What should I expect?

[white07gt-cs]

I'm ready to buy a supercharger for my 07 GT. Other than shedding rubber at an alarming rate, what should I expect in regards to increased maintence, fuel economy (cruising at 70 or so) and stuff like that? I have heard that the cruise control doesn't work, or work smoothly with a supercharged engine, is that true?

Thanks for any information you can provide.

 

[08blueskunk]

speeding tickets?

 

[white07gt-cs]

Who meeeee? I'm an old guy and, knock wood (heavily), I haven't had one of them in a long time.

 

[o0Dan0o]

I'm ready to buy a supercharger for my 07 GT. Other than shedding rubber at an alarming rate, what should I expect in regards to increased maintence, fuel economy (cruising at 70 or so) and stuff like that? I have heard that the cruise control doesn't work, or work smoothly with a supercharged engine, is that true?

Thanks for any information you can provide.

Which supercharger?

I haven't heard that about the cruise control, but it may be true that an increase in HP that large could make the cruise a little jumpy. Then again, it works on the GT500 right?

Most maintenance should be about the same. You may want to change your oil more often or use better oil, depending on your current practice, but 5k miles with synthetic should be fine unless you track her a lot.
Dan

 

[walter]

Any time you increase the performance of the engine you're adding significantly more stress to the stock components. This is especially true with force induction of any sorts. That said there are two typical maintenance issues that arise when you add a supercharger or a turbo to a car: the inevitables and the preventables.

Assuming the supercharger is installed correctly and running according to a safe tune it will inevitably cause regular maintenance items such as clutches, valvetrain components, lubricants, tires and brakes to wear out faster due to the added stress and heat generated by the power adder.

Preventable issues in this case would be failures caused by an improper installation or tune. Again assuming that isn't the case your engine will be operating at higher compression ratios as well as temperatures. This means that extended range services will be a thing of the past and all fluids, and wear elements MUST be replaced religiously at the recommended intervals for high stress applications. I.e. oil change every 3K miles instead of 5K and with good quality lubricants not first shop you see.

 

[white07gt-cs]

Which supercharger?

I haven't heard that about the cruise control, but it may be true that an increase in HP that large could make the cruise a little jumpy. Then again, it works on the GT500 right?

Most maintenance should be about the same. You may want to change your oil more often or use better oil, depending on your current practice, but 5k miles with synthetic should be fine unless you track her a lot.
Dan

I'm pretty set on the Whipple HO kit. I wouldn't want anymore power for now and I can always spin it up if I beef up the bottom end. I currently use Mobil 1 and change it every 4 to 5 thousand, but I was planning to drop that to every 3k with the huffer.

 

[o0Dan0o]

I'm pretty set on the Whipple HO kit. I wouldn't want anymore power for now and I can always spin it up if I beef up the bottom end. I currently use Mobil 1 and change it every 4 to 5 thousand, but I was planning to drop that to every 3k with the huffer.

Not a bad idea, like Walter said. But I think we almost entirely underestimate how good these modern oils are. I change mine at 5k now, and thats more or less just to change the filter and I figure I'll do the oil while I'm at it. But for the price, changing it at 3k with 500 HP just makes sense.

You could start to plan supporting mods too. Perhaps a better radiator and/or an oil cooler.
Dan

 

[klaw]

You can pretty much expect to replace your stock clutch within a few months at most. The cruise control is useable but will annoy the hell out of you because it surges. I tried it a few times but don't bother with it anymore - besides - cruise control in a muscle car? I haven't had any maintenance issues with my car in the 6000 miles since the Whipple. I'll be pulling the plugs in the next few weeks for a check and need to clean my air filter. I use FRPP oil filters and Mobil 1 synthetic and change the oil every 3,000 or so.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

I suppose results in drivability and maintenance depend on which blower is used. I went with a standard, non-intercooled Vortech V2 centrifugal blower and fuel economy is basically unchanged from before. Cruise control works perfectly, but if I get to a steep hill it does surge momentarily - on relatively flat terrain it works normally.

Traction is the biggest issue I contend with on a regular basis. Even moderate throttle in 2nd gear on dry pavement results in lots of tire spin, so I can't really mash to pedal with the factory tires until I'm well into 3rd gear. I drive on drag radials during the summer months, though, and that really helps.

I, too, change my oil/filter at 3,000 mile intervals and I do all of the suggested maintenance in the Ford owner's manual on time. I'm looking to add a bigger trans cooler (for my automatic), but no other supporting mods since it is a mild supercharger. For a whipple HO you may certainly want to consider a better clutch and bigger/better tires. In the long run, a forged bottom end would be ideal to support more boost.

 

[white07gt-cs]

You can pretty much expect to replace your stock clutch within a few months at most. The cruise control is useable but will annoy the hell out of you because it surges. I tried it a few times but don't bother with it anymore - besides - cruise control in a muscle car? I haven't had any maintenance issues with my car in the 6000 miles since the Whipple. I'll be pulling the plugs in the next few weeks for a check and need to clean my air filter. I use FRPP oil filters and Mobil 1 synthetic and change the oil every 3,000 or so.

Thanks for the feedback. I was afraid about the clutch as I had heard others had to replace theirs. I'm usually pretty easy on them but, when I replace it, I'm planning on replacing the throw out bearing with one of the new Ram units. I don't plan for the car to have much, if any track time being it is my DD. What clutch set up do you recommend that won't be obnoxious to use on a daily basis? Will an aluminum flywheel work well with a s/c engine?

The cruise control being essentially unuseable is a major bummer being I'm one of those that use it all the time (one of the tools I've used to avoid tickets). Long trips are definately going to be a drag having to watch the speedo all the time or else that ticket thing could definately come into play .

Thanks again to everyone for all of the input.

 

[klaw]

Thanks for the feedback. I was afraid about the clutch as I had heard others had to replace theirs. I'm usually pretty easy on them but, when I replace it, I'm planning on replacing the throw out bearing with one of the new Ram units. I don't plan for the car to have much, if any track time being it is my DD. What clutch set up do you recommend that won't be obnoxious to use on a daily basis? Will an aluminum flywheel work well with a s/c engine?

The cruise control being essentially unuseable is a major bummer being I'm one of those that use it all the time (one of the tools I've used to avoid tickets). Long trips are definately going to be a drag having to watch the speedo all the time or else that ticket thing could definately come into play .

Thanks again to everyone for all of the input.

I'm going with the McLeod Street Twin and adjustable slave. The local speed shop (Western Motorsports) has had good luck with that setup on several supercharged cars so we'll see. Apparently it's not much different from stock as far as pedal effort goes. I've heard mixed opinions on aluminum flywheels. They allow the engine to spool quicker with the lower rotating mass but don't store as much inertia for hard launches with drag tires. I'm not sure it's worth changing and I intend on going with a forged bottom end this year or next anyways so will make the final decision then (all forged cranks are 8-bolt vs the stock 6-bolt crank). I wouldn't buy a 6-bolt aluminum flywheel now then buy an 8-bolt aluminum replacement when I go forged.

Depending on your tune and boost etc, your cruise control might be fine. I don't mind having my foot on the skinny pedal even on long drives so it's not a big issue for me. Also, the first mod I did was installing a hard-wired radar detector. I use it more for reminding me to slow down than for trying to get away with speeding. The local Gestapo/tax collectors are very devious in switching speed zones etc especially on downhill roads so the radar has been a handy tax minimization mod. Knock wood, I haven't had any tickets of any kind with the car since new.