Gen 5 Whipple Supercharger on a 2014 GT500: Installation & Dyno!

 

There’s so much buzz in the community right now about the new 2020 Shelby GT500, which is an awesome, awesome car don’t get us wrong, but let’s not forget it’s predecessors: those Shelbys that came before it and paved the way, making the GT500 name stand for something! Specifically, let’s focus in on the 2007-2014 Shelby GT500 and the new Gen 5 3.0L Whipple supercharger for it (oh and our badass return style fuel system to support those wanting more than 725rwhp OR to run E85…). 

 


One of our local friends & customers, Cristian V., owns a beautiful 2014 Shelby GT500 and was willing to be our test mule (we didn’t really have to twist his arm…). Whipple Superchargers sent us their latest 3.0L Gen 5 supercharger setup for his car and we handled the fuel side of things with a complete Lethal Performance / divisionX return style fuel system. Mike from Power By The Hour Performance handled all aspects of the installation and Lund Racing provided the custom tuning. 


Before starting the install of GT500 performance parts, we grabbed a baseline number from Cristian’s car on the dyno. With the stock blower and 93 pump gas, the car made 581rwhp / 622rwtq. 

 


Cristian dropped the car off with Mike, who wasted no time in getting into the installation. Since we were doing the fuel system & supercharger all at once, Mike worked on the car in sections. First steps were to remove the factory fuel hat & replace it with the new divisionX triple pump return style fuel hat. The hat gets wired in using our Lethal Performance triple pump return style harness. 

Mechanics tip: Be sure the ring on the hat is locked into place. Also, be sure the level sender is not hitting or your fuel level won’t read properly!

 


Mike ran the harness lines under the seat and through the interior panels for a cleaner look. The relays & ground are mounted behind the passenger side rear seat armrest. Nobody wants to get in a car and see wires everywhere. The power wires are then run underneath the sill plates and through a pre-existing hole in the firewall. All you’ll need to do is snip the nipple off of the grommet to feed the lines through. 

Mechanics tip: Grab an old wire hanger out of the closet and use it to fish the lines through. Also, be sure to sand/grind the paint down where you ground the harness for a proper seat.

 

 

With the power wires run and the fuel hat in place, next step was to run the fuel lines up to the engine bay. We include clamps to secure the hose underneath the car for a clean installation. Mike removed the factory lines and ran both the feed & return fuel hose, including the divisionX fuel filter, under the car on the drivers’ side up to the wheel well. Here, he mounted the Y-block in a secure but out of the way location. 

 

 

Once the hoses are run up through to the engine bay, it was time to sink into the Whipple installation. Mike removed the factory supercharger, intake and throttle body assembly as well as the factory fuel rails & injectors (Cristian will be running the Injector Dynamics ID1300s for that E85 life). 

 

 

With the stock stuff out of the way, Mike installed the ID1300s into place with the black anodized divisionX GT500 high flow fuel rails. Then, he connected the fuel lines to the rails that will run to the regulator on the drivers’ side. 

 

Speaking of the regulator, since Whipple recommends installing the BVES valve setup (11-up) behind the drivers’ side shock tower and that is also where we install the regulator for our fuel system, Mike quickly made a bracket allowing him to mount both in the same location. 

 

 

Once the regulator and BVES setup are mounted and the lines are run, Mike got to work prepping the 3.0L Whipple supercharger for installation. This includes mounting the EGR setup (which Cristian has opted to delete) as well as the bypass valve & vacuum fittings. Also, and most importantly, PUT THE OIL IN THE SUPERCHARGER (there have been those who forgot this step and once you start/drive the car, it’s not pretty…). 

 

 

Mike also installed the electronics onto the massive 150mmWhipple throttle body. Check out the comparison to a Cobra Jet dual 65mm throttle body.

 

 

Next, with the help of Christian from Power By The Hour, they placed the new 3.0L Whipple Supercharger in it’s new home. 

NOTE: We did need to space the K-member & motor for extra clearance. 

 

With the Whipple in place, Mike installed the new Whipple cold air intake & throttle body, ran all the necessary vacuum & coolant lines, and wrapped up all the loose ends. 

 

 

Now it was time to put the car back on the rollers and see what she could do! With Lund Racing at the tuning helm, we started with the 3.50” pulley on 93 octane. This put it at similar boost as a 2.40” pulley on the stock blower. With this setup, Cristian’s GT500 put down 734rwhp / 695rwtq. While some may scoff at that number, we also must realize this is on the low end of the efficiency range for this blower.

 

 

With the standard setup out of the way, Mike threw on the 3.00” pulley, which makes about 20psi, to put the blower higher into the effiency, and filled the tank with some E85. After loading the new custom tune, Cristian’s car put down 853rwhp and 790rwtq, with room to grow!

 

 

Cristian is excited and we can’t wait to see what kind of numbers he will put down out at the track. Not sure of the future plans with the car (hellooooo, more boost!) but we’ll be sure to report! We cannot wait for these blowers to get into your guys’ hands and to start seeing the numbers you will get out of them. Snow White, our 2013 Shelby GT500, still remains one of our favorite cars to date and the 07-14 GT500 platform holds amazing potential. 

Want to get your hands on one of these awesome superchargers? You’re in the right place. CLICK HERE!!

 

 

 

 

Have any questions? Give us a shout! #teamlethal