i have all ways wanted a supper charger on the street. i have been looking to getting a Nissan Frontier. i looks like some of them came from the factory with suppercharger. as i was looking at some for sale and all had 120,000 miles or more. so does this set up work well. and or last well? also are repair parts available? many many years are i hung out with a guy that had a full drag race car with a race blower. of course the two ARE completely different i DO know that.
street suppercharger
- Thread starter red7404
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Never known a factory supercharger to have an issue. Most are made by Eaton.
On the MINIs they like to leak - that's the only thing I know to kill them.
My Q7 is supercharged and I love it - probably going with a smaller pulley and tune this Christmas.
On the MINIs they like to leak - that's the only thing I know to kill them.
My Q7 is supercharged and I love it - probably going with a smaller pulley and tune this Christmas.
Had a friend with an Xterra with the SC (same as Frontier basically). It was pretty reliable for how he beat it. He swapped the pulley at some point which gave it a little more pep and whine from the blower. The thing is they never made much power. If you want it for the novelty of the blower ( I don't blame you if thats the case) they're neat.
Generally OEMs use a Roots or Lysholm type (Roots are a bit less expensive so more common) which work fine on the street, especially with Fuel Injected Computer Controlled engines. Good power, runs cooler than a turbo, uses a bit of fuel though. I installed a Rotrex type kit on my Miata, wasn't difficult. Modern Turbos are very well behaved and have more power potential but I still like a Supercharger's steady delivery of power and low-RPM torque.
A good Oil Change regimen is mandatory, some types (Rotrex) also have their own oil which MUST be changed as per the recommended interval.
You want an oil with superior HTHS rating, synthetics are usually recommended there. Aside from that they are well behaved. Reconditioning before the engine is worn out is common though; 120K miles might be near that point. Be super critical of how any used vehicle looks regarding prior maintenance.
A good Oil Change regimen is mandatory, some types (Rotrex) also have their own oil which MUST be changed as per the recommended interval.
You want an oil with superior HTHS rating, synthetics are usually recommended there. Aside from that they are well behaved. Reconditioning before the engine is worn out is common though; 120K miles might be near that point. Be super critical of how any used vehicle looks regarding prior maintenance.
Originally Posted By: red7404
i have all ways wanted a supper charger on the street.
I hear dinner charger is even better.
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
My Q7 is supercharged and I love it
Yup. The supercharged 3.0 in wife's Q5 is very nice as well. Lots of torque down low and no lag, unlike turbo. If it was my daily driver, I probably would have done a tune and pulley mod as well.
I'm a little bummed Audi has abandoned supercharging in most recent model years. I test drove a 2018 S5 a few months ago, and the lag on that 3.0 turbo V6 was certainly noticeable. I don't know if it was turbo lag or some throttle body programming lag, but it was there.
i have all ways wanted a supper charger on the street.
I hear dinner charger is even better.
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
My Q7 is supercharged and I love it
Yup. The supercharged 3.0 in wife's Q5 is very nice as well. Lots of torque down low and no lag, unlike turbo. If it was my daily driver, I probably would have done a tune and pulley mod as well.
I'm a little bummed Audi has abandoned supercharging in most recent model years. I test drove a 2018 S5 a few months ago, and the lag on that 3.0 turbo V6 was certainly noticeable. I don't know if it was turbo lag or some throttle body programming lag, but it was there.
I have to recant my earlier statement: I know of one factory supercharger that was a problem child: VW's G-Lader.
Look it up if you want to
They run great tuned right and with fresh seals, but they're otherwise fragile time-bombs.
Look it up if you want to
They run great tuned right and with fresh seals, but they're otherwise fragile time-bombs.
Buick sold a bunch of supercharged "Old Man With Hat" sedans (Park Avenue, Riviera, Le Sabre, LaCrosse, Lucerne) in the 1990's early 2000's on the 3.8L V6's. Same engine found it's way into many Pontiac and Oldsmobile cars and even Impalas in the same era. Eaton type. They apparently run forever.
The 3800 was a Wards 10 Best motor multiple winner, either naturally or super-aspirated. The same motor was often Turbo-charged by GM as well. Not bad for an engine designed in the mid 60's (at 215 CID) and used worldwide (UK, Australia, JEEP before Chrysler, etc).
So if some other OEM made a Dog its not because it had a blower on it.
This is the motor Buick put into the Grand National (in Turbo form) the years it was the fastest GM vehicle you could buy (yes, outran the Corvette).
Clever HotRodders have been scouring the nation's junkyards for the Superchargers for two ... going on three now ... decades and putting them on essentially any motor you can imagine (they fit underhood well) from Japanese 4-bangers to mild V8s. (Aftermarket Turbos are cheap so people just buy new ones. Reason being they are in serious volume production because so many Diesel engines are Turbocharged; eg most Skid-Steers).
The 3800 was a Wards 10 Best motor multiple winner, either naturally or super-aspirated. The same motor was often Turbo-charged by GM as well. Not bad for an engine designed in the mid 60's (at 215 CID) and used worldwide (UK, Australia, JEEP before Chrysler, etc).
So if some other OEM made a Dog its not because it had a blower on it.
This is the motor Buick put into the Grand National (in Turbo form) the years it was the fastest GM vehicle you could buy (yes, outran the Corvette).
Clever HotRodders have been scouring the nation's junkyards for the Superchargers for two ... going on three now ... decades and putting them on essentially any motor you can imagine (they fit underhood well) from Japanese 4-bangers to mild V8s. (Aftermarket Turbos are cheap so people just buy new ones. Reason being they are in serious volume production because so many Diesel engines are Turbocharged; eg most Skid-Steers).
RE: Old Man With Hat
I'd like to take credit for the term, but it's an old girlfriend's.
Out driving with her one day, taking some different routes instead of the expressway to manage her bridge / overpass phobia, she yells it out to me as a warning.
Sure Enough there was a 20-year old Boatmobile ahead, plodding along at 60% of the already low posted limit, brake lights flashing like the "Easy Credit" neon sign at a cigar-chomping used car lot, right turn signal on for three blocks, and that hat protruding above the headrest. Fair warning.:
Getting rarer now as even the Blue Hair set no longer wears a Fedora and a suit every time the Hupmobile gets out of the garage, but none the less, if you see one ...
I'd like to take credit for the term, but it's an old girlfriend's.
Out driving with her one day, taking some different routes instead of the expressway to manage her bridge / overpass phobia, she yells it out to me as a warning.
Sure Enough there was a 20-year old Boatmobile ahead, plodding along at 60% of the already low posted limit, brake lights flashing like the "Easy Credit" neon sign at a cigar-chomping used car lot, right turn signal on for three blocks, and that hat protruding above the headrest. Fair warning.:
Getting rarer now as even the Blue Hair set no longer wears a Fedora and a suit every time the Hupmobile gets out of the garage, but none the less, if you see one ...
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Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
Buick sold a bunch of supercharged "Old Man With Hat" sedans (Park Avenue, Riviera, Le Sabre, LaCrosse, Lucerne) in the 1990's early 2000's on the 3.8L V6's. Same engine found it's way into many Pontiac and Oldsmobile cars and even Impalas in the same era. Eaton type. They apparently run forever.
The 3800 was a Wards 10 Best motor multiple winner, either naturally or super-aspirated. The same motor was often Turbo-charged by GM as well. Not bad for an engine designed in the mid 60's (at 215 CID) and used worldwide (UK, Australia, JEEP before Chrysler, etc).
You don't say?
A friend once explained to me in the mid 2000s how superchargers were better because they had power all the time and did not restrict exhaust. His dad had a Neon SRT-4 which was supercharged, of course. I wonder what he would say today.
Blowers seem to replicate the power curve of a V8. I know there have been many supercharged cars manufactured, but the ones that I can think of off the top of my head are American: 3.8 supercharged, Terminator Cobra, Ford Lightning and SRT-4.
Buick sold a bunch of supercharged "Old Man With Hat" sedans (Park Avenue, Riviera, Le Sabre, LaCrosse, Lucerne) in the 1990's early 2000's on the 3.8L V6's. Same engine found it's way into many Pontiac and Oldsmobile cars and even Impalas in the same era. Eaton type. They apparently run forever.
The 3800 was a Wards 10 Best motor multiple winner, either naturally or super-aspirated. The same motor was often Turbo-charged by GM as well. Not bad for an engine designed in the mid 60's (at 215 CID) and used worldwide (UK, Australia, JEEP before Chrysler, etc).
You don't say?
A friend once explained to me in the mid 2000s how superchargers were better because they had power all the time and did not restrict exhaust. His dad had a Neon SRT-4 which was supercharged, of course. I wonder what he would say today.
Blowers seem to replicate the power curve of a V8. I know there have been many supercharged cars manufactured, but the ones that I can think of off the top of my head are American: 3.8 supercharged, Terminator Cobra, Ford Lightning and SRT-4.
Originally Posted By: maxdustington
His dad had a Neon SRT-4 which was supercharged, of course.
SRT4s were NEVER supercharged from Dodge.
His dad had a Neon SRT-4 which was supercharged, of course.
SRT4s were NEVER supercharged from Dodge.
Originally Posted By: SubieRubyRoo
Originally Posted By: maxdustington
His dad had a Neon SRT-4 which was supercharged, of course.
SRT4s were NEVER supercharged from Dodge.
Technically speaking both mechanically driven compressors and exhaust driven ones are superchargers.
Originally Posted By: maxdustington
His dad had a Neon SRT-4 which was supercharged, of course.
SRT4s were NEVER supercharged from Dodge.
Technically speaking both mechanically driven compressors and exhaust driven ones are superchargers.
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