Any one have a supercharged 5S-FE? I'm just wondering, because a buddy of mine and I were talking about doing this to my car. All I have to do is get an aftercooler and then we're set. I'd like to know if any one has this set up so that they might be able to tell me about any problems I might incounter. Thanks ya'll.

-Bigmeanbulldog55+Jan 5, 2005 - 1:01 AM

Really? Thats all you have left to get?

RIPP has a supercharger setup for our cars.. a couple people were supposed to get it.. they're dead now

If is a custom supercharger setup then you might have a prob finding a belt to go around the drive pulley, other component plus your supercharger. Do you have an FMU already to control the amount of fuel going into the combustion chamber under whatever level of boost you're going to be running? Another problem would be figuring out what pulleys are needed for boost pressure from your supercharger. Goodluck though and post pics for all to see. I am interested to know how it all works out.

Pulleys aren't a problem, and we've already got a supercharger. The electrical is the only thing I'm worried about. I'm not sure exactly what to do along that aspect. I like a carb so all I have to do is turn a screw or two. We have all metal work covered. It's just kind of a "what the heck, why not?" kind of thing. We were just sitting around talking about it and he said he had a supercharger we could put on it and then it might be fast enough for me. I sit around complaining about how slow my car is a lot. I'm not really sure that I'm going to do this. If I get some more info on it, and I'm sure it's a good idea. Thanks for the input.

Well electrics arent going to be a problem. I am not sure how much boost you are looking to add but search up vortech fmu and you will learn alot about it. It is a fuel management unit that raises fuel pressure to the injector rail as boost goes up causing the injectors to spray more fuel for the right fuel to air ratio. A vortech 12:1 or 10:1 unit is good. I am not sure if you will need a boost guage other than to tell what boost your running but it is advisable to upgrade injectors and fuel pump just to be on the safe side and to ensure that they are capable of delivering the fuel needed with the amount of boost. You will need some check valves to stop boost from going into the MAP sensor i think so that it doesnt read some error and shut the engine down or something like that but a guy like nik can tell you alot more about that. Otherwise I dont think any electrics is involved. It can all be done manually from what i have read with turbocharging those engines but supercharging should be no different. It wont be a hard project once you got all the parts and you should seriously consider it.

This post has been edited by biglipzit: Jan 4, 2005 - 11:16 PM

I apperciate your input. I was going to upgrade the injectors and fuel pump, but I'll see what I can do about a fmu. Please keep the info coming.

Where are you gonna put the supercharger?

lol shid i should have thought to ask that >> I wonder what type of supercharger you got because if it is just a blower then it wont work... needs to be one like off of a 4agze... Check ebay for the FMU. Just type in vortech fmu and you should be able to get one for about $80 or less for another brand but make sure it is 10:1 or 12:1 air fuel mixtures. Before you do this you should really write down all the pros and cons...

Pros:
Faster acceleration
More available power
would be just plain cool
easier than turbocharging

Cons:
Uses some of the HP gained to drive the supercharger
Less efficient than a turbocharger
Less boost than a turbo charger
If you had to buy the supercharger it would cost more than turbocharging

Not sure if thats all but with the free supercharger and stuff it seems like the pros outweigh the cons.

All up to you and if you're complaining about a slow car then that means you aint happpy with it and who knows, the extra kick from a supercharger just might please you.
Make yourself happy man lol follow your heart (sounds so corny)

I believe under the alternater. At least somewere close around there. We haven't decided on the exact placement yet. Like I said, it's only in the begining stages right now.

That is a tight spot. It is normally recomended to keep a supercharger up near the cylinder head away from the exhaust manifold to the back or corner of the engine. Normally those are the cooler spots near to the block. The best thing is to get the supercharger and rest it in place in certain areas and see where it seems to fit best. Don't forget you are going to have to make it easily accessible when you're adding your piping to and from the intercooler. All that must be taken into consideration.

I see a lot more pros on a supercharger than a turbo. There’s better low-end power, and more reliability. Smoother power too. And as far as the 5S-FE goes, I've never thought a turbo was a good idea because the engines just won't handle the boost. If I really wanted to go fast I'd just put in a 3Sturbo. I just want enough to play with right now, and keep it as reliable as possible.

I understand. Just think of all the neat burn outs and donuts you could do with all that instantaneous power hehehe. The boost is also much controlled on a supercharger but for you it wont be worth your while to run anything less than 5-8psi from the supercharger which is what most people run from their turbos on that same engine.

-Bigmeanbulldog55+Jan 5, 2005 - 5:19 AM

Uhm, you're boosting the 5sfe anyway.

Also, depending on the supercharger you get, there's a defintie ceiling. I know the RIPP one ceilings out WAY low. There's no more inherent reliability with a supercharger than a turbo either. You have just as many moving parts, just as many things can go wrong with a super as with a turbo (unless you shoot the boost up to 20 psi on the turbo)

-shid+Jan 5, 2005 - 12:39 AM

It depends on the type of supercharger you get... if you got one with a turbocharger compressor style then you have one shaft and the same moving parts but if you got a roots type supercharger then you have more than one part spinning inside of their compressing the air. I am not sure how the bearings on a supercharger work but without proper lubrication it can be damaged as easily as a turbo. Can you get us pics of the supercharger you already have?

I've always thought of a turbo to be more of a race use kind of application. The supercharger gives me lower boost and smoother power, instead of a sudden burst around 3500. Don't get me wrong, I love racecars. I had a racecar for a while, but I just sold it. I'm now in college and I need to find that delicate balance between fast and reliable. Wait till I get out, then I'll be building some radical street cars.

-Bigmeanbulldog55+Jan 5, 2005 - 6:09 PM

There's nothing lower or higher about supercharger boost vs turbocharger boost. 8 psi will always be 8 psi. The difference is what you run at. If you run your supercharger at 8 psi, you'll be putting just as much stress on the engine as running a turbo at 8 psi; however you'll be getting less gains (due to the nature of a supercharger). Now, does the instant power makeup for that? You'll have to decide.

With a supercharger, the boost comes on smoothly and more even. I may not get the same gains around 4700-5900, but I will get a nice increase overall. Besides I have a supercharger but no turbo. I don't understand what the argument is about. These things aren't solid facts anyway, they are all opinions. You can't argue on opinions. If you want to say something to help me, please write and I will be more than thankful for it. But if all you want to do is tell me why I should put a turbo on instead of a supercharger, then you can keep your opinions to yourself.

-Bigmeanbulldog55+Jan 5, 2005 - 6:46 PM

None of that is an opinion, what i've stated are solid facts and I've been careful not to add opinion to it. Opinion would be: a turbo is better

A fact would be that boost is boost, that you will see more gains with a turbo per psi than you will with a supercharger because of the nature of the supercharger sapping hp off the engine to drive the turbine.

Its also a fact that the gains with a supercharger are even, and available from an RPM of 250 to 6000 with the same gains across the powerband, a definite plus that you don't get over a turbocharger.

I'm not recomending a turbo over a supercharger, I'm correcting mistaken claims you've made.

if you still think that a supercharger is the F/I for you, then go for it. But if you make that decision based on incorrect asumptions, you won't be happy.

This post has been edited by shid: Jan 5, 2005 - 1:55 PM

Well shid we have to work with what he has. He may want a turbo but is going against it because he already has a supercharger to work with and may not be able to afford a turbo. He said he always wanted a turbo but i guess beggars can't be choosers. If he already has the supercharger then let him work with it. The best we can do is to help him along with it.

Fact is, I would have to run higher boost on a turbo to get the same low-end effects as a supercharger. Also, with power only at higher rpms, I would have to run at a constant higher rpm to get the power that I want. I just think that a supercharger would be easier on the engine. If I were shooting for 300hp, I would go turbo without question. Or if I were going for a race application, I would go turbo. I just think that a supercharger is better for daily driving. I always thought that was a fairly well known fact. A turbo being better or a supercharging being better depends on the intended use. I’m also using a smaller supercharger and more than likely going to try to run around 7-9 pounds of boost. Maybe the fact that most of the time I’ve seen turbo chargers is in a high boost situation, which tends to make them less reliable, so my views are somewhat biased. A low boost turbo would likely be as reliable as a supercharger, but you would still have to push to higher rpms to see the same power.

-Bigmeanbulldog55+Jan 5, 2005 - 7:47 PM

Nope, no matter how much boost you push through a turbo, unless it's VERY tiny you'll never gonna get the great low end power that superchargers provided.

Most people who turbo their cars on this site- or have 3sgtes, run at 8 psi which is exactly the same 8 psi you'll be putting through your supercharger (also, for a supercharger, psi depends on the blower, etc). So neither is more inherently reliable over the other when they're running at the same level of boost.

I'll say this again, I'm not trying to make you choose a turbo over a super. I think it'd be great (awesome) if you supercharged your 5sfe. I'm trying to help you by pointing out possible kinks in the plan, and flaws with your thinking (that at 8 psi a super will be more reliable and trouble free than a turbo- they'll both trouble!)

One more thing, on our 2.2l turbo'd engines we reach full boost around 3.5RPMS or below, we don't have to hit 5500 to actually get boost >>

Contact RIPPMODS. Im going crazy and gonna buy there supercharge kit with my tax refund. They got alot of good info on the supercharger in the 5SFE camry.

RippModds