Hellcat Meets LS: Inside Our 700 WHP Nissan 300ZX Drift Car

At AusParts International, we don’t just sell parts, we put them to the test. Our Hellcat-supercharged, LS-swapped Nissan 300ZX drift car, Affectionately known as the "HelLS", brings together all the components we supply, giving us firsthand experience with the setup we want to help our customers build.

Built for research and development, this car was our opportunity to take the Hellcat-to-LS conversion from the workshop to the racetrack. It gave us a practical platform to explore how the supercharger, adapters, belt drive and electronics work all together under the high-demands of drifting.

The result is 700 horsepower at the wheels (520 kW) at a very conservative 10 psi of boost, backed by a broad torque band of approximately 550 lb-ft (750 Nm) from around 2,500 rpm through to limiter.

It is an aggressive combination, but bulk power was only part of the goal. We wanted an engine that was instantly responsive, delivers usable power across the whole rev range and makes sensible use of readily available LS hardware.

LS Swapped 300ZX with Hellcat Supercharger drift car on a dyno

The Build at a Glance

Component Our combination
Vehicle Nissan 300ZX drift car
Engine block LQ9 iron-block 6.0-litre LS
Rotating assembly Stock Gen IV rotating assembly with ARP bolts
Cylinder heads LS3 rectangle-port heads
Camshaft Crow Cams 871777
Supercharger Hellcat supercharger core
Intake adapters Hellcat-to-LS rectangle-port adapters
Bypass control Stand-alone Electronic bypass-valve controller
Throttle body OEM LS drive-by-wire throttle body
Throttle-body mounting Hellcat-to-LS throttle-body adapter
Engine management Haltech Nexus Rebel LS ECU
Front accessory drive VT–VZ spacing with matching water pump and crank-pulley spacing
Harmonic balancer PowerBond 25% underdrive, PBU1480SS25
Supercharger pulley GripTec 2.5-inch Hellcat pulley
Pulley hub adapter F-body / VT–VZ-spacing adapter
Charge cooling Hellcat integrated water-to-air intercooler
Boost 10 psi
Power 700 whp / 520 kW at the wheels

 

Built for R&D, Thrashed on the Track

A drift car asks a lot of an engine. The throttle is constantly being feathered, RPM and load changes quickly and the combination needs to remain consistent and reliable as the driver balances wheel speed, grip and angle.

That makes our 300ZX a useful development platform. The project lets us work through the practical details of installing a Hellcat supercharger on an LS, then experience the finished combination in the environment it was built for.

Our approach was to keep the engine combination relatively straightforward. An iron 6.0-litre block, factory-based rotating assembly, LS3 heads and a suitable camshaft provide the foundation. The Hellcat supercharger and conversion components build on that foundation, while standalone engine management brings the package together.

The value of the car extends beyond a power figure. When customers ask about throttle-body compatibility, front accessory spacing or the purpose of the bypass controller, those are components we have worked with on our own build to give you practicle real world answers.

The Foundation: An Iron-Block 6.0-Litre LS

At the centre of the build is an LQ9 iron-block 6.0-litre LS, fitted with a stock Gen IV rotating assembly and ARP bolts to hold it all together.

The 6.0-litre capacity gives the supercharger a substantial engine to work with, helping create the broad power delivery that defines this car. For drifting, having instant torque available over a wide rev range makes the engine much easier to work with as speed and load change through a corner. But the true benefit of a Hellcat blower is that displacement is not the end-all and be-all. A 5.3 LS will still produce similar power numbers, sometimes even more with the right setup.

Our setup is a basic LS build using readily available factory parts, otherwise known affectionately as a "Junkyard build". The block is an iron block 6.0 truck motor. Originally coming with Gen III rods, which we swapped out for a Gen IV rotating assembly. We did this because the Gen IV rods will handle boost better and the Gen IV electronics/hardware offer more versatile tunability. We are still using standard flat-top cast 6.0 pistons - nothing special there either. So it is not simply an untouched LQ9 with a blower bolted on top but its not far off (although that will still work).

Retaining a factory-based engine assembly was part of keeping the project accessible. Our result demonstrates that even with a very basic LS combination you can still achieve massive power numbers relatively easily. 

Camshaft: Crow Cams 871777

Keeping with the theme of everything being accessible, we opted for a mild cam which isn't blower-specific. Our engine uses the Crow Cams 871777, with the following specs:

Specification Intake Exhaust
Advertised duration 275° 286°
Duration at 0.050-inch lift 226° 236°
Valve lift with 1.7:1 rockers 0.607 inch 0.617 inch

The cam has a 113° lobe separation angle and a manufacturer-listed operating range of 2,400–6,300 rpm. Crow lists it for cathedral- and rectangle-port applications and specifies performance valve springs and retainers. View the Crow Cams 871777 specifications and fitting notes.

 


Heads: LS3 Rectangle-Port Cylinder Heads

Our engine uses LS3 rectangle-port cylinder heads, paired with our Hellcat-to-LS rectangle-port adapters.

This is one of the key pieces of the Hellcat blower conversion. A Hellcat supercharger does not just "bolt-on". Adaptors must be used to allow the two platforms to work together mechanically.

There are also two types of cylinder head ports available on the LS engine, Cathedral port and rectangle port. We only used the LS3 heads because its what we had available and offered the best cylinder head flow for our LS engine. But we offer hellcat-to-LS adaptors to suit both variants, so no matter which cylinder head you have, we have you covered.

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The Hellcat Supercharger

The centrepiece is the Hellcat supercharger core, adapted to the LS engine using our in-house conversion parts.

A mechanically driven supercharger delivered the exact response we wanted from this project. Its drive and boost levels are tied directly to engine speed, and the overall system gives the car the immediate torque delivery that makes this combination so addictive to drive.

On our six litre, the blower produces a very conservative 10 psi of boost. Which is still enough for 700 whp, showing just how effective this combination can be without needing tp chase a higher boost figure.

Boost pressure tells only part of the story. Engine airflow, camshaft choice, intake air temperature and exhaust flow all influence the result.

For those who are curious, we are utilising the hellcats high-efficiency water-to-air intercooler which see's intake air temperature plumet while out on track, creating optimal intake conditions for boost and safe, reliable power.
We are also using custom 4-into-1 long tube headders with a 3.5" twin exhaust system with an X-pipe.

Electronic Bypass-Valve Control

Our setup uses a stand-alone electronic bypass-valve controller to operate the Hellcat supercharger’s bypass valve independently of the cars ECU.

The bypass valve plays a different role from the throttle body. The throttle regulates the air entering the engine, while the bypass provides a route around the supercharger’s compression path when boost is not required. Managing that bypass is part of making the blower behave appropriately across changing operating conditions.

When adapting the supercharger to another engine platform, the bypass needs a suitable control solution. Our stand-alone electronic controller addresses that part of the conversion, allowing us to retain the electronic bypass arrangement as part of the working package.

For this build, driveability matters alongside power. The way the engine behaves as the driver lifts, rolls back into the throttle and asks for load is a major part of the experience.

Utilising the bypass valve is crucial because it allows for smooth, linear power delivery and eliminates the "light-switch" effect which can feel like turning on all 700whp at the flick of a switch when you touch the throttle.

Factory LS Throttle Body and Throttle-Body Adapter

We used an OEM LS drive-by-wire throttle body, mounted using our Hellcat-to-LS throttle-body adapter. Specifically a VZ 6.0 Throttle and pedal.


Keeping the factory-style throttle body sticks with the main approach to this build: Keeping everything accessible.
Initially we were running a stock E38 ECU from a VZ 6.0 Holden Commodore, so we utilised the OEM ECU's throttle and pedal setup just to prove the setup still works with a stock ECU.
However through further R&D, we were also able to run the OEM Hellcat throttle-body on the stock ECU with the use of HPtuners.
But since then, we have moved to a stand-alone ECU for further R&D.
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Engine Management: Haltech Nexus Rebel LS

The engine is controlled by a Haltech Nexus Rebel LS ECU, using all the factory LS hardware.

The Rebel LS is designed specifically for LS engine installations and supports drive-by-wire throttle operation, data logging and engine safteys.

Read Haltech’s Nexus Rebel LS product overview.

 

Front Accessory Drive: VT–VZ Spacing

Our engine uses a VT–VZ front accessory-drive, with the matching water-pump and crank-pulley spacing.

Front accessory spacing is a crucial detail when putting a Hellcat supercharger onto an LS engine. The supercharger pulley must line up with the belt path established by the crank pulley and the rest of the drive system.

For our car, we used the F-body / VT–VZ-spacing pulley hub adapter. Its purpose is simple, to position the blower pulley in-line with the harmonic balancer and rest of the accessory drive.

The assembly needs to be considered as a whole: crank pulley, water pump, accessory positions, supercharger hub, belt routing and tensioning. Correct alignment is fundamental to the belt tracking properly and reliable operation.

 

PowerBond Underdrive Balancer and GripTec Pulley

Our belt-drive combination uses a PowerBond 25% underdrive harmonic balancer, part number PBU1480SS25, together with a 2.5-inch GripTec Hellcat supercharger pulley and the matching pulley hub adapter. View the GripTec pulley used in this combination.

The crank pulley and supercharger pulley work as a pair. Their effective diameters determine the drive ratio and how fast the supercharger turns relative to engine speed.

That is why the 2.5-inch pulley size needs to be understood alongside the underdrive crank pulley. Installing the same upper pulley on a different crank-pulley combination can produce different supercharger speed and a different boost result. On our engine this particular combination makes approximately 10 psi of boost.

Integrated Water-to-Air Intercooling

The build uses the Hellcat supercharger’s integrated water-to-air intercooler to manage the temperature of the compressed intake charge.

Compressing air adds significant heat. So that's why on a drift application, charge cooling matters, particularly through long sessions. Repeated time under load puts heat into the system, so the ability to manage that heat is part of maintaining consistent engine behaviour. Where traditional blowers get "heat-soaked", the hellcats internal intercooler ensures the blower maintains stable and consistent charge temperatures even after significant abuse.

The integrated intercooler is therefore a major component of the conversion, alongside the blower itself. When planning a similar installation, the external coolant circuit, pump, heat exchanger and plumbing need to be considered as part of the finished package.

The Result: 700 WHP with Broad, Usable Torque

The current combination produces approximately 700 whp (520 kW at the wheels) at just 10 psi of boost.

Its character comes from the torque delivery as much as the peak horsepower. With approximately 550 lb-ft (750 Nm) available across the rev range from around 2,500 rpm. The power plant gives the driver instantaneous power at all times without needing to keep it in a narrow high-rpm window.

We have kept the combination relatively conservative in its boost level, with further development possible as the complete package evolves. Any increase in output needs to be considered alongside engine strength, fuel delivery, charge cooling, belt drive and the drivetrain.

For our current goals, the appeal is already clear: Easy horsepower, reliability and consistency.

Build Your Own Hellcat-Supercharged LS

Our 300ZX demonstrates the potential of combining an LS engine with a Hellcat supercharger and the right supporting parts. It also gives us practical experience to draw on when helping customers plan their own builds.

The core conversion components used on this car are:

Together, these address the major interfaces between the Hellcat supercharger and our LS setup.

If you are planning a Hellcat blown LS build, send us your engine details, cylinder-head type, front accessory-drive arrangement and power goals. Those details help establish which components suit your project and what needs to be considered before assembly.

Have technical questions or need guidance with your build? Contact us at Sales@AusPartsInternational.com.

We built it, thrashed it and put it to the test. Now we can help build and plan your setup.