Supercharged C-5 question....
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Banned Scam/Spammer
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Supercharged C-5 question....
Presently own two Corvettes....A 73 convertible and a 91 ZR-1....Both have some nice mods and each one drives very good with nice power...Allthough each powerband differs...
Never drove a supercharged Vette....I see many C-5 Vettes for sale that are supercharged and putting down some big numbers.....When you have a supercharged car is it power throughout the entire rpm range? Are they drive able on the street for long periods of time?
Many I see have over 500 horsepower to the rear wheels.....To me, that's a lot......On a C5 Z06 is the power immediate? Or does it have to get into the upper rpm range to feel it?
Never drove a supercharged Vette....I see many C-5 Vettes for sale that are supercharged and putting down some big numbers.....When you have a supercharged car is it power throughout the entire rpm range? Are they drive able on the street for long periods of time?
Many I see have over 500 horsepower to the rear wheels.....To me, that's a lot......On a C5 Z06 is the power immediate? Or does it have to get into the upper rpm range to feel it?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Presently own two Corvettes....A 73 convertible and a 91 ZR-1....Both have some nice mods and each one drives very good with nice power...Allthough each powerband differs...
Never drove a supercharged Vette....I see many C-5 Vettes for sale that are supercharged and putting down some big numbers.....When you have a supercharged car is it power throughout the entire rpm range? Are they drive able on the street for long periods of time?
Many I see have over 500 horsepower to the rear wheels.....To me, that's a lot......On a C5 Z06 is the power immediate? Or does it have to get into the upper rpm range to feel it?
Never drove a supercharged Vette....I see many C-5 Vettes for sale that are supercharged and putting down some big numbers.....When you have a supercharged car is it power throughout the entire rpm range? Are they drive able on the street for long periods of time?
Many I see have over 500 horsepower to the rear wheels.....To me, that's a lot......On a C5 Z06 is the power immediate? Or does it have to get into the upper rpm range to feel it?
BC
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,138
Likes: 802
From: Espanola New Mexico
Supercharged
It all depends on how you supercharge, if you have a positive displacement "roots" supercharger the power is there through out the rpm band and max's out at the top end. With a centrifugal supercharger the power increases as rpm's increase, same goes for turbo chargers. I installed a centrifugal supercharger and love it, good street manners the only problem I have is breaking the tires free in first and second gear, if you consider that a problem.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 455
Likes: 48
From: Athens GA
Like mmartinez said, it depends on how you charge.
I have a roots blower and the boost comes on everywhere. However, you won't get as high max HP as you would with a centrifugal.
I am making ~465 RWHP and 480 ft-lb RWTQ and love that power level. If you want lots more, go centrifugal. I love the power band of the roots blower. The throttle response at low RPM is almost like an electric car...... or a BB, depending on how you compare things.
I would have no hesitation driving my car for everyday things. It is so easy that when we got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic in the rain in Atlanta with my GF driving on the way home from Cinci that I didn't worry much. Traffic was stop and go and the rain was hard. She does knows how to drive a manual and never actually killed the car or got crazy from a lack of control. Really, even easier than driving a 6 speed Honda that you have to rev to the moon to get moving.
I think it is the greatest, but I'm biased.
I have a roots blower and the boost comes on everywhere. However, you won't get as high max HP as you would with a centrifugal.
I am making ~465 RWHP and 480 ft-lb RWTQ and love that power level. If you want lots more, go centrifugal. I love the power band of the roots blower. The throttle response at low RPM is almost like an electric car...... or a BB, depending on how you compare things.
I would have no hesitation driving my car for everyday things. It is so easy that when we got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic in the rain in Atlanta with my GF driving on the way home from Cinci that I didn't worry much. Traffic was stop and go and the rain was hard. She does knows how to drive a manual and never actually killed the car or got crazy from a lack of control. Really, even easier than driving a 6 speed Honda that you have to rev to the moon to get moving.
I think it is the greatest, but I'm biased.
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 10,367
Likes: 1,272
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
like other's have said it depends how you do it... personally I prefer centrifugals over roots blowers but that will be up to you to decide... if you choose a centrifugal I highly recommend a&a, they have the best kit on the market and their customer service can't be matched by their competition... either can be reliable as long as everything is installed properly and you don't skimp out on any necessary parts and/or upgrades... I recently drove my car to a 1/2 mile event (3 hour total trip), raced it, and drove it home without a single issue
Racer
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 496
Likes: 35
We're running a Procharger on our 97 Corvette but we've got a built motor and a rather loose converter. We've got power instantly at the hit of the throttle because of this. It flashed up to almost 6000 at the hit of the throttle where ~800 horsepower is on tap. The converter is what does this and how violently it comes in can be tailored by the stall of the converter and getting a converter for forced induction or N2O. Ours is kinda loose for everyday driving but we do it anyhow. We like the track performance of this combo so much we'll put up with it.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,627
Likes: 143
From: Goodyear Az
I have a 402, small blower cam, with Vortech SQ centrifugal at 10 psi max boost, and the power is available throughout the power band. It puts down 600 rwhp and 600 lb/ft. It's easy to spin the tires through 1st, 2nd and 3rd, all the way to 70 mph.
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