If I add a supercharger will the parasitic nature of it significantly lower my gas mileage for general non/semi spirited driving? Could I be looking at 1 or 2 mpg less per gallon or more? I'm also not sure if I would get to enjoy the added power all that much on the public roads (would I?) and I probably wont ever track it. Thanks for any advice!

 

I've had my supercharger for a long time and I've never paid any attention to my gas mileage. I do know that when I'm heavy-footed, my gas mileage goes down considerably. I wouldn't think it would have any impact on your normal daily driving.

 

When I had a SC on on my C5 it made no difference in gas mileage at all in normal driving.

 

Depending on the type of SC and tune the normal MPG for light footed driving could stay the same or go down slightly.
Chris

 

I went from 18 mpg to 16 mpg but I didn't put the SC on to not use it.

 

From my experience it's mostly in the tune. You'll drop 1-2mpg with the canned tune in a Vortech kit etc. They don't put w lot of timing in and are very conservative. With a good intercooler allowing lower IATs and more timing; less fuel at lower rpm, a custom tune will sometimes even have a gain on mpg.

I picked up 3mpg and 40rwhp with a custom tune on my last setup. Not a vette, but my 3rd car with a centri blower. The newer kits with the helical gear sets will boast the most efficient numbers. V3 Si in my case.

 

Why would you put on a super charger if your NOT going to drive it more
aggressively?
If, you can afford a $6000-10,000 upgrade you probably
won't worry much about a few more dollars for gas.

There is only ONE good reason to put a super charger on your car!

 

No kidding.....why even care? gas isn't part of my concern about having a fast car with this much additional power. If it bothers you, you might not be able to afford the beast to begin with.

Better yet I hear C7's get great gas mileage in 4 cylinder mode. That might be a better choice for you in the long run?

 

I lost a fair amount in City driving but hardly any on the Highway.

 

It's an effing supercharger, who cares!

 

The Vortec S2 supercharger on my '02 C5 and a SuperChips tune did not hurt highway MPG at all. But the only mods besides the blower are bigger injectors and a CAI and still dyno'ed at 450HP/400 ft-lbs at the rear wheels. I have seen as much as 32 MPG using the cruise control in 6th gear at 65 MPH and that was calculated by hand over a 250 mile trip (between gas stops).

It's nice to know that the car will still deliver good gas mileage when travelling, but at the same time, it's also nice to know I can get the car sideways in 2nd gear whenever I want.

Sure, if you keep you foot on the pedal all the time, gas mileage will probably be in the high single digits or teens. But even my '87 will get all of 6 to 7 MPG during track days....

 

i did notice a few mpg drop in the city and hwy..when i installed a ECS kit on my 03 Z06, but as long as you drive the car normal conditions it really has not been an issue at all to raise an eyebrow at really..the fun factor is why to high

 

As others have said, you have to get into a frame of mind, that you 'just don't care' about mpg, anymore.
I can tell you, as others will agree I am sure; that after you SuperCharge your C5, and after you 'nail it' a few times, you will no longer care about mpg either!!! Count on it.

Just be careful, those first few times you do nail it. You now have a very different car with exceptional capabilities. Way more than one needs, but man, is it a hoot to drive a SuperCharged Corvette. Wether you 'use it' a lot or not, the point is; 'you have it' if you want it.
Why do you think all the mystic about the C6 ZR1, and now the new C7 Z06 is rampant? It's SuperCharged LS engines (LT) !

When you fill up the tank (after adding 175 or so RWHP), it's only going to be a couple of bucks (or so) more per tankful; over what it cost you to fill up before. And you will, I promise you, think that the best 'couple of bucks ' you ever spent, each time. Knowing what your C5 can now do, only makes silly grins appear on your face. It does not make you worry about fuel mpg.

Do it!!! You'll love that your C5 will become a whole new beast, with capabilities beyond what most think possible. And yet, it can behave itself under normal driving, unless you wake up the beast....

Don

(ps; I lost a couple mpg on all highway driving tankfulls, and a little more on all city driving. And I just don't care!) ;-)

 

mine dropped, but I can definitely say it's my style of driving

 

Thanks everyone. Yeah, when spending 8-10K in the first place why should I care if I lose a little MPG? Sounds like the thrills will erase any MPG thoughts from my mind anyway. I read somewhere that a SC would use approx. 40% of engine power so was concerned there may be a significant decrease in MPG. I'm sold. I want one and will be on my mod to do list.

 

it only uses power when it's making boost otherwise it mostly just free spins

 

Same here. Expect to lose at least 2-3 mpg city driving with the same habits.

 

I go by SPG now...... Smiles Per Gallon