lethal-performance-08-gt500: March 12, 2008

Well the time has come. Since we received our GT500 we've had plans to throw the big 3.4L Whipple on it. However, there were several things we wanted to do in preparation of the blower upgrade which included suspension, driveline and cooling modification. Now that all of that is done it's time to throw the badboy 3.4L Whipple on and make some power!! Several months before we received our 3.4L our good friend Dustin Whipple from Whipple Superchargers let us know a top secret project he'd been working on. It was a new rotor profile which was more efficient than the last. Dustin was so impressed with how the new rotor profile performed that he told us he had plans of adding that profile to all of their compressor sizes. In this case we're speaking of the Gen II W210ax 3.4L blower. Dustin told us that the new rotor profile was much more aggressive than the last design and simply flowed more air. Not only did it flow more air but it did so with less RPM's and lower IAT temps. He noted a 2 PSI increase in boost at the same pulley level as before. As if Whipple's superchargers weren't already the most efficient twin screws on the market they just got better. For the GT500 the 3.4L blower doesn't fit under the stock hood or strut tower brace without using the 3.4L Install Kit. The blower is just so massive that when fitted on top of the GT500's 5.4L motor there's just no room. This installation kit consists of some K-Member spacers, Modified Motor Mounts, Sway Bar Relocation spacers, Lowering springs and all the necessary hardware for a complete install. Once the car has installed the 3.4L install kit the monster 3.4L supercharger fits the stock hood and strut tower brace perfectly. The concept behind the install kit is to space the K-member from the frame. This helps lower the motor 3/4". The next part of lowering the motor is the modified motor mounts which help lower the motor an additional 1/2". As you lower the motor you'll need to correct the location of the sway bar so that it retains the stock geometry. This is done with an additional set of spacers which are included in the kit. Now that we've spaced the K-member and lowered the motor the body height in the front of the vehicle is raised by 3/4". To correct this and give the car a stock look along with stock driveability we include a special set of lowering springs to bring the car back to the stock ride height. Lastly included in the kit is a set of fuel rail spacers. These are not needed when using the stock injectors but when upgrading to the taller 60lb injectors the rail gets raised as the 60's are taller than the stock 52's. There's been a lot of confusion and skepticism about the 3.4L install kit and lowering the motor but we're here to show you all that it's first off not a difficult installation and most importantly something that doesn't compromise the stock ride or driveability of the car. Lowering the motor and spacing the K-member is a simple task and when rewarded with the ability to run the biggest and baddest twin screw on the planet! Here's the kithttp://www.lethalperformance.com/pages-productinfo/product-16864/wk-34linstall-34l-install-kit-allows-34l-to-fit-under-stock-hood.html Here's the blower http://www.lethalperformance.com/pages-productinfo/product-14080/wk-200215b-whipple-2007-plus-shelby-gt500-w210ax-supercharger-kit-black.html Although the kit is a relatively easy kit to install we recommend having a professional do the install. The first step of the installation was to go into the engine bay from above with the intake off of the car in order to remove the plastic pushpins on each side which keep the head of the stock K-member bolts in place. Once they're removed and the bolts are loosened from the underside of the vehicle they can easily be pushed up and out of the frame. We then raised the car on the lift and supported the engine and transmission using 2 transmission jacks.

Working with one side at a time we were now ready to install the K-member spacers. We first removed the nuts on the front K-member mounting location and loosened the bolts on the rear K-member mount. We slowly lowered the transmission jacks which then gave us just enough room to slide the spacers in between the frame and the front K-member mount. If after lowering the jacks you still don't have enough room to slide the spacers in you can loosen the nuts from the other side of the k-member just enough to where you have enough room to slide the spacers in on the opposite side. Just make sure to not fully remove the bolts or nuts from the opposite side of the K-member that you're working with. Here's where we removed the stock K-member bolts

Then we used the long bolt and washer supplied with the kit and dropped it through the frame, spacer and K-member from the top. Using the supplied washer, locking washer and nut we then tightened up the nut on the bolt. Do not fully tighten the nut until you've finished placing the spacers on the front and rear K-member mounts as tightening them before installing the rear K-member spacers will not give you the ability to adjust the K-member if needed. Here's the front K-member mounting position with the spacers

Now for the rear K-member spacer we made sure there was enough space to slide the spacer in. Using the supplied 2.5" bolts we bolted them through the rear mount of the K-member and spacer to the frame. Here's a picture of the rear K-member mount with the spacers

Once we were done with 1 side we moved to the other and did the same exact thing making sure that the engine and transmission were still supported with the transmission jack supports. There's a few other things that are part of the 3.4L Install kit which we didn't have to due since we removed our front Sway bar as well as we're running the BMR KM011 lowered K-Member. If you are still running the stock K-Member you'll need to install both the Lowered Motor Mounts and Sway Bar Bracket Relocation Spacers. Here's a picture of where to install the spacers on the front sway bar mounting bracket. Here's where we space the bracket for the Sway Bar Support

Our review of the Whipple 3.4L Installation kit is a very positive one. The kit we use has everything we needed for a complete install. Everything went on the car just how it was supposed to and the kit did exactly what we wanted it to do. With the 3.4L Whipple now installed there's still plenty of clearance for the stock hood and the stock strut tower brace. I've personally logged several hundred miles on our car with the new setup and the car ride great. There's no difference that I can notice on how the car handles or how it feels. As I drove through the country roads on the way to the NMRA season opener in Bradenton, FL the 3 hour drive was a blast. Again the car drove great through all of the windy roads and after the long haul we took the car to it's fastest times ever running a 10.65@132.xx MPH. On the street and the track the 3.4L Whipple installation kit was like it wasn't even there. This is why we're 100% confident in selling these kits to our customers. Not only can you now run the sickest twin screw blower for the GT500 but you can do it all under the stock hood and strut tower brace. The other part of the installation which we did not cover here is the front lowering springs. Our 3.4L Installation kit comes with the proper springs to bring your car back to the stock ride height. For our car we had already installed the BMR front and rear lowering springs. What worked out good for us is that BMR doesn't make a GT500 specific set of springs. However the rear BMR lowering springs work out great on the GT500. Lowering the car and giving it an aggressive stance. The front BMR springs however are made for the GT which has a much lighter front end then the GT500 so the spring rate used on the front springs is less than it would be for a GT500. With that said the BMR springs lowered the car quite a bit. More than what was needed to give it a sleek look. We looked at the front end of our car with the BMR springs and realized that after adding the 3/4" spacer kit that the BMR front spring height would be perfect. Once the install kit was done and the car was pulled out of the garage we were very happy as what we though was going to happen did. The BMR springs were perfect in the front. Below is a picture of our car as it sits today with the Whipple installed using the BMR front and rear lowering springs. Whipple Installed

If you have any questions pertaining the 3.4L Whipple Install kit or the all new Gen II 3.4L GT500 Whipple Supercharger please feel free to give us a call. Big thanks goes out to Dyno Joe from Dyno Joe Performance for participating in our build and sending us the installation kit for our car. We appreciate the support Joe! Here's how the car sits now

As we continue our build of the Lethal GT500 we had a few things that still needed to be addressed. One of them being the weight of the car and second the upcoming installation of the 3.4L Whipple Supercharger. The first item which definitely needed to be addressed was the weight. Ford claims the 2007-2008 GT500 coupe weighs in at 3,920 lbs. That's a good 250lbs more than the previous 03-04 Cobra which was heavy enough. For many people that's not that big of a difference but keep in mind that the 3,920 is about 400lbs heavier than the 05+ GT. When trying to build a car to run good times weight and HP are the 2 major concerns. You can add as much HP as you like but the weight will always be a factor in going faster. That's why the GT500 in stock form really isn't that impressive at the strip as it's HP to weight ratio is out of whack. The fix.. BMR front suspension!! BMR Fabrication located in FL is one of the largest suspension companies in the industry. Making very high quality performance suspension parts for most Ford and Gm cars these guys had what we needed. The ability to drop weight and improve handling over the stock setup is what we had in mind. BMR's 05-08 Mustang Tubular K-Member, A-Arms and Radiator Sway-Bar Delete are just what the doctor ordered. Starting with the stock K-Member which weighs 44lbs it can easily be replaced with BMR's Tubular K-Member for a 20lb weight reduction. The BMR K-Member is made of strong DOM Tubing and can be installed in a mere 2 hours. Their K-members also come in many different configurations which include using OEM or Windsor style motor mounts as well as Manual OE or Pinto style steering racks. The BMR K-Member will also house the stock or BMR A-Arms. So whichever route you feel like going there's a K-member from BMR for your application. One of the features we also liked in the BMR K-Member was that they offer a version (KM011) which has the motor mounts in a position where it drops the motor height by 3/4 inches. This was a plus for us as we wanted to keep the stock hood when we install our 3.4L Whipple Supercharger. Although the 3/4" drop isn't enough by itself to make the blower fit under the strut tower brace or stock hood it was a great start. http://www.lethalperformance.com/pages-productinfo/product-17208/km011-bmr-07-09-shelby-gt500-tubular-k-member-with-3-4-engine-drop.html

The next BMR item which we added was their tubular A-Arms (AA010). The BMR A-Arms are a perfect match to their tubular K-Member and helped us to take some more weight off of the front end. They're made from 1.25" DOM tubing and include ball joints which are sourced directly from a Ford OEM supplier. The BMR Tubular A-Arms show below are lighter and stronger then the OEM stamped steel A-Arm. Each BMR A-Arm is 11.2lbs lighter than the stock A-Arm so when adding the pair you're looking at another 22lbs in weight savings. Their also offered in Street (Poly Bushing) or Adjustable (Sperical Rod End) versions. We chose to go with the street version as we wanted to keep the stock feel of the front end and the rod ends tend to transfer noise more than a softer poly bushing does. http://www.lethalperformance.com/pages-productinfo/product-17211/aa010-bmr-07-09-shelby-gt500-non-adjustable-a-arms-with-poly-bushings.html

The third item from BMR which we added was their Lightweight Tubular Radiator Support/Sway Bar Delete (RS002). The 05+ Mustangs all utilize a chunky metal bracket to support the radiator. It's not needed as crossmember was built extra strong to support the sway bar. So since we were removing the sway bar as well the crossmember only needs to support the radiator. With the removal of the Sway Bar and stock radiator support we saw a weight reduction of 26.5lbs. http://www.lethalperformance.com/pages-productinfo/product-17001/rs002-bmr-07-09-gt500-tubular-radiator-support-swaybar-delete.html

The last BMR piece which we added to the front end was the front A-Arm Support (AAS001). This brace mounts on legs of either the stock or BMR A-Arms tying the legs of the K-member together. We felt it was a good idea to add this piece to add extra support for the added hp and street driving we do. All of the BMR parts were installed at the same time we installed our exhaust. The reason for this is that it's a lot easier to install the longtubes on the car with the K-member out of the way. So we basically killed two birds with one stone by removing the stock k-member to install the headers and then re-installed the BMR K-member after the headers were in. REVIEW- After having the K-member/A-Arm setup in the car for a few months now and have driven several hundred miles with all of us are really impressed. Not only does the car drive great but we shed just about 70lbs of unwanted weight off of the front end. Before putting the K-member in we had heard several people say that we would lose streetability with the aftermarket K-member and would notice a considerable amount of noise vibration over the stock setup. This is not the case with the BMR K-Member. The car feels solid and smooth. Steering and handling is the same as it was before and it's definitely helped us to shed some of the unwanted weight that the GT500 comes with. We took the car to the track twice since the new front suspension was installed and ran faster each time we went out. To this date our best time is a 11.423@123.42mph. We definitely feel that the BMR front suspension will show a lot more benefitial later down the line as we make our way into the 10's and then push further to the 9's. We'd like to say thanks the entire crew over at BMR Fabrication for not only participating in our build but supplying us and our customers the high quality suspension components. You guys have been great and we're glad to be part of the crew. For information about any of BMR's parts please feel free to give us a call. 1-877-2LETHAL Removal of the stock K-Member

K-Member Installation http://bmrfabrication.com/INSTALL/KM009-010.pdf INSTALLATION: 1. Lift vehicle and support with stands positioned under the frame rails. Remove both front wheels/tires. 2. Using a 18mm deep socket, loosen both outer tie rod ends. Knock both tie rods loose from the spindles. 3. Remove the power steering line retainer located in the center of the rack. This requires a 8mm wrench. See Image1. 4. Using a 18mm socket, remove both rack mounting bolts. Mark a line on the steering shaft at the front connection point to insure proper re-assembly location. Remove the front steering shaft bolt using a 13mm socket or wrench (See Image 2). Leave both power steering lines attached but move the rack out of the way to gain access to the front A-arm bolts. 5. Remove all 4 rear A-arm bolts using a 21mm deep socket. Using a 18mm socket, remove both front A-arm bolts. 6. Loosen and remove the A-arms’ ball joint cross-bolts using a 15mm wrench and a 18mm socket. Knock or pry the ball joint loose from the spindle. NOTE: It is not possible to remove the A-arms until the K-member is lowered. 7. Using a 15mm socket with an extra long extension, remove both motor mount nuts from the top. 8. Support the motor from below with a block of wood on a hydraulic jack. Lift motor slightly. 9. Using a 18mm socket, remove all 8 K-member bolts and lower the K-member/A-arm assembly. 10. Insert one of the polyurethane motor mount bushings and sleeve into both motor mounts stands on the K-member and lift the K-member up into place. Insert all 8 mounting bolts but do not tighten. 11. Line up the motor stands with the mounting bushings on the K-member. It may be necessary to shift the K-member or the motor slightly to get the holes lined up. Once lined up, position the other polyurethane bushings and supplied 2” washers on the bottom of the K-member mounting bracket and insert the supplied 3/8” bolt. The bushings should “sandwich” the K- member mount when installed correctly. Tighten the bushing mounting bolts to approximately 35 ft/lbs. using a 9/16” wrench and 9/16” socket. 12. Tighten all 8 K-member mounting bolts to 85 ft/lbs. using a 18mm socket. Lower jack and remove. 13. Install the A-arms using the supplied aluminum spacers and hardware (See Image 3). Tighten the front A-arm bolts to 100 ft/lbs. using a 22mm wrench and socket. Tighten the rear to 110 ft/lbs. using a 13/16” wrench and a 7/8” socket. 14. Insert the ball joint into the spindle and insert the cross-bolt. Tighten to 40 ft/lbs. using a 15mm wrench and 18mm socket. 15. Using the supplied bolts and washers, mount the rack to the K-member. When installing, verify that the steering shaft is positioned according to the previous mark. Tighten both mounting bolts to 85 ft/lbs. using a ¾” wrench and socket. Tighten steering shaft cross-bolt to 20 ft/lbs. 16. Mount both outer tie rods to the spindles and tighten to 85 ft/lbs. using a 18mm socket. 17. Re-install wheels/tires, double-check all mounting bolts and lower vehicle. 18. Due to production tolerance, an alignment is recommended after this installation. A-Arm Installation http://bmrfabrication.com/INSTALL/AA010_019.pdf INSTALLATION: 1. Lift vehicle and support with stands positioned under the frame rails. Remove both front wheels/tires. 2. This step is not necessary for installation but makes the work area more accessible. Using a 18mm deep socket, loosen both outer tie rod ends. Knock both tie rods loose from the spindles. 3. Using a 15mm wrench and 18mm socket, loosen and remove the spindle bolt that clamps the ball joint to the spindle. 4. Using a 18mm socket, loosen and remove the rear A-arm bolts on the K-member. 5. Using a 18mm socket, remove the front A-arm bolt on the K-member. 6. Remove A-arm. 7. If you are installing BMR non-adjustable A-arms (AA010), proceed with the installation using steps 1-6 in reverse. If installing BMR adjustable A-arms, adjust the rod-ends to the approximate length of the OE A-arm and then install. DO NOT TIGHTEN THE FRONT A-ARM BOLT UNTIL THE SUSPENSION IS LOADED, FAILURE TO DO WILL CAUSE BUSHING PRE-LOAD RESULTING IN PREMATURE BUSHING WEAR. 8. With the A-arms installed, torque the bolts to the following specs: 1. Rear A-arm bolts – 95 FT/LBS. 2. Tie rod stud – 85 FT/LBS. 3. Ball joint cross-bolt – 40 FT/LBS. 4. If using BMR adjustable A-arms, tighten the jam-nut on the rod end at this time. 9. Repeat steps 3-8 for the other side. 10. Re-install wheels/tires and allow the vehicles weight to rest on the suspension. The suspension is now loaded and the front bushings may be tightened to 95 FT/LBS. If not on a service lift, this step may be done on ramps or blocks. 11. Grease all bushings on the A-arms with a grease gun. For optimal wear qualities and minimal noise, a silicone, polyurethane-specific grease is recommended. Radiator Bracket/Sway Bar Delete http://bmrfabrication.com/INSTALL/RS002.pdf 1. Lift vehicle and support safely with stands under frame rails. 2. Using a 18mm socket, remove the sway bar end links from the strut on each side. 3. Using a 15mm socket, remove the sway bar cross member mounts and lower the swaybar/endlink assembly. 4. Locate the plastic bumper cover support and remove the 7 screws using a 7/32” socket. Remove cover. 5. Using a 10mm socket, loosen the nut that retains the AC line clip to the top of the factory radiator cross member. 6. The brake lines are attached in two areas by clips on the cross member. One is located on the vertical section of the passenger side and the other is on the horizontal section of the driver’s side. Pop the brake line out of these clips. 7. Place a jack stand under the radiator to prevent it from moving when the cross member is removed. 8. Using a 18mm socket, remove the 4 bolts and lower the cross member. 9. Remove the two rubber isolators from the factory cross member and install them into the BMR cross member. 10. Install the BMR cross member and tighten nuts to 110 ft/lbs. 11. Remove jack stand from under radiator. 12. If using the factory bumper cover support, re-install it to the bumper cover and zip tie the back portion to the new cross member. Zip tie the brake line in the middle as shown in the image below 13. Lower vehicle.