Supercharged S550 Mustang - Prosport boost gauge install

Mike bought this S550 Mustang GT brand new in 2017 for $27,000. I’m not done. He also got it with 0% financing on a 6-year loan. The same GT today would cost you something like $50,000 with 7% interest lol. RIP affordable/impulsive/fun cars. Anyway lol – this article isn’t about all the insanity of the current car market, it’s about this sick Prosport boost gauge on a Supercharged S550 Mustang.

“Well ya know we’ve been running this freaking Mustang with a blower on it since 2017, so I figured it was time to actually get off my dead ass and put a boost gauge on this thing.” -Mike Sanders

Mike might (might) have run 1 tank of gas through this S550 Mustang GT before…

He rolled it into his buddy’s backyard garage and installed a Vortech supercharger. Who goes straight to ‘a supercharger’ as a first mod? I guess Mike does lol. Obviously, other modifications soon followed… like Holley/Hooker engine-back exhaust, KW V3 coilovers, Vossen wheels, Toyo R888Rs, Corbeau seats… and a couple of transmissions & clutches lol. But one thing Mike never did – was a simple boost gauge to see how much juice the supercharger was squeezing. I guess the excuse can be made that it didn’t really matter??

This supercharged S550 Mustang has been properly tuned…

It’s very quick & consistent & healthy. But nevertheless, knowledge is power. For example, sometimes you feel like your car is running poorly & it’s not. Other times you feel like your car is running flawlessly… and it’s not. So I’ll say it again, knowledge is power, AND it’s peace-of-mind. I put a Prosport water temp gauge on my junkyard/sh¡tbox Porsche 944 last year, and it gave me so much more confidence & peace-of-mind in the car. The factory gauge in that lovable old German heap jumps all around by nature, and it will absolutely make you sweat (pun intended) in the summer-heat when you roll up on stacked-up traffic. With the modern, precise, pin-pointed Prosport gauge however, you KNOW whether or not there is a need for real concern. It’s kind of the same thing with this Mustang… ignorance is not always bliss when you’re messing with expensive Coyote engines & expensive supercharger kits.

Whether in a new Mustang GT or an older beloved project car, a Prosport gauge is essentially a built-in co-pilot…

It’s there to give you the imperative information you may need before it’s too late. And at a hundred bucks & some change or less, it’s a no-brainer. We’ve known Glenn Cohen at Prosport Gauges for well over a decade now. Little known fact: Prosport actually makes OEM gauges for some high-level nameplates that you likely love & adore. You probably even have some posters of such nameplates in your garage and/or office. And when it comes to Prosport’s aftermarket side, they’re modernized & sleek, yet classic & functional. They’re not diseased with tech-layers, haptics, & screens. You don’t need apps, bluetooth connections, over-the-air updates, and other such gizmos to make ’em work. It’s just a good accurate gauge y’all. And from the moment of initial startup, it brings your focus & attention into the driving experience.

Install of the Prosport boost gauge on this supercharged S550 Mustang GT…

Prosport has different gauge styles, and this boost gauge is from their JDM Series. Install is relatively simple. Give it a casual afternoon. You can do this in your driveway if you have basic electronic-related tools like a volt meter, soldering gun, etc.

Under the hood, you really just have to tee-tap into your supercharger or turbo’s boost/vacuum line. The Prosport gauge comes with a tee-tap, so you just cut the boost/vacuum hose & tee it in. Then you run the supplied new hose-line through a small supplied slip-on filter, to a little supplied module (that translates the boost/vacuum to an electronic signal). A small wire harness plugs into the outgoing side of that module. And the wires then run from the module, through the car’s firewall, to the gauge. You need to find a grommet and/or some sort of access-point to get through the firewall (see video below). Separately…

There is another small 4-wire power harness that plugs into the gauge for 1) 12-volt constant power, 2) ignition power, 3) illumination/dimmer, and 4) ground. This is where you need a voltmeter, and probably a little Google wing-manning for your specific chassis (again, see vid for S550 application). If you don’t know how to use a volt meter, it’s probably best to take it to a shop, or find a friend who used to install car audio lol.

@s3magazine Prosport Boost Gauge on Mike’s S550 Mustang. Someone tell Mike to drive this car more often jeesh. #mustang #s550 #supercharged #prosport #car #carsoftiktok ♬ original sound – S3 Magazine

The Prosport gauge comes with a mounting-pod of its own…

Which we used. And – Prosport gauges also come with a jumper harness. So if you decide to add another Prosport gauge later, you don’t have to go back to find power, ignition, ground, and illumination again (bonus points if you read ‘illumination’ like a little yellow minion). You can just jump it off in series from the existing Prosport gauge. This is especially convenient if you’re putting them in a dual/triple pod of some sort, where the gauges will be located in close range. In conclusion…

If you’re curious, Mike’s Vortech-supercharged S550 Mustang makes about 630 wheel horsepower…

It’s a street car mind you, so that 630whp is ‘safe’, but it’a as crisp as a pickle on ~7lbs of boost. He also needs to get it out of the garage & drive it more lol. Only problem is – every time he fires it up the HOA wants to have a meeting about it.