[Driftek]

Sourced from 240sx.org archives

Superchargers
Is there a generic supercharger that would fit the twin cam engine? How about an electric supercharger?

Fred Sheltry

In a way a lot of superchargers are generic. You can just about any supercharger into your car as long as it is made to turn in the same direction as your engine's pulley. Screw type and Roots type superchargers would not fit very well though, as these force air directly into the intake mainfold. A centrifugal supercharger would probably be the best way to go. As far as I can tell, it may be the only way. A centrifugal supercharger is basically a turbo driven by a belt rather than an exhaust turbine. The thermal efficiency of a centrifugal supercharger is slightly less than that of a turbo. But the supercharger has much better response(no lag!) and can offer boost just off idle. This is because superchargers generally have linear boost curves. Boost is controlled by the size of the pulley, larger pulleys giving lower boost levels, and small pulleys giving higher boost levels. The 240sx can probably handle about 5 psi of boost without a lot of tuning. 7 psi might be attainable with some really diligent tuning. As far as fitment of a supercharger in a 240sx, it may be a little tricky, unless you have no air conditioning.

Vortech, Paxton and Powerdyne are probably the most reputable names in centrifugal supercharging. Vortech and Paxton have similarly designed superchargers and are internally gear driven. They have a slightly better thermal efficiency level than the Powerdyne unit. However, Powerdyne is internally belt driven(it uses a belt similar to a timing belt) and does not require oil lines to be installed for lubrication. It is also much quieter than gear driven models.

I am personally planning on Supercharging my 240sx with a powerdyne unit, and i will probably run about 5 lbs of boost. Hopefully I can raise the funds within about a year, and if I do, I will definitelygive some feedback. I have priced a unit at about $1490 from a Powerdyne salesman who said he would refer me to a shop that can get me this price.

Chano Kim
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