What supercharger parts normally come in a complete kit?
Most supercharger systems will come with tons of parts to make up the kit. And having an understanding of what supercharger parts will only make you more familiar with the systems. Here is a list of the most common supercharger parts that make up a supercharger kit.
Supercharger Head Unit or Compressor
A Supercharger has many names like a Blower, Compressor, and Head Unit. A supercharger is an air compressor that runs off of the belt system on your engine that forces air into the motor creating a substantial horsepower and torque increase.
Supercharger Bracket
The mounting Bracket is the main bracket that attaches the supercharger compressor onto the engine block. These brackets are made from sheets of steel, some are billet aluminum, and others may also incorporate other brackets that are cast aluminum. Within a whole bracket assembly all the spacers, bolt, and hardware will be present.
Supercharger Oil Feed Line and Drain Line
Almost all superchargers need oil. A supercharger Oil Feed Line hooks up to your engine block and provides oil to your supercharger compressor.
The supercharger Oil Drain Line allows oil to leave from the supercharger compressor and back into your engine normally above the oil line in your oil pan.
Since oil is being supplied by the engine, every time you do an oil change on your engine you are also changing the oil that goes to the supercharger.
Some supercharger compressors have a built in oil reservoir that do not require these Oil Feed and Oil Drain Lines. Since they do not get their supply of oil from the engine normally they will require their own special oil that has to be changed inside of the supercharger compressor. These oil changes are easy where some units have a dipstick and oil drain hole to make oil change simple.
Supercharger Manifold
Supercharger Manifolds are commonly found in Roots or Twin-Screw type superchargers. The supercharger compressor mounts on top of this custom manifold and the manifold then in return mounts where your stock manifold was.
A Supercharger Drive Pulley is the Pulley that mounts directly to the Supercharger. Boost pressure is controlled by the size of this pulley. The smaller the supercharger drive pulley the faster it will turn the supercharger and in return the more boost you will receive. If you go larger on the supercharger drive pulley the slower it will turn the compressor and the less boost you will see.
These Pulleys come in different widths of 4,Rib, 6-Rib, 7, Rib, 8-Rib, 10-Rib, 12-Rib, and Cog. The more ribs a pulley has the more traction the belt will get resulting in less belt slippage. The same goes with the actually size of the pulley. The larger the supercharger drive pulley the more contact you will have with the belt.
Supercharger Crank Pulley
Many Supercharger Kits will come with a crank pulley some use your existing stock crank pulley. Some crank pulleys will attach directly to your stock crank pulley while others might replace your existing crank pulley and include drives for the supercharger and your accessories drive belts. Supercharger crank pulleys work opposite from supercharger drive pulleys, where the larger the crank pulley the more boost you will see, and the smaller the crank pulley the lower boost levels you will see. These Supercharger Crank Pulleys also come in different rib sizes of 6-Rib, 7, Rib, 8-Rib, 10-Rib, 12-Rib and Cog.
Supercharger Idler Pulley
Supercharger Idler Pulleys help guide the belt so it does not interfere with anything. They are also used to gain the maximum amount of belt contact so your belt does not slip.
Supercharger Tensioner Pulley
The Supercharger Tensioner Pulley is what provides proper tension so your belt does not slip. Some Kits utilize a spring tensioner that will automatically tension the belt. Others use a manual tensioner that requires you to torque it down to the desire tension.
Belts
A Supercharger Drive belt is the main belt that will attach to the crank pulley and your supercharger drive pulley. These belts come in 4-Rib, 6-Rib, 7, Rib, 8-Rib, 10-Rib, 12-Rib and Cog sizes.
An accessory drive belt is the belt in which drives all of your accessories on your engine for example your A/C, smog pump, water pump, etc.
Some Supercharger Systems use a serpentine belt, which means there is one belt to drive both the supercharger and all of your engines accessories.
By pass valve
A Bypass Valve also known as a surge valve is very common in most supercharger systems. This valve prevents the excess air from going back into the supercharger preventing harm from happening to your supercharger compressor. It also is used to let the excess air that is going towards the engine when you are not in heavy load. A bypass valve is an important supercharger part that will help in the prevention of compressor surge and potential damage to your engine, throttle body and supercharger compressor. A lot of low boost applications will not require a Bypass valve however anything over 5psi it is recommended.
Supercharger Discharge Tube
The Supercharger Discharge Tube is the tube or tubes that leave from the supercharger compressor to the Throttle body of your engine. Normally the Bypass valve is attached to this tube.
Supercharger Air Intake Tube
The Supercharger Air intake Tube is the tube or tubes that hook up to the Air Filter and your supercharger compressor. This is where your supercharger gets its air from so it can compress it into your engine.
Some people upgrade their Air Intake Tube to a PowerPipe. These PowerPipes are larger in size causing your application to receive higher levels of boost from freeing up the restriction that the manufactures air intake tubes may have.
Sleeves, Reducers, Couplers
Sleeves and Couplers are the rubber hoses that attach the supercharger tubes to other tubes or engine parts like the throttle body. With a supercharged application it is very important to run heavy-duty Sleeves or Couplers so the pipes do not pop out.
Reducers are a form of these Couplers where one side is a different size from the other, for example one side might be 3-inches and the other side will be 4-inches. Reducers are made so you can attach different size tubes together.
Intercooler
Intercoolers are similar to a radiator but for your supercharger. Intercoolers are Air-to-Air and they mount in the front of your car. Intercoolers allow you to run more boost at a safer level. It also will allow you to run a more aggressive tune so you can see more HP. On top of that it really helps controlling heat all around and looks very aggressive.
Aftercooler
An Aftercooler is an Air-To-Water type Intercooler. Companies like Vortech, MagnaCharger, and Whipple all use this technology. There are several parts that work with an Aftercooler system like water pump, heat exchanger, water tank, intercooler core and other hardware.
The way it works is very simple. Inside of the water tank you use a mixture of anti-freeze and water. It is then pumped into the heat exchanger and gets routed into the intercooler core and back into the tank. The Heat Exchanger is like an oil-cooler where it sits in front of the car and it cools the water mixture as it enters the intercooler. A lot of times these Aftercoolers are located before the Throttle Body or inside the Supercharger Manifold.
FMU (Fuel Management Unit)
FMU is a Fuel Management Unit. Most older supercharger kits or vehicles that have a fuel return line will include these units. It is a mechanical devise that works off of your vacuum lines. I consider it a fuel pressure regulator that works under boost pressure.
When boost is detected it causes a restriction in the fuel return line causing your fuel injectors to squirt more fuel when under boost. A lot of companies use these FMU so they do not have to go with larger injectors in a kit.
Fuel Pump or Boost a Pump
Fuel Pumps are needed to increase the fuel pressure. Since more air is going into your engine under boost, naturally you will need more fuel to help burn this extra-added airflow. Supercharger companies will include an Intank Fuel Pump, which means it will go inside of your fuel tank. Other supercharger systems will come with an Inline Fuel Pump, which means it goes inline with your fuel line and it helps your Intank Fuel Pump move more volume.
A small number of supercharger kits will come with a Boost A Pump. A Boost A Pump increases the voltage of your fuel pump so it can work harder and produce more fuel pressure.
Fuel Injectors
Larger Fuel Injectors are very common with supercharger systems. Newer vehicles seem to require these more than older vehicles due to newer vehicles having a returnless fuel system. Since an FMU cannot be adapted to returnless fuel system without creating its own close loop system, supercharger manufactures have to result in going with larger size fuel injectors instead. These fuel injectors make sure you have a proper fuel flow so you do not lean out they are very important.
Programming
This is the one of the most important parts of a supercharger system. Some kits will require for you to send your vehicles computer so they can reflash it with their tune. Some kits will come with a Hand Held Programmer that has the tune installed in it and you have to hook it up to your vehicles diagnostic port and upload the tune. Many supercharger kits that come with an FMU may not need for modification of the computer and only require a timing control box to adjust timing curves when under boost.
Carburetor Enclosures & Bonnets
Bonnets and Carburetor Enclosures are used on Carburetor applications that are running a Centrifugal style supercharger.
Bonnets are mounted directly on top of the Carburetor to allow the air from the supercharger into the Carburetor.
Carburetor Enclosures are a more advance version of Bonnets, where the Carburetor sits inside of the Carburetor Enclosure allowing the Carburetor to draw air from the trapped air inside of the enclosure.
With Carburetor Enclosures you tend to see a more consistent airflow that helps eliminate surging issues that some Bonnets have.
As you can see there are a lot of supercharger parts involved to complete a supercharger system. Given the type of system you have these supercharger parts can vary, where some items are needed and some are not.
If you ever have any questions, please call us at SuperchargersOnline, and we will try our best I helping you out.