In your guys' opinion, what do you think is the best supercharger for a stock 5.4 out there? Also, would it be smart to put a supercharger on an engine with around 140k? Or would that just make the motor crap out quicker?

 

Now this is a loaded question. Each person here will give you there opinion and all will be different.

I'll address the high mileage first. If the motor was well maintained it should be fine with mild boost. Remember for $1500 or so you can get a low mileage junkyard takeout if needed.

Then I'll give you my opinion. Depending on what you do/want to do with your truck each type of blower has it's pros and cons. Now for my truck Screw 4x4 with 38's I think there is nothing better than a roots or twinscrew setup and being as I already had the 5.4 the lightning swap is a nobrainer. OEM reliablity and tons of upgrades. These hit harder in the lower RPMs and give monster torque.


Now the Cents like Procharger, Powerdyne, vortech, etc don't hit hard put spin up and keep pulling through the higher rpm range. Great for hwy blasting.

Do some research but EVERYONE will tell you something is better than nothing. You can find some good deals on used SC if you look hard enough. You can find used powerdynes for $1500. Great starter kit.

RESEARCH!!!

 

Best supercharger is a turbocharger.... Like Bramhus said it's all about research. The positive displacement superchargers will make FULL boost almost instantly whether that be 5 psi or 15 psi. Centrifugals increase boost as the rpms climb but that does not necessarily mean they start from little or no boost. I run an ATI ProCharger and I make 7 psi the instant I step on the throttle and it will climb from 7 psi to 13 psi very quickly.

 

I've seen a lot of guys on this site talk about the whipple or ken belle superchargers. I was looking at a vortech s/c or a lightning swap. I also was told that no matter what, though, that a supercharger on my motor would blow the engine, and that the stock internals would not hold up. Is this true?

 

I'm new to F150s but many agree there is no better supercharger than Whipple.

but for the MOST power possible you can't beat a turbocharger. Superchargers basically top out at 50% efficiency, where as in theory a turbocharger can get to 100% efficiency.

Personally, if my financial situation goes as planned over the next year, I plan to spend around $6,000-8,000 for a custom TWIN turbo setup on my 3v 5.4. I would love to see ANY supercharger come even close.

 

If you try and run 10+ pounds of boost on a 140K mile stock block, then yeah, you'll probably blow the engine sooner rather than later. If you go about it responsibly, and run 6-8psi, then you can safely add the blower and a good tune to aid it.

I bought my powerdyne on ebay for $1200 used. $60 for a smaller pulley, and I usually run a max of 7 psi on normal driving. Its capable of pushing 12 psi as it is, but my 90,000 mile block wouldn't like that to much IMO.

As for the Turbo thing, its high dollar. Prepare to spend several thousand if thats the route you decide to take.

 

Only with a non-intercooled older gen. Eaton roots-type would you see adiabatic efficiency in the 50% range. Centrifugals approach 80% with twin-screws somewhat lower. Nothing is going to be 100% efficient on a streetable vehicle. As for who ever told you a supercharger would blow your motor no matter what, don't listen to that person again. It's all about the tune. You could run 10+ psi easily and your engine won't suffer for it. In fact a 8 - 9 psi ProCharger kit will make 10.5 psi or so almost out of the box. The main thing you have to worry about is leaning out and burning a piston or detonation destroying your engine.

 

Running 10+ psi on that stock motor is not a good idea. Ask the guys who run the blowers daily, and they'll all agree on that. Chucksbp and WLF are two good people to talk to, they've helped me all along the way.

 

I was thinkin if I did do a supercharger it would be about 7-8 psi.

 

I've been pushing 10+ psi for almost 2 years on my stock block 5.4. Now I wouldn't recommend going for 15+ psi but 10 - 13 psi is quite livable if well tuned.

 

I would go with a whipple it's a twin screw charger and the truck needs it to offset the weight the others are great on cars and some might like them on trucks but twin screw is the way to go. The blow up issue usually comes from floating the valves when the valve springs can not keep up most mfgs of vehicles put just enough to get the job done at the recommended settings 5-6 boost. I would seriously think about valve springs more than any other mod if you go more boost than 7 it will eventually catch up with ya maybe today maybe two years but bang she will go boom good luck with it. Don

 

He'll push a rod through his block before he makes enough boost to float the valves. Detonation kills these motors quicker than anything when it comes to boost. If that more than 7 was true then why does ATI's kits start at 8 - 9psi? Stock Lightnings have 8 psi. The new Whipple kits for the 3V 5.4's are rated 8 psi.

 

I might be a little biased, but I would say the Trilogy Motorsports kit is very nice. Looks factory, great manual for installation and competitive price.

As long as the engine is well maintained and there are no problems, a mild setup in your truck should be fine. Good luck.