Supercharge...

Afternoon everyone, Has anyone gone down the supercharge route or looked into it? As far as I can tell there are only 2 companies manufacturing/ supplying them, apparently RUF are researching it too. Just trying to get a feel for reliability. Performance aspects seem very impressive but don't want to blow anything up... I'm sure it will get a frown from the purists but I'm just looking at ways to improve performance within the short fall before I reach 4S/ TT territory Thanks.

can be done as it's a simple way to strap on the extra bhp not many have but only because the option of TT's , GT3's exist

The Americans seem to do a lot of this. Its a good solution, as its bolt-on/bolt off, and with a useful power boost with no turbo lag. this lot look good- nicely specced. http://www.vag-tuner.com/porsche/acatalog/Supercharger_Systems1.html Not cheap though... maybe worth sourcing one in the US with the $ at these levels. Still cheaper than going Turbo/4S.

Exactly Rob, that's kind of the reason I'm looking into it. For an extra £7k I could theoretically be looking at roughly 450bhp and 350Nm on a 4WD narrow body. That's performance stats up with GT3 and the TT but not cost. To get to good TT/ GT3 or even into 4S territory it would take alot more cash. I understand that it's money lost as oppossed to re-saleable but think of the fun Correct me if I'm wrong though, all opinions are welcome...

Many moons ago I went down this route with a beemer never again. Heap load of expense and not a very reliable car. Fun though. The only Porsche SC kits I have seen are Centrifugal -ask yourself why the the mainstream European manufacturers that use Supercharging (Merc and Mini) use Roots superchargers. Centrifugal is a lot easier to fit aftermarket to an engine bay, though not necessarily trhe best sort of supercharger I'd think with the rear mounted engines in our cars getting the charged air sufficiently cooled would also be an issue (unless you are prepared to take a can opener to your rear arches!) I recently asked the same question of a well known Porsche indy about the possibility of going the same route, but it seems the Porsche 996 normally asperated engines are pretty much at there peak. And it wasn't recommended - kind of what I'd figured, a turbo seems the logical next step the difference C4S to Turbo of the same year is probably what you'd end up spending anyway. I know there are a few 968's out there that have had FI added and I hope they'll add their comments. But on the flat six I'd steer clear. As you say the Yanks do this a lot - and most of the expertise with the beemers was coming from the US - but as they say 'There's no replacement for displacement' - hence I sold my 530i (supercharger removed) for an M5.

Thanks Vlad, there is another SC which isn't centrifugal but still in the development/ testing stage. Don't want to hack apart the back end of the car with a can opener either way though. The cost difference isn't 4S to TT but C4 to TT, at least twice as much

GT Purley Porsche Article Hi There is an article on supercharging in the Feb issue of GT Purley Porsche, may be useful info for you Sounds like a great idea, please keep us posted of your progress Cheers Paul