Vortech Superchargers' Blog

Team Wu Vortech Supercharged Dodge Charger Making The Bullrun Tonight On MTV2…

Brian@Vortech — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:23:29 +0000

Be sure to set your DVR’s for the start of Cops, Cars & Superstars Bullrun Rally on MTV2. This is not your normal prime-time reality show…this is real Rally style cross-country racing and mayhem. Check out the Team Wu Vortech Supercharged Dodge Charger Police Car take on the competition in this no holds barred race across the U.S.

Vortech’s New 8-Rib Drive Conversion For 2011+ 5.0L Mustangs Will Help Feed Your Boost Addiction…

Brian@Vortech — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:00:59 +0000

Not satisfied with the over 600 horsepower that the off the shelf Vortech Si-Trim System can take your stock 2011+ 5.0L Mustang GT to? Got a built motor? Getting ready to run some major boost? Well, Vortech is ready for you! The 8-Rib Drive Upgrade allows for maximum belt traction and stability for racing and hard driving, while remaining completely street ready and daily drive friendly. Drive conversion contains all necessary hardware and precision machined spacers to go right out of the box and onto your supercharged 5.0L Mustang. OEM quality replacement alternator pulley, water pump pulley, idlers, and crank damper pulley all included.
P/N: 4FQ116-001 Vortech 8-Rib Supercharger Drive Upgrade System

Included Supercharger driven pulley measures 3.47″ diameter, with numerous other pulley sizes also available for sale separately.

Optional Supercharger Pulley Sizes (May also require alternate belt drive length):
2A038-380 3.80″ 8-Rib Supercharger Drive Pulley
2A038-370 3.70″ 8-Rib Supercharger Drive Pulley
2A038-360 3.60″ 8-Rib Supercharger Drive Pulley
2A038-347 3.47″ 8-Rib Supercharger Drive Pulley
2A038-333 3.33″ 8-Rib Supercharger Drive Pulley
2A038-315 3.15″ 8-Rib Increased Traction Profile Supercharger Drive Pulley
2A038-312 3.12″ 8-Rib Supercharger Drive Pulley
2A038-300 3.00″ 8-Rib Increased Traction Profile Supercharger Drive Pulley
2A038-295 2.95″ 8-Rib Supercharger Drive Pulley
2A038-285 2.85″ 8-Rib Increased Traction Profile Supercharger Drive Pulley
2A038-280 2.80″ 8-Rib Increased Traction Profile Supercharger Drive Pulley
2A038-275 2.75″ 8-Rib Supercharger Drive Pulley
2A038-270 2.70″ 8-Rib Increased Traction Profile Supercharger Drive Pulley

*Custom ECM programming and fuel/ignition upgrades will be required when changing the supercharger drive pulley to any size other than what was originally supplied in the complete supercharger kit.

Vortech Superchargers Needs Your 2012 Camaro SS For R&D…

Brian@Vortech — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:00:08 +0000

By now, everyone has learned that the only way to make big power with a Gen. 5 Camaro SS is to do it with a Vortech Centrifugal Supercharger. So, to continue with the charge, we need to bring in some new 2012 SS’ to finalize computer ECM tuning for the 2012 model year vehicles. If you have one of these fantastic new Camaros and find yourself in need of a big boost in power, now may be your absolute best chance to get it. We are in need of a pair of additional LS3′s and L99′s for R&D (2 Manual Transmission and 2 Automatic Transmission). Here is your opportunity to take advantage of our need. Vehicles must be otherwise stock, and be sure to act quickly, because you just might be one of the lucky ones to get in on the action at the heavily discounted price of only $3,000!

We require these specific models:
2 Manual Transmission (6.2L LS3) 2012 Camaro SS
2 Automatic Transmission (6.2L L99) 2012 Camaro SS

Hurry…only 2 more of each are needed!

Email us at: info@vortechsuperchargers.com
Phone us at: (805) 247-0226

When sending an email, please include “Vortech, use my new Camaro SS for R&D!!!” as the Subject.

Forgiato’s Vortech Supercharged Widebody Camaro SS…

Brian@Vortech — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:43:03 +0000

Check out this gorgeous video featuring Forgiato’s Vortech V-3 Si-Trim Supercharged Widebody Camaro SS.

A Visit To Cars & Coffee Irvine…

Brian@Vortech — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:55:46 +0000

It was a cold and foggy morning in Irvine, CA for the final Cars & Coffee of 2011. The Paxton NOVI 2200 Supercharged Tjin Edition/Universal Technical Institute Mustang GT was looking sharp, and made a friend in the form of a Gintani/Vortech Supercharged E9X M3. Check out the pics.

Got any additional Vortech/Paxton/Lysholm Supercharged pics from this event? Let us Know – info@vortechsuperchargers.com

LSXTV Tech Review: Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Modular CDS Gear Drive

Brian@Vortech — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:36:07 +0000

From LSXTV:

Chris Alston’s Chassisworks has unveiled a whole new line of products designed for direct bolt-on gear and belt driven superchargers for racing or serious performance-built street motors. The new line, called Component Drive Systems (CDS) is designed for either single and dual Vortech, Paxton, or other brand centrifugal Superchargers. The CDS systems can be bolted onto a variety of engine configurations including all Chevys (including LS-series engines), plus Ford in both small block and Modular motor varieties.

Belt Versus Gear Drive
An inherent problem with belt drive systems is belt slip plus the additional stress created on the crankshaft due to the tight belt. The CDS supercharger gear drive increases reliability by eliminating belt slip and premature main bearing wear, reducing the need for costly engine rebuilds. The CDS gear drives are adjustable by changing the gear ratio for upping or lowering boost levels.

When asked to explain the main principle driving development of the CDS product line, project-leader and racer Chris Alston Jr. commented, “Generally they’re used in higher horsepower applications to help reduce problems that customers have with belt systems. The CDS supercharger gear drive will eliminate the belt system and take away the load and eliminate the stress to the snout of the supercharger and the crankshaft caused by a belt drive system, robbing the motor of horsepower.”

Nothing can ruin a race faster than throwing a belt mid race; there is absolutely nothing you can do about it as hundreds of horsepower is thrown down the drain. Pedaling during a run creates extra stress on the belt as it’s torqued after every snap of the throttle, which is energy that can be easily absorbed by a gear drive.

The billet drive systems have unrivaled stability, both under load and in back pedaling situations. The strength of the systems increases part longevity by minimizing the unavoidable side loads on both the crankshaft and the supercharger bearings that are caused by the belt drive system.

Gear Drive Crankshaft Couplers and Applications
Chris Alston’s Chassisworks paid special attention to the coupler assembly that connects the CDS gear drive to the supercharger and to the crankshaft. The coupler, and more specifically its internal bushing set, allows the drive to properly function through minor crankshaft-to-supercharger misalignment and dampens crankshaft harmonics that can potentially increase wear on the supercharger bearings.

Because of the tremendous stress placed on the bushings while under load and the flexibility required for reliable operation, the bushings are designed as a wearable component. Depending upon horsepower and boost levels, bushings can last for a full season or more and can be easily replaced for just $25 per set; an affordable and quick alternative to regular replacement of bearings or other more expensive components.

Beyond conventional engine combinations, Chris Alston’s Chassisworks can make the supercharger drive units work for unique engine configurations as well. Currently the Chassisworks team is working on mounting a CDS drive on a 500 cubic inch Pontiac motor and a 4.3-liter V6 engine. Beyond motor options, the team believes that they can make a system work for most any centrifugal supercharger.

Adding Accessories with the CDS Drive
Another beneficial aspect of the front drive is that it is forward facing, which will place the supercharger inlet directly into the incoming airflow and will allow for cooler charge temperatures out of the supercharger.

The way the drive is designed, there are multiple mounting configurations available, so that it is easier to package into the vehicle. The CDS drive will allow for different combinations of accessories to be placed onto the motor, including mechanical fuel pumps, oil pumps and/or water pumps.

The system is of a similar height and length in most situations, even with single or dual superchargers, but will vary slightly in length. Normal dimensions of the system fully installed are 14 inches wide by 10 inches high by 18 inches deep with a Vortech Supercharger. These dimensions generally make for an easy fit into full race cars, no matter the class or requirements.

Testing The CDS Gear Drive
Theo Dec of Wizard Racing, who has tested the CDS gear drive gear explained, “A supercharger is like a giant flywheel that is spinning upwards of 60,000 RPM and if you try to pedal it, it does not want to slow down. Potentially you could rip teeth clean off of the belt. With the gear design, we do not run into those problems.” Theo has built multiple vehicles with gear drives and emphasizes the importance of eliminating the side load caused by a belt drive, “Not having the parasitic loss of a belt pulling on the unit and the snout of the crankshaft, the freed up horsepower is definitely a plus,” continued Dec.

Dec has a very unique angle on seeing how the Chassisworks CDS drive works as a car builder and tuner, “I do a lot of custom builds and it is important to me to have a company who will build products to meet my customers’ needs.” Dec has built and tuned multiple cars with Vortech units and other superchargers, plus works with other cars that also run the drive. Dec has had no problems with the drives and has been impressed by the durability that it has brought to those cars.

Alston Jr. talks about the customers using the drive units, “We have customers who run them on smaller blowers on the street, and on the opposite side of the spectrum we have mounted twin superchargers for racing.” Dec has also proven the CDS drive on the dragstrip, but possibly even more impressive is that he has used the drive on vehicles that are capable of cruising on the street as well. Multiple gear combinations are available so that motors can be set up to over-drive or under-drive the supercharger to either maximize the torque at lower engine RPM’s or by reducing the power of the motor to allow for an engine that plays nicer on the street.

Helping Drive the Power Directly to your Supercharger
The Chris Alston’s Chassisworks CDS gear drive is just the first step in the Component Drive System line up. Chris Alston Jr. and his team are very excited by the positive feedback they have received thus far. The CDS product engineering team is busy right now to expand the product line and we anticipate seeing more high quality products out of the Chassisworks group in the future.

With the technological evolution of power adders over the recent years, as turbos have gone from reliability issues to reliably fast, the introduction of the CDS drive could be the beginning of great things yet to come in the centrifugal supercharger racing scene. Any product that lowers the drag on motors, frees up horsepower, and increases the performance of the car or truck on track has to be a good thing. The CDS drive is highly customizable and will be able to be used on many engine and supercharger configurations including single and twin superchargers applications as well as anything from a modular motor Ford to a big block Chevrolet, with a simple bracket change, giving meaning to the word versatility. Though the CDS gear drive may not guarantee you a round win, it can certainly help keep you from losing one.

Vortech Engineering Introduces The New V-24 XB105 Supercharger…

Brian@Vortech — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 15:50:45 +0000

Vortech’s X series superchargers have a long successful heritage, with an industry reputation of being the most durable and efficient superchargers in competition today. The New Vortech V-24 XB105 takes advantage of new rules that allows us to add 6% more flow area to the race proven V-24 Xi-Trim. A Newly engineered ultra-efficient light weight billet impeller with superior stability and strength over standard billet. The V-24X B105 has the most efficient, largest volute in class (11″). Another revolutionary feature of the V-24 XB105 is a new diverging volute contour with engine specific tunable diffusion. We will let you know more about tunable diffusion soon. With all the engineering and new technology put into Vortech’s new offering, the V-24 XB105 will be visiting the winner’s circle soon.

Current Vortech V-24 Xi-Trim superchargers will be fully upgradeable to the new V-24 XB105.

Features Include:

1. Newly engineered ultra efficient light weight Billet impeller

2. 6% more flow area over the Vortech V24-XI.

3. Improved 11” diameter (Largest volute in class)

4. New diverging volute contour.

5. Will be legal in all applicable popular racing classes.

6. Engine specific Tunable Diffusion

Making 718RWHP With Anything Is An Accomplishment, But With A 2 Valve 4.6L? Jake’s Mustang Is No Joke…

Brian@Vortech — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:05:06 +0000

Jake Smith from San Diego, CA has himself a serious Mustang that he can be proud of. His current setup has him putting down 718RWHP @ 22psi on the dyno at Racer’s Edge Tuning in Downey, CA.

Starting out with an S-Trim, then upgrading to an Si-Trim, then finally going for a V-7 YSi-Trim for the results you see today. Jake’s build consists of a built long block, ported stock heads, Bullet Racing blower cam, Edelbrock intake manifold, upgraded valvetrain, and custom tuning on E85 from Greg @ Racer’s Edge Tuning.

Jake has definitely got himself a potent package, so you might want to think twice if you see a Red 2002 Mustang rolling around the street of Southern California with a nice whistle coming from underneath the hood. when asked what he thought of his car now, Jake said “I couldn’t be happier! The (Vortech) YSi-Trim Supercharger still has so much left in it too!”

Unstoppable Power, Reliability, And Speed With VF Engineering’s E9X Supercharging System For Your M3…

Brian@Vortech — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:19:06 +0000

VF-Engineering Starts With Their Name – Engineering.
VF have engineered this kit for the amazing E9X M3 from A-to-Z, allowing you to supercharge your bad-ass Bavarian to performance levels you never imagined, and we mean never… VF spent the past several years and considerable internal cost to bring ECU tuning in-house for their BMW supercharger kits, ensuring that they control quality and performance 100%. VFs newly enhanced tuning, always high quality parts, and the Vortech Centrifugal Supercharger make for a wild combination of obscene speed and reliable performance.
Maintaining The Original BMW Smoothness And Reliability Were Huge Key Factors In The VF Design.
VF has harnessed the consistent, linear boost delivery of the Vortech Centrifugal Series of Superchargers to create the ultimate supercharging system for the ultimate driver’s car…The E9X M3 maintains a very good record for reliability despite being such a high performance car, and this was an essential quality to maintain with the VF kits.
In late 2008, VF purchased a new model M3 and chose to create a complete aftercooled supercharger kit. This is no small task; this kit has to work on a customer’s brand new $60K+ automobile with reliability and factory-like drivability to match.Much Effort Was Placed On Precise Development And Quality
After much success on the E46 M3, completely retooling the system to be one of the most capable on the market, the E9X become the focus of VF Engineering’s goal: becoming the dominant force in the BMW supercharger world. A production aluminum intake manifold with integrated air-to-water charge cooler was custom developed for greater performance and clean looks under the hood. Compared to similar air-to-air systems, air-to-water charge coolers are a more expensive option, but are also more effective in their operation. Not only by harnessing the added heat dissipating potential of water, but also requiring none of the lengthy ducting and being far less dependent on ambient outside air temperature for its potential cooling ability. Often used in European Rally cars, air/water cooling is the ultimate in charge cooling technology for on and off the race track. Nothing less would do for such a car, and VF includes this as part of their kit at no additional cost to you. The prototype Supercharging Systems were run on 2 different VF test-mules, including the infamous fighter-jet themed VF widebody car that saw thousands and thousands of miles of cross country driving with no issues, even under abusive driving on the factory DCT transmission!
The point? Your M3 continues to drive and feel like an “M Car” due to excellent throttle response and a cool intake charge. Much more power is on tap with exceptional reliability- all this is crucial to keep the M3′s excellent inherent qualities intact.

To date, the VF620 kit is the world record holder at 10.6 seconds quarter mile time on 93 pump gas with no methanol! (Achieved on DOT approved 10.5″ tires on VAC Motorsports’ project E92 M3 test car.)This record setting time beats out their own prior world record of 11.1@126.9 set on November 26th of this year.

Seibon Carbon Toy Drive Meet & Greet – Everything But A Carbon Fiber Santa’s Sleigh!

Brian@Vortech — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:28:48 +0000

Seibon Carbon played Santa’s little helper this weekend as they hosted a meet & greet/toy drive at their headquarters in Southern California. The event brought out all types or people and cars, including some Vortech and Paxton Supercharged stars!Seibon Headquarters in SoCal hosted the event.LDRSHIP Designs came out and repped the boost with their Paxton Supercharged Camaro SS and Vortech Supercharged 392 SRT8 Challenger.The Vortech Supercharged Seibon Camaro SS was sitting out front looking ready to transform into a giant robot.All types of cars were in attendance to show their support!

Special photo credit and thanks go to William Lee – Night Import.