Should I supercharge my daily driver?
 

Looking to supercharge my manual 2019 2SS. Was going to go with an Edelbrock. Everything is priced out, ready to pull the trigger, but I just want to make sure it's the right decision. I only have 12k miles on the car, and another 2 years of bumper to bumper warranty. That's gone as soon as the supercharger is installed. As I am not trying to install the biggest bolt on's or get the most possible boost, or most power out of my engine as humanly possible and I am hoping the supercharger and engine will last for years and years to come. I also do not plan to constantly push the car at a track. After all, it's my daily driver and I want as little to go wrong with it as possible. I am assuming there will be added maintenance ( more frequent oil changes, will go through tires quicker, perhaps a yearly check-up from the mod shop ) etc. No doubt my MPG will probably suffer as well.

This is by far the biggest mod I've done to a vehicle of mine. I just want to make sure it's the right decision and I feel just as good about my decision next year or 2-3 years down the road. A few questions that I do have...

- Will my engine be able to keep up with and deal with the additional heat being generated? I was tossing around the idea of looking for a better hood that could increase airflow and heat extraction. Open to any recommendation.

- Under normal, relatively reserved driving, what can I expect to go wrong or fail in the years to come?

- It'll come to just over 600hp once all is finished. Can the stock clutch, etc... handle that? Should I look into different wheels for the rear to get better traction with a better tire?

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

The Edelbrock supercharger kit is complete and nothing else to buy. It is engineered to work with the LT1 and should pose no issues once installed. If you really want to keep your warranty I would hold off installing a supercharger no matter what brand but if the warranty doesn’t matter then go for it! You will find that rear tires will wear out faster because you will want to romp on it at times and the mileage will go down some too. It just depends on your right foot. Your SS will be a different beast once a supercharger is installed but will be fun to drive and you will enjoy it more. I know I really enjoy driving my 2017 ZL1 because of the extra hp and better handling and I haven’t modded mine and probably won’t anytime soon. Good luck and you do what makes you happy!��

You'll be okay with just the supercharger especially since you don't plan on tracking the car that much. Realistically your probably going to be around 570 to the tire maybe a little more or less depending on the dyno and how well your fuel system keeps up.

Hi V8Juice, :welcome: to the forums :nod:
Having faced the same dilemma as you, I decided to jump in despite being a budding amateur and get a Maggie 2300 supercharger, and never regretted it. The car is totally reliable, the tune from Jannetty Racing is on point and dialed to a safe 7.5 psi boost, which is more than enough for the street, traction is already harder to find even at this relatively low power level, the sweet V8 noise is amplified and the car retained its great driving characteristics.

As Greg said, the experience all depends on how you drive, the S/C has a bypass valve and isn't even active when you are not on the throttle, so mpg's won't be affected much if you drive like a grandma, but when you treat the car like it's meant to be driven, you'll get a much higher smiles per gallon for sure.

A few additional things you will want to consider:

1) You should do something about fueling, because 600 rwhp is on the ragged edge of the LT1 fuel system that you don't want to ride; I'm assuming the quote you have for the build includes some fuel system upgrades

2) The tune is important, I'm not sure I'd want a canned tune, it's probably going to be super conservative to work on the "common denominator" of LT1 cars, and there is nobody to check for any issues or weaknesses. Much better to be personally taken care of by a pro.

3) Your powertrain warranty will be toast. Edelbrock probably offers something in that regard, but once you mod, you have to commit to facing potential issues that you will be on the hook for. A good dealership is a great bonus, but if you blow your supercharged engine, you're on your own.

Moving on to your questions:
- Will my engine be able to keep up with and deal with the additional heat being generated? I was tossing around the idea of looking for a better hood that could increase airflow and heat extraction. Open to any recommendation.

Yes. There is no real need for anything else unless you're planning to track the car, I still have the stock hood with zero heat issues. Temps will obviously be somewhat higher under heavy load, but nothing crazy (at least the Maggie is very efficient at keeping temperatures under control).

- Under normal, relatively reserved driving, what can I expect to go wrong or fail in the years to come?

There is always a risk, not all engines are exactly the same, but with a good tune and "normal" driving there should be relatively little impact on longevity. You'll eat tires a bit quicker, but again, this all ties into how you drive, you'll only wear stuff out much faster if you do standing miles, run 10-15 passes at the drag strip, or track the car every other weekend.

- It'll come to just over 600hp once all is finished. Can the stock clutch, etc... handle that? Should I look into different wheels for the rear to get better traction with a better tire?

My Camaro is an auto, so I'll skip the clutch part, but the car will remain very usable with the stock wheels and some proper tires, yet if you want to go WOT in 2nd gear and have traction, you probably need to go wider. I have a 1LE spec setup and it's perfect for this power level. The 1LE would've been a better platform for you to start from, but it is what it is, even the standard 2SS is great, you'll just end up spending more on upgrades.

Pulled the trigger on a Whipple, lt4 fuel system and longtube headers, still waiting on headers to come in, good luck to you though! I’m beyond excited

Don’t have experience with a camaro, but with a daily driven Denali with the same 6.2 engine. I purchased the edelbrock 2650 kit. It does come with a warranty.

If the kit is installed by a dealer or ase shop/mechanic edelbrock will cover what the gm warranty won’t for the remainder of your 3/36. You have to get the carb certified kit, install it per instructions and use only the provided tune. The installation shop also needs to mail in a card to actuate the supplement.

To me, it depends on where you live and your particular situation.

If you live in a place where you can stretch the legs of the car, by all means.

Me? I am fine with the LT1 as it is. As soon as I head back to West Coast of Canada, I am sure those speed cameras and popos will be all over me. Supercharger just means I will get my car impounded sooner. That extra smile won't last when I see the $1000+ bill. Had a buddy who had his car impounded and that's how much he spent.

Sent from toaster or something

Wow thank you for all of the fast responses!
My first post in the forums and I have a bunch of people eager to voice their expertise, thanks!! I will be having a shop do the install for me. I very much trust my choice of shops as my car will probably be one of the simpler builds they are currently doing ( yesterday I saw them rebuilding an oldschool GTR and finishing up a twin turbo build on a viper ).Ill be getting the s/c with the tune so all around seems like a great kit with nothing else needed. I live in Philadelphia, so the summers approach grossly hot and the winters are pretty cold.

As mentioned Arpad... doing something about the fueling... Will the edelbrock kit not come with something to tackle the fuel issue? What would need to be done additionally if not?

None of the supercharger kits come with any fuel upgrades. In order to be on the safe side you would have to do Lt4 injectors,Lt4 hpfp, and Lt4 in tank pump.

That is if you plan on staying around 600hp.

V8J, you will be fine with the Stage 1 Edelbrock kit for your Camaro and they give you a manufacturer warranty for 3 years/36000 miles on the kit. If you want more hp down the road sometime then you can make upgrades to the system. Having roughly 150 more hp than you have now will be a noticeable difference in your SS and you may find that 600 hp is enough for you but talk to the guys at the shop that will do the install and get their advice/recommendations. Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you!��

The SS doesn't have the tires to put supercharged power to the ground or hold that power so don't overlook the fact that you'll be in the market for a tire capable of holding that power. Wider, stickier compound, etc etc
All you'll do on OE tires is spin.

I agree 100 but honestly Neither does the Hellcat, ZL1, or C7Z...The only way you are going to have decent traction with a car that makes the kind of power these do is with a drag radial or something under 200 wear. Nitto 555r(NOT the G2) is the best all around tire for traction and drive-ability. You can pretty much daily these tires without issues and they last as long if not longer then the factory stuff.

Over the last two years I've had exactly one car walk away from me and it was a Dodge Charger Hellcat. Trust me, if you're down in Mexico in your SS 1LE cruising at 90 mph, a Dodge Hellcat will be able to put its power on the road very adequately despite the fact it has the skinny tires (at least compared to what you get on an SS 1LE).