Supercharger project
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On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 108
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From: Chicagoland Area
Supercharger project Hey yo,
I’m in the process of putting together a supercharger setup for my 2010 SS, and I wanted to make an all-encompassing thread to cover my project from soup to nuts. I know a lot of these items have been compared and contrasted to death, but I want to put it all together. I know everyone is going to have their opinions based on their experiences, but I think that, coupled with vendor feedback if they chose to chime in, can build a productive thread.
A little background: In the past, I’ve built a cam-only, big suspension car, and a heads/cam horsepower/torque beast. The only things I still want to accomplish is an FI setup or a big CI motor, and given this motor is fresh as a daisy, I think it’s time for the FI setup.
My goals: I’m not chasing HP on the dyno. I want a reliable street car with occasional strip visits. My car only has full exhaust now (Kooks Stepped long tubes, magnaflow cat-back) and I’ll be adding more suspension mods (just a hotchkis chassis brace currently) as I go. I would be very happy with 550 reliable RWHP. I will definitely go conservative on tuning and would rather have more supporting mods for higher HP than actual HP itself. The stock motor specs are designed for N/A, so I don't want to push the limits by going all out with FI. A few years down the road, when I can do a new motor designed for FI, the goals will certainly change.
So let’s dig in…
Supercharger
The decision here is screw vs centrifugal. Given that I am not chasing HP on the dyno, I am leaning towards the big players on the screw side.
1. TVS 2300 – Reputable, well-known, familiar, proven gains, low-end power. This is the common option and has great torque curve and also potential for growth.
2. Whipple – Good upper-range power, potentially higher overall HP up top, reliable. Against the TVS 2300, some say this makes better upper RPM power. It also seems to have good IAT ranges.
3. Vortech – Good intercooler setup, more HP potential, and more noise! From what I read, Vortech has a great cooling design for comfortable IATs, and room to grow with more HP up top.
4. Procharger – Familiar, big power range, noisy, and customizable. I can’t get ATI out of my head since I always wanted one in my LS1 days. Great power and I love the whine sound, but reliability is a question mark, and the D1SC is not in a comprehensive kit, not sure if that is a pro or con.
Supporting Mods
1. Injectors – It looks like many of the kits include these, but how high do you want to go? For my application, it seems like whatever comes out of the box will have enough duty cycle to support my needs. Is that true? Any lb-per-hour I want to target?
2. Fuel Pump – The BAP (boost-a-pump) makes me raise an eyebrow. Pumping more voltage into a stock fuel pump doesn’t sound like the best way to safely and reliably deliver fuel. Is running duel fuel pumps the best way to go? What are people using in that regard?
3. Tuning – Dyno tune all the way on this one. I have a pretty reputable shop (Speed Inc.) that has significant experience in FI. They did a good job on my H/C car, and since I don’t really trust a mail/can tune option (living in Chicago we have our terrifying highs and dizzying lows in temperature conditions). I think the dyno tune with some street runs would be best.
4. Gauges – What should I be monitoring? Besides the obvious (boost), I want to have an eye on fuel pressure and probably IAT as well. Anything else? I’m looking at the AEM gauge that provides readouts for everything in the OBDII library, plus a boost, and fuel pressure gauge.
5. Meth injection – I have this one in the “maybe/later” pile. I would prefer my tuner to not incorporate Meth injection, so that if I add it later I’m just adding a layer of safety in keeping the IATs lower and preventing detonation.
6. 160 degree Stat - Any benefit to running lower temp and having the fans come on early?
So I’ll wrap this up before I ramble on about anything else. Did I miss anything? I’m really interested in hearing everyone’s experiences and insights on this. I’m looking forward to picking a direction and running with this project.
I’m in the process of putting together a supercharger setup for my 2010 SS, and I wanted to make an all-encompassing thread to cover my project from soup to nuts. I know a lot of these items have been compared and contrasted to death, but I want to put it all together. I know everyone is going to have their opinions based on their experiences, but I think that, coupled with vendor feedback if they chose to chime in, can build a productive thread.
A little background: In the past, I’ve built a cam-only, big suspension car, and a heads/cam horsepower/torque beast. The only things I still want to accomplish is an FI setup or a big CI motor, and given this motor is fresh as a daisy, I think it’s time for the FI setup.
My goals: I’m not chasing HP on the dyno. I want a reliable street car with occasional strip visits. My car only has full exhaust now (Kooks Stepped long tubes, magnaflow cat-back) and I’ll be adding more suspension mods (just a hotchkis chassis brace currently) as I go. I would be very happy with 550 reliable RWHP. I will definitely go conservative on tuning and would rather have more supporting mods for higher HP than actual HP itself. The stock motor specs are designed for N/A, so I don't want to push the limits by going all out with FI. A few years down the road, when I can do a new motor designed for FI, the goals will certainly change.
So let’s dig in…
Supercharger
The decision here is screw vs centrifugal. Given that I am not chasing HP on the dyno, I am leaning towards the big players on the screw side.
1. TVS 2300 – Reputable, well-known, familiar, proven gains, low-end power. This is the common option and has great torque curve and also potential for growth.
2. Whipple – Good upper-range power, potentially higher overall HP up top, reliable. Against the TVS 2300, some say this makes better upper RPM power. It also seems to have good IAT ranges.
3. Vortech – Good intercooler setup, more HP potential, and more noise! From what I read, Vortech has a great cooling design for comfortable IATs, and room to grow with more HP up top.
4. Procharger – Familiar, big power range, noisy, and customizable. I can’t get ATI out of my head since I always wanted one in my LS1 days. Great power and I love the whine sound, but reliability is a question mark, and the D1SC is not in a comprehensive kit, not sure if that is a pro or con.
Supporting Mods
1. Injectors – It looks like many of the kits include these, but how high do you want to go? For my application, it seems like whatever comes out of the box will have enough duty cycle to support my needs. Is that true? Any lb-per-hour I want to target?
2. Fuel Pump – The BAP (boost-a-pump) makes me raise an eyebrow. Pumping more voltage into a stock fuel pump doesn’t sound like the best way to safely and reliably deliver fuel. Is running duel fuel pumps the best way to go? What are people using in that regard?
3. Tuning – Dyno tune all the way on this one. I have a pretty reputable shop (Speed Inc.) that has significant experience in FI. They did a good job on my H/C car, and since I don’t really trust a mail/can tune option (living in Chicago we have our terrifying highs and dizzying lows in temperature conditions). I think the dyno tune with some street runs would be best.
4. Gauges – What should I be monitoring? Besides the obvious (boost), I want to have an eye on fuel pressure and probably IAT as well. Anything else? I’m looking at the AEM gauge that provides readouts for everything in the OBDII library, plus a boost, and fuel pressure gauge.
5. Meth injection – I have this one in the “maybe/later” pile. I would prefer my tuner to not incorporate Meth injection, so that if I add it later I’m just adding a layer of safety in keeping the IATs lower and preventing detonation.
6. 160 degree Stat - Any benefit to running lower temp and having the fans come on early?
So I’ll wrap this up before I ramble on about anything else. Did I miss anything? I’m really interested in hearing everyone’s experiences and insights on this. I’m looking forward to picking a direction and running with this project.
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 234
Likes: 0
From: Disneyland or St Louis
I'm on this same path. I'm going with the Whipple. I primarily street race with an occasional trip to the track so the Maggie or the Whipple were my two choices.
I'm going with the Whipple because it was quieter than the Maggie and I didn't like the belt driving the opposite screw on the Maggie. I have no experience with superchargers but I do have a lot of experience with air compressors and they all use gears to drive the driven screw. I don't think there is anything wrong with the Maggie, I'm just going by what I know.
The high compression with the gen 5 Camaro has me a little spooked. I plan on installing some 10:1 compression heads before I go past 7lbs of boost. I would install the heads when I do the supercharger but I have not read any post where someone has popped an engine on the gen 5's with 7lbs of boost so I will wait a year. If I get 550rwhp I will be happy.
I want to build an engine that is more bullet proof than all out speed. As fat as this pig is I won't stand much of a chance when I run into a lighter car with the same mods so I want what I do to last for a long long time.
Livernois isn't too far from you, they have done countless Gen 5 Camaro's without any problems that I know about. They are hard to beat for price and they go a different route with the fuel pump and injectors than what comes in the complete kit.
I'm going with the Whipple because it was quieter than the Maggie and I didn't like the belt driving the opposite screw on the Maggie. I have no experience with superchargers but I do have a lot of experience with air compressors and they all use gears to drive the driven screw. I don't think there is anything wrong with the Maggie, I'm just going by what I know.
The high compression with the gen 5 Camaro has me a little spooked. I plan on installing some 10:1 compression heads before I go past 7lbs of boost. I would install the heads when I do the supercharger but I have not read any post where someone has popped an engine on the gen 5's with 7lbs of boost so I will wait a year. If I get 550rwhp I will be happy.
I want to build an engine that is more bullet proof than all out speed. As fat as this pig is I won't stand much of a chance when I run into a lighter car with the same mods so I want what I do to last for a long long time.
Livernois isn't too far from you, they have done countless Gen 5 Camaro's without any problems that I know about. They are hard to beat for price and they go a different route with the fuel pump and injectors than what comes in the complete kit.
