GI Joe 8 rib kits on sale, Whipple, Kenne Bell and Saleen

Hi, Dave. Thought it was high time someone bumped this thread... sounds like a great product!

Do you still supply the 8 rib kits? If yes, would you please answer a few questions for me?

I bought a 2006 Mustang GT with a FRPP/Whipple supercharger on it. It's presently the 400 hp non-intercooled version and I'm thinking about upgrading with the Big Boost Kit. Since the car is used primarily at 7000 feet altitude and only regularly travels down to 4500 feet, I thought the added boost might help with "altitude sickness". :imao:

I've already seen some occasional slippage issues with the low power kit.

Questions:

1.) I've read about the Thump rrr tensioner upgrade as something that can reduce slippage and increase belt life even with the 6 rib stock pulleys. They range in price from about $220 to $400 depending on what power level they are built for. Is the Thump rrr tensioner still necessary or desirable (or even compatible?) with your 8 rib kit?

2.) What's the current day price for an 8 rib kit for the aforementioned vehicle/SC combo?

3.) What specialized tools/pullers etc are necessary for replacing the pulleys on the power steering pump and the AC compressor? How about the crank pulley.. will that require just a standard harmonic damper puller?

4.) The kit pic appears to include a belt. Are replacements readily available? Best supplier(s) for price?

5.) I'm trying to keep a lid on price. I see you sometimes offer the kit without the crank pulley. Is the stock crank pulley already 8 rib or what's the thought there with a kit w/o the crank pulley?

TIA!

Michael S.
S. Colorado

Dave,

Just wanted to drop you a line to say Thank You! I appreciate the technical assistance you provided during the buying process and really appreciate the super fast shipping! It only took a couple of working days to get here from when I finally ordered.

It's a very nice looking product for a reasonable price.

The instructions are highly detailed and make good sense. Every part on the inventory list is present as well.

I'll post back with how everything works out and maybe post a picture or two. I won't be doing boost data logging before my Big Boost Upgrade Kit, but might post up some datalogs if I track boost afterwards.

Kind regards,

Michael S.
ASE Cert Master Mechanic,
AAS/USC, ACFE
- retired

MMike's 8 rib kit - inst/test notes

I'm a retired former mechanic. For me, the difficulty was about medium. Took me right at 6 hours, but I admit my organization skills aren't finely honed any more.

It was made easier because of Dave's excellent list of tools needed including the specialized tools.

Probably the most difficult thing for me was getting the old power steering pulley off. The tool worked well, it just took a LOT of force. This will vary by car I suspect depending on how tight the press fit is. Also, being retired and all, it's not like I'm terribly strong any more, so that's some of it.

Closely following Dave's instructions pre start up, everything tracked very nicely with no belt walking or other bad manners.

Now to install the Whipple "Big Boost Upgrade Kit"... time for some more ponies!!

MMike

Camcorder observation

I didn't have a helper today, so I used this nutso camcorder/tv setup to observe the belt drive during bumping, cranking, start up.

I figured that way if anything happened, I could review the recording in slo-mo to see what went wrong. I needn't have worried. Everything worked great!

MMike