Procharger/ R-Tech Supercooler
 

For those of you that have followed Tomcats low restriction Supercooler thread, Tom is presently on his way to my home in Maine for some in water testing of his radical design.

This should yield some very interesting results mounted up to our test boat, a 1990 250ES Baja that is presently running a DME 502, M1SC Procharger. Last week we were looking for some baseline numbers and the best run was with a 26 Bravo One 4 blade at 5800, 4.5 lbs boost.

Oh boy!!!!! this is gonna be a fun couple of days !!!!:D


Kurt :cool:

Can't wait for the results... Oh yeah, and some pictures ...PUHLEEZE!!!

Bigg Kurt How fast were you running? Greg

Alright you guys have had 2 days now what happened!! I'm antsy. Tomcat I emailed you. did it go 90 or what? G

I guess he was doing 84 @ 5800 with the 26 bravo

We have been very busy!!!

Just finished our baseline numbers. Boat ran 80 at 5800
We removed the rear seat to gain access to the motor, boat ran a little wetter without the weight in the stern.

Now in the process of installing the R-Tech Supercooler

I`ll keep you posted !!!

Kurt

Installation is going very smooth

Sweet!!!

That thing is big ! Looks like you could store a case of beer in there. Maybe we could hook up an A/C compressor to it too. Just kidding I know its a lot of work and it does look good. My guess is 90 mph. Is that a procharger or the vortech? Greg

We did some testing late in the day. The results! so far are nothing short of mind boggling!

The boat has been transformed into an animal!

tests so far have gained us 5 mph. last run was spinning a 28 Bravo 1 at 5500

next step will be jetting and fine tuning.

The stock Procharger M1 compressor went from 4.5 lbs boost to over 7.5 lbs in the manifold. Pretty impressive for just changing the intercooler/ carb box

A quick side note, the compressor discharge temps were 200+ degrees and after the intercooler, carb box temps were 86-88 degrees!!!!:eek: ....lake water was 70*

More results to follow.....We have not found the end of it

Kurt

Good job guys. Get a 30" prop. Keep it comming!

Wow thats awesome. Accolades to the tomcat! Am I reading you right...no pulley change? do you have a photo of the stock procharger setup? Thanks Greg

Thats right, no pulley change, just a more efficient and less restrictive path to the carb.

you guys done or what? Im dying to hear the progress. This stuff is huge. greg

Yes, we had some fun!!!

next step is to contact Nickerson Perf in the morning for some carb tuning.

the results so far were just incredible!

Gained @4 lbs boost just bolting the intercooler/box (no pulley change)

Reduced the intake temps by 30* :eek:

We are now running @8 lbs boost and intake temps are 86*

Pretty impressive! (we were running 4.5 lbs and 109* intake temps with the stock Procharger box)

The R-Tech Supercooler will increase boost and drastically reduce intake temps WITHOUT spinning the blower faster!!!!

What do you think of that???? :D

Kurt :cool:

Well Kurt, I think its great so what happened? Is 85 it or what? are plug readings the problem? They are for me. do you use new plugs or slightly used or colored or what? So you have EGTs or not? What does dean need to do ? Is tomcat going home with his box? Greg

Hi guys:

Just got home from Maine. Here's the scoop so far.

We increased boost and lowered temps more than I thought we would. Based on our measurements we have increased air density to the carb by 20% without spinning the blower any faster. Our baseline with the 28 Bravo was 5000 RPM. With the supercooler we blew by that mark with tremendous midrange stopping at 5400-5500 with a couple inches of throttle left. We are going to need a 30 Bravo.

The reason we stopped testing was when we tried to use the remaining throttle the engine started surging. We couldn't hold the boat at a steady RPM to let the speed climb up the last few mph. Even so we saw an extra 5 mph on the GPS.

We don't have near enough jet. A 20% increase in air density is huge and we weren't prepared for that. We didn't have big enough secondary jets to provide that much extra fuel, and you can't just throw huge jets in the primaries without midrange problems. We know that Nickerson modifies the metering blocks to provide the extra fuel so we decided to stop chasing it until we talked with Dean on Monday.

When the carb gets sorted out I think 85 mph is quite possible against a baseline of 77. The reason these numbers are on the low side is we took out the rear seat and hatch for ease of access during testing. We also decided not to play with the trim to squeeze out the last mph, so the drive is tucked in more than normal. Both of these things increased wetted surface. As a result the boat is about 4 mph slower than normal on the baseline.

When we put the weight back into the stern of the boat and play with the trim the speed will go up, but I'm just interested in the back to back comparison. If we can get the fuel to go with the 20% more air we will be adding about 100 HP and I would expect about 7-8 mph over the baseline.

The Supercooler was bought by board member Neverenuff, the owner of the test boat.

But don`t you worry, the R Tech Supercooler is in production as we speak.

Kurt :cool:

We don't have any dyno numbers on this particular engine, but when we dyno tested the prototype on the 454 Magnum that used to be in the boat we produced 650 HP with the Procharger and 740 HP with the Rtech/Procharger. This was on an engine that made maybe 425 HP with GM heads, a mild cam and the dyno headers. I would expect similar numbers from a 502 with the same heads and cam, maybe at a lower rpm.

The Rtech added 2 psi in that test and did not lower temps since the prototype core was the same size as the Procharger core. The production unit in the boat test added 3 psi and lowered temps due to the large 468 in3 core.

I wouldn't say that the 502 engine in the boat now was built differently to handle the Procharger and it certainly wasn't modified to suit the Rtech in any way. It is an 8.75:1 engine with iron Merlin heads. The cam has longer duration than the 454 Magnum than we dyno tested. The larger displacement, better flowing heads and bigger cam reduced the boost level from 6 to 4.5 psi when the procharger was reinstalled. That was our baseline.

To duplicate the boost level we achieved with the Rtech you would have to go up 1 or 2 pulley sizes, and you wouldn't make the same power due to hotter air temperatures and the power lost to spin the blower faster. Then there are all the reliability issues that go with spinning the blower faster.

Thanks to Paul for once again providing his boat for this R&D. Thanks to Kurt for opening his house and dock to us. Check out this mini marina!

I just got in from doing a few plug reading runs and MAN DOES THIS THING WORK!!!! :eek:

Got some jetting recommendations from Dean Nickerson and plugs look fine on the primary and secondaries. This is not my boat, I was somewhat careful with it, did not want to over trim but the R Tech Supercooler equipped M1 Procharged DME 502 was up against the rev limiter at 5800 with a 28 Bravo 1 I`m going to put the 30 B1 on next.

The midrange acceration is like a CR500 motocrosser!

What is really interesting is that we are getting some really impressive numbers with the small M1 compressor and relatively mild engine combo.

Kurt :D

Thanks for the new data today Kurt. I wish I could have been there for that run. I'm looking forward to hearing NEVRENUFF's comments when he gets back from his business trip.

Since I have all of the data collected I can now say that we picked up almost 7.5 mph (GPS) from the baseline. That's with the same prop, same carb, same jetting, same ignition, same blower pulley, same trim setting, same outside air temp and same lake water temp.

When you guys put the rear seat and hatch back in, and try the 30 Bravo I am sure that you will increase the boat's absolute top speed, but for my purposes, its the back to back comparison that matters.

Here's a shot of the sideways carb with fuel lines and throttle linkage installed.

What size cfm does Dean claim that the carb is? It looks likme my nickerson unit. Greg

I think 930 or 980 CFM, I can't remember for sure. Whatever it is, it works.

Do you have any EFI style coolers available?

I am working on a design for the Merc 502 EFI. Thanks to a member of the board, I will be building a prototype for this application soon. Aftermarket EFI systems like Holley based on a single plane carb intake with 4 barrel throttle body will work with the existing box.

I have a J trim vortec on a 502 that dynoed at a conservative 595 with a vortec intercooler, then bumped to 625 at 5200 with one of Livorsi's new intercoolers,now I need a bit more.

I can say from first hand experience that the R tech Supercooler will give you a LOT more! :D

The midrange acceration is violent!

jrz: I have not had the opportunity to flow test either of those intercoolers, but I know the Vortech core is about 212 in3. What are the dimensions of the Livorsi core?

Resistance to air flow is the main factor that determines the intercooler's effect on HP. Core volume is the main factor in cooling effectiveness. Lower temperatures caused by a bigger intercooler will increase density and HP a little, but the main advantage is safety/detonation control.

What are you getting for boost now?

Ok Tom,when does the hp500efi protype get built? I got a volunteer test bed :)
As to your question about distributing,lets talk.

Sean

I should probably pay more attention when my engines are being built. Iwas more involved with the J trim and air filter clearing long tube headers with silent choice. The engine was done at Energized Fuel Injection, I can get the specifics from Tim if needed. l

By the way how is your'e display for SEMA going?

Sean: I should get the 500MPI manifold next week. Isn't the base of the manifold the same as the HP500EFI? What I have in mind should work for both. Prototype won't get built until November due to manufacturing of first boxes and prep for SEMA. Send me a PM, lost your number. Love to try it on the Eliminator, got a good drive?

jrz: I'm glad you're hooked up with Tim. If my design works we will need him to figure out the computer.

I just got my SEMA exhibitor manual - 2" thick. We are displaying in the performance marine section and entering the new products competition where you get a showcase for every category entered. We may also be displaying an OSO member's truck, trailer and boat with the Rtech system installed in the performance marine pavillion outside.

SEMA stands for Send Extra Money Away.

Well Tom, I don't think the black hawk would handle a blower but I know where I can borrow a drive if needed.
The shop # is 416-233-5110.
Sean

As soon as I get the MPI manifold and it looks like a good design will fit I will give you a call. I would like to look at the HP500EFI engine for interferences etc.

Tom I dont think the base is the same? I think the 500 hp efi is a straight shot vs the cross over style of the 502 mpi. Mag. I've got the stuff in boxes and will be shipping soon. Greg

That's great Greg, I look forward to getting them. I got some Merc schematics that make the two intakes look very similar except for the throttle body mounting. There may be minor differences in the patttern of the ports that project into the upper plenum but I could work around that with minor differences in my base plate. For manufacturing cost reasons I would use the same Rtech upper plenum and intercooler.

We are going to be in Booth #13133 at SEMA just down the aisle from Arizona Speed and Marine and directly facing the New Products Showcase area. We are entered into the Best Engineered category. Not expecting any awards, but we get to display the supercooler in a separate glass showcase so it's worth it for the exposure.

Any one going to the big show?

Hey Tom, I'd love to go. What is your display going to be? The motor on a stand with your system bolted on?

Is there room on the back of the engine for a bravo bellhousing and inner transom plate which would bolt to an extension box which is all painted with the sides cut out to see the innerds and with two guages mounted on it? What would it cost to have this attached to your display? Marty.

Marty:

The engine stand we are using doesn't allow anything to be bolted on the back and our booth is going to be pretty full with the plastic engine, pop-up display, separate "as seen in F&PB" sign etc. But you should be displaying the on board dyno at the show in your own booth. You should also be entering it in the New Product Showcase. It may be too late to be eligible for judging (entry by Oct 3) but it is still worth entering because of the extra display exposure you get in the showcase.

There are still a few 10' X 10' booths in the Performance Marine section. Check out semashow.com for details. To become a member of SEMA costs $350 but you get almost that much off the booth cost as a member so it is well worth it. Call me and I can give you the info we have learned.

When you build your Bravo/box display, note that the line of sight requirements at SEMA restrict the height of the display to 4'. We had to use a low engine (floor) stand that puts the top of the box at waist height.

I'm taking two complete polished kits to Las Vegas for the show. Anyone out west interested in buying these kits after the show should contact me at (416) 709-8714. Since this will save me the trouble and cost of carrying them home I will discount the price.

This is not a finished installation, but it does show how the Vortech compressor blows straight into the side of the box as opposed to the little dogleg needed with the Procharger. If you have Gil or similar exhaust the Vortech flame arrester will fit. If you have CMI elbow tops, this flame arrester won't fit. I am working on a different base plate that will use the same filter and cap and fit either Gil or CMI.