Power Lift

Melissa Urist’s Hellion-boosted GT is the most powerful street S550 around

By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Hellion Power Systems

Since the release of the 2015 Mustang, we have seen the aftermarket push the latest Mustangs and the Coyote engine platform to some impressive levels. One of the outfits continually pushing those boundaries is Hellion Power Systems.

Company main man, John Urist, designed the first bolt-on turbo system for the news-school Coyote and the company has continued to push the turbo-Coyote marriage to new heights. With a new upgrade to the company’s in-house project, driven by Melissa Urist, this car is now one of the most powerful 2015+ Mustangs on the planet.

“Missy decided to put on the premium upgrade turbos for the upcoming season,” John said. “We know these turbos are capable of this power, and we were happy that they did it through a stock auto trans.”

Last year she competed in the NMRA’s Turbo Coyote Shootout for the first time. That taste of competition stoked her competitive fires for the 2016 campaign. As such, she wanted to see how her car would perform with more boost.

See how the car responded on the Dynojet at The Dyno Edge in Albuquerque, New Mexico, here…

To achieve those gains, John did little more than swap to the company’s optional larger turbos, crank up the boost and fill the tank with some ethanol-infused fuel. Sure the calibration needed a little tweaking to work with the increased airflow, but the car is still essentially a stock 2015 Mustang with a built short-block and a Hellion Eliminator system.

“We swapped the 55mm units for the 64mm upgrade units we offer,” John explained. This is the base kit, E70 fuel from the pump by the house, 29 psi, stock heads, stock cams stock intake, and an MMR short-block. (It’s the) same configuration as the 8.90 pass which was with 1,100 rear-wheel horsepower.”

Yes, this car was the first stock-IRS 2015 Mustang to run in the 8-second zone with little more than some Steeda bolt-on suspension enhancements out back. With the newfound power offered by the 64mm turbos, Mrs. Urist is really excited about the impending NMRA season.

“We are so excited about how the dyno went,” Melissa said. “I’m looking to have some fun this year, but I also want to win. The 55s made great power and had a great track time of 8.90/155, but I want to go a little faster this year.”

Just how quick might Melissa run with this new combination? It will definitely be fun to see just how low this street S550 can go.

“We expect low eights at this heavy, stock weight,” John added.

We should find out on the weekend of March 3-6 in Bradenton, Florida, if not sooner.

Comments

comments