How to Add a Supercharger to an Engine

Adding a supercharger to your car's engine can add extra horsepower. Compared to a turbocharger, a supercharger is usually less expensive and easier to install yourself. A supercharger is basically a mechanically driven compressor used to deliver pressurized air to the inlet manifold.

  • Unpack the supercharger. Ensure that you have all the parts that you need for the installation.

  • Install the oil drain hose onto the supercharger's drain fitting. Put a hose clamp on it and make sure the clamp doesn't interfere with the brackets.

  • Put the supercharger on the car with the oil drain hose going straight down. It is held on with four bolts.

  • Bolt the supercharger idler assembly onto the supercharger.

  • Attach the intake elbow to the supercharger.

  • Install the elbow going from the fender to the inlet.

  • You may need to drill a hole for the air sensor. The sensor should fit along the outside bend. Check that the sensor won't interfere with anything in the engine since this is a tight fit. Once you have the placement of the sensor, use a small drill bit to drill the initial hole and move up in bit size until you almost have the correct size to fit the sensor. Use a file to finish the hole and make it the correct size for the sensor. You don't want air to slip out through the sensor, so make sure that the sensor fits securely.

  • Clean out the inside of the tube to ensure no debris gets into the supercharger.

  • Attach the elbow to the flex tube coming off the MAF.

  • Between the elbow and the supercharger's inlet tube is a piece of rubber hose. Slip all the hose clamps onto the end of the inlet so that they can slide onto the hose once everything is assembled.

  • Hook up the elbow and clamp it down. Your supercharger is now installed.