Educate me on superchargers...

Can someone please show me a setup of superchargers on your mustang?
Do EATON superchargers have better low end torque?
What brand has top end?

Thanks.

 

You should probably do a search, there is so much info on this topic, but I will start.

I have a Whipple. It is a Twinscrew type that provides great HP throught the entire RPM range. Gives instant BOOST. The twinscrew type of S/C provides low end torque.
Examples of twinscrews are: Whipple and Kenne Bell

Then there are centrifugal s/c. They provide high end torque. Boost does not kick in till in the higher end of the RPM range. Almost like a turbo. Examples of centrifugal are: Vortech and Paxton.

Eatons do provide better low end torque.

 

Don't forget procharger^^

 

Dive one forum deeper into the GT tech and performance forum, and search away......



P.S.: twin screw FTW!

 

All types or brands of superchargers offer a huge improvement in power and performance over stock, and all are upgradable to power levels beyond the stock long block's capabilities. Some build great low rpm power while falling off as rpm's increase (roots style, i.e. Eaton), some make small gains down low while building furiously as rpm's increase (centrifugals), and some are very good all they way from low rpm's to redline (twin screw).

Choosing where you want your power to come on (based on your intended use and other mods) is critical to getting the right type of blower.

Intercooling will allow for more aggressive tuning and higher power levels, but non-intercooled systems still make great power gains (and cost a lot less) while being upgradable later when budgets allow.

All brands make a good product (Vortech, Paxton, ProCharger, Eaton, Magnusson, Rotrex, Roush, Saleen, Ford Racing, etc.), so you really can't go wrong with any of them. Ask around, and try to drive or ride in as many as you can.

 

Oh, be sure to check out Edelbrock's new blower- it's on their website.

 

Well, I'd be intending to use my Mustang for autocrossing so the best supercharger for that specific use is what I'd want.

Also doesn't Ford outsource there superchargers to EATON? How reliable are these kits? I know Ford uses Eaton as OEM (I.e. Lightning, Ford GT, Cobra 'Stang) but how reliable are the others?
Thanks for taking your time to respond.

 

Eaton offers very good reliability, hence why an OEM (Ford, Mercedes, GM, etc.) would choose them.

For autocrossing (short straightaways and lots of corners/cones), you can't afford to wait for power to come on at higher rpm's, so a turbo or centrifugal doesn't sound suitable. A roots or twinscrew blower would make way more sense in autocrossing so that you can get instant torque coming out of the many corners (assuming you have proper traction to put that low-end grunt to good use).

I spent a day autocrossing in a 2003 SVT Lightning at the Bondurant Hi-Performance School in Chandler, Arizona in 2002 at the SVT Dealers' Meeting and was amazed how well the Eaton supercharged Lightning performed given its size. The instructors (paid professionals) were turning 59 second laps in the heavily modified 99/01 SVT Cobras they use daily with shaved race tires. I took an all stock, brand new 03 Lightning and ran consistent 1:01 laps even though I had never autocrossed in my life. The Eaton really helps to move the extra mass and makes quick work of an autocross track.

 

here's mine

 

Depending on how cold your area is, you may want to avoid Vortech and other centrifugal blowers. The Eaton Roots style or Whipple Twin Screw is proven to be excellent for all-weather conditions. I would stay naturally aspirated because supercharging has never really improved fuel economy.

 

I don't think its that drastic of a MPG loss. If I'd care about that, I wouldn't supercharge the Mustang. I live in Scarborough, Ontario. The winters aren't that bad here. Certainly not -30* C.

 

Factory window sticker for my Mustang GT automatic says it should get 22 mpg highway. However, with 4.10 gears, big stall converter, and a properly tuned Vortech V2 supercharger I get 24 mpg highway - better than the EPA rates a stock Mustang GT automatic by nearly 10%.

With lousy tuning when the blower first went on my car, I got no better than 19 mpg on the highway, so a quality dyno tune was good for 5 additional mpg's highway, plus 57 more hp than when I arrived at the dyno shop. It's all about efficiency.

 

Factory sticker for my 07 GT was 25 MPG (23 MPG for 08-up) and the only way I can get 23 MPG in combined driving is by driving below the speed limit on the highway to keep my RPMs below 2000. The 3.55s don't help much. I wish my GT had 2.73s, I bet it could get 30 MPG on the highway with those gears.

The more air you put into the engine, the more fuel you use to maintain stoich.

 

Well, your 3.55's can't be spinning nearly as many rpm's as my 4.10's, and I'm getting better fuel economy than you despite that fact. And to your point about putting more air into the engine: my Vortech supercharger has a bypass valve so it is not always forcing boost into the engine, so my highway fuel economy is good (24 mpg at 60 mph on cruise control).

 

+1 I noticed about a 3mpg increase on the freeway.

 

18" wheels and driving 60 MPH is probably the trick. I have to drive 55 MPH to get that gas mileage and our freeway speed limits are 70 MPH (traffic is doing 80-85 MPH normally). Are you calculating the gas mileage the old fashion way or are you using the trip computer?

The tune has nothing major to do with your fuel economy because a SCT dealer/tuner would be changing the air transfer function and running the car in open loop on the dyno. Unless you are WOT, your car runs in closed loop on the highway which uses your primary o2 sensors for feedback to maintain 14.7:1 stoich. It's interesting you are getting a MPG boost with a supercharger and 4.10s though. I'll have to look into this. Every other car seems to drop in MPGs once you slap on a blower and steeper rear gears even on factory setups like the ZR1 and CTS-V.

 

I think the boost in MPG has more to do with the tune than with the blower. A bone stock car with a good tune will run 25-28mpg on the highway all day long.

 

Again, it's all about efficiency. Our local dyno tuner didn't just tune for WOT, but also A/F at cruise, as well as transmission & stall converter functions and behavior. The entire tuning process on a dyno by an expert brought my fuel economy up from 19 mpg highway to 24 mpg (both measured at a 60 mph cruise control trip on the same stretch of highway), while netting me 57 additional rwhp. I can't emphasize enough how important proper tuning is to maximizing a car's use of fuel (for power & economy).

And while I have 18" factory wheels, consider that the diameter of the factory 17's and 18's are identical. But the 18's are heavier, so if anything I should get worse mileage than a comparable GT with the lighter 17's.

On a side note, my last Mustang was a 2003 Mach 1. Swapped the factory 3.55 gears for 4.30's and religiously noted fuel usage & mileage at every fill up. Saw freeway mileage stay exactly the same, while in town mileage only dropped 0.5 mpg. Same story way back in 1989 when I bought a brand new '89 Mustang 5.0L LX: swapped the factory 2.73 gears for 3.73 gears with no effect on mileage, but a huge improvement in acceleration and top end speed.

 

You make a good point, but your low-end air transfer function has to be totally out of whack to make that big of a MPG difference.

As for rear gears, they do have a huge impact on MPG. The 2000 Crown Vic in base form got 2.73s and could get 25 MPG on the highway, while those that got 3.55s were rated for 21 MPG on the highway. At 80 MPH, the 4.6 runs at 2100 RPM w/ 2.73s, 2700 RPM w/ 3.55s and 3300 RPM w/ 4.30s

In the 07 GT, at 80 MPH the engine runs at 2500 RPM w/ 3.55s and about 2900 RPM w/ 4.10s (using base 17" tires).

Our freeways are limited at 70 MPH so the average traffic speed is about 80 MPH. I can only get near 25 MPG by driving 55-60 MPH, well below the speed limit and I suspect many of the hypermiling Mustang owners drive at 55-65 MPH and not the 70+ so the engine RPMs stay low with 4.10s or 4.30s

 

I gained about 6-7 mpg after my supercharger setup