AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Part 1.pdf
Transcript of AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Part 1.pdf
8/22/2019 AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Part 1.pdf
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/autospeed-fitting-a-supercharger-part-1pdf 1/6
Magazines: V8X | Silicon Chip | Real Estate Shopping: Adult Costumes | Kids Costumes | Cars | Guitars | Electronics
This Issue Archived Articles Blog About Us Contact Us
Magazine
DIY Tech Features
Tech Features
Special Features
Feature Cars
New Car Tests
Blog
Free Newsletter
Support AutoSpeed
Car Buying Tools
Buy a New Car
Buy a Used Car
Finance a Car
Car Valuations
Shop Online
Car DVDs
Books & Manuals
Blow Off Valves
Boost Controllers
Fuel Pressure Regulators
Gear Knobs
Kits & Projects
Motor Racing Figurines
Pedal Kits
Pulley Kits
Short Shift Kits
Steering Wheels
Wastegates
Shop Brands
APEXi
AutoSpeed
Turbosmart
Go Fast Bits
MOMO
Issue: 328 Section: DIY Tech Features 29 April, 2005
Fitting a Supercharger, Part1
The step-by-step of fitting a wrecker blower
By Julian Edgar, most pics by Michael Knowling
Click on pics to view larger images
Advertisement
Advertisement
At a glance...
Part 1 of a 4-part series
Different blower designs
Planning a blower mount
Bracket requirements
Email a friend Print article
With cheap superchargers available from Japanese-importing
wreckers, there’s now a viable option to turbos. And the advantages
of a supercharger over a turbo? Well, there’s no need for a new
exhaust manifold, you don’t have to adapt the exhaust system to the
turbine outlet, and in most cases there’s no requirement to tap into
the engine’s coolant or oil galleries. Sounds easy, huh? Just bolt up a
few brackets, attach the belt and some intake plumbing, and away
you go. Blower power!
Well, not quite.
In reality, installing a blower as a one-off exercise is still plenty of
work – but it’s also the sort of thing you can do with just normal
home workshop tools, sending-out just a few jobs like welding or
plate cutting. We know, cos we just did it.
So what exactly is involved?
Blower Type
Browning V DriveSolutions with extensive belt dr iveoffering maximum versatility.www.emerson-ept.com
Suspension Stee ringGreat quality parts SIP 25 Years of excellencewww.sipcontrolarms.com
F250 F350 Ball Joint Kit
99-04 Master Kit w/Seals This WeekOnly $289.80www.MAXX-LIFT.com
SEARCH
NonStopTuning
Pulley Kits
The Leader In SportCompact PulleysDesigned &
Manufactured In The
www.sunrun.com.tw Ads by Google
11/16/2010 AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Par…
autospeed.com/cms/A_2511/article.html 1
8/22/2019 AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Part 1.pdf
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/autospeed-fitting-a-supercharger-part-1pdf 2/6
Superchargers – either centrifugal or positive displacement – come in two basic physical packages.
There are those that have inlet and outlet plumbing that’s designed to attach to hoses, and those
that have an outlet designed to flow straight into an intake manifold. The latter usually have a long,
narrow outlet.
Second-hand examples of the ‘plumbed-in’ types
include the very popular Toyota blowers from the
4A-GZE four cylinder and the 1G-GTE six cylinder
engines, and the superchargers from the Subaru
Vivio and the Nissan MA09 (the latter an engine that
is both supercharged and turbocharged!). Most
aftermarket centrifugal blowers – eg Vortech - arealso of the plumbed-in type.
Examples of the superchargers that are designed to
bolt straight to an intake manifold (or plenum) include
the Eaton and Whipple blowers. These are used in
both aftermarket and OE applications.
So the first decision about mounting needs to take
into account the type of blowe r you’re working with. If
the supercharger mounts directly on the intakemanifold, the manifold itself usually supports it – just
as an exhaust manifold supports a turbo. But if it’s a
‘plumbed-in’ blow er you’re dea ling with, the story
becomes more complex. In this series we’ll
concentrate on the plumbed-in design, which is much
more popular at wreckers.
Blower Mount Planning
Nothing is surer than death and taxes than the
shrinking that occurs of your engine bay in the time
between spotting the blower at the wreckers and
taking it home to install it. Even if you’ve measured
everything first, the space you thought you had
seems to lose inches everywhere. It’s therefore
wise when buying a secondhand blower to suggest
to the seller that you may want to return the blower
(in as-bought condition, of course) if you ge t it home
and it proves impossible to fit.
So, you have the blower clutched in your hands and
you’re pondering just where under the bonnet to
put it. It’s very, very important that you don’t just
look for physical room for the blower body but also consider the following points.
Drive
If the blower is to be driven from an existing
accessory belt (a common approach with smaller
blowers), can it be placed so that its drive pulley
lines up exactly with the main crankshaft drive
pulley? If the answer is ‘yes’, is there free space for
the belt to reach the blower pulley – and then
return to the drive system? Will the belt still have
adequate clearances if you need to fit a larger or
smaller supercharger pulley? Is there a belt
available wh ich is the right length?
Orientation
USA
Kevlar Belt
Kevlar belt ,P.B.O Beltgood quality
,competitive pricewww.dust-filtration.com
Drum motor
Manufacturer
Aluminium or Stainless
steel IP68 Rollers, tailpulleys and bracketsdanrol.com
Weigh Feeders &
Scales
Belt Scales, WeighBelt Feeders, ScrewFeeders, Level Controlwww.web-tech.com.au
Belt Conveyor
Accessories
Jim Way-Professionalmanufacturer of beltconveyor accessories.www.roller.com.tw
11/16/2010 AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Par…
autospeed.com/cms/A_2511/article.html 2
8/22/2019 AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Part 1.pdf
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/autospeed-fitting-a-supercharger-part-1pdf 3/6
Most superchargers have an ‘up’ direction. This can
be indicated by the presence of a dipstick (which may
be in the form of a graduated bolt), filler hole (again
it may be plugged with a bolt), or other obvious
mark. As much as possible, you should keep the
blower orientation matching this direction.
Plumbing
Is there room to get the intake air to the blower and
boosted air away from the blower? Note that in
many cases, the existing supercharger plumbing
connections can be unbolted and new ones made to
better suit the geography of the new engine bay.
When considering the plumbing clearances, also
start thinking through various blower mounting
schemes – after supporting brackets are installed,
all your plumbing space can soon disappear!
Brackets
We’ll devote a w hole section to the topic of brackets but at this
initial planning stage it’s important to start looking for existing
super heavy duty bolts to which you‘ll be able to attach the
blower mounts. We’re talking engine mount bolts, alternator
mounting bolts, power steering pump bolts – big bolts that
disappear into heavy duty parts of the engine like the block and
the head. They also need to be near and accessible.
Designing Brackets
So you’ve found a spot where there’s room for the blower and its input and output plumbing, the
blower is near-vertical and the drive pulley lines up with the existing accessory drive. Great! Now
comes the fun bit – making brackets to hold the blow er in place.
A supercharger needs to be mounted rigidly. This is
the case primarily because of the loads placed on it
by the belt drive. First up, there’s the power that
the belt is transmitting, which is trying to twist the
blower off its mounts. Then there’s the belt tension,
which is trying to draw the blower closer to the drive
pulley. Finally, there are the usual loads caused by
anything heavy being bounced around in the engine
bay as the car passes over bumps.
Most OE belt-driven accessories - like the alternator
and power steering pump - are mounted very close
to the engine on short brackets. This gives a more compact engine package but just as more
11/16/2010 AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Par…
autospeed.com/cms/A_2511/article.html 3
8/22/2019 AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Part 1.pdf
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/autospeed-fitting-a-supercharger-part-1pdf 4/6
importantly, it also allows the use of rigid brackets. When you’re trying to install a blower in an engine
bay, it’s likely that all these up-close-and-tight positions near to the engine have already been taken.
As a result, you’ll probably find that the blower has to be mounted quite a long way from the block or
head, necessitating much longer brackets than used for any of the other belt-driven items. Making
matters worse, it’s likely that the pow er be ing absorbed by the blower is higher than for any other
belt-driven devices already present, so requiring lots of belt tension. Which tries to bend brackets
even more...
Another important aspect to keep in mind when
thinking through mounts is there needs to be a way of
adjusting belt tension. It may be that the existing belt
tension adjustment system can be retained w hen theblower is fitted. For example, perhaps there’s an idler
pulley on the ‘slack’ side of the belt that is moved
laterally to increase or decrease belt tension. Or
perhaps there’s a sprung tensioner pulley. However,
sometimes this adjustment mechanism needs to be
removed to make way for the blower. If that’s the
case, the blower mounts will need to incorporate a
means of setting belt tension, for example by the use
of a s lotted bracket like that used on alternators.
As you can see, the mounting of a blow er is a little more difficult than it first appears...
Checklist
When considering the installation of a blower, here are some key questions to answer:
Is there physical space in the engine bay for the blower?
Can the blower be positioned so that its pulley lines up with existing belt drives?
How w ill belt tension be adjusted?
Is there room for inlet and outlet plumbing connections to the blower?
Are there existing heavy duty bolts that can be used to hold the blower mounts in position?
Think through the answers to those questions and you’ll be much better placed to make a good
decision.
Next week: mounting a supercharger
Did you enjoy this article?
Please consider supporting AutoSpeed with a small contribution. More Info...
Rate this article (5 = excellent): 1 2 3 4 5
Share this Article:
Digg this story Seed Newsvine Post to Reddit Save on del.icio.us Email
More of our most popular articles.
Beginners' guide to slipping through the air easily
Technical Features - 8 Ma rch, 2008
High Performance partsNitrous Bottle Brackets,gauges V band flangekit, Fuel Pressurewww.racecomponentsinc.com
Suspension SteeringGreat quality parts SIP 25 Years o f excellencewww.sipcontrolarms.com
F250 F350 Ball Joint Kit 99-04 Master Kit w/Seals This Week Only$289.80www.MAXX-LIFT.com
Electric SuperchargersBoost up to 8 PSI Huge Powe r Gains!www.intakeblaster.com
F250 F350 Ball Joint Kit 99-04 Master Kit w/Seals This Week Only$289.80www.MAXX-LIFT.com
Electric SuperchargersBoost up to 8 PSI Huge Power Gains!www.intakeblaster.com
Used Industrial BlowerBuy Quality Used Blowers Here -Check OutOur Used Blowers-SpecialProjects.com/Blower
Van der Graaf World’s Leading Conveyor Drive.manufacturer 24hr service/deliverywww.vandergraaf.com
11/16/2010 AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Par…
autospeed.com/cms/A_2511/article.html 4
8/22/2019 AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Part 1.pdf
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/autospeed-fitting-a-supercharger-part-1pdf 5/6
Low Drag Car Aerodynamics
A brilliant do-it-yourself handheld spotlight or bike headlight
DIY Tech Fea tures - 11 February, 2008
Building a High Performance LED Lighting System, Part 1
Advancing the ignition timing can result in better fuel economy
DIY Tech Fea tures - 28 April, 2008
The 5 C ent Modification
The technology of Nissan's famous twin turbo V6
Technical Features - 28 Feb ruary, 2008
The Nissan VG30DETT
Measuring the downforce on a new front spoiler
Technical Features - 22 Ma rch, 2008
Real World Spoiler Development
Using a multimeter
DIY Tech Features - 6 January, 2009
How to Electronically Modify Your C ar, Part 4
Single-handedly erecting the framework for a home workshop
DIY Tech Features - 26 August, 2008
Building a Home Workshop, Part 3
Great bits for the inventive
DIY Tech Fea tures - 31 March, 2009
More Parts for Nothing!
Using an electronic voltage switch module
DIY Tech Fea tures - 3 February, 2009
How to Electronically Modify Your C ar, Part 8
How they built the fastest diesel on Earth
Special Features - 30 Ja nuary, 2007
350.092 mph - Breaking the Diesel Speed Record
Select Make
Select Model
Postcode Distance
Advanced Search
Select Make
Select Model
Select State
Advanced Search
Copyright © 1996-2010 Web Publications Pty Limited. All Rights Reserved RSS | Privacy policy | Advertise
Buy Cars | Car News | Car Shopping | Used Cars
Consulting Services: Magento Experts | Technologies : Magento Extensions | ReadytoShip
11/16/2010 AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Par…
autospeed.com/cms/A_2511/article.html 5
8/22/2019 AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Part 1.pdf
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/autospeed-fitting-a-supercharger-part-1pdf 6/6
11/16/2010 AutoSpeed - Fitting a Supercharger, Par…
autospeed.com/cms/A_2511/article.html 6