knoxville superchargers info?

[slammed1000]

does anyone have a website address or contact number for knoxville supercharger systems? if so please relay the info. i am interested in there systems but have not found out how to contact them. thanks

[WydRyd]

Contact Paul Burch here pburch@chattanooga.net

I know that they have three kits for the 3.2. Two run at the 6-8 pound level and are in the 350hp range.

One, which requires opening the engine and lowering the CR, runs at 12 - 13 psi and is 425hp. They lower the C/R to 9.0:1 by machining the tops of the pistons.

All of the kits reach their full boost at the Porsche factory redline, for the 3.2 it's 6200 rpm.

One of the circa 350 hp kits is not intercooled, the other two are.

The 425hp kit comes with a choice of intercooler sizes.

A common misconception is that SuperChargers produce FULL boost from idle. This is not the case! They produce 50% of their max boost at 50% of max engine RPM, so at 3100rpms, they are only producing 50% boost as opposed to a turbocharged engine, which produces full boost at 3000-3500 and maintains that all the way to redline. Sometimes you can reach full boost earlier than that by increasing the volumetric efficiency of the engine using CAM, headers etc and by properly matching the turbocharger for the application.

[RarlyL8]

Where are you located in Indiana?
We have a whipplecharged '78SC in our PCA region right across the border in East-Central Illinois. If you're close you can come out to an auto-x and see this daily driven track monster for yourself. The torque is instant, the butt dyno feels like a small block is back there. The owner lives to give thrill rides. Five point harness mandatory.

[slammed1000]

i am located in the soutthern tip of indiana (evansville) where are you located in illinois? i am interested in seeing the car just let me know your next autocross or pca evant he might be at.

[RarlyL8]

Evansville - I go down there every fall to visit friends. Sould be comming down in a few weeks.
The auto-x are held at Chanute AFB in Rantoul, North of Champaign (U of I). Pretty good haul for you. It's hard to get ahold of this guy, he races the car all over the country. Let me see if I can find his e-mail address.

What's the story behind your screen name?

[RarlyL8]

Here's the pic, haven't had a chance to track down that e-mail address just yet.

[Joeaksa]

Rarly,

Why did you choose turbo over the supercharger? I like the turbo and have never worked with a supercharger and just wondered.

Hows it going BTW with the new setup? Hope better than in the last weeks. Sounds like a real bear to get to the motor and "touch" it with all the intercooler and such!

Joe

[jyl]

RarlyL8, nice picture of the supercharged SC.

I'm guessing you've looked into the engine bay to see how it all fits. What has to get moved or replaced to fit the supercharger? For example, did he keep the stock intake manifold and heater ducting?

I have a 3.2 and, looking it over, am confused as to how the supercharger would fit over on the left (distributor) side of the motor. Seems like the heater ducts are in the way. And also seems a shame to lose that pretty intake manifold with the long runners.

Anyone seen a supercharger install on a 3.2 which keeps the stock manifold and heater stuff?

[WydRyd]

For the 3.2 Carrera, you need to fit a turbo tail and relocate the air-con condensor, thus the air-con lines need to be extended by approx 10". You'd also have to remove the heater blower duct. I assume they use some sort of 930 heater shroud attached to the fan housing and use the footwell blowers to circulate heat.

This 'lower power' kit runs on the stock C/R of 9.5:1, whereas the higher power kit runs at 9.0:1.

[WydRyd]

Here's a snapsot of the brochure...

[RarlyL8]

My turbo swap has turned sour because the mechanic doing the swap got over his head and dumped it back in my lap. The entire 100% reason he got the job in the first place was because I don't have time for it. It's not rocket science, just very time consuming to do professional job.

Would I do it again? No way. The money I've spent is embarrassing. Remember those two idiots in Excellence that spent tens of thousands on their SC's? We all made fun of them. Well add me to the list and learn from my mistakes.

Now, on to the supercharger. This is what I should have done. Whipple goes for ~$7000 and is a bolt on. No internal mods for the 3.0L SC. The reason I chose the 3.3 turbo was greed - the mods I have done to mine will give ~100 more horsepower than the whipple unit. A steet car could probably benefit more from the torque of the whipple than the HP of the turbo.
I have a few pictures of the engine as it was being built, but no way to post them. The engine bay is obviously tight, just like the turbo. On street gas and conservative boost this engine put out 260 HP at the rear wheels. That is the lowest figure. The impressive (to me) stats belong to the torque curve. From 1200 RPM to redline it is high and pancake flat.

Do not confust the Whipple with the Paxton. Completely different animals. The PO of the whipplecharged SC ran a Paxton unit first. He swapped it for the Whipple due to the Paxtons "turbo like" characteristics.

[Joeaksa]

Rarly,

Thanks for the insight. I have done a turbo installation from scratch and know what you mean. It can be a real long and money consuming process. It was nice in the end but jeez did it "build character"... just do not let the spousal unit find the receipts!

Really sounds like the supercharger route would be nice to explore. Wonder if it would work with a ducktail instead of a turbo tail?

Thx,

Joe

[Lewis Ledyard]

I have an '88 3.2 that needs more power. Does anyone have an opinion of whether to go with the Whipple or go with a 3.6 conversion? This is for a street driven car.

[RarlyL8]

The 3.2 Carrera engine has more options for large increases of power than the CIS engines. Merv, Juan, Mike, and others have had great success with the bolt-on turbo systems. SOK has the 425HP Whipple system. The EFI on these engines along with the intake system open a lot of opportunities.

You really need to be honest with yourself as to the actual use your car will get. If you must have a turbo because it is a turbo, then that is important to you. If you just want a faster street car then a small boost supercharger or a 3.6 conversion might fill the bill. The level of power increases seem to cost about the same nomatter how you go about it.

[dean]

Rarly
I don't understand why you have to call the people who spend money on there car idiots. We don't call you an idiot for not getting your car running yet.
Lighten up

[BlueSkyJaunte]

I think Mr. Rarly was referring to a pair of blokes who'd spent upwards of $60k each on their SCs to end up with nothing more than a pair of very expensive SCs.

Joe, maybe you and I can put our heads together on a mild supercharging solution that'll meet smog out here.

[RarlyL8]

I suppose you COULD argue that spending $80,000 on an SC ISN'T being an idiot.
If you noticed I put myself in the same category as those two fellows in Excellence. The economic dunce hat is firmly planted on my pointy little head.
The frustration of having that stupid dollar SC sitting in my garage gathering dust is a bit unsettling.

[juan ruiz]

Please Count me as ANOTHER IDIOT

[WydRyd]

How's your project coming along Juan? Give us an update!

[juan ruiz]

Hi Merv hey I need your e-mail I have some staff that I want you to see,The latest one was that the wastegate was leaking all my BOOST So we are waiting for the 1.0 bar spring we have work almost all the bugs so it looks like a few more weeks and she is ready we rig the spring so my mechanic can drive it so when I get her she is ready to rip .