Any supercharger regrets?

[Mikepol2]

What did you go with?… thought you said it wasn’t happening anytime soon?... lol… these guys are bad influences… or good ones….

So it turns out that yes these guy are bad influences lol… ESS G3 120mm with GT500 injectors and Wengerd tune. Can’t wait, already planning how I’m gonna do the install with minimal wife questioning

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[SnowFox]

Love my Blower.

Asking people if they wish they had gone higher boost right away is tough question when most of us always want more than what we have.

 

[22coyote50]

ESS FTW!!!

 

[First Stang]

Looking at something similar but on the fence as well. Please keep his thread alive with updates. I would love to hear how it goes with this upgrade.

 

[Mikepol2]

Looking at something similar but on the fence as well. Please keep his thread alive with updates. I would love to hear how it goes with this upgrade.

I'll probably be posting updates either in the ESS Superchargers thread or the what did you do to your Mach 1 today thread. Or both!

 

[jpjr501]

If I were to do a power adder all over again, turbos right out of the gate. Twin turbo (Hellion) like the F-150's.

Not looking for 1000HP, the 800 I have now is plenty for my stock A10. But I would never have to deal with pulley's and belts ever again. Haven't really had a major issue either. I did have to change the crank pulley a few months ago after a bolt sheared ($400).

Efficiency and less moving parts, turbo for sure.

 

[Blue By You]

My only regret is not being able to afford one.

I've already looked at kits (just got my car last week) and even the DIY ones with a tuner are not for the weak walletted.


However, if I had the money I would likely do as the poster above said and turbo.

 

[Mikepol2]

Well after 1 week of driving it, I cast a poll vote for "rarely on roads where I can really use the power".

It's insanely quick. In 1st gear you better intend to take off, it's harder to start out easy now, I actually stalled it at a light today after a herky-jerky start the previous light. (Yes I am experienced driving a manual LOL.) I can't imagine what guys with 900-1000 whp do with it, other than 1/4 miles. Took my buddy for a ride this evening and of course wanted to show him what it could do so I went WOT in 2nd, got to about 5000 rpm, and started spinning tires. Kind of a downer, that last 2000 rpm is where the biggest punch is.

I'm still OK with the money (about $7,800) and would rather have it than not have it. But at least where I drive, there are limited opportunities to use it.

 

[Zrussian13]

Well after 1 week of driving it, I cast a poll vote for "rarely on roads where I can really use the power".

It's insanely quick. In 1st gear you better intend to take off, it's harder to start out easy now, I actually stalled it at a light today after a herky-jerky start the previous light. (Yes I am experienced driving a manual LOL.) I can't imagine what guys with 900-1000 whp do with it, other than 1/4 miles. Took my buddy for a ride this evening and of course wanted to show him what it could do so I went WOT in 2nd, got to about 5000 rpm, and started spinning tires. Kind of a downer, that last 2000 rpm is where the biggest punch is.

I'm still OK with the money (about $7,800) and would rather have it than not have it. But at least where I drive, there are limited opportunities to use it.

You'll get used to the throttle manipulation needed on a boosted manual. Just takes time. I can drive mine like a granny with my wife in the car, open it up enough to make my 5yr old daughter squeal and hit 160+ when I'm alone feeling squirley.

 

[wingnutt]

Well after 1 week of driving it, I cast a poll vote for "rarely on roads where I can really use the power".

It's insanely quick. In 1st gear you better intend to take off, it's harder to start out easy now, I actually stalled it at a light today after a herky-jerky start the previous light. (Yes I am experienced driving a manual LOL.) I can't imagine what guys with 900-1000 whp do with it, other than 1/4 miles. Took my buddy for a ride this evening and of course wanted to show him what it could do so I went WOT in 2nd, got to about 5000 rpm, and started spinning tires. Kind of a downer, that last 2000 rpm is where the biggest punch is.

I'm still OK with the money (about $7,800) and would rather have it than not have it. But at least where I drive, there are limited opportunities to use it.

cant argue any of that, but “I’m a weenie and don’t like spinning my tires” was not a poll option

you will get used to it…have you had any supercharged cars before?

 

[Hammerhead13579]

Let me be one of the few that actually follows OPs instructions:

Year: 2019
Trim: GT Premium
Manual / auto: Auto
Rear gears: 3.55
Blower mfr & type: Roush Phase 2
RWHP (if known): ~700
Tuner: Papini's Garage

I responded to the pole with cost and useable power on the streets. I used to daily drive my car in Socal and already knew it was a bit of a waste since I would rarely put my foot into it. Granted, I would still leave work for 30 minutes and find a specific straight road and have some fun - same thing on Sunday mornings with my dragy. But the more HP you have the longer that stretch of road needs to be...and the better your wheel/tire setup needs to be. With all the torque I have I could spin my drag radial tires around 55mph trying to do a 60-130mph run and that is annoying....I didn't think street traction would be so much of an issue before the process. Plus I got the Roush kit to be able to feel that the car is supercharged every time I drive (vs a centri) but that sort of backfired as I can't go past 1/2 throttle under 50mph on the streets. I also got it for resale purposes because it's OEM literally saying "Ford Performance" on it and the car is still smog legal (minus a custom tune that I can revert).
My situation changed in early 2024 when I moved to WA State. I stopped daily driving the vehicle. Then it definitely felt like a waste since it just sat in the garage for 80% of the week and when I drove anywhere the speed limits and roads are nothing like Socal - everything is windy, or hilly, and speed limits are 35-40mph. If anyone knows the Socal streets my wife went 137mph on Brookhurst going away from PCH...in a Mercedes. Streets are flat, wide, and long in a lot of places where I used to live. Plus it barely rains in Socal and it's not cold. My car has to have all-seasons on it now except for the warmer 6 months out of the year. There is one positive for WA though. I live less than 15 miles from a 1/4 track. I get to take my car to a track now. I can also do a road course here too but my wife's Z4 is better suited for that.
Anyway, it definitely depends on your situation, your environment, your goals, your motorsports activities, etc. I don't 100% regret my decision but I would have possibly considered a SS/ZL1 a little more before buying my car if I knew I would move out of CA where I could more efficiently mod my car and have tracks at my disposal. And I would have leaned more towards a P1X or ESS blower if I knew I could actually put the power down to the pavement more often.
As a response to another poster - spinning isn't fun and spinning isn't winning. It doesn't make anyone a "weenie".
Anyway, this was my first vehicle I supercharged and I'm glad I did it. The 1/4 mile track will be an awesome experience this year and after this I doubt I will ever power mod a vehicle like this again. I'm likely going to sell the car in the next year or 2 for an electric vehicle. And when I want to have fun on the streets I will take my wife's stage 1 B58 powered convertible out. I paid $850 for a bench unlock and tune for her car and it gained 100 ft lbs of torque...to the wheels...on 92 octane. Crazy!

 

[Meatball]

I love having FI but in my experience the thrill is almost more from the terrifyingly (to passengers mostly) quick time to high speed rather than the “shove”. Honestly the shove in my car stock in 1st gear seems about the same as my FI car now in 3rd, the only gear I can floor it in and usually not spin the rears. Thats great and impressive in 3rd gear but I wish it could happen in lower gears. Traction vs torque multiplication and right now traction is losing.

So I’m ditching my Indy 500s for Nitto 555R2s, and hoping they’ll let me make a full hit from a roll in 2nd. We’ll see. Fun fact: With an MT-82, and assuming full traction and all else equal, the accelerative force of a hit in 3rd is about the same as a car with 50% less power (at the same rpm) in 2nd

 

[mepawn]

Year: 2016
Trim: GT
Manual / auto: Auto
Rear gears: 3.15
Blower mfr & type: VMP Gen3r
RWHP (if known): 900
Tuner: Lund

I do not regret this blower at all for at least moderate power. Only issue now is since i got an RPG built engine and Midnight Performance 6R80 both good for 2kwhp, this blower is absolutely maxed out and cannot give me any more power. This is only an issue as i routinely drag race my mustang. If i wasnt so power hungry then it would be more than enough. If i were to change the power adder at this point, i would go with a crank driven procharger to ensure i can achieve my desired hp level everything else is built to.

 

[Mikepol2]

cant argue any of that, but “I’m a weenie and don’t like spinning my tires” was not a poll option

you will get used to it…have you had any supercharged cars before?

hard to argue

Yep had a Terminator with smaller pulley but that was nowhere near as much power as this is.

 

[stannypack]

Well after 1 week of driving it, I cast a poll vote for "rarely on roads where I can really use the power".

It's insanely quick. In 1st gear you better intend to take off, it's harder to start out easy now, I actually stalled it at a light today after a herky-jerky start the previous light. (Yes I am experienced driving a manual LOL.) I can't imagine what guys with 900-1000 whp do with it, other than 1/4 miles. Took my buddy for a ride this evening and of course wanted to show him what it could do so I went WOT in 2nd, got to about 5000 rpm, and started spinning tires. Kind of a downer, that last 2000 rpm is where the biggest punch is.

I'm still OK with the money (about $7,800) and would rather have it than not have it. But at least where I drive, there are limited opportunities to use it.

Thought it was just me in 1st gear. Definitely feels more shaky lol

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