This is a great question and the best part is there is a different answer for every individual based on preferences, available resources, and practical situation. We have such wide breath of superb platforms and almost unlimited horsepower with in reach for most of us it is incredible really. I mean we are talking about 650hp like it is common place. 800hp is a tune and downpipes away for all of the current German turbo V8s.

Bang for the buck is a whole other category. I think if you just want a weapon cheaply as possible the C6 ZO6s are cheaper than an Camry. Add intake, heads, cam, and exhaust it will allow you to beat on a everyone at a track day like a UFC fighter with a baseball bat at a play ground rumble. If someone had the skill to use it, which I surely don't. Add a supercharger on it and it'll out drag race 99% of anything out there with some drag radials on it. The interior kills it for me as a weekend toy/street car though.

 

WOW! What a simplistic approach to this...Thank you SinF for bringing some sanity in this "bigger is better" discussion. The concept of passive losses etc is ignored...
There are so many other factors involved in this. You are not hooking up the supercharger to the intake valves, no accounting for added heat from the engine itself etc.

 

This factored into a lot of my decisions. Two nearby racetracks are what I would consider "slow with lots of turns". Track that I regularly attend, you would be hard-pressed go much faster than 200km/h regardless of car you have. So to me, with my skill level, more power is not the answer. Hence, I kept my F-type S fully stock. The few times I rented a dedicated track car there, I wasn't much faster.

Obviously, I watched a number of Laguna Seca and Nurburgring videos and there more power would absolutely make a lot of difference. If I lived near these, I would have probably seriously consider modding or stepping up into something faster than F-type.

For street driving, well on less than ideal road I am already traction-bound with my RWD. Even with MP4S I don't get to go WOT in the first gear from standing stop.

For drag racing, and I am not judging here, it just isn't my thing. The main reason is that the kind of a car that would be 'competitive' in this environment would suck at almost everything else. The need to improve rear traction ends up compromising about everything else. Then after all that work you still get passed by someone on nitros with the concrete-filled junk yard engine pulled out of RV.

 

What did you end up having to do to heads to hit that power level on Vengeance? Were you able to port and polish or had to go fully custom? Are you having issues with burnt exhaust valves? Did you had to do any chamber shaping?

 

What are the passive losses, etc. that are being ignored? I am curious.

 

All great points to consider. The last time I lived close enough to make it to a track on a regular basis was years ago at the Carolina Motorsports park. Big power wasn't needed there as well to really enjoy the course at all. With road course racing I feel time and effort is much better invested in my skill set as it not only made me faster but I also enjoyed the experience as I become more proficient at it.

I've looked away from RWD cars in the last few years as power above 500hp has become common place just for that reason. Unless you are using R-DOT tires and the weather is great its very difficult to put the power down at times. Except in a McLaren 720s or the like, but that's a whole different league. With the aftermarket on most AWD cars you can adjust the RWD basis to what ever your liking is and still be able to put the power down. Of course the rear out antics of the RWD F-types are certainly part of their character and will make them special in the future as everything becomes safer and more boring.

I don't find the competitive drag racing scene attractive for various reasons but as I enjoy modifying and increasing the power on all of my toys the drag strip it is a very relevant measuring tool for me. I enjoy going to the test and tune nights to talk to other owners and seeing if my ideas actually work out in practice. I also don't find a one dimensional car as interesting because maintaining balanced capabilities is part of the challenge to me at least. The stripped put Fox body mustang with a turbo junkyard LS looks fun for a very low price point but I feel I'd get bored with it quickly. Once I move closer to a track again my priorities will probably shift again. All part of the fun

 

What I personally dislike is fragile race cars. Having to deal with breakdowns adds a lot to the cost of track experience which is already tends to be expensive with just consumables and increased demands on maintenance. Anything I race, must do so repeatedly and reliably. While I own multiple cars, on average I hold on to them for more than 8 years, I am almost always into long-term ownership. Some, like F-type are permanent keepers, you would have to get mine on the estate sale.

This way of thinking is why I repeatedly bring up "but what about heat" questions. Anyone doing tuning or mods discussed in this thread without addressing cooling have to understand that costs of long term ownership of such car will be very expensive. Considering that internal parts for AJ133/126 are not available, this means multiple engine swaps as valves get burned, detonations ruin pistons and piston rods, excessive heat wraps heads, extra boost burns through gaskets and stretches head bolts and so on.

 

The motor has no issues handling OEM PSI or Overdrive Crank Pulley PSI. Bolting on a bigger displacement supercharger adds power. PERIOD. The only issue is finding an alternative to the current heat exchanger. I know that VelocityAP is currently working on BOTH! If a Bolt-On solution comes up, it will certainly be a supercharger/cooling package! Exactly like buying a Whipple or Edelbrock Supercharger for your Mustang or Corvette. Damn you guys are treating this F-Type like it's a Bugatti. The only issue is the sandwhiched front nose design. A custom intercooler bracket/housing is the solution to making more power. You're either the keep it stock type of guy or you're willing to push further. That's it. Nobody is trying to convince the entire forum it's the perfect solution for YOUR needs or hobby. Anything can be done in 2020. You just need the money and will power to do it.

 

To summarize this thread: Existing supercharger more efficient at the current boost levels, the only reason to get bigger supercharger is to further increase boost past stock level, increasing boost will generate more heat that existing cooling system cannot cope with.

 

I can see that for road racing as the extended periods of high loads will build heat faster then the factory setup can shed it. Of course for drag racing this isn't nearly as critical. You can get away with a lot in drag racing or an occasional blast or two on the street that would end your day quickly on a road course.

I have not seen power related failures on the AJ133 probably due to the limited tuning options keeping people from doing stupid things. With good tuning a lot of power can be pushed through a engine that is only used for drag racing/street use as you can tune around limits such as limited rod strength (limit TQ down low) which is a common problem on turbo cars due the incredible boost you can produce at just off idle now.

It is just a different use case. If VAP is working on a larger heat exchanger for use with the 2650 then it could be viable for road course use but, I imagine the next weak link would be found in the drivetrain due to the higher output. Then its up to the user to decide if their application and their needs warrant the higher costs of running with the extra power.

 

No way do I treat my F-Type like a VW ...