I'm thinking about super charging my '04 C5 350HP to 500? Can anyone give me an approx price to do this and are there any reasons not to do this to my vette? Will it impact the intown driving performance? Or anything else? Thanks in advance.

 

Rita,

I'd have to guess $10,000 by the time you're done. I believe most of the superchargers run approx. $7,000. Tack on at least $1500 for the install and another $100 for upgraded parts, add tax and you're right up there at the 10K point.

Dave

 

I have an 02 that is supercharged and the cost of the supercharger alone was around $7k not including aftercooler (if you want it) and labor. The car is putting out a little over 500hp at the crank so kinda like what your looking for. If you have the funds I say go for it the car is just that much more enjoyable to drive.

 

RJ....now you are getting dangerous ....now you want to supercharge, eh? ....... what kind of role model are you being to me, eh?

Get ready to spend about 10K and perhaps a little more....that's the quote I got from my local Corvette mechanic here in Riverside, CA.

 

Thanks everyone for getting back to me on this one. Wow, that is more than I thought it would cost. It is doable, but would have to be done on the Q.T. Needless to say, my husband would "wig" if he knew. I'm thinking I should have bought a '06 instead of an '04, but I liked the body on the '04 so much more. Besides, when I was shopping for my vette, my husband said he didn't think I should get a stick because it would be too great of a temptation to race it. I said, "Don't be ridiculous . . . of course I'm going to race it."
Only kidding of course - my #1 goal is "NO TICKETS!!"

Well, rufaryif, what can I say??? It is, after all, good clean fun!
Stay safe.
RJ

 

I think you could do it, complete, for around $7,000-$7500. This would mean that: a) you found the SCr for about 10% off list price, and b) you found a shop that would do the job for a fair but fairly low cost, too.

There are two routes:
1) centrifugal supercharger, either a Vortech or a Procharger. In either case you can go with the basic model they recommend for the Corvette C5, you don't need an upgraded model with higher capacity unless you want more than 550 HP and have a "built" all-forged lower end engine to take the power. Vortech and Procharger and pretty much the same so go with whatever is the better bargain. They normally list with all the fittings, etc., at around $7,000. Shop around a lot. I did -- it took some asking and reserach, but I got my Procharger at over $1,000 off list.

2) Roots style. These are, in my opinion, a much superior way to go for the street. Roots style SCrs build boost down low in the RPM range so they give you gobs of power around town, really a pleasure to drive, and they have the most wonder "scream" -- a jet engine howl as loud as the exhaust, when you really get on it.
The downside of the roots stylel SCr is that you will have to buy a new hood to clear it-- the roots style sits on top of the engine (it looks really very impressive there, when installed) and so you need a new hood with a 3" buldge. By contrast the vortech and Procharger fit to the side of the engine, under the stock hood.
Now the hood bulge looks very nice -- its adds a bit of menace and power to the car's appearance (see my car in the Gallery) but a new hood will cost about $1100 -- some kits come with them as an option and you might get it for only $800 additional) , but then you need to have it painted. If your car is a non-metalic color (red, yellow, blue, etc. then you can simply get the hood painted for about $500. If like me you have a silver car, or another metallic color (if there is one?) you'll find that the only satsifactory painting will be one that paints the hood after it is installed and blends the new spray over and into the whole front end - $1800.
Regardless, the most popular roots style kit is the Magnusen kit, which lists at around $6,400 with intercooller and all fittings. Again, you can shop around and find discounts. You can go with a Kenny Bell, currently the most powerful roots blower kit (other than the big drag racing blowers) you can buy. But this is more money, and very new (just released) and so it is hard to find, period, and not many discounts. It will produce more power than any of basic Vortech or Procharger models, or the biggest Magnusen model (probably enough to cause you mechanic problems).
I had a Magnusen kit on my current vette from about six weeks after new for two years, until I switched out the engine for the 427. It was a very sweet set up for daily driving, and utterly reliable -- never gave a moment's trouble. When I went with the 427 I had to let that go (a magnusen will not blow enough air to really feed a built 427 well) and got an upgraded Procharger, the D model which blows about 25% more air than the normal P model they recommend for stock-block C5s. So I have experience with both (the Procharger has been nearly flawless, but I am having some issues with the pulleys squeaking until it warms up).
Incidently, I sold my used Magnusen set up for $3650, and there are probably other used ones out there. If you are careful, you might find a bargain buying used.
And resist the temptation to go for more the 6.5 or 7 lbs boost. Any more will blow you stock block engine apart. Limit yourself to under 475 RWHP and you should be okay.

 

Wow, Lee - you are extremely knowledgeable and I greatly appreciate this info and your advice. I will thoroughly research this before doing anything, not to mention re-reading your post several times to make sure I understand everything. One thing I do understand is when you described the "gobs of power" and the "jet engine scream". I love it and that definitely sounds like the end results I would like to see in my vette.

Thanks again, you are always so helpful.
Rita

 

Seen this on Ebay, and was thinking of your Post....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/01-04...spagenameZWDVW

 

Thank you do much. I'm on eBay all the time - buying and selling, but I never thought of looking there for a SC.

Again, thank you so much.
Rita