Supercharged 6.0L?

cdhd2001 · August 14, 2002

Has anyone here supercharged a 2500hd 6.0L? If so, here is a list of questions;

1) what brand?

2) what dealer and price?

3) ease of installation?

4) what kind of difference did it make?

5) before and after fuel mileage?

6) any problems?

Thanks,

cdhd2001

cdhd2001 · August 23, 2002

Come on! Somebody here has to have some info on this!

Gandolph? Tbyrne?(don't you sell'em?)

ForceInjection · August 27, 2002

I don't have a supercharger on a 6.0 but I do work for a supercharger company in which we deal with blowers for these vehicles. There are many manufactures that make a supercharger for you vehicle (Whipple, Vortech, Procharger, PowerDyne & Paxton).

The price range are anywhere from $2,899 to $5,799. The installation time is estimated to take about 14 hours and I do have a copy of the installation manual for the Whipple so you can see how demanding it might be. Most people have seen a major improvement in there vehicle where the manufactures calm it will give up to a 40%-55% HP and Torque increase. The Whipple charger we have installed on one of our vehicles did not effect the gas mileage. In regards to the problems it really depends on which brand you choose. Some companies have belt slippage and others are too noisy. Every company has its pros and cons.

tbyrne · August 29, 2002

The first thing to do is decide where you would like to see your horsepower gains. The Vortech and ATI kits are very popular. Boost increases with the RPMs and they provide a very noticeable gain the mid to upper RPMs. The Whipple and MagnaChargers will provide full boost from off-idle to redline but usually won't make as much peak horsepower when comparing them to the Vortech and ATI. We've installed all of the above brands on customer's cars and shop vehicles -

2001 6.0 Suburban - Magnecharger

2002 8.1 Suburban - Whipple with intercooler

1998 Z-28 - had a Vortech but is now using an ATI race blower - 672hp so far

1995 Z-28 - Vortech

Most of the truck kits are fairly easy to install. There is alot of room to work in the engine compartment so that makes life alot easier. Most of the 6.0 kits range from under $3000. to about $4000. Mileage will vary. Alot of people like to make use of the new found horsepower so mileage can go down a little. I still see 12-13MPG with the 8.1 during a normal driving (mix of city/highway). This drops off alot while towing a 24" enclosed car hauler.

Hope this helps,

Tom

cdhd2001 · August 31, 2002

tbyrne:

I tow a 30 ft. 5th wheel with my HD. I was mainly looking at the magna and the whipple. Which would you suggest for ease of installation, reliability, and power gains?

P.S. Thanks for responding!

gandolphxx · August 31, 2002

I think that the Whipple would work very well for your application, power across the band when you need it.

cdhd2001 · September 11, 2002

tbyrne:

how noticeble was the difference in performance on the 2001 6.0L suburban? Which is best; mangna or whipple?

I am still having trouble convincing myself that a supercharger is worth the $4,000 (been bitten too many times by other "power" increasers). Have you done any before/after tests to "actually" quantify the "real life" difference? Manufacturer numbers don't count, to me same as snake oil claims.

Too bad you can not hook me up with someone here in austin, tx, that has a supercharged 6.0L so that I can actually see & feel the difference. If it actually makes that much of a difference, then I would buy right away! :thumb:

gandolphxx · September 11, 2002

cdhd2001, I have the Whipple installed on a 8.1L Avalanche and I can assure you that there is a tremendous difference - this is no 10HP bolt on by a long shot. You need to take care of headers, intake and exhaust - along with protecting your driveline.

Here are some numbers to consider:

FIPK & Cat Back

12/21/01 60': 2.564 1/4 mi: 16.863 @ 81.88 MPH

Whipple + TOGS + Hotwires and NGK plugs {2HI}

01/25/02 60': 2.364 1/4 mi: 15.088 @ 91.49 MPH

cdhd2001 · September 13, 2002

Gandolph, tbyrne:

A few more questions.

1) How will/does the supercharged 6.0L compare to the N/A 8.1L? Gas mileage? Towing performance?

2) What kind of extras do I have to buy for the Whipple? You guys have mentioned problems with detonation, heat, intercoolers.

3) Are there any reliability, durability, or drivability issues I would need to be concerned with?

4) How many miles should I expect to make with the engine supercharged? In stock configuration, it should last over 100k.

Thanks!

tbyrne · September 19, 2002

The one thing that I don't like about the Magnacharger is that it's loud (especially while towing). The Whipple tends to be quiet all around. Mileage while towing with the supercharged 6.0 was a best of 8.2. I now see about 7.6 with the supercharged 8.1 (this is usually doing between 65-75). The truck only went a few hundred miles without the blower so I didn't get a chance to tow NA.

I haven't had any problems with head/detonation (knock on wood ) but I know that some others have reported this issue on different trucks. The kit comes with everything you will need for the install (well, except for the plugs). There isn't any problem using this on a daily driver. It actually makes the truck alot more fun to drive. I would expect the motor to maintain most of it's normal life depending on driving style and maintenance. Vehicles that are at full throttle most of the time may have reduced engine life.

Hope this helps,

Tom

gandolphxx · September 19, 2002

I would echo Tom's comments. I can't compare the 6.0L with the 8.1L - very different engines. I know what mine will do and it is certainly fun to drive.

I have not had any detonation problems - I have the intercooler and am running 7 psi.

whitesnake01 · October 8, 2002

I would second some of the remarks posted earlier about trying to understand what problems you are trying to solve. If you are doing towing, you may find that just slapping on a whipple is not the end of it.

I put a whipple on my 454 powered suburban this spring. I preceeded that by installing a banks exhaust system (headers, etc). It is highly recommended you pair a blower with a free-flow exhaust. And so there is another 2K+ with installation, especially if you go with a free-flow cat.

One of the downsides to using a blower is the need to use higher octane fuel. Not a big issue if you travel near metropolitan areas. But if you are out towing in the back country and you run out of gas, you may find that 92 octane is harder to find than you think. Or, when you get to some places in Canada where the octane rating is not even spelled out at the pump and you'll just have to hope that the local provincial laws stipulate premium = 92 and not premium = 91.

This last bullet brings up the next issue: cooling. The engine becomes significantly more sensitive to heat compared to before. Forget about running your engine in the "middle" of the temp gauge when you are towing. Its got to be below it or else you get the ping from ####. The latter is compounded by poor gas. So you may find you have no choice but to imoprove cooling too. In my case, that meant a number of things: (a) radiator with 5 rows of core instead of 4 and 18 fins per inch instead of 12, (b) diesel fan clutch so that you can engage it at lower temps, © 9-blade fan for more air movement, (d) one heat range colder plugs. And there is another 1K. It helps with an intercooler as well, but that is not always an available option (like in my case).

Bottom line: when configured right, the blower kicks ass, even when you have a 8,300 lbs trailer behind. You can blow by the big diesel pushers on big climbs without any major sweat! Fuel consumption: about the same. Exhaust sound when warming up: nothing beats the rumble of rough idling supercharged big block.