Questions and Discussion on Vortech Supercharging Systems

[charged86]

Originally Posted by ft86me

Possibly or even just a mushroom filter at the end for the sake if my oil lines w the Perrin kit

Meh I wouldn't do that. I could direct you in the right direction to make one

[ft86me]

Originally Posted by charged86

Meh I wouldn't do that. I could direct you in the right direction to make one

Please do. If like to do that

[Sonolin]

So has it been confirmed that the 2.87 pulley overspins the blower? I was always under the impression it was safe to run on the Vortech but now from what I've been reading it seems that too is out of the question...

[DJCarbine]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

At long idles the car is always bouncing from 198-212.
There is always a faint underhood scent of coolant. And I see zero leaks.

I was unable to see leaks in a previous car until I added UV dye to the system and looked VERY carefully at the radiator. I had a pinhole leak that would let coolant seep out, but it would just scale up/dry and never show any signs of liquid... although the coolant smell was very prevalent after long/hot drives.

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by DJCarbine

I was unable to see leaks in a previous car until I added UV dye to the system and looked VERY carefully at the radiator. I had a pinhole leak that would let coolant seep out, but it would just scale up/dry and never show any signs of liquid... although the coolant smell was very prevalent after long/hot drives.

Thats what i am thinking. I really dont want to pull the front of the car apart again to remove and replace that turd.

[448hpsti]

Originally Posted by Sonolin

So has it been confirmed that the 2.87 pulley overspins the blower? I was always under the impression it was safe to run on the Vortech but now from what I've been reading it seems that too is out of the question...

Yes and no, from me, fwiw

I was changing oil that went from red to burgundy brown in just 5k miles driving the 2.87 hard on the self lube unit. It's fine for street use, IMHO but I would check with vortech for their stand on warranty use with 2.87, yes it works fine for me driving it like a monkey. It is NOT SAFE to track this way as it will overheat, atleast here in az it will.

I can skip an oil change on my wife's car with bigger pulley the oil stays red and clean. So there is the no, it's not good for the unit feeling.

In test on my car now, and yes product development takes time, the oil fed unit should solve this, for the record I haven't yet 'proven' the new unit, will let you know when I have. Truth be told, the blower is all ready, it's the oiling setup we are still testing some minor changes to on my car, vented vs un vented setups etc. by the time you guys install this will be ironed out.

Let me reiterate, to be clear, short of needing more than the 10.5 psi you can get with the 3.33 pulley for track usage, the self lube unit is plenty good for any thing but a track car build. Don't think you need this to make power. It's for sustained high rpm power that the oil fed is even a consideration. I tracked the snot out of my car in both 3.48 and 3.33 and it was only when I moved down to the 2.87 that I even considered the 2.87

Short of an 'all out' build both units make same horsepower, one does offer the extra headroom to go crazy if you so choose


My advice is unless you are going waste gate and your build goals call for oil fed, 99% will be fine with the non race car unit. It's fun tho. It sure is.

Going and thinking you can strap this on to a stock car is a mistake. You need augmented tranny and motor mounts, radiator, oil cooler, and then some to make sense with this much power on hand

[448hpsti]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

Thats what i am thinking. I really dont want to pull the front of the car apart again to remove and replace that turd.

My bet is on evaporative loss not leak. It's not a high pressure cap, or a sealed reservoir , having beat piss out of stock cooling setup, I don't think you have a leak.

[pheoxs]

Originally Posted by 448hpsti

Yes and no, from me, fwiw

I was changing oil that went from red to burgundy brown in just 5k miles driving the 2.87 hard on the self lube unit. It's fine for street use, IMHO but I would check with vortech for their stand on warranty use with 2.87, yes it works fine for me driving it like a monkey. It is NOT SAFE to track this way as it will overheat, atleast here in az it will.

I can skip an oil change on my wife's car with bigger pulley the oil stays red and clean. So there is the no, it's not good for the unit feeling.

In test on my car now, and yes product development takes time, the oil fed unit should solve this, for the record I haven't yet 'proven' the new unit, will let you know when I have. Truth be told, the blower is all ready, it's the oiling setup we are still testing some minor changes to on my car, vented vs un vented setups etc. by the time you guys install this will be ironed out.

Let me reiterate, to be clear, short of needing more than the 10.5 psi you can get with the 3.33 pulley for track usage, the self lube unit is plenty good for any thing but a track car build. Don't think you need this to make power. It's for sustained high rpm power that the oil fed is even a consideration. I tracked the snot out of my car in both 3.48 and 3.33 and it was only when I moved down to the 2.87 that I even considered the 2.87

Short of an 'all out' build both units make same horsepower, one does offer the extra headroom to go crazy if you so choose


My advice is unless you are going waste gate and your build goals call for oil fed, 99% will be fine with the non race car unit. It's fun tho. It sure is.

Going and thinking you can strap this on to a stock car is a mistake. You need augmented tranny and motor mounts, radiator, oil cooler, and then some to make sense with this much power on hand

What do you mean by augmented tranny and motor mounts?

[Rick@Vortech]

Originally Posted by 448hpsti

I was changing oil that went from red to burgundy brown in just 5k miles driving the 2.87 hard on the self lube unit. It's fine for street use, IMHO but I would check with vortech for their stand on warranty use with 2.87

Smaller pulley does void your warranty. That's why we have a tamper-proof cap on the blower.

[nelsmar]

Originally Posted by Sonolin

So has it been confirmed that the 2.87 pulley overspins the blower? I was always under the impression it was safe to run on the Vortech but now from what I've been reading it seems that too is out of the question...

Vortech confirmed many pages ago that this does in fact over spin the supercharger. And it isn't a heat issue as Gem is mentioning that is the problem. The oil system is not designed to rotate more than 50,000RPM. The "race" model that has engine oil feed & return is able to spin at a higher revolution.

3.00" IIRC puts exactly at the threshold however there is only a 8 rib pulley that i have not tested my self, so I do not know if it fits even though it has a different rib count. I have tested 3.33 & 3.125. The 3.125 is still well witihin warranty (47-47.5k RPM iirc at oem redline).

[DJCarbine]

Originally Posted by nelsmar

Vortech confirmed many pages ago that this does in fact over spin the supercharger. And it isn't a heat issue as Gem is mentioning that is the problem. The oil system is not designed to rotate more than 50,000RPM. The "race" model that has engine oil feed & return is able to spin at a higher revolution.

3.00" IIRC puts exactly at the threshold however there is only a 8 rib pulley that i have not tested my self, so I do not know if it fits even though it has a different rib count. I have tested 3.33 & 3.125. The 3.125 is still well witihin warranty (47-47.5k RPM iirc at oem redline).

Do you happen to know what pulley FA20Club is using for their 12psi pulley upgrade? Would that be the 3.125 or a smaller pulley? I think they are using the stock number of ribs as well....

[nelsmar]

Originally Posted by DJCarbine

Do you happen to know what pulley FA20Club is using for their 12psi pulley upgrade? Would that be the 3.125 or a smaller pulley? I think they are using the stock number of ribs as well....

FA20club has both 2.87 & 3.125 pulleys upon request. When he flew down and tuned my car it was on a 3.48 & 3.125 pulley. I wanted to do a comparison with 3.33 but we ran out of time to get that pulley on as well. The 3.125 + E85 is a fair increase over the stock kit. I ran E85 simply as I was not as comfortable running the higher boost on this engine with my driving habits. Others have ran it on pump gas though. Mind you I live in Arizona... Arizona & California fuel is pure garbage.

[Rick@Vortech]

Originally Posted by nelsmar

3.00" IIRC puts exactly at the threshold however there is only a 8 rib pulley that i have not tested my self, so I do not know if it fits even though it has a different rib count.

Running an 8-rib pulley on a 6-rib setup will work, it'll just look funny. The extra ribs "hang off" the end of the pulley, away from the blower, so you shouldn't run into any issues. You'll just need a longer retaining bolt for the 8-rib that you can pick up at most hardware stores.

[nelsmar]

Originally Posted by Rick@Vortech

Running an 8-rib pulley on a 6-rib setup will work, it'll just look funny. The extra ribs "hang off" the end of the pulley, away from the blower, so you shouldn't run into any issues. You'll just need a longer retaining bolt for the 8-rib that you can pick up at most hardware stores.

Thanks! Good to know! I am tempting to give the 3.00 a whirl after I get these dyno's finished now that I seemed to have resolved all of my belt issues. Even though I am quite pleased with my 3.125. Honestly if a header gives me any up top & mid range increase I will probably step down to the 3.33 for my car as I just want a mid range increase if possible. I am quite pleased with how the car runs right now. You can hear my bypass valve open as i approach highway speeds and can just "hear" the fuel economy blowing out of the valve. lol