First off let me say hello..as I'm new to the COBRA ranks. I just traded in my GT for an 04 Black Cobra coupe two weeks ago, and life is goooood.
I've been wanting to get behind the wheel of a Terminator ever since I saw them on the pages of the Magazines 7-8 years ago. It's an absolute dream to look in the garage and see it sitting there.
I researched, waited and had my GT installed by an KB authorized dealer...only to find out in a short 2 months KB released their latest and greated 2.1L version. Needless to say I was pissed that KB didn't at least say "Hey we're releasing our improved blower very shortly"
I was flamed on other board for even mentioning that I felt burned by KB. My point was I was used as an inventory depletion customer, and that didn't go over to well. My point was I should have been given the choice...
I to felt like I was 'bothering' the tech line when ordering parts, or asking questions. I will say that when I first thought about ordering the KB Jim Bell talked to me and explained allott of options for my car. I purchased the whole nine yards (8k+) and was pleased with the performance.
Sorry again for you pain...I know when the blower upgrade time comes...it looks like Whipple.
jim's response seems pretty clear. it will be interesting if and when we discover what has happened with this blower and why. jumper we will like to know how and what gets resolved, please keep us informed.
either way the kenne bell vs. whipple or whipple vs. kenne bell dispute will never end at least not till another manufacturer comes into the picture, which looks might happen soon ?
the only thing i could really agree upon is both supercharger companies do make great stuff. i bought the 3.4whip on a coin toss. even though i was going to buy a bell, i figured a coin toss was the only way to decide
Just thought i'd throw my peice in. I'm will be buying a twin screw for my forged mach with my tax return and i was very torn between the whipple and KB especially scince my budy bought a KB for his roush and swears up and down about their tech support. he said he'd have a little wait but they took all the time in the world with him and were great to work with, as id hope with a 5,000kit yet on the other hand it seems like i'm always seen KB issues on the net, and better yet it seems like every day i see a KB for sale that either has just recently had been rebuilt or needs a rebuild and is forsale cheep and they all have like 5,000 miles on them and i'm like WTF. SO my thought recently is this Whipple seems to be more reasonably price new and 2.3 seems to put down much better power than the 2.2 for the .1 difference. and i HAVE NEVER SEEN A WHIPPLE 2.3l GEN II with a issue. So i hate to say it but i Also will be purchasing a WHIPPLE.
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2004 Blk mach 1 510rwhp 515rtrq heaton supercharged, built rear,motor,viper spec t-56, awaiting different cams and whipple
I sent KB an email on this issue asking what there Warranty covers and told them they are only as good as their last mistake. Waiting for a solution here and saving my $$ for a WHIPPLE.
____________________________________ 03 Black Cobra 463 RWHP 499 RWTQ 05 R6 Raven SOLD
01 SS Camaro SOLD
i have already decided to go kb when the time (and fundage lol) comes
i think they have better r&d than whipple, jmo from what i have read thusfar.
if i modify my car to an extent that i am just using their blower but on a different configuration than it was they designed for, that potential liability is on me.
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2004 mustang svt cobra, #0052 of 1896, built 10/8/03, 1 of 72 competition orange convertibles
Still don't know why the OP did not have the installation shop fix it in the first place. I think there is something we are not hearing in the story (i.e., why the OP did not go back to the installer for resolution). First it was Strictly Performance then someone else. We are not hearing anything about how the install was done and by whom and why this installer is no longer in the conversation.
If I spend money for someone to install something and it does not perform to my expectations then I go back to them to fix or replace. If their response is "I don't know what to do" as the OP states, then I tell them to give me my money back or sue because I did not receive what was promised. Let them deal with KB.
My personal opinion is that KB would RATHER deal with the professional shops that install for a living and not the weekend warriors that think they can figure out how to install superchargers by reading 5.0 Mustang magazines and surfing the WEB. This is probably also why they don't sell directly to Joe Mustang driver. They would rather deal with professionals that know what they are doing. I am not saying the OP is dumb or doesn't know what he is doing. I am just speculating on the KB business model and why it may exist the way it does.
Still don't know why the OP did not have the installation shop fix it in the first place. I think there is something we are not hearing in the story (i.e., why the OP did not go back to the installer for resolution). First it was Strictly Performance then someone else. We are not hearing anything about how the install was done and by whom and why this installer is no longer in the conversation.
If I spend money for someone to install something and it does not perform to my expectations then I go back to them to fix or replace. If their response is "I don't know what to do" as the OP states, then I tell them to give me my money back or sue because I did not receive what was promised. Let them deal with KB.
My personal opinion is that KB would RATHER deal with the professional shops that install for a living and not the weekend warriors that think they can figure out how to install superchargers by reading 5.0 Mustang magazines and surfing the WEB. This is probably also why they don't sell directly to Joe Mustang driver. They would rather deal with professionals that know what they are doing. I am not saying the OP is dumb or doesn't know what he is doing. I am just speculating on the KB business model and why it may exist the way it does.
Let the flaming on me begin...
I "weekend warriored" mine too with the help of a few buddies. Makes great power, never had a boost issue or any other issue for that matter. But it's a whipple so you don't have to be some almighty certified shop to do a blower swap . It does come with installation instructions. If you can read, you can swap a whipple onto a cobra engine.
So why is it so "hard" to put a KB on opposed to the whipple that you need a certifed installer?
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04 Whippled Cobra - #3118 of 3768
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Last edited by younggun04; 02-13-2009 at 03:57 PM.
First of all, all superchargers are checked before shipping to insure our customer’s produce the advertised boost.
Unfortunately, Kenne Bell or any other supercharger company is not able to adjust our boost ratings to compensate for variables that effect boost. There are too many cams, cam settings, exhaust headers, cats, inlet components, etc. For us to test and these companies never offer any test data because they do not test. Out of all these companies we are the only company to offer a comprehensive analysis of low boost issues “low boost causes and cures” under General Tech on our website, I’d suggest you read it. As in our opinion, the blower is not responsible for your low boost problem. Recent tests by Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords recently ran some dyno tests that verify how cam timing, cams and heads can drastically affect the boost. We’ve seen 3 psi on cams and 2 psi on headers and exhaust.
Secondly, if you have a warranty issue, we will honor it. We’ll test the supercharger if it is up to specs then you must assume there are other issues that caused your low boost problem and we will return the same supercharger, as a new one would result in the same boost. We cannot fix cam, engine and header boost issue with a “new” supercharger. You should be aware that if there is oil on the front bolt and your engine just quit it is highly unlikely that the oil “killed your engine.” You probably have a tuning problem that caused a backfire that in turn caused oil to spray out of the vent hole of the pulley, the only other way this could have happened is if the compressor was over filled with oil. In any event, send it in and we will check it out and fix it no charge if it is in fact our fault.
I have been in contact with our tech people throughout your ordeal there is no need to talk to me personally. We offered you a pulley to increase the boost and compensate for whatever problem you have. Your 7.5"X3.25" is only 2.3 ratios the 2.6 is loafing at that speed. A 2.75" is 2.72 ratios, still ok for the 2.6 that will give you 4-5 psi. Keep the overall boost to max 18 psi for the street use.
We’d have no problem exchanging the 2.6 for a 2.8 but IT WON’T FIT. It’s 3/4" longer than the 2.6. we wouldn’t charge any more for a 2.8 it just is not the solution to your problem. Yes it would make 2 psi more boost but the supercharger is NOT THE ISSUE.
That is where we disagree here is our basic problem with you, you choose to insist that exhaust, headers, cams, cam timing, gauges, throttle body restriction, etc. cannot lower boost. We do not agree they DO LOWER BOOST. We’ve been there, we’ve done it, we’ve tested boost with these variables but we can’t convince you so send back the supercharger. We’ll test it and let you know but we have NEVER seen one not meet specs.
Jim Bell
I count 20 or so Sales you just lost!!!!!! Maybe you should do something about your customer service and products. Good luck op.
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2003 Black SVT Cobra Build #287- K&N FIPK GEN II/ 2.76 Pulley with idlers/ SLP X-Pipe/ SLP LM1/ 17-10.5 Replicas/Nitto 555R/ MM FLSFC/ HP 469/ TQ 488
Hey I'm sorry for what has happended with your KB!!! I'm sure it's a terrible feeling.
I have had my KB for almost a year not it's 2.8H and I've nver had a problem with it or the guys at KB. The lblower is very efficient producing 585 rwhp only on 14.5lbs of boost.
I hope you come to a resolution. Sorry to hear it again.
Still don't know why the OP did not have the installation shop fix it in the first place. I think there is something we are not hearing in the story (i.e., why the OP did not go back to the installer for resolution). First it was Strictly Performance then someone else. We are not hearing anything about how the install was done and by whom and why this installer is no longer in the conversation.
If I spend money for someone to install something and it does not perform to my expectations then I go back to them to fix or replace. If their response is "I don't know what to do" as the OP states, then I tell them to give me my money back or sue because I did not receive what was promised. Let them deal with KB.
My personal opinion is that KB would RATHER deal with the professional shops that install for a living and not the weekend warriors that think they can figure out how to install superchargers by reading 5.0 Mustang magazines and surfing the WEB. This is probably also why they don't sell directly to Joe Mustang driver. They would rather deal with professionals that know what they are doing. I am not saying the OP is dumb or doesn't know what he is doing. I am just speculating on the KB business model and why it may exist the way it does.
Let the flaming on me begin...
No flaming here. Bill Tumas @CJ's did the install SGS Performance did the pulley swaps,tune and dyno's. Not hiding anything I did take the car back to Bill and we could not find the problem hence writing KB. I bought the blower from Strictly only because I had purchased a used blower from them that was junk and sent it back and paid the difference for the new one(lesson learned on Strictly). If KB had wanted me to go through Strictly they should have told me that back in the beginning of December when I first wrote them. I am simply trying to solve the problem and that is now moving forward since posting up. I published all communications with KB on here because I was not getting the customer service through the emails and busy phone lines and now things have changed so hopefully it will work out. P.S. You will never be a private detective.
I "weekend warriored" mine too with the help of a few buddies. Makes great power, never had a boost issue or any other issue for that matter. But it's a whipple so you don't have to be some almighty certified shop to do a blower swap . It does come with installation instructions. If you can read, you can swap a whipple onto a cobra engine.
So why is it so "hard" to put a KB on opposed to the whipple that you need a certifed installer?
I did not say it was hard. It would not be any harder to install a KB than installing a Whipple. I did not mean to take a swing at anyone that has installed their own. I was only speculating on why KB only seems to want to deal with professional installers. Why else would they only sell to professional installers and not individuals directly? I am only guessing here, but it could be that they don't want to hear all the gripes and dipstick questions from people that F^*#% up the install because they are clueless. Not a great idea, as it seems to be losing them business from the folks that do their own work, which is a large % of the folks on this board!
Roger that! I do feel your pain and hope you are able to get it resolved quickly and satisfactorily. If it were me I would have probably lost it and been a real a-hole by now, which you have not. Good luck
enjoy the rough economy.
even though i was going to buy a bell, i figured a coin toss was the only way to decide
driver mod needed 
. It does come with installation instructions. If you can read, you can swap a whipple onto a cobra engine. 
97 GT: Stage 2 heads/cams, bolt ons. 313rwhp/326rwtq.
Maybe you should do something about your customer service and products.
Good luck op.
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