reliability?

[hardnoks]

going to look at an 02 coupe with lowered suspension and an rk supercharger package.17000 miles.wondering if anybody out there has this setup who could tell me something about it's performance and reliability?!thanks.p.s.dealer is asking 37000 grand.

 

[c4c5specialist]

HI there,
Be careful.
Not too many people know how to correctly maintain and repair a supercharged automobile, nevermind install the system correctly.
Allthebest, c4c5

 

[LLC5]

Sounds like trouble to me. Those are probably 17,000 very hard miles. I'm suprised a dealer would touch it.

 

[hardnoks]

the beast

the car belonged to one of the owners of the dealership.so,i drove this beast tonight.i had not appreciated the power capability of the ls1 enginge until tonight!i had a supercharged 95 before this,and that was a fast machine.i never understood about the possibilities w/the current powerplant!i'm hooked!this lingenfelter supercharger equipped animal is an out and out monster.i'm all mush!!!

 

[LLC5]

Try this as a test. See if you can get the G.M. factory extended warranty on this car, and I don't mean a aftermarket insurance polcy. If G.M. will warranty it, then you will be protected. If they won't, then maybe you shouldn't take the gamble either.

 

[Ragtop_Rob]

Seems some have a big fear of the unknown. The Magnacharger is a GREAT unit! The Eaton charger is used in many OEM applications, it is a SUPER easy install and simple to maintain (With a mancharger - you maintain your car like a normal car).

Look the car over really well - does it look like it was well cared for? Is there any paper work that might indicate where the car was tuned or the charger installed? Take a look at the rear inner fender well liners - are they caked in rubber (I mean appreciable build up, not a minor splattering as the car will ignite the tires in lower gears on demand) - a good sign the car has seem more than a few hard runs. Check the oil - is it really clean? Hows it drive? any clutch slip if it is a MN6 (run it in 4th or 5th gear at 2000 rpm and floor it, does the rpm shoot up but the speedo does not)?

Just by paying attention to the details you can get a good idea of the condition of the car - 17k miles on a magnacharged car is nothing if the car has been taken care of.

 

[LLC5]

This is a case of being cautious of the known. That is why he asked. Like C4C5 said, he should be very careful buying a lowered, supercharged car from anyone, especially a dealer.

 

[Ragtop_Rob]

Clearly I am not referring to the original postern and obviously this is something that should be checked out VERY carefully. The point is that just because it is a supercharged car does not mean it has been beaten to death and if it has been you should be able to tell..

 

[Edmond]

the car belonged to one of the owners of the dealership.

In my experience, those guys drive their cars extremely hard, even to the point of abuse because they ultimately know that they won't be keeping the car and don't care about long term care.

 

[hardnoks]

tire size?

the car is running 19's up front.did the original installer have to widen the fenders to make these fit?i ask because the front fenders stick out a little where they meet the doors.doesn't look like it was hit,but feels odd just the same.getting all the paperwork on it saturday to look over.it drove strong,though.and lingenfelter themselves said reliability is not an issue with well maintained cars with their system on.and what degree of difficulty is involved in lowering a c5 an inch or so?thanks.

 

[Norman Clemmer]

In my experience, those guys drive their cars extremely hard, even to the point of abuse because they ultimately know that they won't be keeping the car and don't care about long term care.

No offence intended but that quote is pure BS.

 

[Patrick]

Why is it BS, Norman? :confused

-Patrick

 

[Edmond]

I'd like to know myself. I worked down the street from a car dealership strip for 4 years and I saw that a lot. People just doing things to their cars that you know they wouldn't do if they actually kept the car.

I've never flamed anyone here in my 4 years on this forum and I take mild offense to you saying that what I said was "pure BS."

 

[Patrick]

In Norman's defense, we are talking about a 3-year old car with 17,000 miles on it, which was owned by an individual (even if that individual happened to be a relative of the owner of the dealership.) So there's no indication that this was a demo.

However, Edmond, I think you make a reasonable point- if you put a supercharger on a Corvette, the implication is that it's going to be driven hard. Why else add that kind of power?

Still, let's hope Norman gives us a broader answer as to why he disagrees. I'd like to keep this disagreement civil.

-Patrick

 

[Bioscache2]

No offence intended but that quote is pure BS.

I would also disagree with the supercharger quote. Yes they drive the cars spiritedly but definitly not to the point of abuse. And whos to say they don't care about long term? Also it matters what you buy the car for. Some buy it to cruise comfortably and keep it sparkling while others drive it to push the limits the engineers had in mind. Depending on where you fall in that spectrum determines what you think other drivers are like. So I think its pretty prejudgemental to categorically claim that supercharger cars tend to be driven excessively hard and/or to the point of abuse AND that they don't care about long term

 

[Patrick]

Ryan,
People can cruise comfortably and keep the car sparkling clean with a stock LS1 or LS6 engine. Are you trying to say that if you go to the time and expense of adding a supercharger, the temptation to be a little heavier on the accellerator is not there? Not sure I agree with that.

Intuitively, if you spend that kind of money and add that kind of power, I have to believe you're going to want to experience what it does to a Corvette's performance by going WOT more often than without it.

-Patrick

 

[Edmond]

My point isn't that all supercharger guys beat their cars. My point is that a dealership owned car is more likely to be abused because those guys know they're going to sell the car before any significant problems arise. He knows he's not going to keep the car because he can get a C6 Z06 to beat on when that comes out so he doesn't care about long term reliability.

The personal owner, the guy who bought the car and actually cares about it isn't going to do that to a car.

Call me cynical but I've seen it too much to not believe it.

 

[Patrick]

Edmond,
A dealership didn't own the car. It wasn't a demo. Hardnoks posted this:

...the car belonged to one of the owners of the dealership

It was owned by an individual, that individual just happened be the owner of the dealership. My point is that having the supercharger on it comes with a strong possibility (although, to be fair, not a guarantee) that the car was driven harder than a comparable '02 without a supercharger.

-Patrick

 

[LLC5]

Absolutely. No other reason to do a supercharger.

 

[Edmond]

Patrick,

I understand that but I just lumped them together because there really isn't much difference in my book. Like I said, call me a cynic.