I've been considering which S/C to go with, and have not heard much mentioned about noise. Is the Magnuson quiet, especially compared to the ATI or Vortec's? I've used Paxton in the long past, it was quiet but needed rebuilt at about every 12k miles. Thanks for any comments about noise, power gains, and any other concerns.

 

Its very quiet except a slight whistling at times. You won't have to rebuild a magnuson as their reliabilty goes to 100k miles. Of course instantaneous torque boost really gets a car movin with this S/C. :thumbs:

 

I have the Magnuson, so take this for what it's worth. As far as the noise goes, this was a key concern for me as I did not want a lot of whine. As it turns out, at idle mine has a slight bit of whir to it, not high pitched, but the sound you might've heard in the "old days" from an air conditioning compressor. On top of that, like Dave said above, there's a tiny bit of whistle at idle and slow speeds, which may well be the air escaping out of the bypass valve, which is open during non-boost periods. When you get in the boost, there is a definite howl, which is fairly tame inside the car but which will bring stares outside the car. I think the stares are more because it's a sound that people simply are not accustomed to being made by a car -- it's closer to the sound of a turbine engine on a jet, but of course, not as loud.

I think the Forum data so far, which admittedly is still fairly new, demonstrates that the Magnuson has the least amount of "concerns" over any of the presently available superchargers. Of course, there may be data outside of the Forum, but I don't know how to collect it. There have been many posts here by some of the more well-established tuners that the ACI is a great system if properly tuned, but there also is a long history of wholesale lack of support by the manufacturer and problems continuing to crop up, even though the system has been out for a good amount of time. Do a search on Forum member "vetterdstr," who IMHO appears to be a straight shooter and has achieved great #s, but not without some considerable cost and tribulation. The Vortech is now seeming to grow in popularity, and Andy at A&A on the west coast is getting very impressive numbers. Like the ACI, it too is a centrifugal system, bringing with it the pros and cons of such a system. Evidently, the install of it might be a little easier than that of the ATI. By the way, the install of the Magnacharger, which I watched, was made to look easy; but that I'm sure was because the guys who did mine, 21 Century Muscle Cars, are very good at their job. However, I can say that there's no plumbing issues like there are with the centrifugal units.

With respect to the Manguson, there are at least potential downsides: (1) you must change your hood; (2) it is not intercooled; and (3) it is fairly limited in the amount of boost it will provide, generally to the 5-6 psi range unless you're willing to change the charger pulley, a trick that is not sanctioned by its manufacturer. Of course, "low" boost means not as much horsepower benefit. In my case, I netted about 85 rwhp, which is exactly what is stated to be the average on LPE's website. Also, I changed nothing else, including retaining my stock exhaust, which many folks seem to agree I could change for more HP, although the "science" in telling me what to go with and how much it would help is not very precise. In any event, for me, it's a roots-style supercharger which provides huge torque at very low RPMs, and so it's great fun to drive (with boost) at any speed. It's also sanctioned by one of the most famous U.S. tuners out there, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, and my understanding is they have installed many of these. As a real teaser for you, evidently you've already dealt with LPE, so you know their philosophy and reputation. Further, there is a third party engine/transmission warranty available for the Magnuson, which is something I haven't heard available for the others.

The final drawback of the Magnuson might be, if you're like me, if you go with it, you might think about second guessing yourself as you continue to watch posts here about people with other systems getting 100+ more rear wheel horsepower over the Magnuson. However, just as soon as I think that way, I feel the comfort in the benefits set forth above, and at least right now, that makes me more than happy with my purchase. It also helps that my car has been run against a Viper GTS with a few mods and ran dead even, and I'm more than happy to have that kind of perfomance in my "little 'ole coupe." Further, it remains unclear whether the LS1 really can support the kind of peak HP that is being achieved by some of the centrifugal systems, especially over the long term without having to go with forged internals, and there's considerable debate about that. It has been said many times here that this issue depends heavily on tuning, and I guess only time will tell us whether that's true.

Feel free to IM me if you have any other questions. If you lived in the DFW area, I'd let you go out in mine, and that might clear a few things up for you as well. :D



[Modified by SteveL2, 2:46 PM 3/23/2003]

 

I could not agree with SteveL2 more. Everything he stated regarding the Magnuson is right on.

I have had a few negative experiences with my Magnson adventure (burned piston and the need for higher octane gas) but other then that it has been everyting it claims. :flag

 

I think the Magnuson is by far the most coolest and most reliable S/C on the market. My decision was very hard to make, I really want the coolness :cool: of the Magnuson but the HP that the the Vortech makes was too much to ignore. I hope I don't regret my decision down the road. :thumbs:

 

Nothing but good so far with mine!!!
P.S. and I did the install myself.

 

I don't know anything about their durability, but I do know that mine will be installed within the next 3-4 weeks. :thumbs:

 

Thanks everyone for all the good comments, I think that Magnuson is the route I'm going to take.

 

SteveL2 said it well.... After driving with unit the last 2 months, it is the best performance mode yet. The magnuson can be summed up in one word "reliability". The KEY for HP for this is tuning. I picked up 400 documented RWHP documented from the Vette Doctors on only a Corsa exhaust and blackwing.

My opinion is not bias, I orginally set out for the ATI or Vortex but wanted reliability and horsepower without turning into a money pit of probems.
True, the ATI can push out more HP but they is only so much HP you can pump into a vette designed for 345hp from the factory..it isn't a nascar :crazy:

O...about the "wine" sound...the only sounds you will hear is the squeaking from your passenger! LOL

Good luck with you choice! :cheers:


[Modified by 1997C5VTBOY, 9:12 AM 3/25/2003]


[Modified by 1997C5VTBOY, 2:38 PM 3/25/2003]

 

After exhaustive research the last month, I have also decided to go with the Magnuson (goes in the shop 4/7). My thoughts mirror yours exactly 1997C5VTBOY. Thanks for the very informative post SteveL2.

*new member.. my very first post

 

I'm thankful this thread has stayed so civil and not devolved into a shouting match about the various products out there. Here's a :cheers: to those who contributed and also those who refrained.

As an aside, here's one more piece of data, should it help you. It's the dyno of my car after the S/C. Good luck.

 

Can't answer you question but mine is sitting in the garage and goes on next week :) :) :)

 

:iagree: :cheers:

 

I love my Magnacharger and wouldn't trade it for the world. I've found myself looking at the debt I've created with this thing and begin to feel bad.

I then drive it and all's better!!! :steering:

:hurray: