The revs build quickly as the dual-clutch transmission swiftly slithers through the gear changes, and the boost builds with every notch up the ladder. Before you know it, the Shelby GT500 under your right foot is charging toward triple digits and has no sign of wanting to slow down. By factory standards, it is fast, but somewhere in the back of your mind, you might think, “But it could be faster.”

They are going to add about two pounds of boost for the 10 percent and four pounds of boost for the 20 percent… — Justin Starkey, VMP Performance

The 2020–2022 Shelby GT500 rewrote the rulebook on modern Ford muscle from the factory. With its 5.2-liter engine topped by a 2.65-liter Eaton TVS blower cranking out 760 horsepower, the most recent GT500 is a potent performer in stock form. While that level of performance is impressive, there’s always room for more, and cranking up the boost is the first step.

Engineered to produce 760 horsepower and top out at 180 mph, the 2020-2022 Shelby GT500 is a potent performer right off the assembly line. Most people want more performance, however. For those who want to crank up the boost without belt slip, VMP Performance worked with ATI Performance Products to create overdriven crankshaft dampers that spin the blower faster while taming vibration, especially at high RPM. (Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company)

To ensure that high-pressure airflow is delivered consistently, VMP Performance collaborated with ATI Performance Products to create overdriven dampers for the Predator powerplant. ATI’s dampers, in their various configurations, serve as the foundation of VMP’s eight- and 10-rib kits for the supercharged Coyote and the Predator. While ATI sells a range of dampers for the Coyote engine family, it doesn’t offer one specifically for the factory-supercharged Shelby.

“The GT500 Predator, along with superchargers that run off the AC pulley, are not left out,” Stuart Smith, Sales/Support at ATI Performance Products, told us. “Our friends at VMP Performance have taken the reins, expanding options for those applications using hubs and shell assemblies built by ATI Performance Products, along with their additional parts.”

The factory crankshaft damper is engineered to perform within a specific range of parameters. It does well, but it is heavy, which hurts performance. Moreover, it isn’t designed to increase the factory TVS 2650 supercharger’s boost output. (Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company)

Power Of Three

The result is a trio of precision-engineered solutions designed to maximize belt grip, increase boost potential, and ensure long-term engine health. Whether you’re pushing into the 800 to 1,000 horsepower range or just want to clean up the weak links in your build, VMP’s 10- and 20-percent overdrive units, developed in partnership with ATI Performance Products, provide a reliable path to more boost and higher horsepower. The factory damper is also heavy, which hinders performance.

“ATI was able to take an entirely fresh perspective on the balancer design. They made the hub shorter. They moved the critical components, like the dampening ring, closer to the engine block and closer to the front main. It results in a lot of weight being shifted rearward and also making the balancer lighter overall,” Justin Starkey, Founder and President of VMP Performance, explained.

Developed with ATI Performance Products, these dampers follow the company’s protocol for its line of Super Dampers. Constructed with a strong steel inner hub, an aluminum outer shell that reduces rotating mass, and bonded elastomer rings meant to absorb harmful torsional vibration. (Photo Credit: ATI Performance Products)

From the factory, the GT500’s eight-rib belt system is adequate for stock boost levels. But once you swap to a smaller blower pulley, increase RPM, or make other supporting mods, belt slip becomes a real concern, resulting in inconsistent boost, belt dust under the hood, and power that comes and goes when you need it most.

VMP’s overdrive dampers address this issue head-on by upgrading both the belt width and the drive ratio. Each damper increases the size of the crank pulley, allowing the factory Eaton 2650 TVS supercharger to spin faster, producing more boost without sacrificing drivability or factory belt routing. These dampers improve belt traction and eliminate slippage under load.

Driven To Perform

VMP offers two ATI damper sizes designed to suit a range of performance goals. The first, a 10-percent overdrive unit with a 10-inch outer diameter that tips the scales at just 9.6 pounds, is ideal for mildly modified GT500s still running the factory Eaton TVS supercharger. It increases blower speed enough to deliver two to three pounds of additional boost with the right pulley combo. The eight-rib option is perfect for street cars in need of more reliable, consistent performance without going overboard.

For more aggressive setups, the 20-percent overdrive damper takes things to the next level. With an outer diameter of 11.4 inches, it spins the blower significantly faster, enabling even greater boost output. It’s available in both eight-rib and 10-rib versions, the latter of which only weighs 10.1 pounds. The eight-rib version offers excellent grip for most serious combinations. Meanwhile, the 10-rib version is built to handle the highest horsepower combinations, ensuring maximum belt contact and drive efficiency under competition conditions.

“They are going to add about two pounds of boost for the 10 percent and four pounds of boost for the 20 percent. You can figure that every five percent of the overdrive is about one pound of boost. It’s also equivalent to about a 1-inch change in the upper supercharger pulley,” Starkey explained. “That’s how the math works out when you figure lower overdrives versus upper pulleys. And, of course, the lower pulley always has to be bigger because it’s the drive pulley, and the supercharger pulley has to be smaller because it’s the driven pulley.”

Central to the reliability of these dampers is VMP’s partnership with ATI Performance Products. With over 40 years of experience developing high-performance harmonic dampers, ATI knows how to rein in vibration and protect crankshafts. The company has long engineered its popular Super Damper designs for high-performance Ford engines, including the Coyote and Modular engine platforms, where high RPM and big boost are the norm.

Predator Proven

Each VMP overdrive damper incorporates ATI’s proven construction with a steel inner hub for strength, an aluminum outer shell to reduce rotating mass, and bonded elastomer rings that absorb harmful torsional vibration. The result is a damper that not only spins the blower harder but also helps stabilize the rotating assembly, which is key to maintaining engine longevity at elevated power levels.

Every unit also carries SFI 18.1 certification, making it safe for high-RPM use and legal for competition in NHRA and other sanctioned racing events.

VMP includes the correct damper bolt, spacers, and hardware for straightforward installation. It’s worth noting that the Predator dampers are an integral part of VMP’s Apex Predator product line, designed to enhance the performance of the Predator-powered GT500 and Carnivore-powered Raptor R, as well as supercharged Coyote engines. The company also offers many other upgrades, from ice tanks and intercoolers to throttle bodies and belt tensioners that further enhance Predator performance. (Photo Credit: VMP Performance)

In real-world testing, GT500s equipped with the 10-percent overdrive damper saw smoother, more consistent boost curves and eliminated belt slippage even under sustained wide-open throttle. When stepping up to the 20-percent damper with supporting modifications and tuning, boost increases of four to six pounds were observed, along with a noticeable improvement in throttle response and top-end pull.

Whether you’re just embarking on your GT500 build or you are ready to push your Predator even harder, VMP’s lineup of overdriven ATI Predator dampers offers the confidence to lean into your combo without fearing belt slip or unwanted vibration.