Reliability after supercharging

[1Roadking]

I was dead set on adding a ROUSH supercharger to my 2019 GT then started thinking Whipple, but after reading many post I am concerned about reliability and losing the strut tower brace. Is there anyone here that had been running a super charger on a 2018 or 2019 for a good amount of miles. Also, have you noticed any handling differences after removing the strut tower brace? What have you found is a good street tire size and brand to harness the power? All input welcome.

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[engineermike]

I have about 18,000 miles on a 2018 gt a10. It’s been whipple supercharged since about 4,000 miles. I use it as a daily. I’d be lying if I told you that I don’t worry in the back of my head about reliability but mine has been perfect so far.

As for the STB, I think you’d have to be pushing the car really hard and have lots of experience pushing to the limit to notice it. I don’t so I can’t tell a difference.

I’m running the stock ps4s tires and they won’t come close to hooking. In cool weather they won’t hook until 5th gear. In the heat they’ll sometimes hook in 3rd but usually not. Forget wot in 1st and 2nd. As far as I can tell they’re about as good as you can get short of a drag radial, but I’m all ears for suggestions for a DD.

 

[Zed09]

I was also concerned about loosing the strut tower brace. However, after having everything apart for my whipple install and seeing how beefy the strut cowl brace is, which you don't loose with the supercharger. I'm not convinced that you'd be giving up much if any handling performance.

 

[1Roadking]

I’m loving the PS4 tires, just wondering if spending cash on wider wheels to get bigger PS4’s is worth it. My ZZl1 had 650HP and brutalized the 305’s but they would take a lot of throttle before giving up the ghost. ROUSH seems to have there supercharger set up very safely. My thinking is 700HP is a ton for the street.

 

[rum_punch_ruby]

If losing the strut brace bothers you, you can always add a g-trac brace from Steeda to add more support to the front.

 

[AZ18yote]

As far as I can tell they’re about as good as you can get short of a drag radial, but I’m all ears for suggestions for a DD

Check out Nitto 555r. I'm dropping size from 315 down to 305 to run those in preparation of hopefully going fi. Hell I'd be happy to be able to hook now NA on flex. Those seem to be the best of both worlds. Provide the traction when getting on it, not deadly in the rain, and still get good tread life for a dd.

 

[moffetts]

Sure would be nice if they made the 555rs in a 19”.....

 

[18 Smoke]

I have about 18,000 miles on a 2018 gt a10. It’s been whipple supercharged since about 4,000 miles. I use it as a daily. I’d be lying if I told you that I don’t worry in the back of my head about reliability but mine has been perfect so far.

As for the STB, I think you’d have to be pushing the car really hard and have lots of experience pushing to the limit to notice it. I don’t so I can’t tell a difference.

I’m running the stock ps4s tires and they won’t come close to hooking. In cool weather they won’t hook until 5th gear. In the heat they’ll sometimes hook in 3rd but usually not. Forget wot in 1st and 2nd. As far as I can tell they’re about as good as you can get short of a drag radial, but I’m all ears for suggestions for a DD.

I’ve heard good things about the Firehawk Indy 500, but never tried them so...

 

[db252]

Reliability is a case by case scenario and dependent on how the person drives it. Mine is a 16 with over 30,000 miles on my Whipple so it may not answer your direct question of an 18/19 model year. I have had zero issues and my car is daily driven along with about 6 road course days a year. I am not gentle and run it to its edge on track and when it’s daily driven, it’s just driven pretty much as a regular car with occasional spirited moments. I never have to add oil between oil changes and I do run a catch can.
Back to more on your topic, I don’t run my strut brace and have never noticed a difference as most don’t but there are plenty out there that have modified them to fit so that’s an option. The most important upper brace is the k-brace and much more functional and can be added if your car didn’t come with it. On a side note, the Roush SC cuts this brace on the drivers side (among other modifications to the front engine cover as well) which is asinine and the Whipple does not.
You’ll get plenty of opinions on tire brands so I’ll let you get hit by that. Wheel size and offset also have a contributing factor to that. Other contributing factors that can help out a lot is differential ratio and transmission gearing plus suspension changes and building it correctly for your intended use.

 

[1Roadking]

Wow the steeds Gtrac brace looks great.

 

[1Roadking]

I did not now the ROUSH super charger requires modifying the Kbrace!

 

[engineermike]

Looks like the indy500 does make the pp1 tire size so maybe I’ll try those next. 555r doesn’t.

 

[808muscle]

Yes with the Roush you are going to do some cutting. The whipple has no cutting. I have a 16 stage 2 whipple and tossed that strut tower brace with a smile. I cant tell a difference. You will need decent tires thats for sure. My MT sport comps 305s are worthless. Purchased some Nitto 555r 305/35/20 to replace with. Stock shocks and springs will squat a lot when you lay into it. I dropped in some BMR performance springs and Ford Comp Track shocks/struts. The car now handles like a dream, no floating, wobbly feeling at all. Daily driving a FI car is easy, dont lay into it and you dont even know the blower is there.

 

[Burkey]

You quite simply won’t get a “street” tyre that will hold it.
I can spin my 11.5” MT bias plies at 10psi in second gear, on a prepped track.
Reliability? Without a crystal ball it’s impossible to say.
I rev mine to 8k regularly (OPG/CS done), race it at the strip and daily drive it.
No issues so far other than driveline failures, which are to be expected with a manual and decent power. YMMV.

 

[CORNYOTE]

I'm going R888R's on my whipple. From everything I've read they're the best you're going to find for traction. Everyone I've talked to said they're a ton better than any of the Nitto's or the MT's

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