SN95 Vortech S-Trim Supercharger

Next up: FORCED INDUCTION!!!
Vortech S-trim 8PSI supercharger.

Ok, "WHERE'S THE NITROUS!?!?!?"

After a season of adventures with the juice, I quickly came to the realization that in a short period of time, I was going thru a LOT of bottles of nitrous at 35 bucks a pop. At the rate I was going, I would have spent more on nitrous then I would have on a new blower kit after a few short seasons. While the nitrous made incredible power and helped me win some big races, it's not all it's cracked up to be. The problems are:
Running out of nitrous or running out of cash for nitrous (after you have blown 100 bucks already in one night) Having to wait or watch for correct bottle pressure, and worrying about backfires and leanouts.
When you go racing with your blower buddies, you can only make at the most three full 1/4 mile passes on the juice before power drops off dramatically. (at higher HP levels) It gets to be a ROYAL bummer watching the blower guys run strong all day long while you lose a second or more off your times as the bottle runs out. And, that's the other thing- after making a few passes on the juice, the car feels like a slug after you run out of squeeze. Sure, it runs fine, but the feeling of losing 100 or more horses suddenly makes the car seem like grandma's Escort 4 cyl.
So, I decided to go with forced induction. I wanted the reliability of a proven product, So I chose the Vortech S-Trim for its reliability and proud racing heritage. I have seen the best running supercharged cars my area has to offer. Most of the faster supercharged cars run Vortech superchargers.

I am starting out with the "stock" 8 psi pulley. I have opted for the extended 3 year warranty from Vortech, therefore I cannot change the pulley, or else the warranty is void.
The kit came with everything I needed:
(see pictures below)

S-Trim compressor and associated ducting
Replacement blower/alt/smog pump bracket
T-Rex in line fuel pump
FMU (which had to be recalibrated for 24 LB inj.)
MSD ignition retard with dash mounted retard control
By-pass valve
All fittings, fasteners, ties, etc
"Care and feeding manual" (an excellent guide for you to follow and learn from)
Option to purchase three year unlimited mileage warranty for $48.00 (which as mentioned I opted for)
Outstanding tech support

I have installed the Vortech plus added a dash mounted Boost/Fuel pressure guage pod. The guages are made by Autometer, but say "Vortech" on them and are very cool. They replace the clock on my dash and look somewhat factory installed.
The blower install was fairly easy. It took a weekend to complete but I was in no hurry whatsoever and took many breaks. The alternator did not have to be re-located and the kit bolted up with no problems. The directions could be better, but you can do it.

I must confess I had a buddy from a local speed shop (Fast Times Performance) punch the oil pan for the return line, simply because he's done so many of them. It took all of ten minutes. The feed line to the blower is simple to do. That took me about ten minutes also.

Impressions: The car behaves normally with moderate throttle. You can drive around and never get into the boost, and run cool and get normal MPG. However, mash the gas, and HANG ON!!!!! It's like hitting the nitrous, the car flat out hauls ass under boost. What's wonderful is you have this power on tap WHEN EVER YOU WANT IT!!!! YEEEEE HAAAA!!!!!
I've put about 2,000 miles and FIFTY PLUS 1/4 mile passes on the blower as of May 1999 and have had no problems whatsoever.

I had a chance to run the car on radials down the 1/4 mile. I was running out of gear at 114 MPH, so I have swapped the 3.73 gears back into the car. I went 12.20s @114 MPH with 4.10's on Nitto drag radials, and have run 11.80's@113mph on ET Drags with 3.73's. This is with the kit as installed, with a conservative (rich) tune. No modifications to the EEC of any kind.
I feel there is a lot more in the car just from tuning/electronics, as the 1994-'95 Cobras are famous for a "milder" computer calibration.
I will be having the car dynoed and a custom chip programmed in the near future.

I also passed smog testing with all the mods on the car. I was seeing 8-9 PSI of boost thru the cats. I removed them and lost 2 PSI of boost, from 9 to 7, but gained a bunch of torque and HP. So now I am at a mere 7 psi of boost, which is not stressing the motor or the blower to any degree of concern, but the car is stronger and faster. If I choose to add more boost and fuel, the power output will grow tremendously. The shortie headers and exhaust are also a restriction that is hurtin g performance. I also have not ported the intakes or heads, and am still running a smallish 65 MM TB and 73 MM mass air sensor along with the "stock" blower ducting as supplied from Vortech. (additional boost can be found in the ductwork) There are many options out there at this point if I wish to grow. From porting, bigger TB and Mass-air, smaller pullies (more boost) to different "trim" Vortech compressors, there is so much room to grow. It must be pointed out, that in order to run the Cobra LEGALLY in the 11's, a rollcage must be installed. At this point in time, I am not interested in doing this to the car. All the mods so far can be undone, the car can be put back to stock (or close enough to it). A rollcage pretty much shoots the car's resale value.
(I found a Cobra oil pan to replace the one I had punched, cost- 50 bucks)
I am mulling over building a Fox bodied drag car around the blower/306 combo... Stay tuned ;)
I have had more fun with my car then I ever had with nitrous. You keep waiting for the power to fade off and it keeps on coming- just stomp the pedal. You keep wondering when it's bottle changing time, but that time never arrives. Baby Bam-Bam has a full belly all the time now, no bottle feeding needed.
So far I am blown away (no pun intended) by the Vortech and I am telling anyone thinking of getting a blower- GET A VORTECH!!!!!

Below is a picture of a finished installation on a '94 Cobra. Note that the alternator is visible in its near stock location. This greatly simplifies installation. My installation looks almost identical to this picture (right down to the Rio Red paint)