What Is the best supercharger for increasing low end torque mainly for towing. It is for a 98 F150 4.6 manual trans, and what are the torque/HP gains.

Thanks

 

Lets See...Hmmmm...can we all say MAGNACHARGER! This is definately the most efficient supercharger for producing power in the low rpm range considering the fact that it is Roots-type instead of Centrifugal which are more effective in the Mid-High RPM range. This topic has been discussed several upon several times on this forum and i am sure the senior members are getting sick of it. Ha ha...oh well. Has is always said...the Magnacharger (Roots-type) will be a more typical application for those more interested in improving their 1/8 mile and 0-60 times. The ATI Procharger (Centrifugal) will eventually run down an equally sized and powered roots type blown vehicle in the 1/4 mile.

If only the roots-type supercharger was offered at higher PSI's...I am still trying to decide which supercharger I want. I was thinking about getting a roots type and switching out the pulley. This is a great idea but it can cause warranty issues. it's up to you to decide if you want a truck that can burn rubber like a Z06 or spank the 4.6 Mustang in the 1/4....its all up to you.

You obviously want Low end POWER...get the Magnacharger and put a 9psi pulley on that baby---she will FLY!!!!

 

I just noticed you have the Manual....the ATI Procharger might not be a bad idea afterall!!! Talk to Crash!, he has the same setup...once you decide what you want...you can purchase it from him too!!!.....what a convenience!

 

I second that!!!!! I am running the ATI on my 5.4 auto supercrew. With our new superchip code I am now begining to have traction issues. Once the tranny kit is in I know I will have issues. I have most of my specs done as far as performance and fuel milage. Once the tranny kit is in and I make a few more passes I will post the final results so all can see the improvment. For low end MAGNA with no doubt. Especially now that we offer the 7 and 9 psi pulley for them.

 

A couple of clarifications (from an **** engineer ;-) ):

Whipple and Kenne Bell both sell Lysholm type (screw)compressors but they are from different manufacturers, so they look quite different. The long promised (but never actually seen) Whipple kit for the 5.4 will offer an intercooler option but as Crash says, expect $5k.

One of the big downsides of the Lysholm type is that it will always produce drag, even when bypassed, because it is always compressing the charge. Mercedes (who use this design on their cars) get around this by clutching the compressor. The Eaton has very low drag when bypassed.

The adiabatic efficiency of the Eaton blower is better than that of a classic roots design (such as the holley kit) but less than that of a Lysholm or centrifugal blower. As I recall, the classic roots is about 50% efficient and the eaton approaches 65% (at normal boost levels) wheras a properly sized centrifugal might approach 80%. As boost levels increase, the efficiency of the roots types falls off even more.

An intercooler doesn't increase the adiabatic efficiency of the blower, it removes the heat caused by the inefficiency. Also, any time you compress a gas, it will gain heat. A 100% adiabatic efficient compressor would still heat the compressed gas in accordance with the ideal gas law. The less efficient the compressor is, the more heat is generated.

The best solution would be a turbo set-up as far as efficiency goes but turbos are difficult to package and suffer lag, which consumers don't like. Personally, a turbo kit would be ideal for me.

Ian

ps - Crash - are you up and around again? It's time to get serious about a Magnacharger. :-)

 

Thanks for all the info Guys, I forgot to mention that my truck is ext. cab 4x4 off road model, dose this make any difference. I do more towing and off roading than anything else.

It would be nice to set the cruise on the truck @ 75mph towing 2,000lb trailer and not have to downshift on a hill to keep my speed up. Also with low rpm torque it is better on fuel consumption while towing.

Crash When is the best time to call you Im calling form Toronto Canada

Thanks again for all your help.
THK.

 

Ian,
If you are including a Turbocharger as a centrifugal blower, then you can possibly creep up on 80% efficiency, but a belt driver cent. SUPERcharger will never get close to 80% eff. Most turbos(far superior to superchargers) linger around the 73-76% eff. range.

With that being said, the ultimate setup is a turbo. It's basically like having the bottom end rush of the Kenne-Bell, with a greater topend rush than the ATI..

Precisely the reason I'm going with a turbo..

 

I side w/ the turbos.But.... I have not seen a reliable kit offered by a reputable dealer that can come close to what ati is offering,at least for the 5.4.And you cant beat a 3 year mftr. warranty...that being sed ,if a twin turbo,intercooled kit was available for f150's when i bought my ati, i would have gone for the turbo kit,if reliability of the system was proven...

Later,
Frank

 

I'd love to see a turbo setup as well. The efficiency of a turbo and the idea of getting something for nothing is really appealing.

There is someone in MMFF advertising turbo's for the 4.6 mustang.
I can see that packaging on my truck would be very difficult for a turbo.

LightningStruck: I'd love to see some details on your 5.8 turbo setup - any photos yet? Keep us updated.

Ian

 

Thanks for all th info guys, I been shopping around for a magnacharger and with the rate exchange in us/can currency I'm looking at around $5,000.

So I will have to save up some more $$$.

THK.

 

We're actually working on a twin turbo setup for a 2000 model 4.6l f150. We're hoping to actually get it off the drawing board and onto the road by next year.

I can't wait to put my goggles on (mmmmm, hot welds!)


Woops! I meant 4.6l ....

 

Is that turbo setup a one time thing or is this a product you guys are planning on selling? Just want to explore all the options you know!

 

whoah whoah whoah
How do you manage to get turbo lag from any engine from 4.2L v6 and up?
That's pushing enough exhaust to spool up a low pressure turbo around 2000. The only time you'd experience lag is if you had a large front mounted intercooler. You can go twin turbo with no problems (think Audi S4)

 

Not the 4.2l, the 4.6l v8. We're working on a setup for it, but it is only a one time deal not a production thought. I wouldn't even think about turbo's in the 4.2l but the 4.6l it is very doable, just not as reliable as supercharging.

I honestly, would not recommend turbo charging a truck, crash has already explained most of the reasons. It's a very complex job, for little increases, the only reason we are doing one is for the "show stopper" attitude.

 

I'd only want a single stage high pressure turbo so that I'm not on boost below about 2500 RPM. It would be for those times I wanna zoom-zoom.

I think it would be fun to install the stuff.