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From all indications, the 2015 Ford Mustang has become a meaningful piece for the Blue Oval boys both from a drivetrain perspective and a styling perspective; the car is a break from tradition in that it will sell worldwide, instead of just here on the North American continent.
With that ultimate goal in mind to take the Mustang to true World Car status, the Ford Racing Parts team hopped right into development of new performance parts with a goal of having them on the shelf when the car began appearing at dealers worldwide. To do so, they did something we’re surprised took them so long, joining forces with the performance freaks at ROUSH Performance to develop an all-new TVS-platform supercharger kit for the 2015’s upgraded Coyote powerplant.
We saw this pre-production kit at the recent PRI show; fit and finish was stellar and what you would expect from a collaboration between Ford Racing Parts and ROUSH.
“We really tried to make this a true partnership and work together – we embedded teams on both sides to work side-by-side on the project. It worked out to our advantage; we were able to plan the project so it worked to the strengths of both teams. It worked seamlessly for us,” explains ROUSH’s Jay Velthoven.
Ford Racing’s Andrew Casselberry adds, “We’re partners with ROUSH on other programs within Ford, where we utilize their engineering services and their engine dyno services.”
“Our relationship with Ford is very close overall. It was like day to day business as we have such a long history together. Why not combine resources to come up with something we feel is just the best it can be in the marketplace today? That’s a combination of us becoming experts at designing and manufacturing superchargers, and Ford’s expertise with their OE-level calibration,” says Velthoven.
Is It Truly Different?
At first glance, the 2015 Mustang TVS supercharger system [Ford Racing PN M-6066-M8627, ROUSH PN 421823] doesn’t look much different from past versions of the 2.3-liter TVS offered for the Coyote engine, but Velthoven assures us that save for the internal rotor pack, the entire supercharger system was developed from the ground up with a number of features tailored specifically toward the 2015 Mustang platform.
The engine calibration and drivability aspect of the system’s development was important to get correct right out of the gate.
The rest of the supercharger system is all-new for the 2015 car; despite the use of the same basic Coyote engine, there are differences in the powerplant to provide increased performance – larger intake valves, larger ports in the cylinder heads, and new exhaust valves among others. New pistons and connecting rods are also making their way down the assembly line.
External views of the supercharger, along with one visual of how the rotors mesh on the inside. The TVS rotor pack has proven durability in both OE and aftermarket applications.
“It’s definitely taking a step forward from the previous system – we couldn’t expect to take the 2014 Mustang’s version of the supercharger and put it on the new engine and expect to get the same results,” says Velthoven.
To that end, ROUSH developed an all-new case for the supercharger that takes advantage of some of the company’s research efforts over the past several years of engine system development.
“The TVS internals are the same 2.3-liter rotor pack we’ve been using, but the outer casing has been completely redesigned. The intake ports that flow into the cylinder head are larger, to allow for greater potential air volume. Also the intake port on the bottom is also quite a bit bigger,” he explains.
Left - The air-to-water intercooler underneath the supercharger. Middle - Up close and personal with the intercooler. Right - An exploded view of the supercharger assembly.
It’s a different level of engineering that’s a ground-up approach specifically for this application. – Jay Velthoven, ROUSH Performance
In addition to a kit, the supercharger system is installed on the 2015 ROUSH RS3 vehicle.
Emissions And Calibration Concerns
As ROUSH Performance builds its own packages for the Mustang through the company’s Vehicle Development arm, and this system was conceived with an end goal of being the jewel atop the program, the development efforts along the calibration front is where the Ford engineers took center stage.
“Working so closely with Ford, their standards are very high when it comes to calibration. We’re looking at this system as a complete package, rather than taking a head unit off the shelf and building an intake to fit a specific engine, we’re developing all of these unique castings to work on conjunction with this product line as a full system. It’s a different level of engineering that’s a ground-up approach specifically for this application,” Velthoven says.
There’s just nothing like the look of a TVS blower under the hood.
“The new PCM has more technology built in, above and beyond the 2014 processor. There are more tables and layers of data that can be adjusted, and there’s where our expertise came into the picture – because we’ve been working on it for development of the car already. Our Ford Racing calibration guys work with the mainstream calibrators to develop the product,” Casselberry adds.
The calibrations are done in Ford’s climate-controlled Allen Park, Michigan test lab, which has the ability to create the most extreme weather conditions seen by the car with the supercharger system installed. They used a chassis dyno that also has a wind tunnel/climate lab feature inside, where the simulation can include the conditions seen in the Arizona desert, or be chilled down to simulate winter conditions and blow snow through the wind tunnel to reproduce those extreme circumstances seen in the northern climates.
The Allen Park, MI test lab is where some of the calibration magic happens.
The data collected in the dyno cell helps the team to adjust the calibrations where they see issues; air/fuel ratios and other variables are closely inspected and shaped to provide the best possible performance in all conditions.
What’s In The Kit
A twin 60mm throttle body is supplied along with a matching spacer, and an 85mm supercharger pulley on the nose of the blower sets the system up for approximately 7 pounds of boost and turns the already-potent Mustang into a 627-horsepower fire-breathing monster.
An included fuel charging assembly and Ford Racing-designed fuel injectors ensure enough dino-juice is there when the loud pedal is pressed, while the upper and lower intake manifolds have been optimized for the engine platform and its intricacies.
Also included is a high-efficiency intercooler system complete with heat exchanger, an oversized coolant degas bottle, high-capacity air-to-water intercooler, and formed hoses for easy installation. Every required fastener, all wiring, brackets, hoses and clamps are also in the kit to give the underhood appearance of the Mustang one that mimics a factory-developed system – which is exactly what arrives in the box.
Working side by side, the ROUSH Performance and Ford Racing Parts engineers were able to develop this supercharger kit that plays to the strengths of both companies.
ROUSH also offers an extended parts warranty on this system – three years or 36,000 miles from the retail purchase date, along with the option to purchase an additional 3/36 powertrain warranty on the vehicle from its original in-service date.
On the ROUSH front, the calibration will be provided through a cloud-based system that uses a free uploader tool and is run through a PC. The customer will download the free uploader to the computer, and there will be a voucher car provided within the kit. The customer points their browser to the Roush website, provides the unique download code, and downloads the tune into the laptop, which can be plugged into the OBD-II port through a cable to upload the calibration for the vehicle. ROUSH dealers have the interface cable, and Velthoven also says that there will be a consumer-based interface tool available in the not-so-distant future. Previously, the end-user had to overnight their processor back to ROUSH for this process to be completed, and this can still be done for an additional $100 fee until the interface tool is available.
In Conclusion
The system is available for purchase right now.
Twisting up a set of TVS rotors by planting your foot into the accelerator is like nothing else you’ll ever feel.
When you do get your hands on a new 2015 Mustang GT, rest assured that ROUSH Performance and Ford Racing Parts have done the heavy lifting to easily achieve 600-plus horsepower upon installation of this system. Velthoven says the kit is available from ROUSH Performance or Ford Racing Parts as of this writing, so supercharged performance for your brand new ‘Stang is only a phone call away. A CARB-certified kit with E.O number will be available from your Ford Racing dealer in Spring of 2015.
The progress ROUSH and Ford Racing Parts have made with respect to TVS supercharger development provides a system that’s engineered for seamless installation, rock-solid performance, will start up every time the key is turned, and provide miles of smiles. Now, about that winning lottery ticket..
