Powerdyne Charger
Thread Starter
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Member
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 63
Likes: 0
From: Greeley, CO USA
Powerdyne Charger
Hey everyone, I think Im about to do it! After hearing Neals stories and other stories I think I wanna take the leap and "beef" this truck up! I talked to a local speed shop about charging my truck, he recommended a powerdyne charger. His selling points were its: somewhat economical to buy, ran electrically so if it crapped out the truck would still run without it, easy install as chargers go, should provide about a 45% gain in hp and torque. What do you guys think? This truck only has 6k miles on it. Should i wait till at least its fully broke in? Say 10k miles? How pissy do dealers get with mods like these when you bring it in for warranty work? Thanks for you help everyone!
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Jeff Randol
2000 Ford F150
Ext. Cab 4x4 Lariat
5.4 Auto, Off Road Package, Fully Loaded
& lovin it!!
MODS: KN Air Filter
Glasspack exhaust
Upcoming: AMSOIL Dual Oil filter system, FIPK, Fiberglass Topper, Spray-In Bedliner, Wood Dash Kit
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Jeff Randol
2000 Ford F150
Ext. Cab 4x4 Lariat
5.4 Auto, Off Road Package, Fully Loaded
& lovin it!!
MODS: KN Air Filter
Glasspack exhaust
Upcoming: AMSOIL Dual Oil filter system, FIPK, Fiberglass Topper, Spray-In Bedliner, Wood Dash Kit
Senior Member
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 344
Likes: 0
From: Madisonville, KY
jeffrandol,
I'm surprised no one else has responded to you yet. I put a Powerdyne on my '97 last summer and I've never gotten out of it what I expected. The most boost I've ever gotten out of it is 2 psi, and that's at a very healthy 4500 to 5000 rpm. I may or may not have my boost gauge connected in the right location to read accurate boost, but just by the seat of the pants, I haven't gained much. When I call Powerdyne they are little to no help; they insist I've got it put together wrong or have a vacuum leak or something like that (neither of which is true). I am running on original plugs and wires at 81,000 miles, so that may be a factor. At the same time I bought the Powerdyne I picked up a set of FMS headers, but haven't installed them yet. Powerdyne highly recommends that you have headers installed to get the best bang out of their blower. I think I'm one of the few members who hasn't had real good luck with this blower; everyone else I've spoken with hasn't had any complaints. I don't know about you, but I bought it mostly because it was the cheapest unit out there (if you can call $2000 cheap). If I had another chance, I'd get a Vortech or Magnacharger, about $1000 higher, I think.
One comment you had about it being 'electrical': this blower is purely mechanical (no electrical components at all). It is driven off of a pulley they provide which replaces your stock harmonic balancer. In the event of a belt failure, the truck will still run, though maybe not quite as smoothly, since the air will have to be dragged through the non-spinning blower unit. It is going to be the most economical type of blower, since it doesn't really start seriously boosting until high up in the RPM range (above 2500-3000). Powerdyne claims that it will give you roughly 30% more HP, I believe. There again, I can't feel an extra 70 HP yet. The install isn't bad, but one note is, when removing the stock fan, remember that the fan has a regular right-handed thread, regardless of what any Chilton't manual says. You'll want to have a fan clutch removal kit from your local parts store and an impact wrench to remove the harmonic balancer. I even took the radiator out to get some working room (they didn't mention this step in the installation manual). I don't know about dealer's reactions to them as far as warranties are concerned. I can tell you that no Ford service department around me knew anything about installing or troubleshooting them. Supposedly they don't void the warranty if installed correctly, but I'd be surprised if you didn't get a hard time over it if they could pin it on the blower. I didn't have to worry because mine was way out of warranty when I installed it.
I really didn't mean to discourage you if I did. Like I said, most other members have been very pleased with it. I haven't totally given up on mine, but it could have been a whole lot better for the money. I wish you good luck.
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1997 F150 SC Lariat 4x2 Styleside
Oxford White/Prairie Tan Metallic
4.6 auto, 3.55
17" ORP wheels w/ 275/60R17 Goodyear Eagle GTII's
Extang soft tonneau cover
Kenwood 7003 CD head unit w/ remote, Sony 2x25W and Clarion 2x100W amps, Ultimate 10" pickup boxes
Powerdyne 6 psi supercharger, Autometer boost gauge
To come:
Ford Motorsports headers
Ford Motorsports 9mm plug wires w/ plugs?
Autometer fuel pressure gauge
Superchip
4.10 rear w/ 23-tooth speedo gear (gotta read right!)
Wishful thinking:
SVT 18" Lightning rims (painted Prairie Tan to match two-tone) w/ 285/55R18 Yokohama AVS's
I'm surprised no one else has responded to you yet. I put a Powerdyne on my '97 last summer and I've never gotten out of it what I expected. The most boost I've ever gotten out of it is 2 psi, and that's at a very healthy 4500 to 5000 rpm. I may or may not have my boost gauge connected in the right location to read accurate boost, but just by the seat of the pants, I haven't gained much. When I call Powerdyne they are little to no help; they insist I've got it put together wrong or have a vacuum leak or something like that (neither of which is true). I am running on original plugs and wires at 81,000 miles, so that may be a factor. At the same time I bought the Powerdyne I picked up a set of FMS headers, but haven't installed them yet. Powerdyne highly recommends that you have headers installed to get the best bang out of their blower. I think I'm one of the few members who hasn't had real good luck with this blower; everyone else I've spoken with hasn't had any complaints. I don't know about you, but I bought it mostly because it was the cheapest unit out there (if you can call $2000 cheap). If I had another chance, I'd get a Vortech or Magnacharger, about $1000 higher, I think.
One comment you had about it being 'electrical': this blower is purely mechanical (no electrical components at all). It is driven off of a pulley they provide which replaces your stock harmonic balancer. In the event of a belt failure, the truck will still run, though maybe not quite as smoothly, since the air will have to be dragged through the non-spinning blower unit. It is going to be the most economical type of blower, since it doesn't really start seriously boosting until high up in the RPM range (above 2500-3000). Powerdyne claims that it will give you roughly 30% more HP, I believe. There again, I can't feel an extra 70 HP yet. The install isn't bad, but one note is, when removing the stock fan, remember that the fan has a regular right-handed thread, regardless of what any Chilton't manual says. You'll want to have a fan clutch removal kit from your local parts store and an impact wrench to remove the harmonic balancer. I even took the radiator out to get some working room (they didn't mention this step in the installation manual). I don't know about dealer's reactions to them as far as warranties are concerned. I can tell you that no Ford service department around me knew anything about installing or troubleshooting them. Supposedly they don't void the warranty if installed correctly, but I'd be surprised if you didn't get a hard time over it if they could pin it on the blower. I didn't have to worry because mine was way out of warranty when I installed it.
I really didn't mean to discourage you if I did. Like I said, most other members have been very pleased with it. I haven't totally given up on mine, but it could have been a whole lot better for the money. I wish you good luck.
------------------
1997 F150 SC Lariat 4x2 Styleside
Oxford White/Prairie Tan Metallic
4.6 auto, 3.55
17" ORP wheels w/ 275/60R17 Goodyear Eagle GTII's
Extang soft tonneau cover
Kenwood 7003 CD head unit w/ remote, Sony 2x25W and Clarion 2x100W amps, Ultimate 10" pickup boxes
Powerdyne 6 psi supercharger, Autometer boost gauge
To come:
Ford Motorsports headers
Ford Motorsports 9mm plug wires w/ plugs?
Autometer fuel pressure gauge
Superchip
4.10 rear w/ 23-tooth speedo gear (gotta read right!)
Wishful thinking:
SVT 18" Lightning rims (painted Prairie Tan to match two-tone) w/ 285/55R18 Yokohama AVS's
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 1999
Posts: 209
Likes: 0
From: Lake Junaluska NC
I Don't have much time to go into detail but my supercharger was the best thing I have done to my truck.
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99 Black F150 4x4 4.2
Powerdyne SVO BD11-a Supercharger
24 psi.high flow fuel injectors
Port matched intake
Boost gauge 30"HG-20PSI A piller mount
Ram air intake
K&N air filter
True dual exhaust w/Flowmasters(2 1/2 in. pipe)
custom programed Superchip(Flip chip)
All black factory sport package.
Rhino Liner
GTO smoke headlight&tailight covers
limo tint
Mods. to come 4.10gears
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99 Black F150 4x4 4.2
Powerdyne SVO BD11-a Supercharger
24 psi.high flow fuel injectors
Port matched intake
Boost gauge 30"HG-20PSI A piller mount
Ram air intake
K&N air filter
True dual exhaust w/Flowmasters(2 1/2 in. pipe)
custom programed Superchip(Flip chip)
All black factory sport package.
Rhino Liner
GTO smoke headlight&tailight covers
limo tint
Mods. to come 4.10gears
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 63
Likes: 0
From: Greeley, CO USA
Fordman3 you paid only $2000 for your entire kit? I was quoted $3200 for the entire kit from a speed shop here. Sounds like maybe price gouging to me! Good to know how you like your kit. I may search around for other options, I would like to do a Roots charger but am unsure of the details of this type of charger. Thanks again everyone for your replies!
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Jeff Randol
2000 Ford F150
Ext. Cab 4x4 Lariat
5.4 Auto, Off Road Package, Fully Loaded
& lovin it!!
MODS: KN Air Filter
Glasspack exhaust
Upcoming: AMSOIL Dual Oil filter system, FIPK, Fiberglass Topper, Spray-In Bedliner, Wood Dash Kit
------------------
Jeff Randol
2000 Ford F150
Ext. Cab 4x4 Lariat
5.4 Auto, Off Road Package, Fully Loaded
& lovin it!!
MODS: KN Air Filter
Glasspack exhaust
Upcoming: AMSOIL Dual Oil filter system, FIPK, Fiberglass Topper, Spray-In Bedliner, Wood Dash Kit
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
From: Flower Mound, Texas, USA
jeffrandol,
Look more closely at a roots charger. They seem to be a little more money, but the primary difference is where the power hits in the powerband. Roots chargers start spinning at a lower rpm than centrifigals, so the boost (and power) is available lower at lower rpms. I'm about to go with a Magnacharger, because it suits my driving style more. I don't want to always be cranking to 4000 rpm just to have fun. Don't just look at the price tag. Investigate some more, and take your own driving habits into consideration.
Just my $.02, for what it's worth.
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2001 S/Crew, Roush Stage 1 package (3" drop, 295x45x18 Comp/TA ZR on 9.5" chrome, Roush leather seats, and front airdam.)
Look more closely at a roots charger. They seem to be a little more money, but the primary difference is where the power hits in the powerband. Roots chargers start spinning at a lower rpm than centrifigals, so the boost (and power) is available lower at lower rpms. I'm about to go with a Magnacharger, because it suits my driving style more. I don't want to always be cranking to 4000 rpm just to have fun. Don't just look at the price tag. Investigate some more, and take your own driving habits into consideration.
Just my $.02, for what it's worth.
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2001 S/Crew, Roush Stage 1 package (3" drop, 295x45x18 Comp/TA ZR on 9.5" chrome, Roush leather seats, and front airdam.)
Member
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
From: socal
First of all I don't know what powerdyne offers for the f150 but what I do know is that their supercharger for the mustang is complete crap.
The internal belt continually breaks.
Some of the other mustang supercharger companies have even come out with kits to use their superchargers on powerdynes brackets. That should tell you something right there.
Also, centrifigal (sp?) superchargers build boost linear with rpm. So they don't build full boost until redline. Go with a roots or a rotor, get instant boost which equals insane low end torque. Just what we need.
Sean
The internal belt continually breaks.
Some of the other mustang supercharger companies have even come out with kits to use their superchargers on powerdynes brackets. That should tell you something right there.
Also, centrifigal (sp?) superchargers build boost linear with rpm. So they don't build full boost until redline. Go with a roots or a rotor, get instant boost which equals insane low end torque. Just what we need.
Sean