Lightning 5.4L BIG BORE 2.6L Supercharger Upgrade

• Largest displacement Billet Twin Screw (2.6L).
• Highest HP potential. 950HP.
• Includes huge plenum rear inlet manifold (contoured to firewall).
• New design BIG BORE rotors (4.41” vs. competitions 4.11” and 4.17”).
• 6x4 rotor lobes vs. 5x3 competition. Reduces male rotor speed 10% (1.5 vs 1.66 ratio).
• Hard anodized rotors for corrosion and wear protection. No Teflon to flake or rub off and clog intercooler.
• Huge boost / HP gains with same pulley ratio (+9 psi vs. Eaton).
• Less rpm with same boost. Reduces friction, heat and wear.
• Cooler denser air charge temps.
• Lower parasitic loss.
• Larger pulleys - less slippage - more HP. Eliminates expensive “overdrive” crank pulleys, cog belts, etc.
• Up to 33% greater belt contact patch.
• Billet construction. Stronger than cast.
• CNC machined billet inlet and outlet. No porting required or ever recommended.
• Sleek, lightweight, high rpm design. Fits under stock hoods.
• Oil cooling pods.
• 159HP gain over 100% stock Lightning with 2.75” pulley.
• 2 piece inlet allows spark plug changing without removing supercharger.
• 4.5 psi-5.5 psi more boost than Kenne Bell BLOWZILLA 2.3L with same pulley.

2.6L BIG BORE LIGHTNING
Expect huge HP gains over the OEM Ford/Eaton 112 (1.85L). The latest BIG BORE 2.6L has all the performance - and much more - of the earlier BLOWZILLA 2.3L with these added features:
1. Stronger flex free billet aluminum case (2.3L uses cast aluminum).
2. BIG BORE 2.6L new design rotors.
3. New rear inlet big plenum inlet manifold.
4. 950HP rating.
5. Higher boost potential.
6. Larger pulleys for improved belt contact.
7. 4.5-5.5 psi more boost with the same pulley ratio.

It is ideally suited for built higher rpm larger displacement engines and/or higher boost applications, yet works equally well on mildly modified or 100% stock engines. This kit will make 1 psi with our largest 3.75” pulley. Compare that to the stock Eaton or “ported” Eaton’s that require a tiny 2.75” pulley and almost 40% more supercharger rpm (15,125 Eaton vs. 11,000 Kenne Bell) to make the same 10 psi boost. “How much will it make with the same pulley?” To give you some idea of the new 2.6’s huge air flow and boost potential, a 2.75” pulley and 7.5” stock crank pulley will make 19 psi and 507HP on a 100% stock Lightning vs. 10 psi for the Eatons. That’s almost TWICE the boost (19 vs. 10) with identical 2.75” pulleys, tune and accessories. And it’ll make 455HP at only 15 psi on pump gas. A 9-1/2” crank and 3” pulley raises boost to 23 psi. That’s 554HP with a stock Lightning. And it makes 4.5-5.5 psi more than the Kenne Bell 2.3L BLOWZILLA.

As with larger engines, the BIG BORE 2.6L supercharger simply pumps more air - and boost - at a lower supercharger rpm than the competition. This equates to less friction, reduced temperature and lower parasitic losses (engine HP to drive supercharger) - at ANY boost.

WHY THE 2.6L VS. 2.8L OR 3.3L
We tested them all. The 2.6L is lighter, more compact (approx. 1.3” less L, W and H) leaving more plenum area for the inlet - and is not rpm limited to 13-14000 range. According to our data, the higher revving KB 2.6L will make the same boost and HP at 17000 as the 3.3’s at 13000. The 2.3 was proving too small for the higher boost levels on cammed and built engines. The 2.8L Kenne Bell is .72” longer than the 2.6L. The 2.6L is positioned as far forward as possible with a “Direct Drive” (no drive). This maximized the inlet plenum size (area between the supercharger and firewall). The Twin Screw loved this big plenum. The longer 2.8L coupled to a .72” reduced plenum did not perform as well as the 2.6L with the larger plenum, so we went with the 2.6L. It gave us the desired 24 psi and 950HP rating we needed. Extending the pulley farther forward was an option, but necessitated the crank pulley also be extended .72”. The crank would not tolerate the increased stress loads.

SPARK PLUG SERVICEABILITY
The kit features a unique 2 piece big plenum inlet manifold that allows the spark plugs to be removed WITHOUT REMOVING THE SUPERCHARGER. A kit without this feature was never an option for us. Early market research told us that removing the supercharger would not be acceptable.

INLET SYSTEM
We recognized that most Lightning owners replace their factory inlet box - unfortunately more often than not - with one of those ridiculous underhood “hot air” filters. Lose them and suck in ONLY cold air unless you believe “hot underhood air” is really better for your supercharger and engine. Some owners prefer to run the stock Ford “cool air” box so the Standard Kit includes fittings that connect nicely to it. They are not included in the tuner kit. Note: Our 4” Bazooka Tube sucking 100% cool air from outside the engine compartment was good for 15HP. That gives you something to shoot for.

Tests were conducted on a Dynojet with calibrated pressure and temperature sensors. Vehicle was a 100% stock Harley with timing locked at 21° and AF ratio at approx. 11.1. Plugs were Denso U-Groove gapped at .030” with a Kenne Bell BOOST-A-SPARK™. The Kenne Bell BOOST-A-PUMP™ was added at 533HP.

*First 2 tests were with stock inlet system. All other tests with 4” Kenne Bell Bazooka Dyno Tube (no filter) using dyno room air. SAE corrected. A big oval throttle body was also used to negate any HP losses from inlet restriction at high rpm. Throttle body made “0” HP gain up to 450HP.

AIR CHARGE TEMP
At only 10 psi, Kenne Bell air charge was 41° cooler than Eaton. Difference was much greater at higher boost levels.

POWER CONSUMPTION
Kenne Bell 409HP vs. 385HP (-14HP). Eaton at same 10 psi boost. HP difference will be much greater at higher boost levels.

KENNE BELL FRICTION DRIVE
• Warranty void if using any aluminum non-Kenne Bell pulley.
• Always clean pulley friction surface with carb cleaner to remove any oil.
• Torque pulley bolt to 75 lbs. Use Kenne Bell Pulley Wrench.
• For stock 7.5” crank pulley, we use K080710 belt with 4”, 3-3/4”, 3-1/2”, 3-1/4” and K080720 with 3”, 2-3/4”.

To illustrate the tremendous air flow, boost, power and torque potential of our 2.6L BIG BORE Lightning Kit, we took a 100% stock Harley, set the tune at 22° and 11:1 with 105 unleaded fuel to negate any possibility of detonation affecting HP. Our 4” Bazooka inlet test tube and Big Oval Throttle Body was also used to eliminate any inlet restriction before the meter. Note: Inlet restriction can easily affect the boost of positive displacement superchargers. We installed a set of Denso T20EPR-U plugs, a Kenne Bell BOOST-A-SPARK™ to fire the plugs at high boost, along with a BOOST-A-PUMP™ to guarantee adequate fuel delivery. Then we tested 4 superchargers (Kenne Bell BIG BORE 2.6L, Kenne Bell 2.3L, Eaton 112 (1.85L) and a ported Eaton 112 (1.85L) all with the SAME size 2.75” pulley. This is the smallest pulley we could safely fit over the Eaton drive. The 2.75” with the stock 7.5” crank pulley was also the safe limit for our test truck with the big 2.6L which hit 19 psi. Everyone wanted to see this test, so we ran it. Note that at 4500 in the 507HP 19 psi test that the torque begins to fall off. That is mass air meter loss. The 90mm (3.6”) meter with it’s protruding electomes and a screen is now the restriction.

Kenne Bell has run accurate factual dyno tests to 558HP with a 100% stock Lightning. We’re often asked “what do I do next?” “How much HP can I make?” “Should I use Nitrous?”

NITROUS - First of all, we don’t like Nitrous. In addition to all the inconvenience, Nitrous makes comparing the performance of products and vehicle very difficult. To us, it’s a “crutch.”

PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS - There are many sources for parts, and far more theories, philosophies, combinations, biases - and non credible dyno tests and comparisons. Here’s our recommendations. When deciding, one should only consider accurate unbiased back to back dyno comparisons like the Kenne Bell tests performed with OEM grade AFM1000 or Horiba air fuel meters. Johnny Lightning (JLP) 610-476-5724 is the most highly regarded and reputable Lightning source for performance parts and engines. They also do some R&D testing for us. After we finished our tests with Ford Performance Trucks Magazine, JLP tested the exact same 2.6H supercharger kit on his Maximum Performance Street Beast at the same 23 psi boost. It was the Fastest Street truck at the Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords Lightning Shoot Out. The truck ran a 10.42/132, the third run off the dyno. Drove it to the track. 672HP/811 FT LBS vs. 538/678 with a stock truck WITHOUT NITROUS!

1100 HP 9.51/143.25 MAMMOTH 2.8H LIGHTNING

JOHNNY LIGHTNING – FIRST NON – NITROUS, STREET LEGAL, STOCK WEIGHT LIGHTNING IN THE 9’S.

Johnny Lightning made history once again by grabbing the title of “First / 9 Sec. Non Nitrous, Stock Weight, Street Legal Lightning” the very first time out with his 2.8H Mammoth Kit.

On 10/12/08 his 4300lb lightning ran a 9.51 / 143.25. And it can run even faster. The tune was conservative at a mere 15° timing. There’s another 35 HP and a 9.30 with 23°.The truck is his daily driver and sport’s one of JPL’s latest 2V motors.
Note: This is not a 3V or 4V.

It takes 1100 engine HP to run those times with an automatic trans in an aerodynamically challenged truck. Rear wheel power is 848 HP 978 lbs torque – with an automatic trans. A more efficient manual trans would make another 35 HP or 883 HP.

Where were all the believers of “just because a 3.3 is bigger it must be better.” Oops! Now does anyone still believe a 3.3 will out perform the Kenne Bell 2.8 H. So far, they’re .75 seconds behind the 2.8H. The 2.8H kits simply makes more power than the PD competition – whether it be 2V or 4V Fords. The 2.8H is not for everyone. The 2.6H remains our most popular kit for street – strip.