to charge or not to charge

[2dhs87]

i have seen a company that produces super chargers made to be oem for different companys and they are in the process of designing a new system for older caddys. they say that there is no need to do any electrical mods only an extra belt, pulley and tap into the oil supply. what would the gains be on my 02 4.6 and would it kill my trans axel ?

[Bruce Nunnally]

The problem is programming the computer. If they can solve that, you can expect about a 4% power raise per pound of boost. So say a 5 psi system would give you a 20% power increase.

[2dhs87]

The problem is programming the computer. If they can solve that, you can expect about a 4% power raise per pound of boost. So say a 5 psi system would give you a 20% power increase.

in the lit of the add it stated that no ecu or ecm or whatever changes were nescesary it was designed to be a plug and play install

[Bruce Nunnally]

I hope it works out but my experience is that for a true belt-driven supercharger system they need to reprogram and get hung up unable to do so. I would like to see them succeed, but that's not been my experience from the people I have seen try.

IF they are talking about an 'electric supercharger' just turn the page.

[Cadillac Jim]

Supercharging an engine requires that the combustion be productive and not just detonation when boost is applied. Normally this requires a compression ratio of about 9:1 even with premium fuel. The vacuum advance must work backwards to retard the spark when boost is applied. For a DFI system like most cars for some time now, this means that the MAP sensor must provide output for boost as well as manifold vacuum, and that the PCM must be programmed to accept manifold pressure (negative vacuum) and function properly. In most production cars, neither the MAP sensor nor the PCM will work with superchargers. And, the compression ratio of your Northstar is 10.3:1 or higher.

There have been those who successfully applied turbochargers to the Northstar. These installations did modify the MAP sensor and the PCM and, yes, the heads and/or pistons were modified to lower the compression ratio. And, yes, one guy who posted here about his car showed a video of 12-second quarter mile times. And, yes, a later post revealed that he did indeed shred his transmission eventually.

Transmission mods would include heavier duty clutches and bands, synthetic fluid, changes to the setup for the internal fluid pressures, and enhanced transmission cooling, using small auxiliary radiators and fans instead of the heat exchanger in the car's main radiator tank, and higher transmission fluid flow through the cooler.