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Best supercharger for stock motor?

46K views 52 replies 29 participants last post by  good2go 
#1 ·
wanted to get some opinion form owners with first hand knowledge- what is the best supercharger for an SS with a stock bottom end?
 
#2 ·
I would say LSA would be best since it is made by GM, so it is technically stock. But I do not have mine supercharged, so I can't say much for the other kits. As long as you keep the PSI low all kits should run fine on the stock bottom end.
 
#3 ·
Very similar to a what's the best oil question. What do you suppose the guys running the LSA will tell you? How about the Whipple, Heartbeat and ProCharger guys? Exactly.

I'd spend some time here:

Engine and Technical Discussion - Chevy SS Forum

and here:

Forced Induction - Chevy SS Forum

Your goals also play a role in the selection. Stock bottom plus heads? Cam? Long tubes? Meth? Stock?
Explain your goals whether it be track or daily or both, explain your current mods, as well as the mods you plan for the future, and you may get much better and more informed responses and answers to your question.
 
#4 ·
This is good advice, not being facetious. I use this amazing feature constantly.
 

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#5 ·
We install a little bit of everything here - IMO the Magnacharger kits work excellent. Roots type blower gives you lots of power/torque down low where a heavy car needs it most. The install is straightforward and the maintenance is very little as well.
 
#7 · (Edited)
This really depends on what you ultimately want to do with the Car. Our TVS2300, Whipple, Magnuson, and Procharger all would be fine with a stock engine. As for preference, we wrote them in the order we prefer them, but depending on your goals down the road, the order of recommendation may change.

Now, I didn't list LSA on there only because most of the LSA kits out there are rebuilt superchargers that were warranty removals. Most of these are rebuilt by whomever is selling them, whether they are Eaton certified or not. As such, it's a gamble on whether or not you will have issues, but if you do, there is a chance you are left out in the cold. Too big of a gamble for our customers to recommend that. Now, a new LSA, we can, and have done that. But the cost gets you right around the Whipple pricing, which at that point, it's no question on which system we would recommend as the biggest reason you see LSA's out there are because they are cheap because of all of the recall ones floating around.

Before anyone mentions it, we fully realize that many people have had great luck running these recalled blowers. We just have to look at things differently as we want to put our faith in something over decades of use. A rebuilt supercharger is tough to do that with for us.
 
#11 ·
This really depends on what you ultimately want to do with the Car. Our TVS2300, Whipple, Magnuson, and Procharger all would be fine with a stock engine. As for preference, we wrote them in the order we prefer them, but depending on your goals down the road, the order of recommendation may change.

Now, I didn't list LSA on there only because most of the LSA kits out there are rebuilt superchargers that were warranty removals. Most of these are rebuilt by whomever is selling them, whether they are Eaton certified or not. As such, it's a gamble on whether or not you will have issues, but if you do, there is a chance you are left out in the cold. Too big of a gamble for our customers to recommend that. Now, a new LSA, we can, and have done that. But the cost gets you right around the Whipple pricing, which at that point, it's no question on which system we would recommend as the biggest reason you see LSA's out there are because they are cheap because of all of the recall ones floating around.

Before anyone mentions it, we fully realize that many people have had great luck running these recalled blowers. We just have to look at things differently as we want to put our faith in something over decades of use. A rebuilt supercharger is tough to do that with for us.
I love business ethics.

:3tens:
 
#8 ·
Not trying to HJ, however I have several "newbie" questions. Can you install a LSA SC with everything else stock? I am looking to add power for a daily driver & enjoyment; not interested in tracking. Do I need a CAI kit as well?

Any place to buy the entire setup?
 
#13 ·
All the options mentioned here are good and reliable options.
I have a whipple, it has been good, 50k miles on daily driver good. I can tell you this, my SS with just the Whipple on the standard 4" pulley tuned by Livornois with only a rotofab and Corsa catback demolishes a stock 2nd gen CTS-V, really walks them hard. Now a CTS-V with some mods and a smaller pulley is another story.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I've always heard that a large blower displacement, low boost, positive displacement supercharger was the "safest" form of supercharger both for the engine and the blower. The large Whipple supercharger (2.9L) is high on my list because of that. It's not necessarily the best performing setup but its very unlikely to lead to heat or wear problems.
 
#16 ·
perhaps the ethics talked about by CB was Livernois telling us there may be nothing wrong with using a refurb LSA but that they don't recommend merely because of the warranty issue...

I find it ethical that a company might point out the lowest cost option even when they don't offer it and tell you why they don't as well as their own offerings...

Bill
 
#21 ·
And that's what we are trying to convey. We have tuned them with LSA's, worked on them with LSA's, and even done installs with brand new LSA's, but when you're doing all brand new, and using parts designed for the car (Like using magnusons or whipple's accessory kit with the LSA) it gets pricey. Enough so that we feel a Whipple would be better suited for a few dollars more.

We just don't want people to think we are against them. They work, it's a good blower, but it's too big of a gamble for us so we have to take a different path to ensure people are happy for life. We also want people to be educated on what they are buying. Some people realize that these are the recall blowers, and that they (hopefully) have been rebuilt. Some people have no clue that these are blowers that GM recalled floating around and may not be A1 grade. All we can do is educate people and let them take that knowledge to make their choices.
 
#19 ·
Best blower kit? I'd say TVS2300, TVS1900 or Heartbeat. Only because of the simplicity of the install and operation. Along with reliability.


I went with an LSA, only because its a better design than the TVS1900 or TVS2300. That's my opinion. But the install is a lot more involved. Especially if you want to make serious power.
 
#20 · (Edited)
What do you like better about the design of the LSA vs a TVS2300 heartbeat?

Don't both use the same gen eaton rotor pack, the LSA a TVS1900 and the heartbeat a TVS2300? The TVS2300 has greater compressor capacity and the heartbeat blower packages superior intercooling vs the LSA via a separate exchanger for each bank of cylinders that the charged air must pass through while the LSA has a single brick exchanger in the top of the lid where the air charge is thrown against, but does not have to pass through to get to the cylinders. With the heartbeat intercooler design, even when in vacuum the intake air goes through the intercooler.

TVS2300 Heartbeat


LSA
 
#27 ·
Not worth my time. Carry on...
 
#28 ·
I prefer little to no runners between the blower and cylinder heads. If the entire intake manifold under the blower is pressurized, the air will find it's way to the intake ports on the cylinder heads just fine. Air doesn't need "guidance" in this case. An intake valve opens and the pressurized air goes that way. Plain and simple. As a matter of fact, "runners" are a source of restriction once you up the airflow a little.
 
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#29 ·
As stated, carry on.
 
#38 ·
So, I have your permission to post again. Thanks! It's not worth your time, yet you keep posting. The brevity of your last few posts is certainly appreciated though :cheers:
 
#37 ·
You do realize that none of the pd superchargers discussed covers or impedes access to the valve covers under which those parts live? You can change those parts before or after the supercharger install if you wanted to and the supercharger does not have to be disturbed.

You are conflating unrelated issues. 1. Superchargers put more stress on the drivetrain 2. valve springs and trunion bushings can fail. Both are true, but yet not related to each other.

High valvetrain speeds and more lift from an aftermarket cam stress those parts, so in a supercharged application where there is 50% more torque at low RPM, they are likely less stressed than in a naturally aspirated application where you need to rev it out to find the power.
 
#32 ·
And yet another thread crashes and burns. :shrug:
 
#39 ·
Even with all the sniping, I'm always impressed with the knowledge these discussions bring!
 
#45 ·
firstly, I do want people to know that these are all good systems, but there are a few reasons why. #1 complexity. With so many possible boost leak points, the procharger can be a hassle for a customer if there is a loss of boost to chase down the issue. #2 fit/finish. The install is just a little less polished than others. It works, and makes good power, but it's just a little less elegant of a solution. #3 fun factor. They make great power, but they get stomped on below 4000-4500 by the other options. The SS isn't crazy heavy, but it's no lightweight either. It's tough to run someone down on the top end if you are starting out a few cars back.
 
#46 ·
Centrifugal blowers have always seemed to me like a worst-of-both-worlds solution. They don't boost enough at low RPMs (similar to large turbo unit lag), but they still have the parasitic loss that's inherent to superchargers. They're better in circuit racing applications because they're less susceptible to heat soak over time than PD blowers, but for road and drag use I feel like PD just fits better.
 
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