PRI 2015: ProCharger Unveils New F-3X-143, Bellmouth, Pro Race Valve

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The team at ProCharger made headlines at this year’s PRI Show by unveiling not one, not two, but three new products for the drag racing market that you’re certainly going to be hearing a lot about during the 2016 racing season — not the least of which is what will be the sport’s new flagship centrifugal supercharger.

…the key is, we like to give people a migration path to larger horsepower, and this is just extending that upgrade path even higher. – Ken Jones, ProCharger

The all-new F-3X-143 is the biggest and baddest supercharger that ProCharger has put into production to date, and it’s already set to help power some of the quickest small-tire cars in the nation, including Marty Robertson’s Radial versus The World Plymouth Barracuda, which was on display in ProCharger’s booth this week. The 143 sports a large 13.5-inch volute, and is based on the tried-and-true F-3 gear case, with a few small improvements added to its design to support the higher horsepower levels it’s destined to deliver.

“The 136 is a bulletproof supercharger, and for many racers, it’s perfect for their combination. But the key is, we like to give people a migration path to larger horsepower, and this is just extending that upgrade path even higher. The beauty is that anyone that has a 136 with a gear drive, this will bolt onto their existing gear drive,” says ProCharger’s Ken Jones.

ProCharger has taken what they’ve learned over the years with the 136 and incorporated some improvements in the gear case design to deliver even greater efficiency.

ProCharger has also revealed that an F-3X-150 is also currently in development, that will target the power demands of Pro Modified racers.

“The 143 is good for the 3,250 to 3,300 horsepower range, and once we’ve tested and e’re confident we have all of the data on the 143, we’re going to finalized the 150, which will be good for over 3,500,” Jones says. “Externally, they’ll look the same, with the exception of the inlet dimension, with the 150 being 7 mm larger and carrying a different impeller.”

DSC_5965ProCharger’s new Bellmouth, which was unveiled at PRI one year ago in prototype form, has since been redesigned, and a full production unit was shown off to the world for the first time the year. The new inlet, which ProCharger engineers spent countless hours developing to produce optimum airflow into their supercharger inlets at all speeds, has been shown to deliver an extra 1-2 pounds of boost with their units. Racers like John Urist and David Pearson, who have been running prototype versions, have confirmed similar numbers in their on-track testing. The new inlet, made of anodized billet aluminum, will be manufactured for the F-1X, F-1X-12, and F-3R-136 initially, with designs catered to other units forthcoming.

Last, but certainly not least, the company has rolled out a new Pro Race Bypass Valve, which incorporates two pistons and holds twice the amount of pressure while requiring half as much vacuum to operate it. This will eliminate the need for a racer to use a CO2 bottle to operate it.

DSC_5967“The reason behind the design of this valve is the need for a single valve to handle the flow that’s needed. Our existing valves we’ve rated for 1,500 horsepower, and a lot of racers are running two of them in all-out applications, like the drag radial class cars,” explains Sergio Shifman. “Running two of them is adding more complexity and more weight, and so we wanted to produce a single valve that could match the flow of two of our previous valves.”

The Pro Race version has a 3-inch diameter piston (the twin-piston design requires less vacuum to open and a lighter internal spring ), windows around the piston for exits, and has a V-band clamping method, which was requested by many of its customers.

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About the author

Andrew Wolf

Andrew has been involved in motorsports from a very young age. Over the years, he has photographed several major auto racing events, sports, news journalism, portraiture, and everything in between. After working with the Power Automedia staff for some time on a freelance basis, Andrew joined the team in 2010.
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