Stock Motor 97 Cobra with Kenne Bell 2.1, WHP on the dyno

Made a trip to the dyno yesterday for the final run of my 97 cobra with the factory motor. This is a 38,000 mile car with a Kenne Bell 2.1 and it has been switched over to run on e85. The motor is all factory and untouched, i am even still running the factory manifolds. Combo consists of the KB 2.1 with a modified inlet, Ford Performance 80 lb injectors, a Walbro 465 in tank fuel pump, Canton High Flow Fuel Filter, an AEM Water Meth Injection kit, Current boost level is 13 lbs, i do have a Megasquirt 3 PNP system that i installed on the car earlier this year. There have been alot of guys make negative comments about the Kenne Bell system saying that it wouldn't be capable of making power, i wanted to show that just isn't the truth. Final numbers were 514 whp and 444 tq on a very conservative tune and running 500 cc of water/meth at the back of the blower.

Can't see the graph very well, but it looks like it's doing all the right things. More and more power all the way to redline, super flat torque curve. Very nice! I know this car will haul ass.

Very nice. Whats the timing look like if you don't mind me asking.

max of 20 deg. as long as the iat is below 200 deg.

sorry about the picture being small, the car really runs better than it should for an all stock motor. I would guess its a high 10 sec street car.

Roots-type said:

Can't see the graph very well, but it looks like it's doing all the right things. More and more power all the way to redline, super flat torque curve. Very nice! I know this car will haul ass.

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Is the 20 degrees of timing with methanol? Also are you running a 50/50 water/meth or a different distribution?

timing is 20 deg max as long as the IAT's stay below 200 deg which they always do as long as the water/meth is running

03cobra#2 said:

Very nice. Whats the timing look like if you don't mind me asking.

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yes and its controlled by the IAT's, meth mixture is supposedly 50/50 (Snow Boost Juice).

40th GT said:

Is the 20 degrees of timing with methanol? Also are you running a 50/50 water/meth or a different distribution?

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Interesting. I made almost opposite numbers with a 67mm turbo at 12 lbs of boost also
Made 452hp/514tq.

For comparison purposes: before i had the MS3 pnp the car was tuned by Lidio at Alternative. At that time the car made 11 lbs of boost and the timing was set to a max of 17 deg, this combo made 430 whp and 402 tq. My changes of adding the Kenne Bell Boost a spark as well as adding 3 degrees of timing and 2 lbs of boost netted me 84 whp and 42 additional tq.

I bet it's a blast to drive. What is your fuel pressure set at? Are you using an aftermarket regulator?

I'm wanting to get similar numbers out of mine.

that is interesting, i think my torque is somewhat low due to the limited timing.

98 svt said:

Interesting. I made almost opposite numbers with a 67mm turbo at 12 lbs of boost also
Made 452hp/514tq.

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it is a lot of fun to drive. i am still using the factory regulator so the idle pressure is 39psi and the regulator is boost referenced so it maxes out around 52 lbs of pressure under full boost.

40th GT said:

I bet it's a blast to drive. What is your fuel pressure set at? Are you using an aftermarket regulator?

I'm wanting to get similar numbers out of mine.

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Great numbers. I thought the most you wanted to run on the stock rods/pistons was 500?

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boost88 said:

Great numbers. I thought the most you wanted to run on the stock rods/pistons was 500?

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More like 450, but sounds like he's building a new shortblock.

You relocate the IAT post blower? 200 IAT is HOT and will more than likely never see that if it’s still pre blower. If post blower you should be pulling timing in the 150-165 range.

boost88 said:

Great numbers. I thought the most you wanted to run on the stock rods/pistons was 500?

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Rods will be fine but the factory ring gap is tight and factory piston top ring land is thin. He’ll break a top ring land before he hurts a rod. Which at his current setup will be soon.

OP can you clarify which MS PNP you’re using? I’ve been talking with MS about the MS3 Pro PNP and to my knowledge isnt out yet for 96-98 cars. Does yours keep the factory instrument cluster and allow for additional inputs?

That's exactly why I wanted to see how far I could go with the stock motor, as long as you are careful with the tune I believe you can take them over 500. The big question is for how long before one of the rods let's go.

boost88 said:

Great numbers. I thought the most you wanted to run on the stock rods/pistons was 500?

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Yes my iat is post blower, running the timing I do with E 85 and meth doesn't scare me to have 165deg. iat under full boost. Also not worried about the rings and pistons as it's just a car I drive a few hundred miles a summer and I don't run it full throttle for extended periods of time. Again these motors can take more than people give them credit for.

The MS3 PnP I have is a test unit that I got from DIY, I spoke with the owner Jerry and was able to get one before they actually released them on the market. They didn't have a prebuilt tune loaded so it's more involved and I had to set everything up myself. I am extremely happy with the MS3 PnP system. The PNP system allowed me to keep my stock gauges and all sensors, it's truly a plug and play system.

SVT GI said:

You relocate the IAT post blower? 200 IAT is HOT and will more than likely never see that if it’s still pre blower. If post blower you should be pulling timing in the 150-165 range.



Rods will be fine but the factory ring gap is tight and factory piston top ring land is thin. He’ll break a top ring land before he hurts a rod. Which at his current setup will be soon.

OP can you clarify which MS PNP you’re using? I’ve been talking with MS about the MS3 Pro PNP and to my knowledge isnt out yet for 96-98 cars. Does yours keep the factory instrument cluster and allow for additional inputs?

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The argument on how much these motors can take is subjective. I don’t argue that they cant make good power, Hail Mary dyno runs happen often. For me, “taking” the power is about sustainment. Like you said, if you’re not using it often...I’m sure it’ll last a while.

Yeah I think I was talking to Jerry but it was back in Feb or so this year. He said he had some r&d units out there being tested before release. I’ve been tuning with sct pro racer for about 10 years now and thinking about making the switch on one of my cars. I’ve pushed the factory ecu pretty far and think it might be holding it back at this point.

wirelessguy2005 said:

Yes my iat is post blower, running the timing I do with E 85 and meth doesn't scare me to have 165deg. iat under full boost. Also not worried about the rings and pistons as it's just a car I drive a few hundred miles a summer and I don't run it full throttle for extended periods of time. Again these motors can take more than people give them credit for.

The MS3 PnP I have is a test unit that I got from DIY, I spoke with the owner Jerry and was able to get one before they actually released them on the market. They didn't have a prebuilt tune loaded so it's more involved and I had to set everything up myself. I am extremely happy with the MS3 PnP system. The PNP system allowed me to keep my stock gauges and all sensors, it's truly a plug and play system.

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If you get one of the MS3's I think you will be really happy with it, It has more features than I will ever be able to use and its really not difficult to tune.

SVT GI said:

The argument on how much these motors can take is subjective. I don’t argue that they cant make good power, Hail Mary dyno runs happen often. For me, “taking” the power is about sustainment. Like you said, if you’re not using it often...I’m sure it’ll last a while.

Yeah I think I was talking to Jerry but it was back in Feb or so this year. He said he had some r&d units out there being tested before release. I’ve been tuning with sct pro racer for about 10 years now and thinking about making the switch on one of my cars. I’ve pushed the factory ecu pretty far and think it might be holding it back at this point.

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