super chargers worth it???

bdog2002 · June 16, 2003

I have heard alot of hype about super chargers. Are they worth the hefty penny. I know they come in handy towing and for having fun but which one is the best and do they give problems down the road. I am looking into this but what to be more informed before I get into it.

MarkD · June 16, 2003

Blowers are one of the better hp/$$ mods, you just have to pony up the money.

Big Boy · June 16, 2003

If you have the money and want / need the power they are the biggest jump in HP you can buy aside from a whole new engine.

The power gains are significant, obvious and pricey. Will you have problems down the road? SURE everyone does at some point. The more stress you put on the parts the faster they wear out. If you take care of your truck a little better than you should you'll probably get most of the life you want out of it.

greyghost03 · June 16, 2003

I have to agree w/ Big Boy on this 1. If you do end up going w/ the supercharger you might want to look into upgrading some other components (tranny/rear end) to handle the increased power/torque.

I have read up on superchargers and may 1 day purchase 1 if I ever have that much extra $$$$. I would go w/ either Magna Charger or Whipple personally- just make sure it's intercolled.

Just my .02, hope this helps!

MarkD · June 16, 2003

Will you have problems down the road? SURE everyone does at some point. The more stress you put on the parts the faster they wear out. If you take care of your truck a little better than you should you'll probably get most of the life you want out of it.

Well Said!

bdog2002 · June 17, 2003

Thanks you guys. Great input. I just wanted to say this is the best GM truck forum ever

tbyrne · June 17, 2003

Problems will pretty much depend on how you drive. "Normal driving", laying into it once in awhile, towing ect... is usually fine. If you have an addiction to putting the throttle to the floor away from every light you might run into a problem down the road. I run an intercooled Whipple on my 8.1 Suburban. This truck goes to the track once in awhile, I sometimes get into it hard on the street and I also use it for towing. Everything has been fine.

The new intercooled Magnuson (RADIX) kit has been very popular for the 4.8, 5.3 and 6.0 motors. People have been seeing between 130-150hp at the rear wheels from this upgrade.

Tom

bstewart · June 17, 2003

Both my H2 and Suburban are supercharged with Whipple's and have been very reliable. My 454 Suburban had 50k miles on it when I installed it and now I have 101k on it without any problems. They both run perfectly and as mentioned previously, if you drive it fairly conservatively you shouldn't have any problems along with having great performance!