| TEST | HP | VAC | SC | MANIFOLD | TB | INLET | MASS AIR | FILTER |
| Stage 1 | 664 | 5.3 | 2.8 | Mammoth | Stock | Stock | Stock | Stock |
| Stage 2 | 727 | 3.3 | 2.8 | Mammoth | Stock | Stock | Kenne Bell | Kenne Bell |
| Stage 3 | 745 | 0 | 2.8 | Mammoth | Kenne Bell | Kenne Bell | Kenne Bell | Kenne Bell |
| Stage 3+ | 801 | 0 | 2.8H | Mammoth | Kenne Bell | Kenne Bell | Kenne Bell | Kenne Bell |
Next in line in the induction...
Next in line in the induction system is the throttle body. To improve flow and minimize inlet restrictions, Kenne Bell ditched the factory throttle body for a dual 75mm.
It should be evident from the chart that eliminating inlet restriction on a supercharged application can yield big dividends. Running the stock ind-uction system from the blower manifold forward resulted in a peak power number of 664 hp. Replacing the mass air housing and filter (Stage 2 upgrade) dropped the vacuum present in the inlet tract from 5.3 inches down to 3.3 inches and increased the peak power to 727 hp. Stepping up to the Stage 3 induction system replaced the stock throttle body (with a dual 75mm unit) and intake tube (between the throttle body and mass air).
This further reduced the vacuum in the induction system to 0 and increased the power output to 745 hp. Replacing the standard 2.8 blower with the 2.8 H-series took the 5.4 to 800 rwhp (using the same 2.5-inch blower pulley and Stage 3 induction). Just think, you could be stuck with just 664 hp running the same pulley configuration or making as much as 774 wheel hp (800 with H-series blower). It's all in the induction system.
On The DynoIt's hard not to be impressed by the power potential of the GT500's 5.4-liter engine. Equipped with the factory M122, 2.59-inch blower pulley and optimized tune (11.5 A/F and 23 degrees timing), the 5.4 produced 518 hp (up from 443 hp in stock configuration). Running the TVS blower in the same state of tune and with the same pulley size, the peak power numbers jumped to 614 hp.
This test reveals that the TVS supercharger upgrade offered by Shelby on its Super Snake is a good bit more powerful than the factory offering. The last blower upgrade featured the Kenne Bell 2.8-liter H-series blower. Shelby offers the Kenne Bell blower package as its most powerful Super Snake option. Run with the same blower pulley, timing, and air/fuel, the Super Snake pumped out nearly 790 rwhp, a gain of 175 hp more than the already powerful TVS and nearly 300 hp more than the stock M122. Thats what we call a blower upgrade.
How serious are the folks...
How serious are the folks at Kenne Bell about superchargers? Check out this blower dyno used specifically to test superchargers
As expected of a positive-displacement supercharger, the torque curves were pretty flat. Equipped with the M122 supercharger, torque production exceeded 500 lb-ft from 3,000 to 4,700 rpm, with a peak of 514 lb-ft. Equipped with the same blower pulley, the TVS supercharger increased the peak boost pressure from 11.5 psi with the M122 to 14.5 psi. The increase in boost pressure has a positive effect on the torque curve, elevating the peak torque output to nearly 600 lb-ft. Torque production exceeded 500 lb-ft from 2,200 rpm all the way to 6,300 rpm (our redline).
The largest blower tested, the Kenne Bell 2.8-liter H-series, produced the highest boost pressure. Despite the same blower pulley size, the Kenne Bell offered 23 psi of boost and 736 lb-ft of torque. Torque production exceeded 700 lb-ft from 3400 to 5700 rpm. Harnessing more than 600 lb-ft of torque at just 2,100 rpm would be difficult, but it's always better to have too much than not enough.