Best 3V Supercharger on stock internals?

[Professor]

I'm trying to plan a build on my 09 GT/CS. Option one is to go with a supercharger and leave the internals stock. This car will likely never see more than 4 or 5 passes down the quarter mile. Most of the time it is a weekend/cruise-in warrior with the occasional run through the gears on a straight back road in the middle of nowhere. My car is a manual 5-speed.

I know the rods and then pistons are the week link on the stock internals. So I am considering three ways to approach this.

1) Vortech V3 Si-Trim - I'm actually not a fan of centri super chargers because the plumbing is cluttered looking and they are the noisiest SC at idle. I don't mind superchargers that whistle/whine under WOT, but I can't stand a loud whistle (or worse the can of rattling marbles sound) at idle. I prefer it not to be evident that the car is blown at idle. The upside on the Vortech is price and I have read the centri superchargers are not as hard as a roots type on stock internals (not sure if that's true). I think I could get this done for less than $5K.

2) Roush - Not sure which way to go here M90 is a bit of a lightweight, but is cheap and supposedly safe. The next step up (2300 TVS?) is upgradeable but starts at something like 475 hp. I like the numbers quoted with this, the Roush is a relatively clean look under the hood and seems to be relatively quiet at idle. Probably more expensive than the Vortech ... might be playing Russian Roulette with the internals. This would probably be closer to $6K installed.

3) Edelbrock - The most expensive option, but has a lot of advantages. First it is the cleanest looking install of any supercharger I have seen. Second, it runs at relatively low boost 5 or 6 psi, which probably would be safer for the internals. The hp numbers are comparable, but don't seem to be pushing my luck. I just think, by the time I bought the kit and had it installed & tuned, I would have $8K in a supercharger.

Thoughts and experiences would be helpful. Looking for low price, quiet idle (would rather hear the exhaust), absolute minimal risk to internals, high longevity.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wes06]

DOB

Cheap setup you can piece together and with good tune should stay safe under that weak links limit

 

[Professor]

What is DOB? I'm not familiar with that brand/acronym.

 

[Phil1098]

Department of Boost, bit of a build it yourself kit. Saves a bunch of money, but you'll have to come up with a tune and such.

 

[05sonic4.6]

Procharger ftw! Then again they are pretty noticeable at idle but if your considering a centri the vortech sq series is barely noticeable at all, they're very quite.

 

[weather man]

DOB has complete kits also for the guys who don't like scrounging, except for the tune I believe.

 

[tigerhonaker]

I'm trying to plan a build on my 09 GT/CS. Option one is to go with a supercharger and leave the internals stock. This car will likely never see more than 4 or 5 passes down the quarter mile. Most of the time it is a weekend/cruise-in warrior with the occasional run through the gears on a straight back road in the middle of nowhere. My car is a manual 5-speed.

3) Edelbrock - The most expensive option, but has a lot of advantages. First it is the cleanest looking install of any supercharger I have seen. Second, it runs at relatively low boost 5 or 6 psi, which probably would be safer for the internals. The hp numbers are comparable, but don't seem to be pushing my luck. I just think, by the time I bought the kit and had it installed & tuned, I would have $8K in a supercharger.

Thoughts and experiences would be helpful. Looking for low price, quiet idle (would rather hear the exhaust), absolute minimal risk to internals, high longevity.

Thanks in advance.

Ron,

I can Help and offer Advise on what you ask.

I know many guys running the E-Force (Eldebrock) Supercharger.
They are an excellent choice based on what you said your priorities are in your post above.

Also if you do their base kit and use their tune you will retain their Full Warranty !!!

Also just so you know there should not be any issues at all with your Stock engine.

And they are also a very {Quiet} S/C which in your case is also an added Bonus.

They look like they came from the factory once installed !!!

Good-Luck and enjoy your new found power.

Terry

 

[05gtowner]

Personally the FRPP/Whipple is probably the best for a stock block. Very mild in it's tune so much so that when these cars were new ford would warranty them if the dealer installed the FRPP supercharger. You can still find them brand new either polished or black. http://www.americanmuscle.com/whipple-supercharger-0510gt-manual.html

 

[Professor]

I do like the Edelbrock. I just need to save up.

 

[mrt2you]

another vote for Department Of Boost. they are also a vendor here.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjbzu2yoJfNAhUPFVIKHX6yByEQFggeMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.departmentofboost.com%2F&usg=AFQjCNGuirQDlLok74EM2WGozTKXZBHh5w
I have one on my car.

they sell partial, just intake and alternator bracket, to complete kits with a stock 07 gt500 superchargers. prices are about 30-40% less than most other name brand kits.

 

[05stroker]

I was VERY impressed with the DOB kit I just did on the kids car!

 

[Silverhorse.s197]

I also gotta agree on the DOB setup . The amount of power vs the price is a no brainer . I just hit 1000 miles with mine and have had zero issues . Install is pretty straight forward. I probably read the complete install instructions 4 times while i waited on my base . Really made everything go smooth .. No regrets here

 

[Wes06]

you only read the instructions 4 times while waiting??

what a scrub....hah

 

[mrt2you]

I probably read the complete install instructions 4 times while i waited on my base .

read instructions 4 times.
I bought just the intake, brackets and frankentensioner kit. I didn't get instructions with it. the online instructions were also down. thank goodness my friend who helped me has done 3 DOB kits before mine. he helped a lot but the online forum, on the DOB site, also helped quite a bit.
the conversion is pretty straight foreword and not that difficult.

 

[07 Boss]

Another vote for the Whipple kit. The only thing I had to purchase for the install was some silicone rtv.






Stock block going on 5 years (80-100 1/4 mile passes) and I beat her like a red headed step child. No issues.

 

[Pentalab]

Per the FRPP site, the HO kit (rated at 550 crank hp) puts out almost 500 rwhp..@ 11 psi. On the same FRPP dyno graph, it depicts 390 ft lbs of tq..at just 1500 rpm !

There has been a few cars using the HO version, that have broken a rod, and windowed the block. Their standard version ( 475 crankhp @ 9 psi) is probably plenty. The rods on these 05-10 cars is a crap shoot, you only need one to let go. IMO, > 450 rwhp..and you are on borrowed time. Some have bent a rod with as little as 405 rwhp.

Factor in ambient summer time temps. If it's 80-100 F outside, the IAT's might be an issue, timing gets pulled back, and hp drops. You end up at square one. What is the best fuel you can buy 91 or 93 ? One bad tank of fuel can ruin your day, so you want the knock sensor enabled at all times. Typ, the timing begins to get pulled when the IAT hits aprx 135 F.

 

[BruceH]

I've ran a few different supercharger setups. If you are looking for the safest plug and play setup imo it would be the FRPP Whipple using the FRPP tune. I've run one with a stock block and had zero issues. The driveability is like stock, it makes plenty of power, runs with low iats, and doesn't blow stock motors. Once you go with a custom tune things change.

The downside to the FRPP Whipple is the price. If you don't want to spend $6500+ and don't mind having a custom tune then there are still many safe options.

One of the most important things will be the tune. I'd have Manuel Pazo at www.tudyno.com do the tune. Next is going to be deciding what supercharger setup to go with.

The DOB setup is well made, reasonably priced, and gives that instant power. As long as the boost is kept low it's going to be fairly safe on a stock block.

The most cost effective centri will be a Paxton/Vortec setup. IMO the best complete centri setup is a Procharger but it costs more. The Procharger also has a 4.1 gear drive vs 3.6 for a Paxton/Vortech. This is why a Procharger will build power faster. The Procharger also uses a billet compressor wheel. It's more expensive to make but it allows for higher blower rpms.

I've had all of the setups I've mentioned with the exception of Vortech. They all have their positives. The most inexpensive setup was a Paxton tuner kit. It made plenty of power but it doesn't come on until the rpms build up. Both the Whipple and DOB make instant power. As soon as you put your foot down the power is there. The Procharger is almost a hybrid when it comes to building boost. It's not instant like a PD blower but it comes on much faster than the Paxton due to the gear ratio.

 

[ChewyR]

DOB here, easily maxes out the stock rods and pistons. I do suggest a better heat exchanger than stock, and maybe heat extractors on the hood like a GT500, the IATs run hot.But so do other roots/screw blowers on the street.

 

[BruceH]

DOB here, easily maxes out the stock rods and pistons. I do suggest a better heat exchanger than stock, and maybe heat extractors on the hood like a GT500, the IATs run hot.But so do other roots/screw blowers on the street.

A better intercooler is a good idea. IATs vary on positive displacement superchargers. My 2.3 liter Whipple stayed at 10-20 over ambient temps during normal driving. Of course they would go up at a stop light but would come right back down once air was moving into the engine. The hottest I ever saw it at the end of a quarter mile was 117, that was on an 80 degree afternoon with about 11psi. Of course the temps went up as soon as the throttle was let up due to lack of airflow through the blower.

My DOB setup ran the M122 blower with a 2012? GT500 intercooler. I ran it at 7psi max. It would usually run about 30-50 over ambient during normal driving. This sounds like a lot but it was always a safe temp. I'd imagine that a 2.3 tvs would run somewhat cooler, maybe closer to the Whipple temps. People I've known who run a 2.3 tvs with a 4.6 3v usually report about 20-30 over ambient for normal driving. Kenne Bell blowers have a bad rep for running hot. People I've known who run them report temps as high as roots blowers. That was 5 years ago though, maybe they have improved their rotor design since then?

The very first Whipple 2.3 blowers were using Lysholm rotors like KB still uses. Once Whipple designed and manufactured their own rotors efficiency went up. IIRC this started in 2006 or so.

The coolest running blower I ever had was a Paxton. Cruising temps would be very close to ambient and even wot pulls would only go up 10 - 20 degrees with 10psi. Next coolest was the Whipple, then the Procharger and finally the M122.

A real nice thing about a DOB is that you can start off with a M122 for lower cost and still move up to a newer generation of blower when money allows. Since it uses GT500 parts to finish it looks like it belongs in the engine bay. I'm one of those people who wants the parts to look like they belong there. Something that helps with the M122 in town normal driving iats is to use an aftermarket fan on the intercooler. IIRC doing this brought my in town iats down to about 30 over ambient from 50.

An easy solution for high iats is to run E85. It doesn't detonate and it cools the combustion chamber. It also makes more power in a supercharged application.

 

[Pentalab]

What else that would help is using a bigger HE, like the 13/14 GT-500. At 3 1/8" thick, it will dump heat fast. No room for a fan with it in most cases. But none of the fans are more than 16-17 mph velocity anyway. Put the oem eng fan into high speed mode, and it will suck air from front grille..right through the HE /AC rad /Eng rad. If you have a 05-12 car, toss the oem upper grille and replace with a 9 /7 bar upper grille.