Justin Starkey on Building VMP Performance, Whipple Superchargers, R&D & Building a Legacy
About this episode
Justin Starkey of VMP Performance walks through 25 years of building Mustangs from V6 eBay-era tinkering to dyno-driven R&D, supercharger development, and major partnerships. Highlights include early tuning mentorship, building a dyno trailer, developing intercooler and pulley solutions, and the shift from Eaton TVS tech to Whipple Gen 6 for modern Coyotes. He also covers emissions/compliance efforts with SEMA, frustrations with EPA enforcement, and how VMP stays ahead via shop cars, testing rigs, and continuous product iteration. The episode ends with his dream track/daily/show-car picks and future air-to-water/turbohat plans.
Justin Starkey of VMP Performance joins the show to talk about building one of the most respected performance brands from the ground up over 25 years — from eBay side hustle to full supercharger development.We talk about the business, performance, and more.
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00:00 – Intro - Justin Starkey of VMP Performance
01:10 – The Origin Story: Selling parts to building the VMP brand
04:53 – From eBay to Engineering: Developing intercooler kits and early V6 mods
06:41 – Learning to Tune and the early SC days
11:54 – The First Dyno: Building a mobile tuning rig
23:50 – Entering the Supercharger World
30:50 – Building the Business: Mobile Dyno Days, Family Life & Growing the Team
37:30 – The Coyote Era & Launching VMP's Supercharger Line
40:50 – The Story Behind Teaming Up with Whipple
55:55 – R&D Philosophy: Intercooler Development, Testing Rigs & the LED Lid 01:04:47 – SEMA & Advocacy: Lobbying in DC to protect the automotive industry
01:15:29 – Government Scrutiny: Navigating EPA and emissions regulations 01:39:20 – Managing Expectations: The reality of owning a 1,000HP daily driver
Ford Mustang
"... car parts when I saved up enough money to buy a Mustang. And then I graduated high school and I'm like, I..."
Chevrolet Camaro
"...buddies in high school that had like Mustangs and Camaros and like the hot Hondas and stuff of the day. So..."
Chevrolet Corvette
"...f the performance world. I rented a dyno at some Corvette shop. I think it's Corvette masters and Longwood...."
Shelby Cobra
"... JT500. You know, we hadn't been, yeah, since 04 Cobra was the last factory supercharged car, we had th..."
Shelby GT500
"..., cool. So for $51,000, I walked away with my 07 GT500 and started messing it with tuning it before I ev..."
Dodge Charger
"...just like, hey, let's get a V6 and throw a super charger on it. That's kind of our jam back then. So, she ..."
Toyota Prius
"...re, like, yeah, they're doing, it's not exactly a Prius, but they're, they're doing what? Maybe a thousa..."
Ford F150
"of the year. But in that process, I'm like, I got to design these for other cars. So the S197, the F-150, and then those are basically lot, they're, they're the toolings paid for parts are on order. And then we just had to finish the design for this one. And this will be the most complicated"
Ford Maverick
"...w, they're, they had some, like, I don't like the Maverick truck. Like that was a weird deal. Not that I do..."
Ford Torino
"...fferent. I don't know, they could bring back the Torino. I mean, there's, there's things that, that they ..."
Dodge Challenger
"...e just, it's, it was whatever. Well, it wasn't a Challenger mirror at least because I don't know how much you..."
Dodge Neon
"... efficient training. They need to bring back the neon. No, seriously, like an SRT4, like they need to b..."
Audi Etron
"Why are we doing a two door electric coupe? Can you explain to me that? Why? Why? You're fighting a market that doesn't exist. Nobody does a two door electric coupe. You got the Audi e-tron, sure. But that's it. And those are half price right now. I mean, electric cars are largely"
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