The Saleen Forums at soec.org - 1999-2004 S-Series Mustang Reference Documents

FROM: SALEEN WARRANTY DEPARTMENT

It has come to our attention at Saleen that there is some confusion with regards to how our supercharger works and what kind of boost pressure it should create. The following information should help you and yours assist customers with any questions they may have.

The first thing that has come to our attention is customers and dealerships saying, “the boost pressure gauge does not move no matter how fast I’m going.”

The only time the vehicle will produce boost is when the car is under load, meaning hard acceleration in 2nd or 3rd gear. You may see boost in all gears at wide-open throttle but, the amount of boost you will see will be small (2-3 lbs. In 1st, 4th and 5th gear compared to the 5-7 lbs you may see under hard acceleration in 2nd or 3rd gear). Extreme models should produce 10-12 lbs under load, depending on throttle input.

Our Speedlab supercharger works with a by-pass valve system similar to that of a 1993 Ford T-bird Supercoupe. When the air fuel mixture enters the inlet tube (the tube that connects the throttle body to the back of the supercharger) it has two routes it can take, either directly into the manifold or into the supercharger. When it gets routed to the supercharger the car makes boost. The way it gets routed to the supercharger is based on the by-pass valve and how much vacuum the car is making. When the car makes a lot of vacuum (hard acceleration) the butterfly that directs that air fuel mixture in the inlet tube closes and sends it to the supercharger thus, creating boost.

When the car is under normal driving conditions (even accelerating from a stand still to 80 mph) the butterfly in the inlet tube stays open, directing the air fuel mixture directly into the manifold thus, not making any boost.

Again the car has to be at wide-open throttle to produce boost.

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Saleen SPEEDLAB Superchargers and Boost Gauge Statement