09-06-07: With the explosion in popularity of both aftermarket and factory superchargers in the past decade, a parallel explosion of modders has come about seeking to squeeze even more power from our machines. The roots and screw type superchargers have been a major part of our modern muscle car heritage as they provide some of the most reliable and livable horsepower gains of most power adders.

For a long time Roush and Saleen had been the pioneers in this arena but as we all know, Ford got in the game in 2003 with the now venerable “Terminator” SVT Cobras with their 4.6 liter DOHC screamer. And today of course these greats have only gotten greater. We can go to the showroom and buy a new Ford Shelby GT-500 with yep, 500 supercharged horsepower. If that is a bit much for your pocket, you can get a Roush Stage 3 or 427R with over 415 horsepower all by way of our favorite belt driven superchargers.

The mods everyone knows to add extra power to these machines included the smaller pulleys which speed up the rpm of the supercharger and thereby increase the boost pressure. Installing a free flowing upstream air intake is another big time mod that can really bring dramatic results by allowing the supercharger to ingest more air with less restriction. Both of these items together with a tune can big time power.

These free breathing and boost inducing mods also have one major drawback. Heat. The boosted air intake charge temperatures downstream of the supercharger have a normal range from 160 to over 230 degrees. This is of course why all these systems use an air to water intercooler that circulates coolant through a small radiator known as a heat exchanger. This coolant keeps your air charge as cool as possible for the most power, but also the safest power.

On cars that have the aforementioned modifications there is additional heat generated by the extra air and boost that is well beyond what Ford, Roush or other manufacturers had designed these systems for. So enter Steeda who has released a newly designed heat exchanger upgrade for the supercharged Shelby GT500 and Roush S-197 Mustangs.

This heat exchanger dwarf's the factory Shelby GT500 and Roush units and provides an over 100% cooling capacity increase. You can see in the photo comparison below, that the Steeda heat exchanger is HUGE. This results in substantially reduced air charge temperatures increasing overall power. The extra cooling capacity provides a benefit in all driving conditions from daily street driving to open track sessions where superchargers can really lay on the heat.

Not only is that cooler air going to provide more power, but provide longer engine life and lower likelihood of plug fouling, burning rings and pistons, as well as higher efficiency when that matters.

The Steeda upgrade heat exchanger is relatively easy modification to make. It comes with all mounting hardware for installation on Shelby GT500 applications. If you have a ROUSHCharger or Magnacharger system on a GT Mustang, minor modifications are required to fittiment, but nothing significant.

Overall, a larger heat exchanger for your supercharged Mustang is often the overlooked mod that sets a better and more foundation for the other mods that cook up the boost. You want your car to be cool on more levels than one.

More information: www.steeda.com