supercharging a 33,000 mile 96 3.8

[philoldsmobile]

a buddy of mine (EDGE motorsport - orange saleen) has got a suprlus supercharger floating about, and i'm having idle thoughts of fitting it to my stang..

thing is, the car does frequent 100+ mile trips, and am concerned about long term reliability..

what sort of boost levels can the 3.8 safely sustain for high milages, i dont want to have to rebuild my engine in 20,000 miles!

running say 5psi of boost, would the engine hold together ok?

 

[raz54]

I would do some research on your engine first. You need to know the compression ratio and if the pistons are cast or forged. I would think 5 lbs would be fine if your ratio is below 8.5 to 1 and you have forged pistons. You may need to use high octane gas to prevent detonation too and if you have a 'chip' it will have to go. The last thing you want with a blown engine is advanced timing.

 

[232Mustang95]

You can run 11lbs of boost safely on a 3.8L, but going over that you should get forged bottom ends parts (stock is cast).
I would not get a chip with a FI setup, it should be tuned. Remember it's all in the tune on how long your engine will last.

 

[philoldsmobile]

hmm...

the engine is stock internaly...

 

[raz54]

You should have no trouble then as long as you use premium gas and no chip. Detonation will kill an engine fast.

 

[232Mustang95]

Then it's not forged, but will still hold up to 11 lbs with a good tune.

Remember, boost is boost and with a bad tune even the lowest boost will/can damage the engine

 

[philoldsmobile]

hmmm... food for thought there... thanks guys..

 

[232Mustang95]

If you ever deside not to go with the supercharger, you can always do the heads, cam and intake package and gain up to 100hp on just that

 

[raz54]

They have those for the 3.8? Would they fit the 3.9 or is it a different motor?

 

[232Mustang95]

It's the same

Here you go: www.supersixmotorsports.com

 

[philoldsmobile]

well, i have found there is a vortech dealer here in england, and as it happens not far (about 60 miles) from me...

they want £1999 ($4000) for the whole kit, fitted.... i think this may be the best option if i go this route...

 

[232Mustang95]

Vortech will give you roughly 60hp, heads/cam/intake setup will net you close to 100hp and cost you $2375 + shipping say $600, that's $2975

And with Vortech there is a change of the headunit gasket to brake and drain your engine with oil and dump it into your intake, since you tap the oil pan.

ProCharger will give you about 120hp for about the same price for the Vortech, and it comes with it's own oil system. No papping needed and if the blower brake, only the blower will get damaged and not blower and engine
ProCharger also incluse the SCT Programmer, not sure about Vortech. Just remember it's all in the tune no matter how little boost

 

[raz54]

It's the same

Here you go: www.supersixmotorsports.com

Thanks for the link.