slidai

Base Vortech is around 4k. Most other twin screw type superchargers are around 5.5-6k. Is there any reason to go with the more expensive? I know the Vortech is not the H.O. version but you can upgrade later. Are the Kenne Bell, Saleen, Roush, Whipple, type superchargers really that much better or is the Vortech just as good? Pro and cons...

outceltj

When i was in your seat a while ago and trying to decide on which supercharger to go with. Price was a factor at first and like you i was drawn to the cheaper centrifiguals (vortech). However I wanted my horsepower to kick in almost right away. I have 410's so the vortech was considered for a long time. But I went with the saleen (twinscrew). And im glad i did. I most definetly made the right choice so when considering a supercharger dont let price be the total factor. If u can afford 4000 then why not way or a few more months and get what u want

Centrifiguals (vortech, paxton) take higher rpms to spool up and with out the H.O. u will get heat soaked very quickly. Keep in mind if it gets under 25 degrees you cannot use the vortech.

Roots (Roush) is like a twinscrew but not nearly as efficient. Im not sure on this but i believe thats correct.

Twinscrew (saleen) is a twinscrew and makes more power at less boost. most effecient of all superchargers. You start building power much earlier in the rpms.

So good luck and like I said dont go with the cheapest. Figure out what your goals are and determine then which will work best

turbo 2.8

I bought my Vortech for 3200 ( minus the tuner and tune ) 200 for the tune , 180-200 for the front mount air to air , the Vortech is a good system ,there are pros and cons to all forced induction , research , research , research . there is a lot of info in the search bar .
what are your power goals ?budget ,mechanical knowledge . these are likely to contribute to your over all decision . I can say I'm happy with my set up . good power , reasonable price . make s power all the way to red line

808muscle

Like the others said, do tons of research, ask questions before you buy anything. For me the most important thing was I wanted a safe as possible setup for my motor and trans. When the m90 went on sale it then became a safe setup for a great price. Also are you gonna do the install? Some setups are easier to install then others.

Diabolical!

There's nothing wrong with a vortech. It can definitely move with the twin screws. However, if you want efficiency and that instant kick in the pants when you hit the throttle, twin screw is the way to go.

slidai

Well the money is not really the issue. I was more interested in the difference between the types. The Vortech seemed cheaper since it does not offer as much HP gain from the start. But when you get into the H.O. version, they seem about the same in terms of HP gain when compared to the other types.

Vortech seemed to be a good starting point if you wanted boost but not too much on the stock engine. My goal is 500-550 and to get that, i would obviously have to upgrade to a Brenspeed 302 or something of that nature.

I am a technician with access to a lift at anytime if i want it. I am no master by any means but i could do the installs i am sure. If not, i would just pay the Ford place to do it at next to nothing since i am an employee.

Still torn between getting an 03-04 cobra or messing with my 06 gt.

If i kept mine, i would get the 302 from Brenspeed ($500 for the block swap at the ford dealership), and then a whipple. Should get me close to where i want to be.

onederful100

the old centri vs TS debate.

centri:


The Centrifugal Supercharger Explained



Since we sell more centrifugal superchargers than any other type of supercharger (twin-screw or roots), it's time we sat down and discussed exactly what the centrifugal supercharger is and how it works. Take a fresh breath of air, because this fairly detailed and technical. Don't worry if you don't understand exactly how it works - it really doesn't matter. The important thing is that it makes ridiculous amounts of power, which in turn makes your car faster, which in turn helps you get chicks - and that's what this is all about, right!??!?

The centrifugal supercharger compressor creates its boost via a very rapidly rotating impeller that draws air into the center of the supercharger compressor (head unit). (If you're lost already, first read "Superchargers 101 - An Introduction to Superchargers"). The impeller design inside a supercharger compressor is very similar to a turbocharger's compressor impeller. After drawing the air molecules into the center of the supercharger compressor, it throws them outward towards the into the supercharger scroll. The supercharger scroll acts as a chamber to collect the air molecules and channel them towards the supercharger discharge tube so they can be forced into the engine's air intake. The diameter of the scroll increases as it moves further away from the center of the supercharger, which slows the flow of the air while increasing the pressure of the moving air.

The centrifugal supercharger compresses the air primarily at the point that the air leaves the supercharger impeller and is forced into the supercharger scroll. At this point the air is pushed through a venturi shaped bore. The compression peaks at the apex (narrowest point) of the venturi before being released into the scroll for discharge. This compression method allows the centrifugal supercharger to enjoy a fairly high degree of thermal efficiency, however, in order to produce significant amounts of boost, the centrifugal supercharger impeller must spin at very high rpms. In fact, the amount of boost produced by a centrifugal supercharger is proportional to the square of its impeller speed, which enables the centrifugal supercharger to make very high amounts of boost in the upper half of the engine's powerband.

Due to the design of the centrifugal supercharger and it's discharge scroll, the supercharger compressor can be mounted far away from the air intake. A discharge tube can be used to carry the compressed air from the supercharger compressor to the engine's air intake, or to an intercooler, making it very adaptable and easy to install. Also, because the centrifugal supercharger essentially acts as a high-speed fan, air can flow backward through the compressor under certain circumstances like quick deceleration or while shifting gears (rather than a fixed-displacement supercharger - roots, twin screw - which only allow air to flow in one direction). Supercharger manufacturers exploit these benefits by easily making the mounting hardware (hoses, discharge tubes, etc.) for a wide variety of vehicles at a very affordable price, without requiring the throttle body to be moved or modified as is the case with fixed displacement systems.

While the centrifugal supercharger is efficient, easy to install, adaptable, and cool (produces fairly cool air charge), there are several drawbacks that should be noted. First, because the compressor's impeller is gear-driven and spins at very high rpms (40,000+), centrifugal superchargers tend to be noisier (more whistley) than their fixed displacement counterparts (Powerdyne's Silent-Drive superchargers eliminate much of this noise by using an internal belt to drive the impeller rather than a gear-drive system). This whistley noise doesn't bother most people - in fact, we find that most of our customers like to hear their superchargers in action. The biggest drawback of the centrifugal supercharger is it's inability to make high levels of boost at low engine rpms. Typically, a centrifugal supercharger will make it's maximum (quoted) boost at the engine's redline rpm and nearly nothing at 1500-2000 engine rpm. Boost builds exponentially with engine rpm, meaning that boost comes on very quickly in the upper half of the powerband. While this normally isn't a problem for lighter cars with manual trannsmissions, it poses a significant problem to heavier vehicles, towing vehicles, or vehicles with automatic transmissions. If you have a truck, towing vehicle, or an automatic transmission, you may want to consider a screw-type supercharger, which makes full boost as low as 1500 engine rpm.

Compressor surge is a problem that affects all superchargers and develops when the supercharger is creating boost, but the throttle shaft is closed. This condition can occur under deceleration or while shifting between gears, and can cause the car to sputter and chirp. Under surge, the compressor forces air into the closed throttle body until the pressure inside the throttle body is higher than the amount of pressure being created by the supercharger, and the air pops backward through the supercharger. At that point, pressure is released inside the throttle body and the compressor forces air back through the scroll and into the throttle body, which again has nowhere to go, and the process repeats. While surge normally is not highly damaging to the engine it is certainly annoying and can cause damage with time. To eliminate these problems under surge conditions, a bypass valve (sometimes called an anti-surge valve) is used to release the excess pressure. The bypass valve is actuated using intake manifold vaccuum, which opens the vent valve and releases pressure in the air-intake. Air is either released into the atmoshpere (blowoff valve) or recirculated back through the supercharger compressor (bypass valve).

Roots style:


FEATURES :: SUPERCHARGER TECH
Roots Type Superchargers Explained
4/5/2002 9:14:00 PM



History


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The roots style supercharger is the oldest type of supercharger and dates back to the early 1900's when it was first used as an industrial air-moving device. In the past 30 years or so, however, the roots style supercharger has undergone drastic changes and has become so efficient and quiet that it is now commonly used as a forced induction system for automotive applications. The roots style supercharger, while still the least thermally efficient supercharger design (versus centrifugal and screw-type designs), has found a home on board top fuel dragsters as well as on modern Mercedes, Ford, and GM passenger cars as an original equipment power adder.

How it Works


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The roots type supercharger is two counter-rotating meshed lobed rotors. The two rotors trap air in the gaps between rotors and push it against the compressor housing as they rotate towards the outlet/discharge port. During each rotation, a specific fixed amount of air is trapped and moved to the outlet port where it is compressed, which is why the roots type supercharger falls under the broader catogory of fixed-displacement superchargers (like the twin screw supercharger).
Advantages & Disadvantages


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The roots type supercharger is known for its ability to produce large amounts of boost while spinning at very low speeds. On an automotive application, a roots type supercharger can often make it's full (peak) boost by 2000 engine rpm. This characteristic has contributed to its success and popularity on the top fuel racing circuit and has made it ideal for use on smaller 4 and 6 cylinder engines that traditionally struggle in the lower half of the rpm range (and is why Jackson Racing uses a roots type Eaton compressor). Another advantageous characteristic of the roots type supercharger is its simplicity of design. The roots type supercharger has very few moving parts and spins at low rpms, making it one of the more reliable and durable supercharger designs.



The big disadvantage to the roots type supercharger is its thermal inefficiency - or its nature to produce high discharge temperatures - which robs power from the engine. With a roots type supercharger, an intercooler is almost always a necessity to bring the air charge temperatures down to an acceptable level. This poor thermal efficiency can be attributed to the fact that it has no internal compression (compression is done after the air leaves the discharge port). Additional heat is created by compressed (hot) air that leaks backwards past the rotors and heats up the temperature of the inlet charge.

Conclusion


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The roots type supercharger is the oldest type of supercharger and still has its place in the automotive world on dragsters, smaller engines, and trucks - all of which are need power in the bottom half of the rpm range. Most major manufacturers have steered away from roots type superchargers likely because they create so much heat, even at low levels of boost. Like the screw-type supercharger, it is also difficult to create very high levels of boost with a roots type supercharger. Nonetheless, several manufacturers (Magnuson/MagnaCharger, Saleen, Allen,, Jackson - all use an Eaton roots compressor) have been able to design automotive supercharger systems that make good use of the roots type compressor's advantages while overcoming its shortcomings. If you do purchase a roots-type supercharger, expect incredible power gains right off of idle. You can also be assured that you will have one of the most simple and dependable superchargers available, which is why automobile manufacturers (GM, Ford, Mercedes) generally choose roots compressors for OE applications. An intercooler will most likely be necessary at boost levels above 6psi with a roots supercharger.



which one is the best?
Whipple of course!!!

slidai

Awesome post.

I think it makes more sense to go with a twin screw type and throw in a cooler then the Vortech type.

stealth_GT

The non-intercooled kit can still propel your GT down the 1/4 mile in the mid 12s with street tires and low 12s with drag radials

It's pretty damn quick for what it is, but imo something like the M90 would be a better choice unless you go H.0. kit with the Vortech (based on value/performance).

5POINTOH

Which setups are easier to install?

I will probably end up going with the Saleen Super Shaker SC because I want the shaker look as well. My second choice would be the FRPP Whipple intercooled kit.

From what I gather so far......for just cruising around....the TS chargers would be the most fun, as I wouldnt really benefit much from the centri as I am not pushing my car hard enough to feel the power.