Supercharger in the winter
11/15/05, 04:57 PM
#1
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Since I want to supercharge my GT, I have been reading everything and anything I can find about superchargers. Through Google, I found a website called GM High Tech Performance which did a nice walk through of installing a centrifugal blower on a 04 GTO. One of the warnings they included in the article was:
Since I live in Pennsylvania and it tends to get bitter cold in the winters here, should I stay away from centrifugal blowers? Do screws have the same issue? My car is on daily driver duty for a couple of years and I don't want to do something that I will regret afterwards. Anyone have experience in the cold with a supercharger?
Vortech says that a car equipped with one of its superchargers can never be cold-started in air temperatures below 25 degrees. This is because of precise, tight clearances within the superchargers. Garage storage or use of an engine-block heater is needed for temperatures below 25 degrees or else you risk “immediate supercharger failure.”
11/15/05, 05:02 PM
#2
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Had a 96 Cobra with a Kennebell screw supercharger on it and I live in Ohio with an unheated garage and I never had a problem. I have never heard that about a centrifical supercharger. I would think the materials are all close enough to the same that they would have about the same shrinkage factor in cold weather. Anyone else heard of this??
Scott
Scott
11/16/05, 07:49 AM
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I'm in the same situation as you, I'm putting an SC on a daily driver. This is hearsay but I remember a post from a guy who had a centri SC grenade on him when he started it on a VERY cold day. I've never heard of an official warning from a centri manufacturer about that but if what you found is true then that definitly backs up the story. I'm planning on a much more bullet proof twin screw for that reason among many others (TORK! 
).
).
11/16/05, 10:05 AM
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Just a guess....The Vortech pulls oil from your oil pan. Therefore the combination of shrinkage in the oil return lines and viscosity of the oil may severely impair the ability of the system to lubricate itself in extremely cold startups. Not all centrifugal S/C require shared oil with the engine. Some are self -contained, as are most screw type.
11/16/05, 12:03 PM
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Originally posted by jimh90sc@November 16, 2005, 12:36 PM
I just sold my 90 T-Bird Super Coupe when I bought my 05 GT. Never any issues with cold weather. It had it's own lubrication sump. Fun car. Sometimes I wish that I kept it.
I just sold my 90 T-Bird Super Coupe when I bought my 05 GT. Never any issues with cold weather. It had it's own lubrication sump. Fun car. Sometimes I wish that I kept it.
I kept my 89 Cougar XR7 & the 05
I couldn't bring myself to part with it.
11/16/05, 08:23 PM
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Originally posted by Rebel73@November 16, 2005, 5:44 PM
I LOVE L.A.
25% is almost unheard of.
I LOVE L.A.
25% is almost unheard of.
11/17/05, 12:13 AM
#12
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Originally posted by futuresvt@November 16, 2005, 8:26 PM
So are cashiers who speak english at the supermarket...
So are cashiers who speak english at the supermarket...
Man, you've been watching too much t.v.
11/19/05, 03:24 AM
#13
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Originally posted by pumpkinfish@November 16, 2005, 4:13 PM
I am so confused to what I should do now. Would I be able to pull the belt off and go back to stock tune for the cold months?
I am so confused to what I should do now. Would I be able to pull the belt off and go back to stock tune for the cold months?
11/23/05, 01:48 PM
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I know that with twin-screw superchargers, the spinning parts do not actually touch each other, so I really doubt it is a problem with the twin screws. I dunno about centrifugals.
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