Is it worth doing a 4v 5.4 swap w/ blower setup in 03 Cobra

[GTpower01]

Hey guys,

Just wondering if any of you have done a 4v 5.4/5.8 swap on a terminator? Also what power levels did you make with a roots type blower or kenne bell, vmp, whipple etc. with this combo?

I really haven't seen many members on here do this swap with a blower and I'm just curious.

What modifications need to be done for the swap?

Please post smiliar builds below. Like I said I'm just curious and this really isn't done to often....

 

[lucheski]

It really comes down to how much power you want to make, set a goal, then you can choose better what you need to meet that goal.

That being said...I've thought about swapping to a 5.4 or 5.8 motor, mainly to get access to the 4.2L+ Kennebells and Whipple blowers which do not work on the 4.6. Then I did more research and found my little 2.8 blower and 4.6 can go way beyond my power goal of 800rwhp.

What is your power goal?

 

[whitedevil95]

Cool question. Subn for knowledge.

 

[GTpower01]

Hey. Thanks for the reply. Well, I was originally going to go with a Kenne bell Mammoth as yourself. I actually am parting out a bunch of Kenne Bell mammoth parts such as a Behomth Berry Motorsports custom painted intlet and 6in cold air, massive KB monoblade twin 75mm throttle body, etc.. But after doing research I was thinking a 2.9 setup with built aluminum teskid e85 etc. I know the Kenne Bells usually have to be rebuilt and run hotter than the Whipples due to the design of the blower.
Hence this is why I'm thinking whipple. May change though.

With e85 and a higher compression like yourself with 24-25lbs of boost, my goal for now is roughly 800-900rwhp.

It just makes me wonder how is a 2.8 or 2.9 with a 5.4 or 5.8? I'm sure the response is insane and the blower would be a whole different animal due to the larger displacement.

Kind of like a smaller VMP on a 4.6L= Insane down low.

Has anyone on the forums done a similar setup?

 

[GTpower01]

Thanks whitedevil95.... I'm just as curious as you are. Never seen many of these setups with a 2.8 or 2.9.

 

[cj428mach]

I thought the guy named ironhand did it and his motor blew up asap (he was banned for being a scammer) but I remember reading a thread with some of the necessary mods and it takes some work. I also think it took some Cobra R type parts thats are hard to find and expensive if you want a bolt in fit, also the hood doesn't clear if I remember right so that needs to be changed.

 

[mkb116]

I'll be going 5.4 with my next motor, but my car is pretty much a track car with AC, power steering and brakes that will eventually be deleted most likely. But I'm running twin 67's. I already have the 5.4 Sullivan, I think it's easier and a smarter choice to go 5.4 if you are turbo and not a dd, opposed to still running a blower.

Everything on the bottom bolts up no issues, I did one about 10 years ago on a much slower car. The deck height is about an inch taller, which calls for a wider lower intake which is why the only real issue is the intake manifold and on blower cars your options are limited.

 

[GTpower01]

Hmmm interesting. I guess it's alot of work huh. Ya now that I recall I have seen a few guys 5.4 but they always go turbos hence better spool times. I'm curious though how a 2.8 kenne bell or 2.9 whipple would be with a 5.4 4v.. I will look up ironhand.. what if you dropped in a gt500 aluminum block or ford gt block... ? Couldn't you just drop in a whipple or kenne bell for a gt500 on top? I'm really interested in seeing what's needed for the conversion. Would be nice to see a blower setup like this done...

 

[cj428mach]

Hmmm interesting. I guess it's alot of work huh. Ya now that I recall I have seen a few guys 5.4 but they always go turbos hence better spool times. I'm curious though how a 2.8 kenne bell or 2.9 whipple would be with a 5.4 4v.. I will look up ironhand.. what if you dropped in a gt500 aluminum block or ford gt block... ? Couldn't you just drop in a whipple or kenne bell for a gt500 on top? I'm really interested in seeing what's needed for the conversion. Would be nice to see a blower setup like this done...

It'll be the same as a terminator.
https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/94-cobra-07-gt500.1003340/

 

[mkb116]

Hmmm interesting. I guess it's alot of work huh. Ya now that I recall I have seen a few guys 5.4 but they always go turbos hence better spool times. I'm curious though how a 2.8 kenne bell or 2.9 whipple would be with a 5.4 4v.. I will look up ironhand.. what if you dropped in a gt500 aluminum block or ford gt block... ? Couldn't you just drop in a whipple or kenne bell for a gt500 on top? I'm really interested in seeing what's needed for the conversion. Would be nice to see a blower setup like this done...

It's just not cost effective. For less money you could go single turbo and make more power. That's why it's not done more.

 

[CobraBob]

It's just not cost effective. For less money you could go single turbo and make more power. That's why it's not done more.

You speak the truth! That's the main reason why it's just not usually done.

OP, have you considered the single turbo setup? You might very well be happier all around with it vs. a twin-screw, based on your goals.

 

[GTpower01]

I have considered going turbo... Really want the instant kick as I'm building more or less of a street/strip road race car. I have a full mm suspension, fully built IRS diff etc. I have a ton of money in the suspension and it handles like it is on rails. I think the roots setup would suit my setup better.

 

[GTpower01]

not going auto either.... rpm built magnum 6speed 800hp irs fully built to handle

 

[whitedevil95]

For road course or auto x i bet the turbo would be better heat soak wise.

 

[lucheski]

You can make 800hp all day with a KB2.8 or Whipple2.9 on E85 with a 4.6. My little 4.6 is made over 800 with E85 with a lil KB 2.8 that is still underspun only pullied for 18psi...pullied for 28psi Im sure will do 925+ not sure the drivetrain will handle it I've been breaking alot of stuff, Half-shafts, cross-axis-joints, replacing $pindles (new spindle is like 700 bucks) due to twisting splines ... just a couple weeks ago I evem broke my Promotion built T56 that was rated at 1200hp slowly granny shifting 1-2-3 @ WOT now its stuck in 3rd gear... ..About the IRS, Bruce said himself that the limit of the IRS may be around 800... I love the IRS and have all the IRS upgrades but at this power level Im not sure how much more I want to spend to try and make it live....last thing I will do is DSS Axles and hubs.

 

[lucheski]

Another thing, how much peak HP you can make is determined more by the blower itself than the size of the motor. The only reason I would go to the 5.4/5.8 would be if I wanted 4 digit blown HP...the 5.4/5.8 are be able to use the Whipple 4.5 or Kennebell 4.7L blowers....spend some time in the gt500 section there are guys making 1200-1500whp with the big blowers.

 

[mkb116]

You don't have to do a big turbo.

You can build a turbo setup if your capable for same, or less than a used 3500 blower.

You can run a smaller turbo and have a more usable power band for road racing.

For a road race car / daily driver you won't run into the blowers heat soak issues.

For reliability, you're not putting all the stress on the crank snout. I went turbo because I want big power. Wasn't going to get there without a bigger blower and the risk of snapping the crank or lower pulley. If you don't want a big blower or a ton of boost, a blower is fine.

For power I can turn a dial and go from 10 to 30 lbs of boost. Drag, to street, to road race.

My buddy just built a turbo kit for his 6.0 LS swapped notch. From the day he started ordering parts to the day he fired it up... took him like 10 days.

eBay cold side and intercooler
New wastegate / bov
Used 76mm turbo.

I think he has $1800 in it so far.

It's just hard to beat turbos. Period.

 

[cj428mach]

You can build a turbo setup if your capable for same, or less than a used 3500 blower.

My buddy just built a turbo kit for his 6.0 LS swapped notch. From the day he started ordering parts to the day he fired it up... took him like 10 days.

eBay cold side and intercooler
New wastegate / bov
Used 76mm turbo.

I think he has $1800 in it so far.

It's just hard to beat turbos. Period.

You make a turbo sound cheap everyone else on here says figure 10k+. I'm not a turbo guy as I like the blower aspect of our cars so its not something I pay a lot of attention to but I know I've read countless times its very expensive to do it right.

 

[Aortiz268]

I read up on this topic I am in the same boat now. But my choices are the tvs 2.3 the whipple 3.4 or the KB 3.2LC
This is going on my 2v dss racing motor with lentech automatic and a Vortech si-trim pushing over 600 to then wheels not happy with where the power is on the rpm band only getting 300 torque at the low rpms and I get more of my power high Rpm which I don't see very much expect on the track. I am leaning to the Kb unless I can fine more info out there to support there being a better choice I mean I like the idea of the tork tech with cooler being used for any cobra blower on the 2V but there not a whole lot of info out there. And whipple has yet to return any of my phone calls or emails on my questions

 

[racebronco2]

For road course or auto x i bet the turbo would be better heat soak wise.

Turbo would be better heat soak wise only if you didn't have the Real Heat Extractor hood that i designed and the vw radiator used an a heat exchanger. Open tracking in 100+ degrees my ait2's are always under 150*. Instant boost really matters when you are only accelerating for a few seconds at a time.