Is Upgrading From a Gen 2 Whipple to a Gen 5 Whipple Worth It?
By: Jason Sands, Paramount Speed
You hear it all the time, a company comes out with new technology, and they tell you it's the best thing since sliced bread. We heard the same exact thing about Whipple's new Gen 5 3.0L blower, and guess what, it's TRUE! Over the years technology has progressed just like everything else, and Whipple has made sure they've kept up to date. Recently we got to try their new blower firsthand on a 2014 Mustang that already had a Gen 2 Whipple installed and was running on E85 fuel.
"Oil pump gears are a weak link in newer Fords, so Boundary Pumps billet OPG’s were installed, as were Injector Dynamics ID1050x injectors and a JMS boost-a-pump."
In addition to the Gen 2 Whipple supercharger, the Mustang also had a number of supporting modifications to handle the extra power and boost. Oil pump gears are a weak link in newer Fords, so Boundary Pumps billet OPG’s were installed, as were Injector Dynamics ID1050x injectors and a JMS boost-a-pump. The exhaust was also freed up with some long tube headers. The Mustang came in with a Gen 2 Whipple kit, but the owner was looking for some more power without stressing the motor any further. As it turns out, this was more than possible!
The Gen 5 Whipple supercharger is different than the previous versions. In fact, we'll let Whipple do the talking: "The new, direct and port injected supercharger system features the brand new Gen 5 3.0L front feed twin-screw supercharger. Not to be confused with the Gen 3 or 4, this all new supercharger features industry leading efficiency from idle to redline. All new bearings, gears, rotors and housing allow the new supercharger to spin faster, longer and safer while producing more power than any other positive displacement supercharger ever built. The new Gen 5 features an all new 3/4 rotor combination vs previous 3/5, 285 deg helix vs previous 270 deg, new bell mouth inlet, optimized discharge port and increased diameter vs length for higher efficiency."
If you've made it past all the science stuff, you're probably waiting for us to cut to the chase: how much power does it add!? Normally when we hear terms like efficiency, we don't think of power, but in this case it's different. In fact, pretty crazy. The baseline numbers on the Gen 2 were 697rwhp and 525lb-ft of torque. With the Gen 5, at the same boost (11.5) and with no other changes, the car cranked out 795rwhp and 620lb-ft! That's a 98 hp gain, along with 95 lb-ft. In fact, the Gen 5 Whipple made power throughout the entire curve, from 3,000 rpm to 7,500 rpm. Tune provided by our in house tuner, Palm Beach Dyno.
So does the new Gen 5 Whipple work? You bet it does! Is it a game changer? You bet it is! If you want one too, we're just a phone call away!
-Paramount Speed