Switchable Supercharger?
 

I know little about superchargers.

Do they make superchargers that you can switch on and off while your drivin? Or maybe one that lets you vary the boost on the fly?

I'd like the power, but I dont want to be stressing the engine while I drive to work, or burning up the extra gas.

Thanks,

xto

Re: Switchable Supercharger?
 

No.

You can unhook the belt, but then you're running with a major obstruction in your intake.

Variable boost? You're thinking Turbos...

You can change the pulley fairly easily, but not out on the road, unless you carry some nice tools

No one ever tried to do this?

Could you rig up the s/c pulley like the airconditioning compressor, where it can be turned on and off?

Then have two air intakes, one for the supercharger and one for normal asperation, with a gate to switch between the two?

Assuming you could do this, would there be tuning issues to deal with still?

Thanks,

xto

You would need to have a fully adjustable, tunable computer, that you could mess with fuel pressure et. al. on the fly.

Not to mention you would need two MAF's, filters, all that tubing...

You've never seen the inside of a blower, have you? If there was a way to clutch them and make it work, somebody would have done it years ago.

That's why they came up with turbos, they're blowers that only work under load.

Certain styles of blowers/sc's will not allow the engine to breathe if they are not rotating. I believe Positive Displacement's are like this, once the screws inside stop, the engine will suffocate it's self. I think Centrif types the air can still somewhat swirl around the fins into the system, but it will be like breathing through a very small straw and will make the enigine go under strain...

The only way I could think of doing it w/o causing it to suffocate is to have two intake tubes in a Y pattern, one side under the normal intake will have a check valve in it to only allow air to come in it, not out it.. the other side with the s/c will be open since air won't easily flow out that way it it's not spining.. Once activated the S/C will cause the check valve on the normal side to close, since the pressure will try to escape out the air fliter in front of it, and will allow the air flow to go into the engine.. You'd still have to deal with a hell of a lot of different tuning, and then the shock of the S/C coming on out of nowhere... would prob be real expensive.

Well, I guess there goes that idea.

So how much extra wear does a supercharger put on a car? If I dont ever race, would it be silly to have one just to drive around with?

I'd like the power, but not at the expense of cutting the engines life in half by abusing the engine while I'm out running errands....

Do people get superchargers if they dont plan on loggin alot of track time?

-xto

only one co. make a supercharger like that and it`s for the focus it made by jackson racing and the sc only comes on during wot

You have nothing to worry about...Boost does not come on until you start reaching for full throttle....On the freeway I get 20.5 mpg because I am not in the boost..your can daily drive your car like it was not s/c just keep an eye on your boost gage..You can still deliver a lot of power just on the motor without reaching into boost. I run an S trim vortech that at my last dyno was pulling 14 lbs. boost (see my sig) now I am hitting 16.5 lbs boost since motor now has 5,000 miles on it and s/c was overhauled.

Late 80s Toyota MR2s had a switched s/c. Used an a/c compressor clutch. It was a Roots type. There have been other makes through the years that have done this, as far back as pre war times, to varying degrees of success.

It's been done. http://www.angelfire.com/co2/V8stang90/

1997 Ford Mustang Super Stallion. Hydraulic activated Supercharger. Click where it says Super Stallion on the left...it will take you to the review of the car.


John