Project Dark Horse, Part 2 - Supercharger Install
• Part 1 - Exhaust & Header Install
• Part 2 - Supercharger Install
• Part 3 - Lowering Kit Install
• Part 4 - Wheel & Tire Install
• Part 5 - Big Brake Install
• Part 6 - Electric Fan Install
| 0601st Ford F150 Supercharger Install 01 Z
The second installment of the Dark Horse buildup is going to cover Powerdyne's Supercharging system. Last month, we installed a set of JBA headers and a Bassani after-cat system. The combination of JBA's 1 1/2-inch primary tubes and Firecone merge collectors coupled with Bassani's twin-outlet stainless steel muffler gave us a 30hp kick in the gas. Now, it's time to up the ante even more by force, feeding the three-valve motor with 6 pounds of boost to add an additional 60 hp and 37 lb-ft of torque on top of that. Since the truck is going to have the Mustang essence, we thought it all too fitting to hook up with Powerdyne, one of the industry leaders when it comes to pony car huffers. The guys at the company are knee-deep in the Mustang community, so we are happily surprised they poked their heads out and designed a true bolt-on truck kit.
The supercharger we will cover has a centrifugal design, which makes it a whole lot different than the Roots-style blowers from the '70s. Instead of being mounted directly on top of the engine, these are stationed in front of the block, so there is a lot less teardown involved. Think of the centrifugal-style supercharger as a belt-driven turbo; there have been some design changes to make them work off of belt power, instead of exhaust pressure, but they are very similar.
What makes Powerdyne's unit different than the competitor's is the company's SilentDrive system. Instead of using a set of gears to turn the internals, Powerdyne went with a dry belt, much like a timing belt setup in an import car. With no drive gears to lubricate, this system eliminates the need to route oil from the engine or a separate tank to the supercharger, simplifying installation. The absence of hot engine oil also allows Powerdyne superchargers to run a little cooler, and as we all know, cooler air equals denser air, which equals more power potential. One more thing to point out about the SilentDrive belt system is the noise, or lack thereof. The belt-drive system is very quiet compared to gear-driven counterparts, so if you want to be Mr. Sneaky Man and not have that tell-tale whine become audible until it's too late, this might be the system for you. Enough with the blah-blah, let's move on to the install.
