ProCharger’s P-1X Is A Powerful Match For High-Revving Coyotes

 

Since the early days of the S197, MAK Performance in Hialeah, Florida, forged a close relationship with ProCharger. The shop’s founder Willie Diaz has often tested Ford products for the blower company and that remains the case today. Recently, MAK put the new ProCharger P-1X head unit to the test on its shop car, a 2015 Mustang GT.

“Since the P-1SC-1 and D-1SC gearbox have proven themselves as ridiculously durable gearboxes, even when pushed near four-digit power numbers or slightly beyond, there was no reason to change it; so the P-1X and D-1X use this same proven unit,” Erik Radzins, Automotive Calibrations/Social Media/Horsepower Guru at ProCharger said. “The focus was pushing the levels of power and efficiency on the compressor side of the design, meaning the volute and impeller.”

Partners In Power

As we mentioned, ProCharger turned to its old friends at MAK Performance to test the mettle of its new blower technology.

“…We had the first kit on our car outside of their own. They sent us a kit that we had, probably, a month prior. We put it on to make sure everything bolted on and gave them feedback on the kit,” Willie said of the initial ProCharger S550 system. “I loved doing the stuff that nobody else has and I have fun with it. I really do. I do it all the time with Diablo, too. We did an EcoBoost truck, and we were working on tunes together for almost a year before it was released. I am in the background, but it’s pretty cool that when things get released, I had my hand in there.”

Here’s a look at the P-1X (left) versus the P-1SC-1. The X is not much larger, but its impeller design is clearly different.

Over the last few months, Willie has put thousands of miles on the car with the new head unit and he has been impressed not only by its performance on the chassis dyno, but the feel of the blower on the street, where it exhibits better performance in the midrange with no downside in driveability. While it feels good in that everyday rpm range, it is at the top of the tach where the P-1X really flexes its muscle.

“The older units—P-1SCs and D-1SCs—were engineered based on cars that were revving a maximum of 6,500 RPM,” Willie said. “Those blowers were very efficient for that RPM level. The new unit, especially the impeller design, is extremely efficient. It’s kind of like, not the same, but in the same family as an F-1X.”

As you might imagine, the elevated performance and rpm ranges of modern engines played into the design of the P-1X.

“The modern engines breathe much differently than engines sold just 10 years ago or so. Not long ago, it was common to have a V8 that would only make 250-350 rear-wheel horsepower in naturally aspirated form and spin to just 6,500 rpm or less,” Erik explained. “So our compressors were designed around those base airflow numbers, and knocked the power gains out of the park (and still do today). Now that motors are making 400 to 500 rear-wheel horsepower in their naturally aspirated forms and are revving beyond 8,000 rpm, we wanted a compressor design that matched that dynamic perfectly.”

“Also with variable cam timing becoming common, it changes a lot of factors for forced induction that weren’t there before. As a centrifugal blower manufacturer, we are able to retain the factory intake manifolds, which are designed to help develop low-end torque and midrange power. So by nature keeping that intake and having a compressor designed for these motors we can maximize not only peak horsepower, but also broaden the entire rev-range of the engine,” Erik added. “In the case of the Coyote, when used on common pump gas, we can produce huge torque gains even down low as we keep the intake runners in place, and remove pumping losses of the engine while using a highly efficient compressor with little to no inlet air temperature increase versus ambient temperature. From start to finish we can unleash the power across the board.”

“The responsiveness of the blower on the street, in comparison, is night and day the way it comes on,” Willie said of the P-1X. “You don’t see it on the dyno, but you feel it.”

Testing Its Mettle

Putting that engineering to the test, Willie was careful to compare the P-1SC-1 and the P-1X on the same day, on the same dyno and with the same pulley. The blowers feature the same step-up ratio, so the comparison was of the blower designs only.

“This gain on the P-1X had to come while maintaining some key elements — pulley size and boost level — the result is what we call ‘free horsepower’ from drive efficiency and compressor efficiency,” Erik said. “People can expect more power to be transferred to the wheels of their car. The P-1X fits in between the P-1SC-1 and the D-1SC.”

“…The difference on a stock car with a stock manifold, just putting on the P-1X is probably good for an additional 15 horsepower or so,” Willie said. “Where that blower shines and when it really takes off is when you turn it up higher. You can see it on the dyno. It is up there (in the RPM range) where everything else is falling.”

That really shows on the MAK test car, which features a full Hooker exhaust, an E85-capable fuel system bolstered by DeatschWerks and JMS gear, and a custom calibration, which lets it rev. On this car, the car picked up over 40 horsepower at the same boost level with just a blower change. A P-1X and a bolt-on Coyote are certainly an impressive pairing, and the potential for more power at a higher boost level and matched with a higher-revving intake is clearly there.

“The power per pound of boost delivered by the P-1X on pump fuel is unbelievable,” Erik enthused. “Producing the lowest inlet air temperatures per pound of boost is what it’s all about on these modern, high-compression motors. Sure people get away with murder on E85 and race fuel, but the bulk of the forced-induction owners out there are still daily driven pump gas cars/trucks — and that is exactly who will notice these gains the most.”

You will be able to upgrade a ProCharger kit from a P-1SC to a P-1X for only $200, which definitely seems like a bargain. For more on the P-1X, you can visit the ProCharger site here.