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The ProCharger Stage 2 supercharger system is a complete package that includes everything you need to bolt on 260-plus horsepower in your garage. It is available complete with a nGauge flash tuner and calibration. It can also be ordered as a tuner kit if you’d like to provide your own custom calibration.
Mustangs and superchargers have always been a match made in horsepower heaven, and with the advent of fuel injection this pairing blossomed. These days it is so easy to bolt on more power with boost, especially with the inclusion of an intercooler to tame those inlet temperatures.
A pioneer in intercooled blowers for Mustangs is ProCharger and the company’s Stage 2 system for the 2015+ Mustang GT is an effective upgrade. To find out more about the installation and its results, our friend and social media/tuning/photography guru Erik Radzins recently documented the installation and testing of this system on a brand-new 2017 Mustang GT at House of Boost in Kansas City, Missouri. This demonstrated the ease of its installation and the efficacy of the system.
Required Tools
• 3⁄8-inch sockets (standard & metric)
• Torx set
• Open-end wrenches (standard & metric)
• 5⁄16- Nut Driver
• Hex Allen bits (standard & metric)
• Flat screwdrivers
• Phillips screwdrivers
• Pliers
• Ford engine coolant (pink)
If you aren’t familiar with the ProCharger systems, they are based on the company’s stalwart P-1SC head unit and they include the brackets, intercooler, tubing, hoses and all of the hardware needed to install the system. They also include larger fuel injectors and a custom calibration delivered via an nGauge tuner. Stepping up to the Stage 2 system adds a few key upgrades for increased power.
Most people ignore this step, but if you are going to install this system yourself, you will definitely want to spend a little time reading the instruction manual. It goes through every last detail of the installation process.
Taking Stage
“The Stage 2 system adds a dedicated supercharger belt drive, larger 1,000-plus capable intercooler, as well as an extra pound of boost over the HO system, and a fuel pump upgrade,” Erik explained. “Obviously the boost levels can be varied for both systems with simple pulley changes, as the Stage 2 was built ready to handle even the most power-hungry boost junkies out there.”
Unless a person is running E85 or a built motor, I see no reason to upgrade from the P-1SC-1 or our new P-1X head units. – Erik Radzins, ProCharger
Get started by removing the factory airbox and strut-tower brace to make way for the supercharger system.
“We have done them as fast as six to eight hours,” Erik said. “However, a nice relaxing install taking your time should be around eight to 10 hours. No special tools are needed, just common hand tools and you can have boost!”
Better yet, the results you will see here are on a stock car with no supporting upgrades beyond those included in the kit.
Next you can remove the radiator cover and front bumper cover to make way for the installation of the intercooler and tuning. The details of all the fasteners you’ll need to remove, and the electrical connectors you’ll need to detach, are all covered in the manual.
Performance Prospects
“We run all of our cars here in the office in 100-percent stock form,” Erik explained. “However, if someone is going to start doing some serious time at the track with sticky tires, they may want to think about axles and a clutch upgrade. The stock auto transmissions are amazing, and don’t really need much help at all; except for those who want the wicked launch of an aftermarket torque converter.”
Before you drive your boosted ’Stang, you’ll want to swap out the factory plugs in favor of a fresh set that are one heat-range colder than stock and gapped to .035-inch. You’ll also need to drain the coolant so you won’t make a mess with the new thermostat housing.
Supercharged Shelbys Too
The ProCharger supercharger offerings are not limited to the latest Mustang GTs. The company also offers a similar upgrade for Ford Performance’s top-shelf Shelby GT350 and its high-revving Voodoo engine.
“The GT350 ProCharger Supercharger kit comes standard with DeatschWerks 95 lb/hr injectors, a fuel pump booster and a massive air-to-air intercooler,” says the company. “With head units ranging from P-1SC-1 to F-1A-94, you can be ready for bolting on up to 1,200 horsepower! Featuring a robust, CNC billet bracket design, a dedicated belt drive and an SFI approved aftermarket balancer adds up to a power-adder system you can rely on.”
This system promises to enhance a GT350’s already impressive output by an additional 175 at the crank with only 6 pounds of boost!
The Stage 2 kit includes a set of Deatschwerks 95 lb/hr fuel injectors. To install them you will first need to depressurize the fuel system. Then you can disconnect the fuel line from the fuel rails, remove the rail retaining bolts and remove the injector/rail assembly as one piece. Then you can slip off the injector retaining clips and pop out the stock injectors, replacing them with the larger DeatschWerks units supplied in the kit.
“Unless a person is running E85 or a built motor, I see no reason to upgrade from the P-1SC-1 or our new P-1X head units. Both of those blowers on the Stage 2 system are capable of making way more power and boost than the stock engine could handle long-term. But, for those that have built motors, they can run all the way up to the F-1A-94 for massive power in racing applications.”
To make way for the supercharger bracket and belt drive, it’s necessary to swap out half of the factory thermostat housing with a right-angle housing that redirects the factory coolant hoses out of the way. Though it isn’t required for this kit, this would be an opportunity to install a cooler thermostat while you have the housing apart and the system drained.
In stock form, the 2017 Mustang GT used for this testing is an automatic car with the Midwest’s finest summer 93-octane fuel in it. In stock form, this new GT baselined at 377 horsepower and 343 lb-ft of torque on ProCharger’s Mustang Dyno; and as you’ll see in the dyno graph, the ProCharger Stage 2 system delivered huge gains at the rear wheels.
“Wonder what kinda deal I can get on a 2017?” Erik joked after seeing the results. “’Cause that’s how bad I want one, personally.”
The results are definitely impressive from a bolt-on package burning pump gas. Better yet, the system is relatively simple to install. If this sounds like a good setup for your modern Coyote, you can learn more at the company’s site here.
The ProCharger kit utilizes its own eight-rib belt drive for the supercharger, which requires adding a pulley to the factory crank damper. The company created this add-on pulley, which installs on the factory damper via longer damper bolt and a series of cam locks. If you are running one of ATI’s SFI-approved dampers, the ProCharger unit bolts on. Either way, you will have to remove the sway bar mount bolts and slide the sway bar out of the way to gain enough access for the install.
The blower bracketry mounts to the timing cover and cylinder head using existing boltholes. Though it bolts right on you do have to tweak the locations of the cam sensor wiring and the radiator to make way for the bracket and blower, but it’s easy stuff.
First assemble the front bracket with the appropriate stand-offs, tensioner and idler. Then you can loosely bolt it to the engine. Then install the oil drain hose and the first section of the discharge tubing. From there you can route the blower belt and bolt on the supercharger.
A signature of ProCharger kits from the jump has been the inclusion of an intercooler to lower the blower discharge temps before the air enters the engine. This allows for more power and reduces the chance for detonation. The intercooler bolts on using factory mounting points, and only requires tweaking a wiring harness location for additional clearance. ProCharger includes an extension harness to facilitate relocating the mass air sensor to the intercooler.
Routing the inlet and discharge tubing is a straightforward process of snaking in the tubes and hoses and clamping them into place. The bypass valve and air filter are tucked away inside the front bumper. Placement of the filter there lets the system draw in ambient air away from the hot engine compartment.
With the blower hardware in place, you can focus on the supporting hardware. ProCharger provides this vacuum adapter to allow this pressure sensor to activate the included fuel pump voltage booster. Once it is installed and wired, you can put the intake cover back on.
So close you can taste it. Be sure the petcock is closed, then reinstall the bumper cover and refill the cooling system with the coolant you drained at the outset via the new coolant overflow tank provided in the kit. This tank provides the clearance needed for the blower, but the company sells it separately for those that can’t stand the looks of the factory bubble.
Dressed up in black, the ProCharger P-1SC looks right at home in the S550 engine compartment. Should you want even more power, you can swap out the blower for a racier head unit that will bolt right into this bracket.
As we mentioned, the kit includes a fuel pump voltage booster configured to give the factory fuel pump some extra oomph when the Coyote inhales boost. This box wires in-line with the factory fuel pump driver module and is triggered by the aforementioned pressure switch that senses boost.
With the installation complete, the boosted 2017 Mustang GT hit the Mustang Dyno rollers at ProCharger. Burning 93-octane summer gas this combo delivered peak-to-peak gains of 263 horsepower and 151 lb-ft of torque!
