thread.

1) Driving habits
2) TUNE
3) Maintenance
4) TUNE
5) Type of PA
6) TUNE
7) Luck of Individual
8) TUNE
 

jmn444

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I wonder if tune has anything to do with it....


Seriously, I understand your point, but torque vs. component strength is only subsidized by the tune to a point...
 

Alter Ego Trip

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I wonder if tune has anything to do with it....
Seriously, I understand your point, but torque vs. component strength is only subsidized by the tune to a point...

Agree'd. Stress on the reciprocating mass is what does these motors in. But they also hate detonation. Even the most miniscule amount can prove lethal to these motors.

In other words a good tune + higher tq numbers has a better chance of staying together than bad tune + low tq numbers.
 

firestang70

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I put my Whipple on at 37k miles.
51k miles when I sold it.
3.375 pulley 465/445 at the wheels
Had about 50 passes on the blower and driven hard on the street.
Bias plys at the track and 295 Nitto 555s on the street.
Ken B at Modular Depot did my tuning.
No issues.
I shifted at 6250 at the track.
 

Five Oh Brian

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Daily driven '07 GT Automatic, driven hard and to the redline daily. More than 100 passes at our two local dragstrips with the blower installed (and on drag radials). With a 4800 rpm stall converter and 4.10 gears, high revs are a constant companion. I've had zero problems with the car and it runs high 11's in the 1/4 mile.
  • 26K miles on my car.
  • 14K miles of that with the blower.
  • Vortech V2 SQ Standard (non-intercooled) S-trim
  • 11 psi boost at 6400 rpm's with standard 3.8" pulley
  • Conservatively tuned by John Garner at the HorsePower Ranch in Maple Valley, WA with just 14 degrees of timing and 12.3 A/F ratio.
  • 393 rwhp / 310 rwtq on a Mustang Dyno.
 

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