Help me decide! Kenne Bell or Vortech

[swallent]

Ok guys and gals I just cant make up my mind. the Vortech V3 kit and the KB kit are within 200 bux of each other. I just cant decide what to do....

what mods are on my car...well its stock bottom end...373 gears and IMRC deletes with a mailorder tune.

what do I do with the car...its a cruiser...1998 Cobra convertable that we have fun with on back roads...light to light blasts...ect. Im interested in trying my hand at the track but it wont be a regular thing. so if you were me...what would you do? I want a long time of safe reliable motor and boost

 

[foxman92]

well the kenne bell will make boost faster, and there for make it quicker.. but at the same time, it might be a little harder on your stock bottom end.. the vortech is a great reliable kit.. but power wont hit till 3500rpm ish.. the kenne bell should be at full boost around 2400rpm... but there is now intercooler setup's for our cars with kenne bell.. only meth kit.. how much boost are you wanting to run?

 

[swallent]

Only a nice safe 6 PSI....like I said this is a weekend warrior car that I want to be able have a little more fun with

 

[97desertCobra]

I say go with the V3. Its true that the power wont really start to climb and make its self noticed till about 3500 rpms but for me that is what I want in a street car. Its docile down low for when I want to just cruise around town and stay out of boost. On the open track the centri is nice also because the power band being linear lets you really open it up on the straights, allows you to run steeper gears in the rear diff and it produces less heat than a PD blower.

If you are one of those people who really preferes the low end torque that the PD blowers offer then the KB is a nice option. Foxman92 already touched the subject that the KB kits for 96-98 Cobra's does not have an option for intercooling, and there will likely never be one, so your power potential is very limited. The Vortech V3 can be run with the aftercooler or you could put together a FMIC, which is a much better option for a street car IMO.

 

[swallent]

thank you very much for all the input so far. its not likely that I will ever go over 6 PSI...because my wife is ready to kill me over this.. I wont see the $ for forging for decades....LOL. Maybe I will go with the KB...something different....UGH what to do...

 

[coolcobramatt]

Are the kits both new? If used, what shape are the units in? What model is the KB? WHat mods will you need to purchase (if any) to make either run correctly? I'd say a little more research may be necessary before you make a decision.

 

[swallent]

Are the kits both new? If used, what shape are the units in? What model is the KB? WHat mods will you need to purchase (if any) to make either run correctly? I'd say a little more research may be necessary before you make a decision.

they are both new...and both vendors are saying...nothing extra needed....everything is in the box...so now what

 

[97desertCobra]

they are both new...and both vendors are saying...nothing extra needed....everything is in the box...so now what

Both kits come with injectors, MAF, and fuel pump? Also don't trust a canned tune if either supply one. Do your self a huge favor and get a custom tune.

 

[LIGHTNING LARRY]

For a mild street car the KB is the better option. More power at a lower rpm.:burnout:

 

[97desertCobra]

thank you very much for all the input so far. its not likely that I will ever go over 6 PSI...because my wife is ready to kill me over this.. I wont see the $ for forging for decades....LOL. Maybe I will go with the KB...something different....UGH what to do...

If you never go over 6psi the KB will do just fine. Don't expect to make much more than 350rwhp though. Also there is no guarantee that your engine will hold up to even 6psi. Its highly unlikely that you will blow it up if you are running a good tune and just 6psi but you never know. How much are the kits you are looking at? You can save alot of $$$ if you buy a decent used kit from the market section. Thats what I did. I only paid 2800 for my D1SC kit used. After getting a few more parts and all the fuel upgrades and tune I was only 3500 out of pocket.

 

[swallent]

If you never go over 6psi the KB will do just fine. Don't expect to make much more than 350rwhp though. Also there is no guarantee that your engine will hold up to even 6psi. Its highly unlikely that you will blow it up if you are running a good tune and just 6psi but you never know. How much are the kits you are looking at? You can save alot of $$$ if you buy a decent used kit from the market section. Thats what I did. I only paid 2800 for my D1SC kit used. After getting a few more parts and all the fuel upgrades and tune I was only 3500 out of pocket.

I just got off the phone again with kenne bell again....they are saying for the 6 PSI I dont need fuel injectors. it comes with a Chip and with the FMU. I will not be going over the 6 PSI ever...nor do I plan too. I just want to rip around on the local freeways and such. it seems to me that a 130 HP jump from what I have now...is pretty impressive...will make the car an awful lot of fun....

I think Ive talked myself into the KB

 

[swallent]

Oh to answer the price question they are both about 3800

 

[GloomySVT]

Kenne Bell all the way

 

[tistan]

I just got off the phone again with kenne bell again....they are saying for the 6 PSI I dont need fuel injectors. it comes with a Chip and with the FMU. I will not be going over the 6 PSI ever...nor do I plan too. I just want to rip around on the local freeways and such. it seems to me that a 130 HP jump from what I have now...is pretty impressive...will make the car an awful lot of fun....

I think Ive talked myself into the KB

I would skip the fmu and just get bigger injectors and fuel pump. FMU seems to crap out pretty often. If it does pick up 130 hp your stock mass air meter is going to peg.

 

[foxman92]

the kenne bell will be a blast on the street, but i would seriously look into injectors/maf atleast.. the fmu and chip kb provides are junk.. custom tune is best.. and will last alot longer.. hope you enjoy it..

 

[swallent]

the kenne bell will be a blast on the street, but i would seriously look into injectors/maf atleast.. the fmu and chip kb provides are junk.. custom tune is best.. and will last alot longer.. hope you enjoy it..

crap well that will probably put me over budget...I have 4000.00 and not a penny more so Im looking for an all in one package in a box...chip tune what ever and all...I accept 6 PSI...remember this is a weekend Warrior car...if you say thier tune is junk then maybe I need to look into a vortech Kit...is thier all in one box stuff worth my $? I will be able to save and get a MAF and injectors down the road...but right now Im looking to just touch the tip of the iceberg on boost...I do have the SVT focus fuel pump already

 

[bluestang41505]

my buddy in highschool had a 03 Kenne bell and well it basically it is the Sh*t. No better sound than a kenne bell, no better torque or horsepower coming with just the swap.... basically if i had the money no matter how good the horsepower coming out of the whipple, vortec, procharger, etc, I would get a kenne bell, but thats just my .02.

 

[2001sleeper]

I think you will be happy with either one you choose, but I think you will be selling yourself short with only 6psi. 4K is a lot of money for only 6psi. If it was my money and my car I would run 8-10psi with a custom tune. The tunes from KB and Vortech will work, but they will most likely be on the very safe side leaving power on the table.

 

[wakeover]

I currently run 11psi on my KB. I do that by running the stock 6.5 inch under drive pulley and 1/2 to full can of Torco. Sometimes I go back to the 6psi set up by switching the under drive pulley from 6.5 inch to 5 inch, that way I don't need to use any Torco. The 5 inch pulley came with the KB kit. All in all I'm pretty happy with the KB setup.

 

[IUP99snake]

Im a big fan of the centrifugal blowers, but I think for your application, you'll be happier with the KB. On the street, I hardly get into boost with my Procharger, and sometimes I wish I had the boost lower in the RPM range because that's where it'd be used more.

If you're taking your wife for a drive with the centri, she'll likely take out a life insurance policy or divorce your ass. The top end of a centri car is scary out of control. It sounds and feels like all hell is breaking loose once it gets above 4000 or so RPM's. It's exhilarating, but it could have been a better experience if the power came lower. Especially with a motor that's not forged, I'm afraid I'm gonna throw a piston through the hood at high RPM's and boost. I just don't have the confidence in it anymore.

Homer