supercharger gurus.....need advice

[harrisonfiveo]

Im thinkin hard about supercharging the Mach, but want pro's/con's of doing so. Its an 04 Mach 1 w/24k miles, NOT my daily driver. I was leaning toward a KB because of the ease of installation and not having to tap into my oil pan, but they are so damn expensive. So my second choice is the Vortech V2-SQ.

So what is yall's experience with these (installation/durability/driveability). All input is well appreciated. :SNSign:

 

[showstopper2]

the most important part is having a good tuner local to you since it will take some dyno pulls to get it right and then some work to make the driveability like stock. if your not wanting to tap your oil pan than you should be looking Procharger not Vortech. don't throw a ton of boost at it and it'll last a long time... with a good safe tune of course.

 

[harrisonfiveo]

Would you keep the stock 3.55 gears? What type of clutch do yall run?

Sorry for the stupid questions, I just want to see what kind of budget i need and to get ideas of what else i will need to upgrade in the process.

 

[stangman]

Would you keep the stock 3.55 gears? What type of clutch do yall run?

Sorry for the stupid questions, I just want to see what kind of budget i need and to get ideas of what else i will need to upgrade in the process.

Gears are a personal choice & really depends on the purpose of the car...drag racing etc... As far as clutch I run a Centerforce DFX & have had 0 problems out of it. Most guys seem to go with Spec though

 

[02GTdriver]

Like showstopper said a good tuner is real important. i chose the Procharger P1SC
so i did not have to use the engine oil for the S/C. me and a friend of mine installed the S/C and the 3 core IC in about 11 hours total.

As far as gears i still love my 4:10's would not change a thing. i did however change out the stock clutch to a Mcleod Street 800 . the factory one still looked good tho after 6k of a 150shot n/x and 4k plus S/C miles. the factory clutch is quite good in mild apps.

With my tune the drivability is great / it's reliable and just fun

the only downside to a S/C is they make alot of heat in the Engine bay so i recently bought a cowl hood to aliveate some of that

 

[blacksheep-1]

02 and showstopper have got it right on the local tuner. I know you are looking at other than the KB, but if a KB is what you really want, then go for it, I'm very happy with my little 6 pounder (2valve 342 RWHP, 20 mpg very mild driveable tune) I would think that the Mach would be a jet witht hat setup. In any case, you may buy what is called a "tuner kit" where you get the hard parts, and the local guy supplies the tune, injectors, etc. I would recomend this route no matter what unit you purchased. Here are 2 people that I have done business with and I can recomend them both,
www.jmschip.com
www.racerelated.com

 

[harrisonfiveo]

Hey Blacksheep-1,

I had actually thought of using JMS for the tuning. They are literally a mile from my best friends shop on Hwy 63 in Lucedale, MS. He said they're really cool guys that work there. Appreciate all the input everyone.

 

[jivepepper]

I like the Vortech because of it's well documented reliability and it's about the most powerful entry level SC out there.. I also like how affordable and upgradeable it is. It will support anything from 350 to 600+ dependiing on other mods. I have had mine over 4 years without issue.

If I were to upgrade, It would have to a KB 2.6 or bigger. Novi 2000 or if A Procharger at least the D1.

 

[Thundermouse]

One thing to think about that no one else has mentioned yet is your compression ratio. Remember that stock Machs run higher compression than GTs so it's not a good idea compare longevity claims vs boost pressure between the two stock bottom ends. I also want to supercharge my Mach, however I know that my greatest cost concern is going to be rebuilding the bottom end with a lower compression ratio. Until I can afford that, it doesn't make sense to me to supercharge my Mach with only 4 lbs of boost. Just my 2 cents.

 

[the98stang]

One thing to think about that no one else has mentioned yet is your compression ratio. Remember that stock Machs run higher compression than GTs so it's not a good idea compare longevity claims vs boost pressure between the two stock bottom ends. I also want to supercharge my Mach, however I know that my greatest cost concern is going to be rebuilding the bottom end with a lower compression ratio. Until I can afford that, it doesn't make sense to me to supercharge my Mach with only 4 lbs of boost. Just my 2 cents.

You will be fine with 9lbs of boost an an intercooler. Keep the tune conservative (11.5 AFR) and don't beat on it every day....you'll be fine.

Plus to the poster.....it's not your DD. If she blows, just drive the daily?

 

[goshia]

I would say go with the KB, I've had mine on since May and love it. Took me and mine son 30 hours to install it. Where are a little but very careful.

 

[98GTfromGA]

i got the vortech and i kinda wish i had gone kb

 

[PonyboyIsaac]

just a word of advice, if by any chance your leaning toward the kenne bell, think long and hard about getting the smaller 2.1, if your like most of us soon you will be lusting for big power so get the big 2.6 and run low boost for a while. That'll give u room to grow when the time is right. Wish i would have done that the first time, but oh well.

 

[hotmustang331]

I would run 8PSI or so on the Mach. The GTO guys generally run between 5PSI and 7PSI with a simular compression ratio. If you run 9-11PSI (do able) then I would limit RPMs to 6500 MAX...actually if you can in any case try to keep the RPMs down.
Many people think that just because their redline is 6800RPMs that they can keep taking it up there, but its just ALOT more stress on the rods. Iv seen a few rods bent/thrown on the blown Machs and that seems to be the main killer. JMO though.

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

I would stay away from the KB if you don't have the funds to fix a broken motor. They generate huge boost, and you can easily up it by changing a pulley. Mach 1 engines are not Cobra engines. They use the Cobra crank, but have a low rent cast piston. They will come apart with big boost/improper fuel and tuning. I think there is even a sticker on the KB that says "Do not operate with less than 1/4 tank of fuel."

I vote for the Vortec V2SQ. They will generate less heat, and the centrifical style supercharger will take you down the track a little bit faster. They are also more effiecient in higher RPM while the KB is for lower RPM and lower speeds.