Need Advice on Supercharging

Anyone have any experience on supercharging the 5.0L? After all the intake and exhaust work I have done and and tuned by Henson Performance (Thanks
James) my little motor still strains to push 2 plus tons down the road. I guess I should clarify that once I'm up to speed it perfoms great. The engine is strong and the truck will go faster then I care to(again thanks to James at Henson Performance for removing the speed limiter). I'm just looking for more power off the line(Damn Civics) and supercharging seems to me to be the best option. I don't want to tear into the engine (thats for another day). So I thought I would ask you all about doing this. I have been researching and can pick up an Eaton M90(rebuilt) for a decent price but the question I have is since I have the internal EGR is this an option? I have seen the one (weiand?) on explorerexpress and it wont work with the internal EGR and there is no way I could afford the $3800.00 anyway. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CDW6212R]

This is an XP8 that was sold by a past member a year ago. The Saleen bumper is much different from other choices. All of the XP8 parts have been obsolete since 2001 when they made the last one, the molds were all destroyed. The optional hood was $2000 and made of kevlar.

 

[rocket 5979]

and is in the process of installing a powerdyne XB-11A supercharger like mine.

The BD-11A and the XB-1A superchargers offered from Powerdyne are similar but VERY different superchargers. The primary difference being that one has internal belts and the other is gear driven. The BD unit will only support lower boost whereas the XB unit will support up to 18 psi of boost. Just clarifying because I am curious to see if eithe ryou or he is ending up trying to go with the XB-1A unit versus the regular BD unit.

 

[zachow3]

The BD-11A and the XB-1A superchargers offered from Powerdyne are similar but VERY different superchargers. The primary difference being that one has internal belts and the other is gear driven. The BD unit will only support lower boost whereas the XB unit will support up to 18 psi of boost. Just clarifying because I am curious to see if eithe ryou or he is ending up trying to go with the XB-1A unit versus the regular BD unit.

Sorry, typo.

I meant BD-11A. Both our applications will be low boost (6 PSI). Hopefully the BD unit will make that.

 

[rocket 5979]

Sorry, typo.

I meant BD-11A. Both our applications will be low boost (6 PSI). Hopefully the BD unit will make that.

The BD was meant for the boost you plan to run so you should not have many problems besides the normal ones already talked about.

 

[zachow3]

Have'nt posted lately since no progress has been made with the truck. I have a whole lot of parts assembled ( in boxes ) that are ready to install but funds have prevented me from going to the next level. The wife and I are taking a much needed vacation in a couple days and it is taking $$ away from my project.

Hopefully I can get the truck finished before the non stop rainy season gets here, since I have to work on it outside.

First I wanted to mention that the truck has run flawless all year. Just normal preventitive maintenance. A question I have is about the integrity of the engine and how forced induction will affect it.

Now the engine is no spring chicken. It has 167K on it and compression is averaging 130 in all cylinders with no more than 5 PSI difference between any of them. Is 130 still considered a "tight" engine? And how will added boost affect it? If it just blows between the rings or valves then maybe I might put off the SC install. I dont really know. I've never played with boosted engines before.

Since all my components are new I think it would be a shame to install them on a tired engine. Though like I said it runs strong now ( for what I've done to it ).

Any thoughts? A rebuild would be a ways down the road, but it is in my future plans.

 

[Jakee]

I think the compression test results you have are very good. If it were me, I'd continue with the install and not second guess anything. When you start to drive it, do it slowly...In other words press the gas until you see a certain amount of boost and stop. Go up a little at a time.

 

[zachow3]

I think the compression test results you have are very good. If it were me, I'd continue with the install and not second guess anything. When you start to drive it, do it slowly...In other words press the gas until you see a certain amount of boost and stop. Go up a little at a time.

I dont feel confident that I can tune the truck, when the time comes, so I will be having it dyno tuned. That includes WOT so I hope the shop I take it to doesnt grenade my engine. The only second guessing I have is what cheap little car I can get if something cataclizmic? were to happen. But I dont anticipate that happening.

 

[Jakee]

You'll be fine - just take it one step at a time. A good tuner will take care of you.

 

[zachow3]

I havent post in a while. Nothing really to update on my build. It's coming along. Got my intake finished and new autolite 103 plugs and motorcraft wires. I have been donig alot of research and one thing I came across was that the gaskets that came with my TM headers are susceptable to leakage. I have hade my headers on the truck for about 8 months and I dont think the gaskets are leaking. At least I dont hear anything.
I remember when I first got my exhaust system done I was showing it off to a co-worker. With the truck running he put his foot over the exhaust pipe and nearly stalled out the engine. He said that was a good sign that I had no exhaust leakage.
Well I tried this the other day and the engine didnt bog down like before. So maybe I do have a leak but not sure where.
Anyway since I'm going in to replace the plugs and wires I thought I would upgrade the header gaskets. I'm looking at these...
http://store.summitracing.com/partd...908331+4294840126+4294813992+115&autoview=sku
Also I would like to get a set of those allen head bolts instead of the one's that came with my headers. Some of them you cant get a socket on to torque properly. Where can I get a set that will work with my headers? I came across a post by jtsmith but now I cant find it.
I want to get my exhaust system up to par because I know that the S/C will put extra strain on it.
My "new" latest timetable to get this thing up and running is early next year.I'm keeping it flexible because of laziness.

I found this kind of neat...
http://www.rpmoutlet.com/dyno.htm

 

[zachow3]

What issues would I have running nitrous with a supercharger. Should I just go with the supercharger for now? I dont want to open a can of worms. It's just that my truck has no off the line uumph. Basically it would be for a no or low boost application.

 

[shadowless127]

What issues would I have running nitrous with a supercharger. Should I just go with the supercharger for now? I dont want to open a can of worms. It's just that my truck has no off the line uumph. Basically it would be for a no or low boost application.

bw 4406 conversion will get rid of that nasty AWD lag off the line.

 

[turboexplorer]

Works fine if done right. Some use NO2 to cool the air charge going into the engine!

 

[tmcphail]

Gotta love chemical intercooling !

 

[zachow3]

Actually I prefer AWD. My front end is making all kinds of noise. I bought all new Upper and lower ball joints and sway bar bushings. All Moog. I think for now I will Repack the wheel bearings and hopefully that will take care of everything. Tire are wearing even so dont think it's an alignment problem. I have all the parts for the supercharger install. Just need to find the time and I have a friend with a centri on his Dodge Dakota so I hope he can help me out. A case of beer does wonders.
Anyways I thought nitrous would get the truck off the line. This is a kit that was recommended to me.
http://www.atlanticspeed.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=3565&IDCategory=98

Once the holidays are over I will get serious and get this done. Then again I said it would be done in June

 

[tmsoko]

bw 4406 conversion will get rid of that nasty AWD lag off the line.

Huh??? AWD lag???

Only thing I have seen is AWD give me more traction to keep from lighting up the tires!

 

[CDW6212R]

Ditto, concentrate on the trans, it needs to be strong. A higher torque converter stall will do wonders for the start.

 

[turboexplorer]

Ditto, concentrate on the trans, it needs to be strong. A higher torque converter stall will do wonders for the start.

I agree let the engine get in its power band a little sooner

 

[reserved50]

"noise"?, you cant re-pack these bearings, they're sealed. If it doesnt move fast enough off the line give it more gas .

 

[zachow3]

"noise"?, you cant re-pack these bearings, they're sealed. If it doesnt move fast enough off the line give it more gas .

I was afraid someone would say that. So I need to buy new hubs with sealed bearing? I have looked into those and they are pretty expensive. Leave it to Ford to come up with that design.

Yes, it's a dog off the line. But I want to keep my AWD and though it would be nice, I dont want to mess with a manual t-case. Thats why I thought a little nitrous boost would help until the supercharger started kicking in.

You run, or did, the same supercharger I have. Did you not see any gain off the line? Of course you have a much more built engine then mine, but I was just looking for a comparison.

Oh, and I was thinking more along the lines of a wheel bearing retorque and see if that helps. Like I mentioned I have no tire wear or drivabilty issues. Just would prefer people noticing the sound of my engine over the clunking and squeaking of the front end.

 

[reserved50]

There are maybe 3 types of front bearings out there, just guessing, Ford, the good aftermarket one (might be Ford one), and the cheapo, thats the one I bought. Id rather push my luck and do it twice if I have to for the price difference. Problem is when you buy a bearing it comes with an ABS sensor.

I dont think there would be a gain off the line with a non roots style blower, it might actually be slightly slower at part throttle up to maybe 1500-2000rpm or so. I cant think of any really easy/cheap modification that would help off the line and increase or at least keep the same top end power. Raising the compression to 10-1 and running premium (94+ octane) with a stroker kit and 4:10 gears with an Explorer Express Eaton roots blower would help, with a slightly higher stall converter with maybe another 5 degrees timing off idle, but that aint aint cheap or easy to gain about 50-75ft/lbs under 2K rpms. SO if I had to pick off the top off my head maybe get it tuned with more timing off the line with a "programmer"? You can also get 944 Motorsports or whatever overdrive pulley for the Powerdyne blower, pulley it down 2 sizes. I tried the Vortech pulley and I think I had a slight offset problem with theirs but the 944 one had the ribs ont he pulley machined too sharp and cut a rib off my belt, but if thats the case it can easily be smoothed over with sandpaper.


If the wheel doesnt shake when you wiggle it up and down and left it right theres no point, if it was loose its probably too far gone. A wheel bearing makes a rumble noise from whatever side. A CV joint usually clicks or rumbles/vibrates on hard acceleration. Bad tires make more of a wobble or audible roar, similar to a wheel bearing (can test by rotating tires, or jacking all 4 corners and running etc...not so safe especially without stands).