Drove the Edelbrock blower today...Whoa--it's one Blown Bat outa Hell

[Hib Halverson]

Hib,
A 5 year / 100,000 mi warranty is mentioned in the ads from Edelbrock.
I couldn't find what it covers or the added cost. It did say it has to be performed by GM, an ASE Certified Technician, or by one of their authorized installers.

The 5yr/100000mi warranty is optional at extra cost and can only be purchased if the installation is done by an ASE tech or one of the Edelbrock approved installers.

Is the coverage just for the supercharger, or does it cover some of the valve train components.

You'll have to contact Edelbrock to find out how much of the engine it covers. There might be something on the Edelbrock web site

And, can stock LS3 pistons and rings withstand that kind of boost from a roots type blower?
thanks, chris

In normal use, yes. If you are going to race the car on a regular basis, ie: run the engine and high-boost on a regular basis, the lower end can withstand that kind of boost but long-term durability may be compromised.

Keep in mind that installation of the supercharger may void the GM warranty.

Lastly, my story on the Corvette E-Force will publish in the first issue of the new magazine, "Auto Enthusiast".

A similar, but longer and Camaro-specific article will be posted soon at www.camarohomepage.com

 

[CentennialGS]

comparison between e-force and A&A system

This question is geared more towards Hib or anyone who can answer to this for that mater. I purchased my car a few months ago, definitely want to supercharge and want to keep the stock hood (centennial paint job). The e-force so far has been the system i am going with after reading about the others, Magnusson, Vortech, etc. I am very impressed with the 600 kit and the torque band is very constant per the published edelbrock chart on their website, lots of torque right out of the gate.

today i went to a local shop to start talking install, prices, labor costs, etc. At this place i was offered the A&A as an option instead of the e-force, never read about this kit. He had a few things to say why:
1. The e-force creates and traps a lot of heat. Not sure if that is due to design or all the metal it is made of, but it runs hotter than most blowers out there. Is this the case??

2. The A&A is much lighter, roughly 35lbs (as a kit) lighter than the e-force. I do not know that for sure.

3. He showed me a car which they just had installed this system onto and showed me the dyno sheet. The torque line was not as even as the eforce per the dyno sheet listed on edelbrock's website.

4. The A&A creates about ~540 to 550 HP to the wheel, which puts it in the neighborhood of the eforce taking power train power loss.

5. the A&A kit is about $5400 compared to the almost 7k for the eforce.

With all that said, i am not discounting looking into this system, i just want a little more information before i make a decision. So far the eforce is at the top of my list unless i can find something about this kit that will make me change my mind. Any thoughts highly appreciated.

 

[Hib Halverson]

A&A doesn't manufacture anything. They sell other company's supercharger packages.

Is the supercharger A&A is trying to sell you a centrifugal or a Roots?
Will it fit under your stock hood?
Does the price include proper calibration?

As for the E-Force "trapping heat"....ask the sales person to show you some dyno test data which graphs IAT vs. power differences for the two supercharger packages. I'd be interested to see that data and learn about the E-Force system's problem with heat.

 

[CentennialGS]

I was looking in their website and they do say that they use vortech head units. other than that they seem to claim all other stuff is developed by them, at least it reads that way.

It is a centrifugal type. They are not selling it to me directly, it's through a vendor here in my area. It does fit under the stock hood here's the link to it A&A 2005-2011 Corvette Blacked Out Supercharger Kit [AAC6SCKIT-BL] - $5,495.00 : A & A Corvette Performance, Your C5, C6 and Z06 Corvette Supercharger Specialists

the price does not include the tunning and labor.

he did mention they do track the IATs but i did not ask for comparison charts, i guess i could ask for that next time.

btw, i asked my local chevy dealer if installing the eforce would void my engine warranty and they replied "YES".

 

[Hib Halverson]

If what A&A is selling is a centrifugal supercharger, that is vastly different than the Roots-type, E-Force supercharger sold by Edelbrock.

The two are so different in their boost curves and packaging that it's tough to make a useful comparison. It's sort of like apples and oranges.

I'll add that typically, centrifugal blowers are somewhat less expensive and will usually fit under stock hoods.

Lastly, now that I know you're trying to compare the two, it is true that a centrifugal supercharger, by nature of its packaging is going to heat soak much less than any Roots blower.

 

[CentennialGS]

thanks for your input. I will do more research on this kit, but i am still leaning heavily towards edelbrock. Just noticed today on their website that the eforce superchargers for the vettes got CARB approved for the 2005 - 12 models. that's always a plus if you live in california.

 

[Hib Halverson]

I neglected to read your info and see you live in CA.

The A&A blower had better have a CARB EO or it is highly unlikely you'll get through the smog check.

If the salesperson says there is an EO, ask for the full number and check it against the CARB web site. There are some aftermarket vendors, Granatelli Motorsports for example, which may claim they have EOs for specific mods when, in fact, they do not. I found this out the hard way with a Granatelli MAF sensor I had on my 2004. They said it had an EO, but when I went to smog check, the car flunked. When I went looking for the EO, I found Granatelli only had EOs for some sensors, not all the ones they sell and the one on my car did not have the EO.

 

[judocc]

I had the eForce installed on my 2005 convert. LS2. Best thing I have ever done. The car is very docile to drive and when I "get on it", it is blazing fast. I have had it on since December of 2010 and I have not had any problems with it or the car. It has actually improved my gas mileage (when I drive sanely).

 

[67vet]

Great write-up Hib.
Power is your friend.

 

[redvett]

Oh and what about the carbon fiber panels and the suspension tuning, gearing of the transmission,warranty, etc ? When you add all that in to the Edelbrock system you probably will be where the ZR1 is priced.

 

[1analguy]

I just attended a Sunday afternoon Corvette show in the Milwaukee area. There was a black Z06 there that appeared to be completely stock...except for the Edelbrock E-Force blower on it. Probably due to the Edelbrock-supplied engine cover, it looks really massive...but sits pretty low. Nice! The other notable feature: when he started it up and pulled out onto the highway, it turned out to be the quietest car there...except for the melting tires. Double nice! What an advantage it would be...to be able to use all that power without generating a lot of obnoxious noise and attracting the wrong kind of attention.

 

[G-rider]

I was at the Edelbrock Corporation in Torrance, California today to begin work on an article for "Corvette Enthusiast" magazine on the Edelbrock E-Force supercharger system for the LS3 in 08-10 C6es.

I started my visit at about 10:30 AM with Vic Edelbrock giving me a ride in his daily driver, an 08 LS3, NPP manual with his 1591 blower kit on it. The system increases the engine's power from 436-hp to a fraction under 600 hp. The acceleration in second and third gears was freakin' fearsome as Vic was hammer down south on Crenshaw Bl. next to the Mobil Oil refinery.

The real fun came that afternoon after lunch when Edelbrock's top blower engineer, Rob Simons, and I went for a test in the same car, this time, with me driving. We went to the same stretch of southbound Crenshaw next to Mobil Oil. With TCS off from a 10 mph roll in first gear, the car was immediately into wheelspin. I pedaled it a bit and just before the rev limiter caught second gear and burried the gas. The car stayed hooked and I took it to just short of the limiter then banged third and stayed on it until about 5000 rpm.

Damn, that bitch is freakin' awesome in a straight line. Next to sex, diriving an E-Force supercharged LS3 is the most fun you can have.

Not only does Edelbrock's new blower kit make a ton of power and torque but it does that with outstanding driveability, something that's absent with some of the other blower kits on the market. Doesn't matter how you drive it: stop-and-go in Southern California's world-infamous traffic congestion, lugging in sixth, part throttle high rpm in first, going for high mileage on the freeway at 55 mph...whatever. The Edelbrock people really have their calibration down pat. Callaway has the cal of their blowers done pretty well and I think Edelbrock's is incrementally even better.

The best news about this Edelbrock roots supercharger kit is that it's the only C6 blower package in the industry which fits under a stock hood. Both Magnuson's and Callaway's require a new hood and painting to match which, done right, runs an extra 1800-2200 bucks.

Compared to the Magunson kit, the Edelbrock may make a tiny bit more power, but it has no complicated jackshaft blower drive, the driveability is better, you don't have to buy an aftermarket hood and paint to match and, in my opinion, customer support is better.

Compared to the Callaway system, there's no complicated jackshaft drive and you don't need a different hood.

Be watching your newsstand this coming Winter for "Corvette Enthusiast's" feature story on the E-Force Corvette blower kit.

For now, If I owned a C6 LS3 and wanted a blower, no question, the Edelbrock 1591 kit is the way I'd go.

Sounds great thanks !

 

[1analguy]

...The front end is lower by a little, not sure of which options to raise back up...

Does anyone know for sure just how much weight this kit adds to the top of the engine and the front of the car? It seems like it would probably noticeably affect the handling, and not in a good way, either...

 

[Hib Halverson]

Does anyone know for sure just how much weight this kit adds to the top of the engine and the front of the car? It seems like it would probably noticeably affect the handling, and not in a good way, either...

No doubt it adds mass to the front end but, GM had the same problem with the ZR-1. The solution was revised chassis tuning, so if someone is planning to track a car with an E-Force supercharger, then they need to take the appropriate measures with chassis tuning to compensate for the mass.

While there are track rats with aftermarket-supercharged C6es, I suspect that most of the Edelbrock-supercharged cars are either street-driven or drag raced and, for those two applications, the extra mass doesn't have as much impact.

 

[1analguy]

Very true...

 

[raisin man]

Recently attended an HPDE at Autobahn Country Club where a ZO6 with an Edelbrock blower was repeatedly overheating with OE radiator & cooling system. Recommend you look at upgrades to cooling system if you plan to track the car at all.

 

[Hib Halverson]

I totally agree with that.

Anyone who's going to run an aftermarket-supercharged engine at sustained high throttle openings needs to significantly increase the engine's cooling capacity.

Bigger radiator, lower temp thermostat and straight water coolant with Red Line Water Wetter are all modifications which work well.