Project Finished...Not Enough. Whipple 2.9 or 76mm?

[street591]

Hello Gents,

I recently finished my build before spring. Currently a fully built fuel system, 2.3 whipple, 22psi, E85, stock motor and making about 720rwhp.

Now it's complete and honestly...I miss working on it. Looking to do some wrenching and wanting your opinions.

DECIDED TO KEEP A TWIN SCREW! NEW DEBATE:

Option 1:

2.9 Whipple (possibly crusher) @ 22-25 psi

Option 2:

Lysholm 3.3 @ 22-25psi


Questions are:

1. Would you feel comfortable running 25 psi?

2. Any power estimates for either setup? Maybe with REAL experience.

Thanks in advance and looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

[03SVTscott]

Can you post some pics.? Sounds perfect to me. Hope to be there myself someday. What are your intentions with the car where you would want to go bigger?

 

[gaspasr]

Interested in seeing which way you go.

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

Isn't this the car that's for sale??

At any rate.. 25psi would be fine, just make sure that you have ARP2000 headstuds.. That would be the only thing..

 

[gabe1530]

i would go with the 2.9 crusher headstuds like 98 saleen mentioned and get a safe tune. it will be amazing and stupid fast.

 

[street591]

Can you post some pics.? Sounds perfect to me. Hope to be there myself someday. What are your intentions with the car where you would want to go bigger?

I have a for sale thread in the Terminators section with some pictures. I don't race the car, just drive it but enough is never enough.

Isn't this the car that's for sale??

At any rate.. 25psi would be fine, just make sure that you have ARP2000 headstuds.. That would be the only thing..

Yes I have it listed for sale. Not gonna stop modding or improving it in hopes of a sale though. I'm thinking doing studs would be the safe route but, is it worth getting into that job for the gains?

i would go with the 2.9 crusher headstuds like 98 saleen mentioned and get a safe tune. it will be amazing and stupid fast.

It would be really strong with the 800rwhp mark but I'll definitely need to spin that 2.9 to get there. I could probably run about 20-21psi on a Precision 76 and get to the 800 mark, with no studs.

 

[Zemedici]

If you sell the whipple let me know :beer:

 

[street591]

If you sell the whipple let me know :beer:

It's in the Terminator Parts Buy/Sell section. :beer:

 

[CobraBob]

If it were me, and I had it up for sale already, I'd leave it alone. Especially if you are very happy with the results. Ie. no issues. Hold the hormones in check until you pick up another project car. JMO.

 

[Shadow Grey 03]

Keep the car and put the 2.9 on it. If that doesn't get your **** hard, then go turbo

 

[cj428mach]

I wouldn't dump anymore money into the car if you're going to get rid of it.

As for the plan for power when Kevin (04sleeper) was helping me with the e85 tune on my car he told me that if he had it to do over again he'd go 2.9. He also told me he wouldn't be afraid to push the stock head bolts to 25psi. Its tempting to want to go 2.9 but I hate that Whipple doesn't make a removable inlet and I grow tired of removing the blower just to work on my car. I'm making the jump to the TVS when the new one comes out here in the next month or so.

More power is nice but I actually pullied mine back down to try to have some traction in this cold weather.

 

[Woody6799]

I would go 2.9, especially on e85. The 2.3 is great for pumps gas 93 guys like I am but if you can have the e85 consistency then I would spin the crap out of the 2.9 and bring in the smiles for miles.

 

[Blueline]

Go turbo Cody :-D

 

[stangfreak]

This is my take on it.

I have owned a lot of twin screws. Buy the latest and greatest, sell, get the bigger one, sell, and get another bigger one. Its a viscous cycle. In the end, you put all that work, and how much hp are you really gaining from going one to the other. Especially if the motor is stock. see what I mean? You will always want more. Just like you stated, the 2.3 is not enough. Now you go to a 2.9, add another 60rwhp maybe? One week of driving it, you will get used to that. This is when, IMO, going turbo is ideal. You can go from 600rwhp to 1000 or more anytime you want. Of course, with the right turbo. It just makes sense.

I have a 2.9 at 22lbs and I make 710 with vp100. 22lbs with good gas you will make 730rwhp. On e85 maybe a bit more. My car is just a bit soft and down 20 hp and 20 tq from the rest of the cobras. But I have to roll around with vp100 all the time. with a turbo, you can be fast on pump gas and be even faster on e85 or race gas. No need to swap pulleys and belts.

Now if I would go turbo, I would also want an automatic. I have seen lots of people try with the 6 speed, only to switch over to an auto. Lots of money.

If you dont want to drop a lot of money, and will be content with 7-800, stay with the blower. Get a 2.9 whipple.

 

[Blueline]

This is my take on it.

I have owned a lot of twin screws. Buy the latest and greatest, sell, get the bigger one, sell, and get another bigger one. Its a viscous cycle. In the end, you put all that work, and how much hp are you really gaining from going one to the other. Especially if the motor is stock. see what I mean? You will always want more. Just like you stated, the 2.3 is not enough. Now you go to a 2.9, add another 60rwhp maybe? One week of driving it, you will get used to that. This is when, IMO, going turbo is ideal. You can go from 600rwhp to 1000 or more anytime you want. Of course, with the right turbo. It just makes sense.

I have a 2.9 at 22lbs and I make 710 with vp100. 22lbs with good gas you will make 730rwhp. On e85 maybe a bit more. My car is just a bit soft and down 20 hp and 20 tq from the rest of the cobras. But I have to roll around with vp100 all the time. with a turbo, you can be fast on pump gas and be even faster on e85 or race gas. No need to swap pulleys and belts.

Now if I would go turbo, I would also want an automatic. I have seen lots of people try with the 6 speed, only to switch over to an auto. Lots of money.

If you dont want to drop a lot of money, and will be content with 7-800, stay with the blower. Get a 2.9 whipple.

As always you write up some great advice :beer:

 

[JustaGT5408]

This is my take on it.

I have owned a lot of twin screws. Buy the latest and greatest, sell, get the bigger one, sell, and get another bigger one. Its a viscous cycle. In the end, you put all that work, and how much hp are you really gaining from going one to the other. Especially if the motor is stock. see what I mean? You will always want more. Just like you stated, the 2.3 is not enough. Now you go to a 2.9, add another 60rwhp maybe? One week of driving it, you will get used to that. This is when, IMO, going turbo is ideal. You can go from 600rwhp to 1000 or more anytime you want. Of course, with the right turbo. It just makes sense.

I have a 2.9 at 22lbs and I make 710 with vp100. 22lbs with good gas you will make 730rwhp. On e85 maybe a bit more. My car is just a bit soft and down 20 hp and 20 tq from the rest of the cobras. But I have to roll around with vp100 all the time. with a turbo, you can be fast on pump gas and be even faster on e85 or race gas. No need to swap pulleys and belts.

Now if I would go turbo, I would also want an automatic. I have seen lots of people try with the 6 speed, only to switch over to an auto. Lots of money.

If you dont want to drop a lot of money, and will be content with 7-800, stay with the blower. Get a 2.9 whipple.

This, although I love my 2.9 (non crusher) on e85, I probably only make around 50whp more than you on 24psi and not sure if that is enough for your need for the amount you will have to spend on a new blower. I have often pondered going turbo but love the way the 2.9 is on the street, it is an absolute blast.

The 2.3 is definitely a great blower but you will get used to the 2.9 just as quick, especially if you are already making 720 to the tires.

Either way it will be one hell of a car!

 

[stangfreak]

As always you write up some great advice :beer:

Thanks man. Between the advice I got from my tuner joey at mustang magic, jimmy vaccaro, venomous john, richie aka hammer, eric brooks, franco, broke7, aj, all the pioneers who started with the 03 cobra, I have seen so much. Iv been in every single combo, driven a lot of different setups, seen people over do it then sell, and I also did a lot of trial and error myself. Had different tuners tune my car, speaking with jim bell and dustin whipple personally, I learned a lot. I bought my cobra in august of 03. Im not a guru, but I have been around the block and got advice from some of the best. 12 years and my car is still tastefully modded. Like uncle used to say, watch out for the slippery slope!!

 

[stangfreak]

This, although I love my 2.9 (non crusher) on e85, I probably only make around 50whp more than you on 24psi and not sure if that is enough for your need for the amount you will have to spend on a new blower. I have often pondered going turbo but love the way the 2.9 is on the street, it is an absolute blast.

The 2.3 is definitely a great blower but you will get used to the 2.9 just as quick, especially if you are already making 720 to the tires.

Either way it will be one hell of a car!

The 2.9 is a great blower. I mean, we make just as much as some of the 3.4 whipples. IMO, whipple does great with the 2L blowers. 3L blowers, I give it to kenne bell. But thats another topic. whipple nailed the 2.9. Its violent down low and pulls hard up top. I love it. Its a beast.

I had the 2.3 whipple. Great blower. 2.9 just walks over it. But again, we need to spin the blower a bit more for it to work. I wont run the blower less than 22lbs. when people buy a 2.6 or a 2.9 whipple, 2.8 kb and run 17lbs, Im like really? lol venomous john always gave me one rule to go by with twincrews. 19lbs. Not less. Forget about the peak hp number you see from a twinscrew at 15lbs. I had a 2.4 kenne bell at 17lbs of boost and it was a joke. My ported eaton would have pissed all over it.

btw, your car looks insane man. gorgeous cobra. Plus 2.9 whipple with e85 at 24lbs, you got a beast on your hands!!!

 

[stangfreak]

Little cool fact is, the gen 2......2.3 whipples are actually 2.4 Liter blowers. Pretty cool not too many people know that. They just never bothered to change it

 

[gabe1530]

This, although I love my 2.9 (non crusher) on e85, I probably only make around 50whp more than you on 24psi and not sure if that is enough for your need for the amount you will have to spend on a new blower. I have often pondered going turbo but love the way the 2.9 is on the street, it is an absolute blast.

The 2.3 is definitely a great blower but you will get used to the 2.9 just as quick, especially if you are already making 720 to the tires.

Either way it will be one hell of a car!

this is one of the reasons why i recommend the crusher as it can easily go to 800+. its been done on AED's dyno with a stock cobra longblock.
many tuners and shops believe its one of the best all around blowers for our cars. also another reason why you see so many 2.9l vs 2.3 tvs threads, the two best blowers being debated over and over on the forums.