After reading the link posted by Metallic, I am starting to wonder just how much more boost the supercharger on the Lightning can make. Good post by the way. I was thinking about calling Eaton to ask about the maximum rpm, but the link answered it for me.

I've seen a few posts where people are getting like 6,000 rpms before shifting after they installed the Superchips chip. The Eaton site says that the Eaton M112 can spin up to 14,000 rpms. At 6,000 rpms motor speed, the SC is already turning 12,600 rpms, which doesn't leave much more.

There may be some room for bringing in the boost faster, from the sounds of that "wastegate" type setup. But unless that bypass valve is still bleeding boost at full throttle, then after a chip, boost is going to be real close to peak levels. SVT seems to support this, because they told me that the supercharger was getting close to its' peak RPM on the Lightning. Cranking the SC rpms up to 13,500 would give less than 1 lb of boost over the 12,600 rpms that some are already seeing if their trucks are shifting at 6,000.

 

Hey Typhoon, Sal here. The Eaton 112 on the Lightning can definately support more boost. When Ford claims the blower is "near maximum capacity" they are not refferring to boost, but to efficiency. When the engineers went to a higher boost level during testing, the blower did make more power, but it made less power per psi of boost due to increased heat. Now I've said this before, and I'll say it again---THE BY-PASS ON THE UNIT DOES NOT CONTROL BOOST!!! The reason I stress this so often, is because tampering or modifing the by-pass can result in serious engine damage. Engineering accidentally hooked the two vacuum lines up to the by-pass backwards one time, and the motor didn't last 8 hours. The by-pass is just that- a by-pass. It's not a wastegate. It is fully closed during boost, and opens during vacuum. There's nothing you can modify on it, physically on the unit, or in the ECC to increase boost. I'm not trying to sound negative about it, I just don't want to see anyone damage thier motor

SAL

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Sal,

Thanks for your response, that was exactly what I was meaning, sorry if it didn't sound that way. I had assumed that the bypass would either be all the way open or all the way closed.

By "Bringing in the boost faster", what I meant was that something might be devised that would close the bypass sooner, providing boost earlier in the rpm range. (Obviously this would only be useful from a stop, and then only if you had the traction.)

As for the "Efficiency" vs "Rpm" thing, I was definitely talking about RPMs with SVT, not blower efficiency. They were saying that in the Lightning, the Eaton is close to its' RPM limit, a statement supported by Eaton, the manufacturer of the M112 Supercharger. A direct quote from their site:

"With helical rotors and an axial inlet the Eaton supercharger can be spun to up to 14,000 rpm"

I was saying that if someone has "Chipped" their truck and is actually shifting at 6,000 rpms, then the SC is turning 12,600 rpms, or within 1,400 rpms of what Eaton says is its' max. While I don't doubt that it can be pushed past that mark, the question quickly becomes: "How long will it last?" and "What kind of damage is it going to cause when it comes apart because I'm spinning it faster than it was designed to go?" Also, as you said, when you exceed a blowers maximum efficiency you get less, and sometimes NO gain due to the additional heat produced. I've seen it at the track with guys in Typhoons, Syclones, and GN's cranking up the boost 2-3 lbs, and gaining nothing on their E.T. (Granted, they were already pushing over 20 lbs through their stock units before they tried to add more).

 

Hey Typhoon!

I installed Sal's conical Power Stack filter assembly and the boost really seemed to come alive on mine. I used to peg the boost gauge at around 3k rpm, now it pegs between 2300 and 2600 rpm. It does seem to spool up faster and pulls even harder in the top end than before.

Fun things to know and learn....

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Chuck 'Wyldman' Shelton
Black 99.5 Lightning
Lojack
Superchipped!
G-Tech/Pro
SnugLid
BedRug
Invinca-Shield, full kit.
NOS KIT Delivered - that RT is gonna wish he never sandbagged me!
Clear Lexan fog light covers

 

Wyldman,

Glad to hear it works, soon as I pick up my Lightning, I'll be getting one. Sounds good, and for the price, I'd say it's a pretty good investment.

The extra boost you're seeing isn't due to extra supercharger Rpm, you've just made it easier for the SC to suck more air without having to do any more work.

Sal, is your chip finished for the 99's? If so do you have any performance data?