[Z06] What is your supercharger preference for the 2002-Z06
#1
What is your supercharger preference for the 2002-Z06
I am confused by manufacturer/installer claims on street performance and maintenance . What is the owners experience on the ProCharger vs Vortech centrifugal type supercharger? Which is the one to own?
#3
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i got a magnuson on my 02 Z and its great, very reliable, and love the torque throughout the powerband.. its kicks the ati and vortec have belt shreding problems unless you get the A&A kit or the ECS kit, my car put down a little under 500 to the wheels completely stock and its my daily driven car
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Originally Posted by Watch22
I have A&A Corvettes Vortech kit on order. It will be installed later this week if it get here.
I have the heads off my car right now, looking for the right replacement. I'm debating on a 72cc combustion chamber if I am going to SC it anyway. We will see. Good luck with yours. You must be anxious, I know I would be.
#9
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St. Jude Donor '06
See my sig! 3000 miles and my set-up has not skipped a beat on my 100% stock motor!! Before i went the ECS centrifugal supercharger route I really struggled with my decision between that and a maggie. All of the following represents my unbiased opinion regarding the pros and cons of both and that having been said, if i did it all over again i would have gone the same route! Also, don't anyone take this as a SC vs Maggie debate thread as you can see i honestly believe both have their advantages, etc., etc.:
Originally Posted by BlackMagicC5
"You can pull out the magazines and argue the logic all you guys want. Prochargers are faster than maggies. And the "stock motor" arguement is retarded. I pulled 523rwhp/506rwtq on a stock motor with a procharger. That was very conservative too. Plenty of power and plenty of torque. Don't even try to tell me the torque is lacking!
Even if the maggie car gets the jump becuase of instant boost and torque, the centrifugal car is going to pass it in a matter of seconds. Happens everytime that way for me!"
That is what the real world has shown us for sure, time and time again, down the 1/4 mile and from a highway roll, etc! That being said however, if a person has no plan on tracking their car, and want to go with the most reliable SCharger historically for C5s, and are not hung up on peak max HP numbers, and love that big low end torque feeling stop light to stop light, then i certainly cannot blame somebody for going the Maggie Route!
Originally Posted by BlackMagicC5
"You can pull out the magazines and argue the logic all you guys want. Prochargers are faster than maggies. And the "stock motor" arguement is retarded. I pulled 523rwhp/506rwtq on a stock motor with a procharger. That was very conservative too. Plenty of power and plenty of torque. Don't even try to tell me the torque is lacking!
Even if the maggie car gets the jump becuase of instant boost and torque, the centrifugal car is going to pass it in a matter of seconds. Happens everytime that way for me!"
That is what the real world has shown us for sure, time and time again, down the 1/4 mile and from a highway roll, etc! That being said however, if a person has no plan on tracking their car, and want to go with the most reliable SCharger historically for C5s, and are not hung up on peak max HP numbers, and love that big low end torque feeling stop light to stop light, then i certainly cannot blame somebody for going the Maggie Route!
Last edited by Mopar Jimmy; 02-07-2006 at 10:10 PM.
#10
Safety Car
keep in mind if you go the maggie route you will need to replace the hood due to clearance issues, that alone would make me go the procharger or vortech route not to mention I also feel the centrifugal setup will yield the highest HP and perormance
#12
Drifting
Originally Posted by Rich Z
What about the weight add on up front? I've heard the Maggie adds 85 pounds on top of the motor. What about the Vortech and Prochargers?
More like half of that.
However, with the additional radiator full of coolant then maybe so, but not "on top" of the motor.
Last edited by heavymetals; 02-10-2006 at 04:08 PM.
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St. Jude Donor '06
Originally Posted by Rich Z
What about the weight add on up front? I've heard the Maggie adds 85 pounds on top of the motor. What about the Vortech and Prochargers?
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If you are looking for a simple street application, any of the SC systems will fit your needs. Try and figure out how much power you'll ultimately want and what suits your driving style and let that dictate what system you go with.
There are a few things that separate different systems. Maggies add great low end torque, and all things considered they are a relatively easy bolt on. Maggies are relatively quite at idle, and scream when you stomp on the go pedal. They make good HP and you can expect to see up to 500 hp with a stock bottom end. As was said, you will need to purchase and paint a new hood, detracting from any type of stealthy appearance (but high on the factor). An intercooler is optional, and belt slip isn't much of an issue as long as your not pushing the chargers limits. The only real downside is that they are limited in the about of boost they will create and they can be a big heat sink sitting right on top of the engine - it's not usually an issue unless your running the car hard for an extended amount of time. (BTW, I don't think they are 85 lbs, but they are a little heavy!!)
Andy (from A&A) has assembled a great Vortech kit that is creating big power. It uses a relatively large single front mounted intercooler and will make more boost than the maggie - and more power. Personally, I never cared for the standard Vortech system, due to the - "harder than it had to be" install and awkward IC and belt routing. Some people swear by them, this is only my personal opinion. Andys kit is far better than the standard system. But they can put down great power as well. The Vortechs are a little louder at idle (not always a bad thing) and scream when you jump on them. It fits under the stock hood and tap the engine oiling system so you don't have to worry about draining the SC head unit and changing the oil - lowering the overall maintaince of the system. The Vortech system can feed more cubes and is more scaleable than the maggie or procharger should you ever want to step up the power.
The Procharger kits were just recreated to try and solve some of the early issues they've had with belt slip and overall boost capacity. They new kits appear to better than the old twin IC systems. They should be fine as a standard street system, but if you want to step up the power later on make sure you go with the D1 head unit and consider and F if you have big cubes and want max power. (you'll be changing head units vs pulleys to step up the power) Most of the procharger head units are loud at idle. Some are pretty quiet. It can vary greatly. I can't say why. Some people still seem to be experiencing belt/alignment issues with the new Procharger systems but perhaps it's better than it was with the old system. The Procharger head units are sealed unit, so you'll have to drain the oil from the head unit and replace it as often as necessary.
The ECS Paxton (I know more about this system than the other so forgive me if it sounds biased!!!) system uses the largest single front mount IC and can be customized to fit almost any application from a stock bottom end to a forged 427+. Chris & Doug use a combination of pulleys and restrictor plates to make sure that you don't over boost a stock bottom end and create more power lower in RPM range. But if you ever decide that you want to build a big cube motor or forge the bottom end you can easily up the boost with out much additional cost. It is the most quiet of all the systems at idle. (unless your paying attention, you'll barely know it's there until you hit the go-go pedal) They have re worked all the pulley and idlers to all but eliminate belt slip and alignment issues. It also fits under the stock hood, and uses the engine oil to lubricate the head unit to reduce maintaince. It's been extensively tested on the street and the track - this is the same exact system that propelled asmokegars car to 9.33 @ 147. The kit is a little more expensive than most of the other kits at first, but it's truly more complete and you'll take less out of your pocket after your initial purchase. The system comes complete with everything from a new front crash bar to fuel system, plugs and all necessary hardware. (this makes it easier to return the car to stock should you ever decide to) You can see more about it here... http://www.eastcoastsupercharging.com/kit_novi2000.htm Bias aside, I think it's the most complete of the systems out there.
On top of that there Kenne Bell is coming out with a new roots style blower that promises big power. It's bigger than the maggie from what I understand (I personally haven't seen one yet) and supposed to be able to make more boost.
decisions, decisions.... LOL there's allot of real world comparisons of all of the systems in the Forced induction/nitrous sections. Happy reading and good luck with the decision!!!
There are a few things that separate different systems. Maggies add great low end torque, and all things considered they are a relatively easy bolt on. Maggies are relatively quite at idle, and scream when you stomp on the go pedal. They make good HP and you can expect to see up to 500 hp with a stock bottom end. As was said, you will need to purchase and paint a new hood, detracting from any type of stealthy appearance (but high on the factor). An intercooler is optional, and belt slip isn't much of an issue as long as your not pushing the chargers limits. The only real downside is that they are limited in the about of boost they will create and they can be a big heat sink sitting right on top of the engine - it's not usually an issue unless your running the car hard for an extended amount of time. (BTW, I don't think they are 85 lbs, but they are a little heavy!!)
Andy (from A&A) has assembled a great Vortech kit that is creating big power. It uses a relatively large single front mounted intercooler and will make more boost than the maggie - and more power. Personally, I never cared for the standard Vortech system, due to the - "harder than it had to be" install and awkward IC and belt routing. Some people swear by them, this is only my personal opinion. Andys kit is far better than the standard system. But they can put down great power as well. The Vortechs are a little louder at idle (not always a bad thing) and scream when you jump on them. It fits under the stock hood and tap the engine oiling system so you don't have to worry about draining the SC head unit and changing the oil - lowering the overall maintaince of the system. The Vortech system can feed more cubes and is more scaleable than the maggie or procharger should you ever want to step up the power.
The Procharger kits were just recreated to try and solve some of the early issues they've had with belt slip and overall boost capacity. They new kits appear to better than the old twin IC systems. They should be fine as a standard street system, but if you want to step up the power later on make sure you go with the D1 head unit and consider and F if you have big cubes and want max power. (you'll be changing head units vs pulleys to step up the power) Most of the procharger head units are loud at idle. Some are pretty quiet. It can vary greatly. I can't say why. Some people still seem to be experiencing belt/alignment issues with the new Procharger systems but perhaps it's better than it was with the old system. The Procharger head units are sealed unit, so you'll have to drain the oil from the head unit and replace it as often as necessary.
The ECS Paxton (I know more about this system than the other so forgive me if it sounds biased!!!) system uses the largest single front mount IC and can be customized to fit almost any application from a stock bottom end to a forged 427+. Chris & Doug use a combination of pulleys and restrictor plates to make sure that you don't over boost a stock bottom end and create more power lower in RPM range. But if you ever decide that you want to build a big cube motor or forge the bottom end you can easily up the boost with out much additional cost. It is the most quiet of all the systems at idle. (unless your paying attention, you'll barely know it's there until you hit the go-go pedal) They have re worked all the pulley and idlers to all but eliminate belt slip and alignment issues. It also fits under the stock hood, and uses the engine oil to lubricate the head unit to reduce maintaince. It's been extensively tested on the street and the track - this is the same exact system that propelled asmokegars car to 9.33 @ 147. The kit is a little more expensive than most of the other kits at first, but it's truly more complete and you'll take less out of your pocket after your initial purchase. The system comes complete with everything from a new front crash bar to fuel system, plugs and all necessary hardware. (this makes it easier to return the car to stock should you ever decide to) You can see more about it here... http://www.eastcoastsupercharging.com/kit_novi2000.htm Bias aside, I think it's the most complete of the systems out there.
On top of that there Kenne Bell is coming out with a new roots style blower that promises big power. It's bigger than the maggie from what I understand (I personally haven't seen one yet) and supposed to be able to make more boost.
decisions, decisions.... LOL there's allot of real world comparisons of all of the systems in the Forced induction/nitrous sections. Happy reading and good luck with the decision!!!
#16
Originally Posted by MVR 155
keep in mind if you go the maggie route you will need to replace the hood due to clearance issues, that alone would make me go the procharger or vortech route not to mention I also feel the centrifugal setup will yield the highest HP and perormance
the hood "issue" just makes me laugh, stock hoods are a dime a dozen, and not that attractive. the new hood is what ALWAYS draws a crowd around my car. no problems w/ my maggie, plenty of power/torque. as far as max hp and maggie vs procharger etc. you'll never know the difference, driver skill and ability have alot to do with maximum performance. go over to modvette.com look at c5 Z06 section...my work in progress
#17
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Thanks for the complete writeup Mike If anyone has any questions at all our phone line is always open.
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