GoFaster

Okay guys, I have a question about superchargers that I can't seem to find good info on. Specifically, positive displacement blowers. Now, I'm not asking which is best, because that horse has been beaten quite enough I'm sure. What I do want to know is; what's the difference between a Kenne Bell, a Whipple, a Saleen, a Roush, a Magnacharger and any other PD type blower that I'm forgetting? Are they all pretty much the same twin screw setup? If so, the only real difference between any of them would be the details of their setup and layout in the engine bay and pricing.

I'm guessing it all comes down to the details or some piece of blower tech that I'm not realizing. Would someone be kind enough to help me out with the differences between these kits? Obviously pricing is one major difference, but let's try and leave that out of the conversation for the time being.

As far as I can tell these are the distinquishing features between the various kits

Kenne Bell: relocates the air intake outside of the engine bay for cooler intake temps

Whipple: big honkin intercooler

Saleen: allows reuse of aftermarket CAI, is rather stealthy (ie, doesn't look like a blower to the casual observer)

Roush: super inclusive kit that comes with a warranty

Magnacharger: no clue

don_w

Besides what you mentioned, these things come to mind for me...

For one, I believe the Roush is a roots blower, not a twin screw. And last I heard, there aren't any aftermarket pulleys yet to go above 5psi. And if you do go bigger, wave goodbye to that Roush-warranty.

No one knows much about the Whipple yet.. time will tell. But I expect it to perform well, and be comparable to the Saleen and the KB at lower boost levels (10psi or less). No reason not to think that way right now. Of course, the devil is in the details and we just don't know anything yet about installation, tuning or aftermarket support.

I don't expect the Magnacharger to have much of a following. Which means aftermarket support will be very limited.

For the Saleen, there is a limit to the size of pulley that will work on the it (I think it's about 13-14psi). The snout gets in the way. And if you want more than 4 psi (and a good tune), you need to buy extra goodies and get it from an aftermarket supplier, like JDM. Pulley/belt swaps are more work because of the relocated alternator. There have also been some fitment issues with hood and firewall clearances, and belt slippage, but nothing major.

Couple things on the Kenne Bell. First off, the latest version is now 2.6L versus the 2.4L that was previously released (compared to the 2.3L for the Saleen) The baseline kit from KB is 8psi and comes with everything you need (incl a very good tune). The pulley/belt changes on it are very simple (like 5 minutes or so). And I know you can get over 20 psi right now (with a built shortblock, of course). In fact, Adam has been tuning his this week with a 20# pulley on it, and last I heard he was well over 600rwhp/620rwtq. He thinks he'll get it closer to 700/700 before he's through. I should see it at the track tomorrow and Saturday (and yes, I'll post vids!! ). One possible downside to the KB is that you only have two ways to get one: (1) buy it direct from Kenne Bell, or (2) buy it from an authorized dealer/installer. You can't order it from a third-party vendor and take it to your installer of choice.

Bottom line from my perspective is that anyone looking to stay in the 8-10psi range will see similar results from the Saleen, Whipple and Kenne Bell. So it boils down to convenience, tuning availability, price, and most of all, personal preference.