Supercharger on a 280Z

[Zrush]

If it is even possible or has anyone ever attempted to supercharge a 280Z. I've seen them on some of the newer rice rockets, but was wondering if anybody has seen this set up on any early model Z.

[SteveK]

I know a man that has an "in progress" project with a sprintex supercharger and fuel injection on it, expected to produce about 300+ Hp

Saw it the other day and it looks mean as hell, big arches, custom paint, braided steel throughout, custom race gauges and dials, seats, big, big brakes, fabricated adjustable suspension, he's busy playing with his new toy at the mo his brand new 350z one of only a handfull in the UK. He's one of the big names in Z stuff in the UK and what he doesnt know about Z'ds you could write on a cigarette packet in poster paint.

[Ed]

This is the only supercharged Z I know of. It's from a member here 1 TUFF Z.

[2ManyZs]

I believe that's a Jim Cook Racing piece, which I think has been out of production for a while.

The biggest downfall of supercharging is that it takes engine horsepower to drive the compressor to help make the extra power, whereas, turbos run off exhaust gasses that use no power to produce the boost.

[thefastestz]

here's the link....

http://www.jimcookracing.com/catalog/page24.html

[PrOxLaMuS©]

price?

$3,200

[Murph]

Thought I'd bring this thread back from the dead, see if anyone knows of any other supercharged L-series zeds since this thread was first posted?

The reason I ask is that I am currently researching and very seriously considering a supercharged L setup in for my zed. But before I get to that, I have a piece of BS to put straight:

The biggest downfall of supercharging is that it takes engine horsepower to drive the compressor to help make the extra power, whereas, turbos run off exhaust gasses that use no power to produce the boost.

What a joke. In a typical turbocharged engine, the ratio of exhaust manifold to inlet manifold pressure is around 2:1 - 3:1. Having such a large back pressure on the exhaust side robs the engine of considerable power, but of course, this is what is driving the turbo. Power aint free. What is typically the biggest downside of a supercharger is the extra drag it places on the engine in normal driving. However, that isn't too hard a problem to work around. Read on.

The current plan is fairly ambitious and will certainly be a long term project. The blower of choice is a Whipple/Lysholm 2300, a twin screw sc. The twin screw designs have exceptional volumetric efficiency right through the rev range giving a very flat torque curve. Their only real downside is high outlet temps, necessitating the use of a intercooler.

Aside from ecconomy one other issue is that they can typically have a rather savage throttle response due to getting high boost pressure at low rpm and low throttle position. You can solve both these problems in one go using a well designed compressor bypass. What I'll be using is a bit different bypass setup using an external wastegate meant for a turbocharger.

In this setup you can keep your throttle body in its normal position at the plenum, and plumb the wastegate in after the supercharger and dumping to atmosphere. The wastegate actuator is hooked to the inlet manifold and to the supercharger outlet. When the throttle is closed, the manifold vacuum pulls the wastegate open. This effectively put the sc under close to no load and will produce no boost. As you open the throttle, the wastegate progressively closes, progressively bringing up boost pressure with throttle position. By altering the wastegate actuator spring tension, you can change the rate at which ir will produce pressure with throttle position.

This setup gives you excellent driveability and also excellent ecconomy.

(almost finished my little rant )

Anyhow, my plan is to build a fairly tough L28, mount the whipple over on the RH side of the engine where there's plenty of room and intercooled with a large PWR water to air barrel unit. Using a few rule of thumb calculations I'd be looking at peak power of around 450HP @ 1bar (14.5psi). Add instant and linear throttle response and a linear power curve.....not to mention stupid amounts of torque at low rpm.

Righto....I think I'm done.

Hopefully someone finds that of use.

[Fun_in_my_z]

Lay it on him brother!

Wouldnt you have to go with a higher compression block for a turbo?

If that be the case then find a ZX.

[First Gen Z]

Ken Jones, of the Space Coast Z Club, has done the supercharger L28Z. I think you can get in touch with him through the Z Fest web site. I've seen the car. It's done very nice. And runs great.

[Murph]

You'd be wanting lower compression for forced induction. I'm still not entirely sure what I'll do on the engine build side of things.....i.e. how to build an L28 that will support 450HP reliably. Still have a bit of research to go there.

If necessary I'd be quite prepared to put some $$$ into a GOOD engine build with new pistons, rods, headwork, balancing etc etc.

First Gen Z: Thanks mate. I'll look into that.

[Aussie Zed]

Datto-Zed,

Sounds like a great set-up you have in mind. Different to the road many other zedders are tending to go down, which makes it all the more interesting! You would also eliminate the hot turbo by going with a supercharger and on the other side of the engine too. I don't know much about the sizing of supercharges, but it seems that it will probably make or break your set up.

Keep posting any updates of your progress if you go through with it (or reasons why you decide not to). This is a project that sounds genuinely interesting.

[Murph]

Sizing will be an interesting one. There's another bloke following a similar path, but with an RB30DE (going in a VL), also using a 2300. With the 2300 I'm probably on the slightly large side of things, but still pretty good none the less. The engine should pass straight through the superchargers peak efficiency point as it's going up through the revs.

Peak rpm for my setup should put me at a pressure ratio of 2.0 and a volume flow of about 20m^3 / min. As you can see on the chart it'd have an outlet temp of ~130ºC (hence the need for efficient intercooling) and will need just over 40kW to drive it. Not much of a loss really when you consider the power that will be made at that point.

The only downside I can see to the whole things is $$$. It's going to get big. We're talking AU$3k for the whipple + drive snouts. Then add the L28 + build, aftermarket ECU, the water-air IC, wastegate, fuel system, piping, crank pulley and tensioner etc etc...

I think for starters I'll set it up on my L26 (freshly built to stock spec with a mild cam), geared for low boost of around 7psi. Again, I have to do some research to see what a stock L will take. Once the general setup is sorted and I'm happy with it, then get going on the tough L28 build.

For the same money I could have an RB26 in there, but you know what, I don't care. I'm so over modern turbocharged engines. I like it oldschool, I like it will throttle response. Huge turbos can be great fun, I always get a buzz driving my mates R32 with a silly sized turbo hanging off it......but when it comes to anything with corners, it's bloody useless having to wait a few seconds for it to make some boost. This way I keep it old school, I keep my throttle response AND I get some big HP and silly amounts of torque to boot. Seems like a win win to me.