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At a minimum I would replace valve springs and rocker reunion bushings as they are a weak link in ls3 heads before doing a supercharger installation
Although those are good upgrades, supercharging doesn't add any stress to those parts to call for the upgrade.

My SS has been Whipple supercharged for near 50k miles, on stock valve springs and the stock trunions. Thanks worked really good because it also had a stock LS3 cam.
I did just upgrade the trunions and valve springs but it was only because I did a BTR cam.
When I disassembled, the near 60k mile stock trunions, they were perfect.
 
There are a ton of little things you could debate as to what's "better" but the attached quote is the best overall recommendation for most street applications. I believe that's why you see Whipple up in the Livernois guy's list as well. Best of luck boostin' her up!


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.
 
There are a ton of little things you could debate as to what's "better" but the attached quote is the best overall recommendation for most street applications. I believe that's why you see Whipple up in the Livernois guy's list as well. Best of luck boostin' her up!
Of course it's easy to go too big on anything, but with PD blowers, there definitely is a sweet spot on sizing/blower speed/boost and the 2.3 and 2.9 at their "as delivered" boosts are right there.
 
So why is the procharger behind all the pd blowers on the livernois recommended list?
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.
 
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.
 
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.
A Procharger is just a torque converter away from being always in boost.
I like my PD blower for a street car.
For big big power a centrifugal is less limiting. If I outgrow the Whipple I will skip the procharger and go turbo.
 
Some older posts, but really good info. I also favor the Whipple SC. Any recommendations on a shop to install it?
I drove 8 hours each way to have Livernois (LMS) do my Whipple kit install and tune. Loving the results. They are very knowledgeable and experienced with our SS/LS3, having purchased early on a new 2014 model to use as their shop test and development platform.

EDIT: My bad, disregard. Just saw that you're located in SoCal. Probably find some good outfits much closer. Good luck.
 
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I drove 8 hours each way to have Livernois (LMS) do my Whipple kit install and tune. Loving the results. They are very knowledgeable and experienced with our SS/LS3, having purchased early on a new 2014 model to use as their shop test and development platform.

EDIT: My bad, disregard. Just saw that you're located in SoCal. Probably find some good outfits much closer. Good luck.
I understand. Thanks for the thought. Although I'm not against traveling to a reputable shop, but MI is quite a distance from CA.

Any suggestions closer to the west coast ?
 
I understand. Thanks for the thought. Although I'm not against traveling to a reputable shop, but MI is quite a distance from CA.

Any suggestions closer to the west coast ?
Try a forum search in the "Tech Section/Forced Induction". Lots of threads in there with info on the install of a wide variety of SC and supporting mods. There should be plenty of anecdotal info in there specific to west coast shops. I'm only aware (kind of) of big name shops/tuners here on the east coast. This is the first of the many cars I've had over my lifetime that I took the plunge on forced induction with. My SS and this Whipple feel like they were made for each other (well, in a sense, they were.) Try it...you'll like it. Again, good hunting.
 
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