Pros/Cons of "POWER ADDERS"

[monty1269]

Pros/Cons of "POWER ADDERS"

Over the past many months, (since Diablosport gave us tuning ) there have been a LOT of folks adding various "power adders" to the LX's. What I'd like to explore is the pros and cons of each TYPE of system, and then get intot the specifics of differing manufacturers.

First off, we all know about nitrous and what it can do for those short-burst runs, that are a heck-of-a-lot of fun! But what about the daily commute? Say for example your on the way to fully pack the grocery getter with hurricane supplies and every Tom, Dick and Harry are out-n-about driving like lunatics and you need to get the hell outta the way of some whacko with a truck-load of plywood that is barreling thru that red-light like it was never even there! (sorry got on a rant for a moment)

So....Let's talk about those "power adders" that are ALWAYS available... i.e. turbo, twin turbos, superchargers (various types), etc etc etc...and whatever else may be out there!

I'd like to hear from people that actually have these systems. What's the daily commute like? Is the "ride" normal and then at 3000+ rpms, things REALLY kick-in and fly!?? Or is the power a progressive thing? Where do each of these applications kick-in? RPM value? OR, is there not really a noticable (set value) rpm, where these systems kick-in?

There are MANY people that want to know the differences, as subtle as they may be, and what to expect upon purchasing such a system.....

I'm eager to hear from those with the experiences of these systems....

[Bizzle]

Subscribed, this is very useful information that I would like to know as well.

[Hemi31]

Having had both I can honestly say I enjoyed them both.The nitrous was nice cause the car drove and behaved like stock....never an issue on the daily drive.....go to the race track.....dump in some 100 octane,open the bottle and your flying.

The supercharger on the other hand was crazy all the time.....lots of fun on the daily commute but the car runs a little hotter,oil changes are more frequent but with a centrifigul the car is still behaved at part throttle.

The nitrous can be run on the car as is safely(as long as it's reasonable).....I wouldn't run boost without forging the bottom end......I don't care who tells you it's safe....the amount of boost you can run safely won't get you the gain that nitrous does for thousands less.

[formerice]

Ok, I'm gonna give you another angle to think about. I lost my license 3 years ago traveling to ETown to race, 100 mph in a 65, ouch. A stock RT or one lightly modded is fast enough to get you in trouble on the street very fast. So that's why I became a "Nitrous Junkie". I resisted the urge to put an automatic bottle opener on and only use the juice at the track. That being said, a 100 shot hits hard enough on my car that I rapidly discovered the 255/55/18 street tires would not hook up, I could spin the whole length of our local eighth mile track! Had to put on some MT drag radials to properly hook up. So what I'm saying, if you have very good self control and only use the power at the track, it doesn't matter. If your like me, nitrous can be a blast at the track. I's also cool that tech has never found the nitrous kit, nor anyone while I
'm in staging lane with hood up.

[monty1269]

ALL weekend and THAT's IT?!?! Come on folks!! I KNOW there are a TON of opinions out there!!!

[monty1269]

Geesh...Maybe I should have titled this thread "Bikinis and MORE PORN...."

As a matter of fact..Let's TRY!

[bandgeek99]

I'd like to know too. . . I've been flip-flopping between mild heads/cam or supercharger. . .

[monty1269]

Would any of the "manufacturers like to make comments?? What does your system offer..Meaning, describe the drivability aspect. Calm and collective at part throttle, or tap the "go" pedal and yer slammed into your seat ??

[1FST4DR]

Well Monty what Erik said pretty much explained the N20 and supercharger.I have not had a S/C on my LX but have used them before on some of my other toys..

Not much else to say..

[monty1269]

So there isnt a difference between superchargers?? or s/c's compared to turbos?

Why choose one system over another??

[hemidup]

I've ran with a supercharger on my 4x4 Hemi truck for the past 4 years and absolutly love it. The power is always there if you need it and I get 14 mpg if I keep my foot out of it.

[ujokin2]

Okay Monty I 'm going to jump in here even though I do not have a "Power Adder". I was just about to pull the trigger on getting a S/C but a trusted good buddy and and forum member beat me to the punch and installed his....I got to ride in that "Beast" and let me tell you....for a TRACK car...it would be perfect...on a AUTOMATIC transmission daily driver...lets say I immediately started my back peddleing.... why...when the boost comes on....its HOLD on... anymore then half throttle and its ON! Yea you can reduce the boost but...what the heck did you by a S/C if you have to run a minimum boost just to make it drivable? Also the additional transmission work that needs to be done....so you have to have a open ready wallet as there are other modifications required. Let me add I have recently ridden in a Super charged VIPER and the sure thrill\joy of going fast was there.... without the momentary OH OH is it coming on too fast thought as there is a slight pause in boost as you shift.

[hemidup]

So there isnt a difference between superchargers?? or s/c's compared to turbos?

Why choose one system over another??

There are a couple different types of superchargers. Positive displacement and centrifical. With a positive diaplacement blower, you have instant boost and LOT's of low end torque, kinda like NO2. With a centrifical blower, your torque and HP are based off rpm. The higher your rpm, the more boost you you make. However, with either blower, you need to make horsepower to create horsepower. The crank has to spin the blower which robs hp compared to a turbo. Some have said that for every pound of boost you make with a blower, it takes 10hp to spin it. The turbo is like free hp because the exhaust gases spin the turbine, but then you have what is known as turbo lag. The good news about turbo lag is that once you get past it, you have full boost like a positive displacement blower. I've had the opportunity to race in both turbo'd and superchargered Hemi's. At the strip, the supercharger gets my vote. On the street, turbo all the way. Just my .02

[MattRobertson]

Monty, looking at your sig, I don't see any bottom end engine mods, which leads me to wonder if, when you are talking power adders, you are planning on forging all the cast parts in your motor. Pistons, crank, rods... you know the drill. I would consider that to be a foundation requirement to keep the motor from blowing apart eventually. And once you are in there you may as well do heads, and of course a cam goes without saying since you are going there...

I started out looking to get into a CTS turbo system. Then I started looking into beefing stuff up to make sure it stayed together over time. When looking at the costs it just makes sense that, once you are paying someone to tear the motor clean apart, you may as well have them put better parts in when it goes back together. Those costs started mounting until I just chucked the idea and went with a forged motor, bored and stroked, with no power adders (yet). If I do lose my mind eventually and decide to do that turbo, all I have to do (!) is swap out the cam for something turbo-friendly (thats not everything for reals but its not so far off). But in the meantime I am well over 400 rwhp, and so far that has been fine given that you get only so much traction on one of these cars.

Maybe start at the foundation and do your adders after you have that in place?

[lou1355]

Monty: here is why I like my setup...

1. The motor makes 475 RWHP and 500 RWTQ w/o the power adder, which is enough to fry street tires at anything over 1/4 throttle. I've laid down 150' twin black lane markers on the street on motor no problem. So, it's a low 12's car on motor with a top end around 180 or so, maybe more. It will get out of the way of almost any car on the road.

2. Set it up for the track and it's a nitrous breathing monster making probaly twice the numbers above (I don't plan to dyno it).

3. When my power adder is off, it is really off. No pulleys. No heat. No parasitic drag. No intercoolers. No meth setup. No hot turbo. And no bottles if I don't want to.

4. Set it up for the road course and it still has plenty of pep and gets around the turns just fine.

That's my take on why I stayed on the giggle gas path.

Will the S/C or Turbo guys run me down on the street? Maybe on the top end, but they are traction limited just like I am up to about 80 MPH and after that, well, I may be getting old, but the consequences of triple digit runs on the street are getting ridiculous around here.