snowbird
06-26-2005, 06:18 PM
I just had my FIT Procharger kit installed Friday the 24th in Lexena (Kansas city) and here is my first comments.
My needs were a bit different than others since I wanted this car to perform work and family duties 12 months a year even in harsh winters. So stealth, drivability and reliability are the qualities I’m looking for beside some consideration over budget. So I went for a behind the grill intercooler install (safer when going trough snow banks) and a safe 10 degree base timing to make it able to work with the weak 91 Canadian octane rating. This should cost me about, I guess, 25 hp from the base 440 + Hp numbers the others are getting but it’s an OK compromise for my usage.
First of all, I would like to warmly thanks Greg and associate Mike for the outstanding service they gave me to perform this mod. As you probably know, the Procharger is one of the easiest to install and is really non invasive. It took a bit over 6 hours, right in long tubes territory times but what a difference does it make !
We have had 2 small difficulties on start-up: A faulty thermostat O ring had to be replaced, a 15 minutes correction using the old one and a faulty Diablo tuner that we also changed in no time.
We then went for some checkout readings and when everything looked right as planned (with no change on the base tune furnished in the kit), we … well, kind of went wild a little bit !!
Mike explained me how to brake the converter a bit and we did nice 100 foot trails on the publicly held secret Procharger testing ground circuit that were as good as the Auburn I installed a month ago would permit.. This was done in 105 degree weather on the regular 255-55-18 street tires I’m running.. WHOOO OOO. We did a few more “pass” and the IAT stayed acceptable even in that frying pan day.
After some bye bye, I had to do the final endurance test by going back home over 1650 miles away without any kind of a problem beside having to resist every other minutes to leave vacuum and going deep in the positive pressure zone. Greg phoned me after my arrival, telling me he is already working on improving the already good base tune with some changes in the parameters, notably the transmission programming. Now, that’s good service !.
I’m really impressed with this kit: The install is so easy, it’s like black magic. The driveability is also really good, below 2500 rpm the car run like before, the blower noise is subdued and can only be heard a little bit at idle but disappear after take off. That thing is really smooth on drivelines offduty. When in a sportier mood, press the fun pedal and the car jump forward very fast in the 3-5 pounds area effortlessly and if you’re in the “take no prisoner” mood, well, floor it and get ready for that funny despicable smile that will make every other look like the coyote in those olds cartoons.
Upon my calculation, a 3700 lbs 2003 stock Cobra have about the same power to weight ratio than a Marauder with that kit and exhaust. While there might be faster cars around, especially in magazines at price that we cannot afford anyway, a “automatic 4 door Cobra” that can run in the snow and carry 4-5 adults comfortably is really nice too. We’ve got only one life so let’s do it supercharged !!! Talking about that, I know other kits exists and they also have their qualities. I’m not comparing this kit to the others but simply saying that this one, is a good one and can even get upgraded easily in a lot nastier for the ones who, say, don’t have a divorced ex to feed !!
P.S. My mileage was 20.69 miles to a gallon on the go trip before the install and 19.96 miles to a gallon on the way back (with a 4.10 gear, Kooks and stock converter). Granted, the trip was mostly offboost but the cost of supercharging on the highway is, precisely in my case, a mere 0.73 mile per gallon. Not very much of a price to pay for a nasty and cruel dragon under the hood.
My needs were a bit different than others since I wanted this car to perform work and family duties 12 months a year even in harsh winters. So stealth, drivability and reliability are the qualities I’m looking for beside some consideration over budget. So I went for a behind the grill intercooler install (safer when going trough snow banks) and a safe 10 degree base timing to make it able to work with the weak 91 Canadian octane rating. This should cost me about, I guess, 25 hp from the base 440 + Hp numbers the others are getting but it’s an OK compromise for my usage.
First of all, I would like to warmly thanks Greg and associate Mike for the outstanding service they gave me to perform this mod. As you probably know, the Procharger is one of the easiest to install and is really non invasive. It took a bit over 6 hours, right in long tubes territory times but what a difference does it make !
We have had 2 small difficulties on start-up: A faulty thermostat O ring had to be replaced, a 15 minutes correction using the old one and a faulty Diablo tuner that we also changed in no time.
We then went for some checkout readings and when everything looked right as planned (with no change on the base tune furnished in the kit), we … well, kind of went wild a little bit !!
Mike explained me how to brake the converter a bit and we did nice 100 foot trails on the publicly held secret Procharger testing ground circuit that were as good as the Auburn I installed a month ago would permit.. This was done in 105 degree weather on the regular 255-55-18 street tires I’m running.. WHOOO OOO. We did a few more “pass” and the IAT stayed acceptable even in that frying pan day.
After some bye bye, I had to do the final endurance test by going back home over 1650 miles away without any kind of a problem beside having to resist every other minutes to leave vacuum and going deep in the positive pressure zone. Greg phoned me after my arrival, telling me he is already working on improving the already good base tune with some changes in the parameters, notably the transmission programming. Now, that’s good service !.
I’m really impressed with this kit: The install is so easy, it’s like black magic. The driveability is also really good, below 2500 rpm the car run like before, the blower noise is subdued and can only be heard a little bit at idle but disappear after take off. That thing is really smooth on drivelines offduty. When in a sportier mood, press the fun pedal and the car jump forward very fast in the 3-5 pounds area effortlessly and if you’re in the “take no prisoner” mood, well, floor it and get ready for that funny despicable smile that will make every other look like the coyote in those olds cartoons.
Upon my calculation, a 3700 lbs 2003 stock Cobra have about the same power to weight ratio than a Marauder with that kit and exhaust. While there might be faster cars around, especially in magazines at price that we cannot afford anyway, a “automatic 4 door Cobra” that can run in the snow and carry 4-5 adults comfortably is really nice too. We’ve got only one life so let’s do it supercharged !!! Talking about that, I know other kits exists and they also have their qualities. I’m not comparing this kit to the others but simply saying that this one, is a good one and can even get upgraded easily in a lot nastier for the ones who, say, don’t have a divorced ex to feed !!
P.S. My mileage was 20.69 miles to a gallon on the go trip before the install and 19.96 miles to a gallon on the way back (with a 4.10 gear, Kooks and stock converter). Granted, the trip was mostly offboost but the cost of supercharging on the highway is, precisely in my case, a mere 0.73 mile per gallon. Not very much of a price to pay for a nasty and cruel dragon under the hood.