Toys4Life C5

In my 35 year love affair with cars (8 years with the C5) I have learned to appreciate what works for those looking for a SERIOUS bump in performance. In my humble opinion, nothing tops the supercharger for upping the fun-factor - with minimal trade offs.

Here are the Top 7 reasons you should consider supercharging your C5!

USAZR1

You need 7 reasons? lol

johnson-rod

At what age/mileage should you not supercharge without rebuilding?

Toys4Life C5

No one can say for sure but it should be in very good operating condition - good oil pressure, good compression and not burn too much oil (more than an normal C5 LS1 anyways). I did mine with about 75k on it 2.5 years ago with no issues - now at around 88k or sl. Also, I cranked up the boost (from 6.5 to 13 lbs psi) on my GM 3800 Series 3 supercharged V6 at 140k and it is still going very strong 7 years later.

ASRoff

LOL I just replied to your video... so I'll just cut an paste... I really depends on what you want to do with a car...Man.. alot of miss information in this one... I'll start with the most obvious... Corvettes are Great HPDE cars its why they were built in the first place...nothing better than screaming down the back straight at VIR at 150mph.... so, how is that nose heavy car in a neutral corner? how good is it at managing heat soak? have you opened up the ring gap on the #7 cylinder? you know, the one on the LS1/6 that always gets too hot and butt's the ring gap.... then pops the ring land off of the piston... and a well thought out.. streetable combination can be a lot higher horsepower than 440... 440 rwhp was the pinnacle back in 2008... and they tend to be a little faster than 11's... Cam's under .630 lift and with an easy lobe ramp dont require a whole lot of maintenance ... I have one in a car that has over 125k and the springs are just fine. I usually enjoy your videos... but you really should have done a pro's and cons... also understand that this is coming from an old hotrodder... I've had superchargers, nitrous and turbo cars... and lets be honest... the best power adder cars have turbos... no parasitic loss and you can tailor your power curve anyway you want...Fuel economy is way better and there is no concern about throwing or slipping belts... I should edit my youtube comment to say an argument in your favor towards Centrifugal superchargers would be 1/8 mile cars... most tend to be F-series superchargers because they ramp up with RPM. so they are tailor made for fast short runs like an 1/8 mile...

91Vette

That was a good video. Would love to put in a roots type blower, but would necessitate a new hood.

Does the centrifugal supercharger help much with low end grunt? Or is it more of a top end power adder?

Toys4Life C5

I have some strong opinions on this.
Modified roots has grunt at any RPM and is almost instant when you put your foot in it. IMO - Too hard to control in a front engine rear drive vehicle on the street (due to traction issues).

Modified roots are awesome in a rear engine rear drive vehicle like the C8. My other car has an Eaton modified roots style blower and is rear engine rear wheel drive and that lunges off the line - even on street tires. It is not a corvette but you might find it interesting.

DDaaryl

I don't want to upgrade or buy a new transmission or clutch
I don't want to upgrade or buy new brakes or suspension
I don't want to work on my car more than I drive it
I don't drive like a teenager any more and 350 HP is plenty
I want reliability and know my unmolested car may go 200-300k without rebuilt
I want to pass state smog restrictions
I have a stereo and don't need to listen to my motor

Toys4Life C5

Those are all great reasons to leave it just as the General made it!

91Vette

I definitely appreciate your perspective on roots vs. centrifugal in a front engine rear drive vehicle.

BTW - Love your 3800 series supercharged Fiero. Still have an 85 Fiero GT, which needs some resto work and upgrading. It was my wife’s first car when she was 16, so it’s been in my 3rd stall or storage seemingly forever. Just got it roadworthy last spring, so looking into some more work on it when the weather gets nice here in central IL.

WalterSobchak

Based on your description......... Here is something better than a Corvette!

No transmission, stock suspension, don't have to work on it, plenty of power for you, no engine no rebuild, no emissions, no engine noise, and comes with a stereo to boot!

WalterSobchak

Spot on with supercharging. By the time you spend money on heads and cam you get a fraction of the gains at almost the same cost. When not stepping on it it drives stock. It's really a game changer for a budget build.

Toys4Life C5

I only need a couple of reasons, but 7 was like warm porridge - not too hot, not too cold....

ArmchairArchitect

Bad advice- superchargers add a lot of weight to the front of the car and upset the near-perfect 50/50 weight distribution.

These are designed to be sports cars, not drag racers.

Toys4Life C5

Bad advice - I respectfully disagree....
1. C5 is used by most as a street driven sports car. On ramps and that occasional stop light encounter far outweigh the hours the average C5 spends on a road course.
2. A&A kit adds about 70lbs to the front of the car. This changes the Front/Rear weight distribution on the coupe from 51%/49% to 52%/48%. by the way, National Corvette Museum lists the C5 Z06 as 53%/47%. Does that mean the A&A kit makes the C5 Coupe a better handling sports car? https://www.corvettemuseum.org/learn...orvette-specs/

zone-7

Thanks for vids ! I find them informative and fun to watch. Also because of your Pontiac, I've been looking at Fieros.

rjwvetttt

I have thought about adding a supercharger for a few years now but the small amount I drive hard pedal to the metal I just haven't been able to justify the huge price tag. If they were more reasonable in price I'd be all over it.

knewblewkorvette

I always enjoy your videos
My black 99 has an A&A kit. Puts down 528 HP to the wheels, so about 620 HP at the crank (assuming a 15% drivetrain loss)
I'm considering doing this to my red 99 but right now my $ has other places to go.

zeevette

I have a bit of a counterpoint as to the joys of a SC 'Vette. After finding my ZO6 in '03 with less than 250 mi. on it, (repo that was garage hidden to 9 months) I proceeded to modify it as I could afford to,. First headers, (LG) and catback (several different used) then heads/cam (Trickflow/Crane). Eventually found a used FAST 90 and ported it, and an Electric water pump, and a UD pulley plus a bunch of misc. stuff. At his point I had to replace my clutch, too. The car was a blast to drive as it had a smallish cam 228-232. Then low and behold, A&A had a big sale, so I bought/installed my Vortech, same model as the OP and all the tuning stuff, etc. The car went from 483 RW to 632. The very first time I hit 3rd gear hard, the diff shattered. It's all caged and built with C6Z parts now. All this money spent was my hobby, and it's never been raced. I have no traction at WOT until about 70 mph, which really is not fun. Still, I could get drag radials that'd help that, but they have limitations for a car that I used to drive on trips. Pardon all the history, but this is my conclusion; I went too far with the SC kit. It performs great, but I don't enjoy the car as much as when it was NA.

Mr. Black

I've never looked at it that way though I know many do. I prefer to put boost onto a heads and cam engine.