is 500hp realistic?

Question

i have a 1996 ford mustang cobra svt, stock it is 305hp. i havent been able to do much upgrading yet. i have a k&n air filter and flowmaster 40 series mufflers which probably added a few extra horsepower. i am planning on buying a kenne bell supercharger soon which will hopefully add another 150hp. hoping with the supercharger, i will get 455+hp but im looking for 500hp. what else could i do without spending much more? also once i get between 450-500hp will the stock transmission handle it?

Answer 1

you may have to go to nos but 500 is very reasonble. if your runnin an auto look for problems with the tourqe converter. they will happen. alot. standerd your problems will be in the clutch and input shaft.

Answer 2

Yes its possible on a good tune. Cams and a Kenne Bell blower. The tune is important the bottom end may take a dump if its done wrong. If you have the extra cash i would advise to rebuild the bottom end the cobras already have a forged crankshaft but have hypereutectic pistons and non forged rods. but adding Forged rods and pistons and lowering the compression to 8.5:1 would allow you to run higher boost which would shoot u past 500hp. You could get a 03/04 short block too it can take allot of punishment. All depends on your cash. Just don't push to make 500hp and blow your engine. The trans should withstand that much power. Maybe a new clutch would be needed

Answer 3

You could pick up a set of cams for it then valves, springs, and have the head ported or an aftemarket one installed. While you are in there you might as well throw forged pistons in there. You stock transmission should be able to handle it, the clutch wont though. 500hp is entirely possible but just keep in mind crank horse and wheel horse is completly different. In 1995 Ford bench tested your motor in the most perfect conditions, in which it turned out 305. Typically a transmission and differential will knock of about 17 percent of your horsepower. Don't be offended by this every company except for BMW advertises crank horse instead of wheel. Now factor in 11 years of abuse, piston ring wear, clutch wear, all over thermal break down. Get that thing on a dyno before you start adding up companies gain numbers.

Answer 4

You could add headers and an aftermarket ignition system also you could look into a set of underdrive pulleys. You might wanna think about beefing up the bottom end of that motor though the stock rotating assembly isnt really designed to handle 500+ hp your transmission should be fine though. And to the idiot above me Nitrous isnt illegal in the US it's a very common power adder in the states although it is against the law to have the tank hooked up while you're driving around on the streets but...what the po po dont know cant hurt ya.

Answer 5

Go with Turbos over a Supercharger. www.racerwalsh.com has turbocharger kits. A turbo at 8 lbs of boost uses 10% of the horsepower it produces while a supercharger uses close to 30%. With similar boost levels, you will see more horsepower with a turbo, just be sure to use and intercooler. The only major downside to a turbo is complexity of installation and the need for an intercooler.

Answer 6

One Word NOS. Plumb it into the intake from your supercharger to intake. Acts like a poor man's intercooler. 150 shot will give you that extra then some or go 50hp of 75hp shots. You can tune the nos to your needs.Or spend the money get a ProCharger kit and make more than 500hp with just the supercharger kit.

Answer 7

well you guys in the states should do it easy not many restrictions over there. Ive got an xr8 with a 5.4 Lt quad cam v8 it runs a vortech supercharger inter cooler,huge injectors,flash tuner ,stainless exhaust system dual 3'' cams change etc etc the auto 4 speed blow its guts out after 3 runs now it has stainless direct drive no clutches flow increased so it red lines on 7800 rpm it makes504.7 rwhp 10.4 over the 400 meters@147.53 mph so yes you can do it good luck n cheers from oz

Answer 8

all that sounds great, but for starters did you just get the filter or did you get the cold air intake from K&N ? and It may be worth you while to take a look at the size of your throttle body.. As far as the tranny goes take a look at racetransmissions.com and click on the ss mega monster AOD tranny. Trust me it will be the LAST tranny you will ever purchase. If you want to browse some cool engines check out badassengines.com I am buying the street beast for my 66 hardtop.....

Answer 9

Why not the Rousch set up on the supercharger? Those guys could give you the heads up on gettting the 500 hp out of the engine.

Answer 10

You won't have to worry much about the transmission. You will probably be able to get 500 HP from that motor until the bottom end falls off the thing. I predict the crank & rods lying on the pavement after 2 ~ 3 runs.

If you want long lasting HP, run a Chevrolet. There is a reason why Chevys are so popular.

Answer 11

You could buy a Shelby Cobra GT500, or wait until next spring and buy the Shelby Cobra GT500KR, which has 550 horsepower. As for your car maybe you could add an intercooler for more horsepower.