SUper charger question

What kinds of strains does a supercharger like a Vortech put on an engine? SUch as rods, crank,pistons etc.


Tore

I would think anything that builds boost would put a strain on the shortblock it's a matter of how much boost. But again I don't know anything about super chargers, blowers, turbo's or nitrous

I figure it does. But I just wonder how much. I wondered about the crank and rods. If somebody on here has alot of exoerience with these applications I would appreciate it if they could reply. I am very ignorant on these type systems.

Tore


Thanks Tore

It all depends on what you are trying to do. Street? Strip only? Ford had paxton style blowers on cars in the 50's (Fairlane and T-Bird) These motors were over 300hp on cast parts. Their modern counter parts (Cobra, Shelby, Lightining, GT) all use forged internals. If its purely for looks you can use cheaper parts. If you are going to really push the boost, you need good parts. Since supercharging a motor usually results in big power gains, the motor has to be built to handle that, and the extra heat it will generate. On the flip side of the equation a supercharger pressurizes air through the heads, so giant lift cams are rarely needed thus your valve train lives longer. The boosted air flow actually has a cushioning effect on valves closing and on the pistons as well , so there are some indirect benefits to the engine. Forged pistons are basically mandatory. Depending on the drive ratio selected, the skys the limit on how high you want to rev: that is if you have a big enough carb(s) or injection and enough fuel it will go till something breaks. Thats where you have to buy the parts to make it strong enough to get it to go where you want it to. For the track 4 bolt mains, forged crank, H-beam rods, Forged pistons, you get the idea... The cooling system as well will need to be top notch. Theres many guys on the forum running blown, and I'm sure they would all be glad to help with some knowledge, so if you have questions post them and I'm sure someone will respond.

You need to build the bottom end to hold "XXX" horsepower. The bottom end doesn't really care what is putting that HP there, just that it has to hold it.

An 800hp engine will need pretty much the same bottom end whether its N/A, Turbo, Blower or NOS. NOS is a bit more violent on parts. Cam will need to be spec'ed specificly for the application.

Bill