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Old 01-05-2013, 02:36 PM   #1
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Questions about supercharger reliability

No doubt someone will tell me I should have done more searches, but I've searched a lot and still have doubts.

The dealer that installed my cam and headers has a deal on superchargers thru the month of January. $8,500 installed, which is higher than some of the prices I've seen posted here, but since installing it myself is out I'm probably going to go with this deal.

The only thing that is holding me back is concerns about long term reliability. A couple of months ago there was a 20+ page thread on high flow cats breaking and plugging up on supercharged cars. I've read through it, but I still don't know how to tell whether they'd break on mine. Is this really something to worry about? I want to keep the car close to legal so I do not want to gut the cats.

How reliable is a Magnuson supercharger itself? Do they require maintenance?

In the next couple of weeks I'm either going to buy the supercharger or 3.91 gears. One good thing about the gears is that if they are installed correctly you can just forget them. No extra maintenance or damage to other parts. I put a Vortech on a 91 Mustang and drove it 90,000 miles with no problems at all except a seal replacement at 60,000. That's what I'm hoping for with this. Is that realistic?
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Old 01-05-2013, 03:25 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by Lee123 View Post
No doubt someone will tell me I should have done more searches, but I've searched a lot and still have doubts.

The dealer that installed my cam and headers has a deal on superchargers thru the month of January. $8,500 installed, which is higher than some of the prices I've seen posted here, but since installing it myself is out I'm probably going to go with this deal.

The only thing that is holding me back is concerns about long term reliability. A couple of months ago there was a 20+ page thread on high flow cats breaking and plugging up on supercharged cars. I've read through it, but I still don't know how to tell whether they'd break on mine. Is this really something to worry about? I want to keep the car close to legal so I do not want to gut the cats.

How reliable is a Magnuson supercharger itself? Do they require maintenance?

In the next couple of weeks I'm either going to buy the supercharger or 3.91 gears. One good thing about the gears is that if they are installed correctly you can just forget them. No extra maintenance or damage to other parts. I put a Vortech on a 91 Mustang and drove it 90,000 miles with no problems at all except a seal replacement at 60,000. That's what I'm hoping for with this. Is that realistic?
the resident maggie expert is supercharged ss (jamie). i believe he will tell you that the maggie is incredibly reliable. he is running nines with his and i never heard of a problem. pm him.
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Old 01-05-2013, 03:34 PM   #3
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the resident maggie expert is supercharged ss (jamie). i believe he will tell you that the maggie is incredibly reliable. he is running nines with his and i never heard of a problem. pm him.
Thanks Ray, Ill take it from here.

It's is as reliable as getting a supercharged from the factory. If its installed correctly you can forget about it too. There is nothing to do. Just step on the gas. You'll get well over 100k out of the blower. It's a great choice for you and it's exactly what you want. That's why they use a similar blower in the ZL1.

Good Luck!!
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Old 01-05-2013, 04:04 PM   #4
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Not to hijack but also curious about the Magnuson as opposed to the whipple. Is there one better than another to go with as long as discussing superchargers
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Old 01-05-2013, 04:06 PM   #5
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Thanks. That is very reassuring. Do you think that the high flow cats could turn out to be a problem? A couple months ago I read of several members here who had problems with theirs. It was never clear to me whether there was a pattern, like all the people with problems had the same brand cats, or they were all running high levels of boost or some other common factor. I plan to just get installed and leave it at the boost they come with. At least I'm going to try to. After a couple years I put a smaller pulley on my Vortech and upped the boost.

Do you know if my cam is compatible with a supercharger? The specs on it are Competition Cams part # 54-454-11; dur@.050 227/243; lift .614/.624; LSA 113. I asked one of the phone support guys at Comp Cams and he said it would be OK as long as I keep the boost to a reasonable level.
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Old 01-05-2013, 04:09 PM   #6
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Looks like a decent blower cam to me.
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Old 01-05-2013, 05:47 PM   #7
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Do you know if my cam is compatible with a supercharger? The specs on it are Competition Cams part # 54-454-11; dur@.050 227/243; lift .614/.624; LSA 113. I asked one of the phone support guys at Comp Cams and he said it would be OK as long as I keep the boost to a reasonable level.
If you like how it behaves, it will be fine. Just know that you can make just as much power, along with better manners, with a milder and more blower specific cam.
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Old 01-05-2013, 06:22 PM   #8
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Thanks. That is very reassuring. Do you think that the high flow cats could turn out to be a problem? A couple months ago I read of several members here who had problems with theirs. It was never clear to me whether there was a pattern, like all the people with problems had the same brand cats, or they were all running high levels of boost or some other common factor. I plan to just get installed and leave it at the boost they come with. At least I'm going to try to. After a couple years I put a smaller pulley on my Vortech and upped the boost.

Do you know if my cam is compatible with a supercharger? The specs on it are Competition Cams part # 54-454-11; dur@.050 227/243; lift .614/.624; LSA 113. I asked one of the phone support guys at Comp Cams and he said it would be OK as long as I keep the boost to a reasonable level.
I melted my cats within the first year but I made about 75 1/4 passes on the car. They were the Kooks high flows. If you don't race it like a fiend then I doubt you'll have any problems with the cats.


I'm not sure about the cam, your tuner will be able to help you more than I.
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Old 01-05-2013, 06:46 PM   #9
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Thanks Ray, Ill take it from here.
This made me laugh out loud.
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Old 01-05-2013, 06:53 PM   #10
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You might get trouble with other drivetrain parts with that much power. Depending on driving style though.
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Old 01-05-2013, 07:55 PM   #11
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I'd say its usually not the supercharger that breaks its the motor ,trans, or drivetrain that is weaker. That being said there are a lot of guys running superchargers with mild boost, 8-12 psi with no issues. Just make sure you got a good tune and a big wallet because you won't stop with just a supercharger.
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Old 01-05-2013, 08:43 PM   #12
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I melted my cats within the first year but I made about 75 1/4 passes on the car. They were the Kooks high flows. If you don't race it like a fiend then I doubt you'll have any problems with the cats.


I'm not sure about the cam, your tuner will be able to help you more than I.
Thanks. I should be OK then, since about the furthest I ever race is maybe 0 to 60 or 70. I think the cam will be OK. A couple responses here and what I was told by Comp Cams phone support sounds good. I'll take the specs over to them next week to be sure.
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Old 01-05-2013, 08:48 PM   #13
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I'd say its usually not the supercharger that breaks its the motor ,trans, or drivetrain that is weaker. That being said there are a lot of guys running superchargers with mild boost, 8-12 psi with no issues. Just make sure you got a good tune and a big wallet because you won't stop with just a supercharger.
I don't do a lot of the stuff that breaks drivetrain parts. Compared to some of you guys, I drive like an old man. And I actually am an old man (turned 66 today) so this probably will be it for me.
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Old 01-05-2013, 09:01 PM   #14
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Quote:
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I melted my cats within the first year but I made about 75 1/4 passes on the car. They were the Kooks high flows. If you don't race it like a fiend then I doubt you'll have any problems with the cats.


I'm not sure about the cam, your tuner will be able to help you more than I.
I was going to mention this.

I chose no cats but there are a bazillion magnacharged LS* engines out there with miles after miles after miles with full cats and high flows.

Jamie has a point here. If you race it a lot then maybe figure something out. If you go to the strip 2 or 3 times a year and you are even semi-responsible on the road then I wouldn't worry much.

8500.00 is fair.

I installed mine on my own. There really isn't much to it if you have the tools. But if the shop has a good tuner then I'd say go for it.
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