Do not overspin your Powerdyne Ford Motorsport SVO Supercharger

[MuscleJunkie]

Don’t overspin your Powerdyne Supercharger!

After a couple thousand miles this is what happened to my Powerdyne (Ford Motorsport SVO) Supercharger on Big White. The bearings were completely destroyed as well as the stock impeller

The Ford Motorsport SVO kit for the 2nd generation Ford Explorer comes with a 3.1” pulley. The stock pulley will spin the blower at 38370.97 rpm at the 6,000 rpm redline which is within the max of 38500 rpm given by Powerdyne. Since the cam in the 5.0 Explorer is different than that in the Mustang - most recommend shifting at 5400 rpm or lower. At 5400 rpm with stock pulleys, the blower is only spinning 34533.87 rpm

When I installed my new Supercharger, I opted to instead go with a 2.8” pulley from @928motorsport_official This pulley should spin the blower at 38233.93 at 5400 rpm.

I did NOT verify the pulley size when I received it from @928motorsport_official and it turns out that the pulley was actually 2.86” which was spinning the blower at 37431.82 rpm at 5400 rpm

After some initial dyno runs and upgrades, I decided to purchase a 2.7” pulley from 928 Motorsports (again I did not verify the size upon receipt which was my mistake). This pulley should have been spinning the blower at 38181.48 rpm at my now lowered 5200 rpm shift point.

The big problem was the 2.7” pulley I bought from 928 Motorsports was actually 2.65” which means I was spinning the blower at 38901.89 rpm at 5200 rpm and over 41000 rpm when manually shifting higher than 5200. Again, my fault for not checking the pulley size and my fault for spinning the blower higher than 38,500 rpm.

So the lesson here is always verify the pulley size before installation regardless of what is advertised. @928motorsport_official sold me two pulleys that were differently sized than advertised - they claim their pulleys are “cut to .001 accuracy” - the two I received clearly were not. Also do not overspin this blower higher than 38,500 rpm or your blower will end up like mine.

Fortunately I am having the Powerdyne rebuilt by Jon Bond Performance with an upgraded billet impeller that should flow better than stock as well upgraded belt + bearings. Stay tuned!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

sorry to hear that, good reminder for me as well to chrck what i can before it goes in. excites to see this progress though

 

[CDW6212R]

Ouch, that hurts to see that. I am surprised that the limit recommendation is so close to the actual failure point. The KB blowers are said to be limited to about 12,000-15,000 rpm, but some are running to near 18k and surviving. I wish all limits were better defined, so minor mistakes didn't end up with big costs like that Powerdyne unit. The KB I'm aiming to use I'll try to keep below 12k rpm, so a 2:1 pulley ratio or 7" crank and 3.5" blower pulley(or close to it).

Will you still be upgrading that to a larger version of the Powerdyne?

 

[MuscleJunkie]

Yes on the hunt for an XB1A

 

[Josh P]

School me on how those bearings are lubricated, they look kinda dry in the pictures.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Was it a new supercharger when you installed it? I don’t think that’s the result of going over the RPM rating by a marginal amount. It’s not like a mechanical device is fine at 38,000, and self destructs at 38,001.

Looks like it was just clapped out.

 

[MuscleJunkie]

The Supercharger was new old stock. Sat on shelf since early 2000s

 

[MuscleJunkie]

Was it a new supercharger when you installed it? I don’t think that’s the result of going over the RPM rating by a marginal amount. It’s not like a mechanical device is fine at 38,000, and self destructs at 38,001.

Looks like it was just clapped out.

Due to a miscalculation on pulley size and thinking it could withstand more than 38.5 - I was spinning it up to 41k+. My fault for not verifying pulley size before install and spinning higher than 38.5k

 

[Turdle]

Are you going to use ceramic bearings? If not some sort of lubrication should be fitted. The sealed bearing blowers are kinda known to do this.

 

[Blown]

Sorry to see it, but a weak point that can be fixed or updated/improved will be a win. I hope the improved impeller allows more boost at lower rpm.

 

[Blown09]

I believe some PD users were installing vent ports with a small fan(albeit a skimpy one) to help reduce internal temps back in their prime days. I can’t recall how effective they were with bearings(since they get heat soaked via the case primarily), but I’m sure the belt enjoyed staying a bit cooler. Had I had the chance to run one, I would run a small pre blower WMI setup, something in the 1-1.5gph nozzle size. That would help keep housing temps down a bit more, or rather, more manageable for bearings and their grease-when pushed hard.

Kinda wish they pushed the technology a bit further with those blowers, always liked them, even with their quarks.

 

[mrjoshp3]

Don’t overspin your Powerdyne Supercharger!

After a couple thousand miles this is what happened to my Powerdyne (Ford Motorsport SVO) Supercharger on Big White. The bearings were completely destroyed as well as the stock impeller. View attachment 437566 View attachment 437572

Ouch. That really sucks.

 

[donalds]

, I would run a small pre blower WMI setup, something in the 1-1.5gph nozzle size. That would help keep housing temps down a bit more, or rather, more manageable for bearings and their grease-when pushed hard.

Great idea

 

[MuscleJunkie]

Thanks for the info about the WMI before the blower. Something I am seriously considering and I've seen a similar setup as with mine that has a WTA intercooler. Probably will setup an OEM appearing switch inside the cabin that I can switch the system on and off depending on what I am doing as to not be going through a ton of juice. During normal driving, I think no need for that system to be running right?

Anyway the blower has been rebuilt with new SKF bearings, updated impeller and misc. Cost me about 1.4k so hopefully this thing will last longer. I'll be sure to take the verified pulley sizes into account when doing the blower RPM calculations. Found that the Powerdyne OEM crankshaft outer pulley is actually 6.485" and the three pulley I have to choose from are

The two from 928 Motorsports
Advertised 2.7" - acutal 2.65"
Advertised 2.8" - acutaly 2.86"

Stock Powerdyne Supercharger pulley with the Explorer Kit
3.1"

 

[Blown09]

You can run the WMI off a Hobbs switch, set it to 3-5psi, and just leave it active all the time-with ignition on. I have a bypass switch on my setup so I can cool things down before a pull(if it’s hot af outside), which is another option you could do. But if you don’t want the added hassle of adding a wta or ata intercooler(and the 1-2psi loss), you could run a dual nozzle setup. Pre blower 1gph, and post 3-4gph as a starting point would keep charge temps happy. (Assuming your non intercooled). Not saying an intercooler is inferior, and wouldn’t work- it does and normally better than WMI(depending on multiple variables).
There are a lot of different setups out there to choose from. MAF or MAP activated systems are nice, especially when they are progressive. But, I normally “build” my own WMI setups for any of my boosted vehicles though. I just like to keep things simple, and not to mention budget friendly lol.

Skf bearings should be good for the rest of the life of the blower, as long as they are C3 or better(I highly doubt Jon Bond would put anything of lessor quality in).

 

[Blown]

I never had an issue with a new Powerdyne at 9lbs on a 5.0 Bronco. I remember the Powerdyne comes with ceramic bearings and I do remember getting closer to the units max RPM. My Bronc build was similar to my current build with a mild cam for torque and lower rpms. This old Kenne Bell has no cooling, but I am only spinning it up to 10,800-11,000rpm to get a little over 9lbs of boost. Bigger is better to help eliminate high rpms/heat and Kenne Bell has built it's chargers bigger and bigger. Max rpm is 18,000 so this one has much more to give if I keep the IAT good. Bigger is better if you can find one. I look forward to what that rebuilt unit will do for ya!

 

[MuscleJunkie]

My installer recently received my Ford Motorsport SVO Powerdyne Supercharger back freshly rebuilt by Jon Bond Performance. Went with their upgraded impeller and other recommendations. We will be removing the current 2.65” pulley and reinstalling my 2.86” pulley. That with the 6.485 outer crank pulley should keep the Powerdyne within the ~38k rpm spin limit with the 5200 (or even 5400) shift points set in the tune. Will update with results as they send them to me.

 

[donalds]

Oh I thought you did this all yourself
Happy to hear its fixed

 

[MuscleJunkie]

Here are a few pictures showing the old chewed impeller.

 

[MuscleJunkie]

So while doing some thinking during the time the blower was being rebuilt, decided to have a heat shield fabricated to go between the blower and the OBX headers. The original kit had a heat shield supplied to go in the same general area but it was never installed since I had headers. Hopefully this will help reduce heat from headers from radiating a bit on the blower.