Superchargers are hard on equipment

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In 2004 I bought a new chevy truck and installed a magna charger,headers,flowmaster and Superchips. I love it, it pulls very hard. First thing second gear in the auto trans didn't like the power, it sounded like a Buick dynaflow.
Installed a shift kit that would bark the tires going to second with a little throttle. Next the Chevy posi went south.Installed Eaton limited slip friction disk. It works.
Last but not least after 4 years of very spirted driving I blew the transmission. I broke the main drive unit in the tranny. This unit is about one inch in diameter. I had a softer shift kit installed. Shifts firm but not neck jerking that I put up with for 4 years.
I have learned speed not only thrills it sucks your wallet dry.
 
back in the day, guys would get something mild, like a 2bbl 307 malibu w/ a powerglide, 1st thing they do is put headers on it. runs like poop, too lean. then they put a 4bbl on it, it bogs. now it needs a cam; well, valve springs need to go in too, and lifters, man, this timing chain is shot, then the heads really need some work, still bogs, stall speed is too low, put a turbo350 in, better, but now he can't get traction, need some better gears and a posi, how do I fit bigger tires under there, etc...then start all over at the front, but w/ a 350.
point is, the whole car is a system- replace one thing, be prepared to replace/upgrade everything else as well.

yout truck sounds like a lot of fun, but you need to go into it figuring that it will be expensive, like anything you like doing. a trans needs to be built up right, w/ billet parts and a big cooler, and change fluid often. I'd say if the stock trans lasted 4 yrs, you did pretty good. did you ever change the filter/fluid?
stick w/ it, don't get discouraged.
 
I know where you're coming from, people think they'll just throw a larger turbo on a car or a supercharger and everything will be fine and dandy. There's actually more to it.
 
You are reengineering a highly engineered piece of machinery. Decades ago you could get away with that. Nowadays there's no robustness built into the parts. I'm not surprised you had problems.

Years ago when I worked at Chrysler, I was involved with adapting the 2.2L engine for diesel use. The engineers thought they could just alter a few parts and be good to go. After iterative testing they found that they basically had to alter every part on the engine. They would have been better off starting with a clean slate.
 
Originally Posted By: quicktruck
In 2004 I bought a new chevy truck and installed a magna charger,headers,flowmaster and Superchips. I love it, it pulls very hard. First thing second gear in the auto trans didn't like the power, it sounded like a Buick dynaflow.
Installed a shift kit that would bark the tires going to second with a little throttle. Next the Chevy posi went south.Installed Eaton limited slip friction disk. It works.
Last but not least after 4 years of very spirted driving I blew the transmission. I broke the main drive unit in the tranny. This unit is about one inch in diameter. I had a softer shift kit installed. Shifts firm but not neck jerking that I put up with for 4 years.
I have learned speed not only thrills it sucks your wallet dry.

Its the price you pay to have fun.
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
You are reengineering a highly engineered piece of machinery. Decades ago you could get away with that. Nowadays there's no robustness built into the parts. I'm not surprised you had problems.

Years ago when I worked at Chrysler, I was involved with adapting the 2.2L engine for diesel use. The engineers thought they could just alter a few parts and be good to go. After iterative testing they found that they basically had to alter every part on the engine. They would have been better off starting with a clean slate.


There is the odd exception (2003/2004 Cobra) but otherwise, I agree......
 
N/A can be hard on parts too...:)

DSC00053.jpg


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UPR.

The torque boxes pulled off the body and ripped a hard brake line as well.

I'm still running those control arms. I used a press the reform the control arm ends back to round, and UPR sent me new polyurethane bushings for free.
 
I've heard bad things about some UPR products.... And the subsequent failure of those products. Apparently the LCA's are known for it as well.

What kind of power was she making when that happened?
 
STDDynoBen.jpg


I've actually never heard of anything bad about UPR rear suspension pieces in particular. I'm also running their lowers. These: http://www.uprproducts.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=269

I know a lot of people hated the first gen. UPR k-frames.

Eventually, the car will be getting a full Baseline rear suspension and rear coilovers though.
 
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I have seen plenty of cars go for ages and run right with a fully done exhaust system and intake pipes. Heck, modern cars do better with it because the O2 sensor detects the extra air and adds fuel. At full throttle, the MAF (If equipped) keeps the AFR very close to OE spec.

Now adding a supercharger or turbocharger to an engine not built for it? That is a whole different story.
 
I wonder if the Ford lighting has had any problems or did they take in consideration the extra power and built the truck with beefer parts
 
Originally Posted By: quicktruck
I wonder if the Ford lighting has had any problems or did they take in consideration the extra power and built the truck with beefer parts


Beefier parts.
 
Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
STDDynoBen.jpg


I've actually never heard of anything bad about UPR rear suspension pieces in particular. I'm also running their lowers. These: http://www.uprproducts.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=269

I know a lot of people hated the first gen. UPR k-frames.

Eventually, the car will be getting a full Baseline rear suspension and rear coilovers though.



I've seen pictures of collapsed LCA's.....

Have you checked out the stuff offered by Team Z?
 
Originally Posted By: quicktruck
I wonder if the Ford lighting has had any problems or did they take in consideration the extra power and built the truck with beefer parts


I read an interesting article on the development of the Ford GT, which uses a supercharged 5.4L. I think it was a Car and Driver article. It stated that, like all of Ford's engines, it must be able to withstand 300 hours of constant full throttle operation, while cycling between the 3750 rpm torque peak (500 lb-ft) and the 6500 rpm horsepower peak (550 hp), during the design phase before it could go into production. So I would imagine that most manufacturers have similar requirements for every type of engine they produce, no matter how much power they're making.
 
During my "learning" phase, I broke a forged TRW piston, blew 6 sets of headgaskets over a year, killed a factory rear end due to wheel hop, broke a trans and wore many out, cracked a cylinder due to so called friend flooring it while it had no wastegate (40+psi boost on 87 octane), broke the shafts in two turbos, killed a torque convertor and a couple convertor clutches.

Then there's changing my goals which resulted in 5 cams, 5 turbos, 3 sets of heads, 3 different torque convertors, 3 different size fuel injectors, chips, etc.

Now that I know what not to do, it's surprisingly reliable even though it's making more power than it did when it ate all those parts.
 
Yea, I've checked out Team Z stuff, looks nice. Their upper control arm setup is very similar to Baseline.
 
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