Are Superchargers bad for your engine?

acp914 · 12-13-2002

Hey everyone, Looking for some good tech advice on these superchargers I keep reading about. Are they bad for your engine? drivetrain? etc.

thanks

Monkey Boy · 12-13-2002

They do put more abuse on your engine and drivetrain but many people put them on completely stock vehicles and have no problem getting 100,000+ miles out of their engine.

Stangman98 · 12-13-2002

On a stock motor without an intercooler I would suggest about 8-9 PSI and with an intercooler i.e. Procharger I would say 10-12 with that you also want to upgrade fuel componets and if you have the money get a MSD DIS-4

97blacksnake · 12-17-2002

I've read some really good Tech articles on aftermarket superchargers like pro charger and vortech, they have done exstensive research on mustang motors and have tuned their equipment to be conservative and safe. Obviously there's the trend to get "more" HP and change out blower pulley's and make more boost and going to extremes can increase the stress on the motor. I've got a V-1 on my 97 Cobra and it runs great, I added an AFM Power Pipe and pipcked up an honest 3#;s of boost so I max out at 9, w/o the pipe it was 6-7 at red line. With my Mods it makes for a fun car but can be a little inconvenient as a daily commuter, a buddy with a S/C GT drives 60 miles one way to work and is approaching 100K miles with no issues.

jimwentz · 12-17-2002

Hey 97BlackSnake,

What do you mean your car is inconvenient as a daily driver? What other mods do you have?

SheDevlLS1 · 12-19-2002

Any power adder is bad for the engine to an extent...
i had a procharger P-1SC on my 97 GT. it was intercooled, which makes it safer b/c the air is cooled down before it enters the combustion chambers. As long as you run low boost w/ non-inter/aftercooled applications or a max of 10 psi on inter/aftercooled (with stock internal engine parts), upgrade your injectors to 30 psi, and put at LEAST a 190 lph in tank pump ( i reccommend that plus a t rex in line) you'll be ok for daily driving/some strip use. But...expect to go through a few sets of head gaskets!

StangKid · 12-30-2002

Going through head gaskets is merely a sign of a poor tune up, or hurt parts. No offense.

Everything is damaging to your motor, in some way, shape, or form.

But, like everyone has replied, with a safe tuneup and correct part selection, your car should be happy for many miles.

A tip: Try to just get a big pump, and skip the T-Rex inlines, because when they fail, they jack the fuel pressure up which can cause the tuneup to be thrown off, and hurt parts.