Powerdyne 4.5# and LT1

Does anyone run a Powerdyne 4.5# on a LT1?
If so, what are the pro's and con's?
Looking for info, any help would be greatly appreciated.:D

I did and it is good setup however I would get a vortech or ATI if I were doing it again. Do a search on this board for Powerdyne and read up on it.

Pro's: about 60 more rwhp, relatively low cost, don't have to tap the oil pan

Con's: only upgradeable to about 7 psi, its not intercooled

Well i have one i love it so far,as far as intercooling do it the old fashion way water injection, that is the way im going to do it. As far as making hp i made 315 RWHP with the 4.5 psi and i had problems and made that kind of hp such as running rich,9 degrees false knock,weak valve springs oh did i mention that was at 4800 rpm it made 315 .Its at the shop as we speak getting the upgrade kit done 6 psi ,i bent a couple valves so they are rebuilding the heads polish/port larger valve's and MAC headers with an off road pipe and 3 in cutout . It had stock maniflodsat the time and made 315 so i can honestly say I LOVE IT FOR THE PRICE... I'll let you know what it makes when done.:D

I have the Powerdyne 6.5lb kit with the hard-tube intake and a few other minor mods such as a Vigilante 3200 converter and I'm pretty impressed with 7lb's of boost on a bolt on LT1 I'm running 12.??

The Powerdyne 4 lb. kit makes good power for the money, is fairly easy to install, no oil lines tapped into the oil pan (ATI self-contained also does this), and is quiet (stealthy). I run an upgraded Powerdyne (6 lb.) and if you pull up besides me you would never guess my calm looking White T/A runs 11.80's just as it sits at the stoplight (275/40x17" Nitto DR's at 26 PSI). Would be quicker with some ET Streets/Slicks and a higher stall converter but I like turning corners and running fast so I didn't tailor it just for the 1/4 mile.

If you ever envision going past 6 lb. of boost then go with either ATI or Vortech since the Powerdyen won't get you there (PD might reach 7 lb. on a good day/motor). I love the Powerdyne and have been virtually trouble free for 45K+ miles (ruined some bearing once ... my bone-headed fault for over-tightening the belt). Each of these have their pro's and con's also. ATI with intercoolers is a little harder/more complex to install with all the tubing, Vortech taps into the oil pan for cooling SC (not really that big a deal but has to be handled.)

Later ... Larry S.

I am curious, can you put an intercooler on the powerdyne?

I have not heard of anyone putting an intercooler on their Powerdyne set-up but nothing is impossible, I also don't know of any company that makes them but I'm sure there is a way to mount one and make it work??

If anyone would know I would say "MISLMAN" would have some sort of idea?:rolleyes:

if you cant find and intercooler then get water injection mix it 50/50 water and denatured alcohol...that will work for you.:D

Like they said....if you're sticking with low boost it is fine. However, if you want more later (you will) you are much better off with ATI or Vortech (Vortech would be my choice). Also, intercooling a Powerdyne is a bad idea.....it simply does not make enough pressure for intercooling. You will lose quite a bit of boost when you put an intercooler on. No big deal just pulley it up to compensate right? Wrong. The max impellor RPM on the Powerdyne is 43,000 RPM and the step up ratio's only 3.05 ....the point being you cannot pulley it up a whole lot. I pullied my 6 PSI kit up with a 6.45 inch crank pulley from ASP (stocker is 6.0 inches) and converted to all solid tubing and large filter. It can make 8.0 PSI at 5,900 RPM but at the 5,550 RPM power peak it is only making about 6.8 ~ 6.9 PSI. Despite the extra PSI above 5,550 it makes slightly less power from there on up due to restricion in my stock heads/intake and the fact that the air charge is not intercooled (thus necessitating removing a lot of timing). Mine is a torquey bastard but the top end isn't really that impressive (#'s in sig) .....I think partly due to the requested conservative tuning, and partly due to running a non intercooled blower, and....as mentioned, partly due to stock heads. I highly recommend Vortech ....even if you have to buy one used to get one. The fit and finish of the Vortech kit and the hardware included is much better than other brands from what I've heard. Example....you get a spring loaded tensioner in the Vortech kit, HUGE plus.

I wouldn't think of putting an intercooler on a 4 lb. centrifugal supercharger. And wouldn't bother putting one on 6 lb. unit either. Just not worth the effort to me.

JUST MY OPINION BELOW:

You "could" clock the Powerdyne head unit and probably run an intercooler set-up but the PD unit just doesn't push enough air to make it worthwhile. At 6 lb. of boost (a measure of the air flow the SC head unit should flow when used with a pulley set-up sized by the manufacturer) will make more than enough RWHP on an LT1 motor to make traction a real problem and your car a very quick and mean street machine. For those that have to have more of everything then intercooling/aftercooling and lots of tweaking will be worthwhile. For those that want to keep things simple (my set-up is pretty darn simple ... and quick for an auto with 3.70 Ford 9" rear with 2100 stall on DR's) then Powerdyne, makes a good product for a good price. I do believe the ATI and Vortech flow more air for a given engine RPM and should therefore be capable of more power for a given set-up. Since boost is a measure of restriction, do not confuse having 6 lb. on my engine with seeing 6 lb. on a gauge on your engine. Each engine and exhaust system will flow differently and may have a different boost reading for the same SC RPM. A 4 lb. system should get you 60 RWHP and a 6 lb. system should get you 100 RWHP (ballpark figures and varies on your engine set-up and its efficiency.

Price each manufacturers kit. Ask yourself what your ultimate goal is (400 RWHP is possible with 6 lb. boost). And then purchase a kit accordingly. If 6 lb. is the most you'll want then you can't go wrong with any of those listed. If you may ever want more boost, then Powerdyne is limited to 6 lb.

Take your time, be honest with yourself, and you'll really love the feel of boost.

Later ... Larry S.

I'm glad this thread came up as I had a brainstorm this morning that I want to take this route with my LT1. It is bone stock right now, and instead of nickel and diming my way around with catbacks and headers and stuff like that, I think I'll just save up and do one big mod, this one.

I figure it'll allow the car to still have great street manners, still making the same torque peaks, but just with a higher amount at the peak. I don't like the idea of a heads/cam package because they are too peaky, and I don't want to do a converter swap as I like having snappy throttle response and I don't want to lose the MPG for daily driving.

So the low psi blower is the best way for me to ensure I'm running consistent low 13s.

I was wondering if anyone has done this blower on an LT1 but kept everything else 100% stock? If I do it I have no plans of adding any headers or catback or anything else right away. The only other provisions I would make would be drag radials, and a custom program (probably from ARE) to take out a tiny bit of timing so I could run 92 octane everyday.

Way back (early 1996) when I first installed the 4 lb. Powerdyne kit, my T/A was stock except for a K&N filter. It ran 13.81 at 99 MPH. I added the 4 lb. Powerdyne only and was running 13.20's on street radials (not DR's). Added a cat-back and DR's and would run 13.0's-13.20's depending on weather and traction. Added 1.6 roller rockers and could run 12.89 at 103 on a good day. That was with an automatic, stock converter, and 3.23 gears with stock programming. Pretty nice for a mild street car (and about average for a nicely tuned LS1 F-body dammit).

Later ... Larry S.

Hey Mislman,
If you ran high 12's with just with what you said is it possible for me to run low 12's I have a 97 TA with the 6 psi kit ,solid intake tube, larger air filter,MAC headers OR pipe,3 in cutout,and 3 in custom exhaust,ported/polished and larger valved heads,and custom tuning on a dyno ....Of course some free mods.I will be adding prob nitto's it is a M6 also...What do you think?Should i make more boost with the soild intake too....:)Oh yeah they will also pro be adding larger injectors and he is also adding the second fuel pump i didnt get it back yet still in the shop i can't wait to see what RWHP it will come back with..

With your set-up and some good traction (1.80's 60' times) you should be able to hit low 12's and maybe high 11's. Just a matter of which race track, traction and how well you shift. Your engine combo with 6 lb. boost should easily make enough power for very low 12's. My current set-up isn't much different that what you describe (except my suspension is lowered and I carry very heavy duty sway bars since I love to turn corners hard, like track days at Sebring Raceway). The problem with getting good times with a 6M is getting good enough at the launch to get the car to sixty-foot well. The first 60 feet in drag racing (ET's) is EVERYTHING! After that your shifts will need work and good ET's will follow.

later ... Larry S.

Another thing he could get would be a good set of LT headers, that would make the goal much easier....;)

I was thinking of LT's but in NJ emission laws stink. Hey Mislman do you know what you make to the rear wheels did you ever have it dynoed? I'm just curious to see what i make RWHP wise.:)

Dyno'd at: 391 RWHP @ 5700 RPM and 395 lb. ft. of torque at 4800 RPM. Air/fuel ratio tuned to 12.5-12.6 across the RPM band of 3100-6100.

This is with the 4L60E automatic and a Ford 9" rearend (3.70 gears). Should be about 475 HP or so at the crank. The tranny was beefed up once about 2 years, 22K miles and 108 drag strip passes ago. No problems with the tranny to this point. I use LT1 edit for tuning and have the tranny shift points set at 5500 to make the most of the torque curve (2100 stall Corvette torque converter).

Later ... Larry S.

So do you think i'll be close to those RWHP numbers or do you think i will be lower then that. I am hoping for at least 380 or so to the rear wheels, do you think i'll be close if not what else will i need to acomplish this .:)

From one of your previous posts:

Hey Mislman,
If you ran high 12's with just with what you said is it possible for me to run low 12's I have a 97 TA with the 6 psi kit ,solid intake tube, larger air filter,MAC headers OR pipe,3 in cutout,and 3 in custom exhaust,ported/polished and larger valved heads,and custom tuning on a dyno ....Of course some free mods.I will be adding prob nitto's it is a M6 also...What do you think?Should i make more boost with the soild intake too....Oh yeah they will also pro be adding larger injectors and he is also adding the second fuel pump i didnt get it back yet still in the shop i can't wait to see what RWHP it will come back with..

I may have read this wrong but I thought it said you had MAC headers, OR pipe ..... If you are running stock exhaust manifolds you will be restricted on power even with 6 lb. pullies on the SC. With stock manifolds and the mods listed above, I would expect to see340-355 RWHP. Add some headers and do some tuning for the increased flow and I would expect to see 360-390 RWHP with a good tune and your 6-speed tranny. I have 1.6 roller rockers and tehy really help quite a bit (10-12 RWHP).

Later ... Larry S.

Later ... Larry S.

Hey Mislman. I do have MAC headers and OR pipe and 3 cutout going on as we speak The car is in the shop getting the head work done and 6 psi upgrade kit and tuning i made 315 rwhp before with stock manifolds,stock heads,4.5 psi and i had weak vavle springs and 9 degress's false knock due to a bad knock sensor .So i should see a decent gain in hp with the above workthere doing . DO YOU THINK SO?:D

YEP! You should get a big smile from those mods.

Later ... Larry S.

Thanks Mislman, for replying to my post's I'll let you know what it makes to the rear wheels when i get it back thanks again.....:)

In case you all missed it....for comparison's sake my dyno numbers are in sig. They are off a conservative tune so it really could have made about 400 RWHP had it been tuned to the max. My numbers are comparable to MislMan's because I've got stock heads and cam ....he doesn't, he has a very mild cam/heads setup. But, he's got a nine inch and A4 soaking up some of the rear wheel power as mentioned. I probably have 445 at the flywheel, I would say he has about 485. Our blowers are both pullied up at roughly the same impellor RPM per crank RPM too.
MislMan is my main supercharging mentor (along with a few others here) so feel free to ask me any questions as well for similar information. (I like talking about it just like Larry S ;) )

hey Canbaufo, so do you think my car will make good rwhp with the mods i have,i want to have at least 380 or so rwhp and do at least low 12's in the 1/4 is this possible . if not what else will i need to do .thanks.........:)

You will probably come very close to my HP numbers but probably won't have quite as much midrange torque. It should be close none the less. Nine degrees of retard alone could be killing 35 ~ 45 RWHP. Good luck :cool:

thanks, yeah i made 315 rwhp with only the 4.5 psi kit installed and stock heads, stock manifolds,9 degree's false knock and weak valve springs. So i hope with the 6 psi kit solid intake tube larger air filter,P/P heads larger valve's,MAC headers/OR pipe 3 inch cut out lt4 KM custom tuning larger fuel injectors and im sure im forgetting something. I sure hope i can make close to your RWHP or at least close to it. I want to run low 12's too i hope.:D

About 2 weeks ago I installed your 4.5 unit on my 1996 Camaro Z28 9 (OBD2). I had a Lean problem THE HIGHER THE RPM THE LEANER IT WAS GETTING ( 4700 RPM WAS GETTING 14 TO 15 AIR FUEL ). ( but think
I have resolved it...Computer was reprogrammed in 1998 to lean out Engine...so I installed another computer , this time a STOCK computer, also installed an Accell External fuel pump under drivers side ).

My question to you is how much boost should I be running ?? I kinda bring the car up to red-line 4600 to 5000
RPM in 2nd the 3rd gear, but the BOOST only goes as high as 2 to 3 and a half PSI. Do I really Need to BEAT on the car
to see High BOOST Levels ?? Do I need to be in 4th Gear Hauling butt to see Boost ?? Is that Normal ?? Still think I have
a Lean Problem ??

I just ordered a New MAF ( Supercharger Tuned ), I also Just ordered a New Hypertech Computer Programmer. The Reason I'm getting a new MAF is, the NEW STOCK COMPUTER is showing a Check Engine Light. I check out the Code with my Akron Code Reader it said P0100 ( MAF)...Tried to clear code.No luck ...Did the Battery disconnect ...no good. Could this Bad MAF also be Leaning out the Car? Could this also be the reason why I'm not making my 5 PSI Boost ??? Please Help !!!!!! What would be a reason a supercharger would not make the Boost it's supposed to ????

This is a List of my Mods :


1996 BLACK Z28

4.5 psi POWERDYNE SUPERCHARGER

Granatelli MAF, MECH-TECH Reprogrammed Computer, Air foil, JBA Headers, Random tech Y pipe+ High Flow Cats, 3 inch Magna flow Cat-Back, MSD 6A, Taylor 409 10.4 mm wires, Dual Centerforce Clutch, Hurst T handle, Hurst Short throw Shifter, 106* Thermostat, Coolant by-pass, Water Wetter, Gel Battery, Accell High Volume Fuel pump, RED LINE OIL in Power steering and Rear Differential, Cross Drilled Rotors, Kumo 255-50ZR-16 Tires, HIGH POLISHED stock Rims, Rear Black-Outs, Strut tower brace, G-Load brace, Panrod bar, Bilstein shocks and struts, Skip Shift Eliminator, Polyurethane Tranny Mount, Underdrive Pulley Set, High Viss Fog Lights, Dual Pillar gage, Air-Fuel / VDO 0-15 Boost Gages, Pioneer Premier Stereo. 121,000 Miles....

Thanks for your Help !

You may be making more boost than you think....especially since you have an M6. It is hard to watch the boost gauge when you're at 5,000 RPM and shifting ....you may actually be looking at the gauge at a lower RPM than you think. Also consider this, is your boost gauge properly calibrated? It should read 0 when the car is sitting parked (not running of course). Mine reads about 1 PSI too low so when I see 2 PSI I know I'm really making more like 3.
Could your belt be slipping? Very common problem with Powerdynes. Don't overtighten too much to find out though. Take it one step at a time but no tighter than a half inch or so of deflection or the classic "1/4 turn rule". Is your FMU up to snuff? Man, I would not be content with using that computer and MAF combination at all.....sounds risky. You've got to be running kind of rich and kind of low on timing to be safe with a blower ......know what you're running. Start scanning or something ...it's too risky not to especially when you're using ciomputers and MAF's you're not really familiar with. I would sent the Hypertech back honestly, but I guess it's better than the mystery program. What you need is a stock MAF and stock computer to use along with timing retard and FMU......or, get the thing dyno tuned (best option because you could use your existing equipment and get the best tune .....and know what you've got. The dyno operator could possibly determine if the MAF is no good and /or maybe compensate for whatever it's doing via offsetting tuning. If you go the dyno route I suggest trashing your FMU and stepping up to 36 or 42 # injectors. Lots of things can cause boost loss, you're sure there are no leaks? Are you still using the crappy little filter or the real 0920 one? Is your flex hose collapsing? Lots of things it could be ..... Good luck if we can help anyway keep asking questions.

Just a couple of thoughts:

Did you pull out the MAF and look through it? Was anything foreign inside the MAF that may have been dropped in there during installation? paper or someting like that. Are all the small wires still intact and clean?

Could be belt slippage.

Boost is based on load. When you say you bring it up to red-line that sounds like you are doing so sort of gradually. You need the pedal firmly planted on the floor (ensuring no carpeting is preventing the TB from being at WOT) and should be pulling closer to 5700-6000 with the SC. You'll need some more RPM's and load to see full boost with the SC.

Just my .02

Later ... Larry S.

This is a great forum!!! I have a 1997 Camaro SS with a 6-speed . I also intalled the powerdyne 6.5 kit on my car this winter and besides the charger my car is stock. I don't have the boost gauge or a/f hooked up yet but I am driving it. It seems to me like I should have more power. I have not taken it to the track yet but for example the car won't spin the tires by just flooring it in any gear and I think that is strange. I do have new Eagle f1s on the car, but i still think it should do something. I know traction is good, but I think it should have more. I don't know if I should have it dyno tuned, and if I do where can I have it done? I live in Ohio and don't know who is good with the supercharged LT1s. I'll find out for sure how much I gained when I take it to the track, but I think it won't be what it should. Please help!!!!

Whiteorange you have something seriously wrong. Your car should roast stock tires in first or second when the boost comes on, without clutching it.

What do you mean when you say you don't have the a/f hooked up? air filter?

When I said the A/F I meant air fueil gauge. Anyways that's not what I wanted to hear. My car runs fine, no miss or anything like that, the car only has 18000 miles on it. I don't think I have any leaks or belt slippage or anything like that. Let me know your thoughts

This is turning out to be a real nice post... sup Charlie. I'm almost done tuning my car, I started out with 7* of retard now I'm down to 4* only when I shift... Oh and about the tire spinning thing, first the tires are like butter. Second as long as I don't shift too hard I'll keep traction. Maybe its that retard but I think my car should feel a little faster... I'm doing a walbro 340 and A/C delete in the very near future so that should help a little. Oh and my gauges should be here monday so hopefully I will see if I'm making full boost or not or if I have some sort of drop in fuel pressure when I shift causing it to knock (otherwise it would be timing right) bahhhh damn knock. Hey to Charlie and Larry, I made a post about this cam I have and if it would be a good blower cam... It's a 218/234 on 112lsa, can you pls check out the post and tell me what you think because I only got one reply. But anyway enough about me -

To the guy with the weird MAF... take some rubbing alcohol and put it on a qtip and clean those little resistors in the MAF. Also what I would do is order the pcmforless OBDI conversion... that way you have free upgrades for the program for life (275+shipping) and you can use all the free scan software so you can watch and see exactly what is going on at all times. DITCH THE HYPERCRAP. My good friend (mike95z28) told me about something he read where two LS1 guys dynoed using the hypertech programming. One guy had a 15:1 A/F and the other had a 17:1 A/F!!!!!!! That thing is useless especially for a blown car. Pay for pcmforless with the money you spent on that.

I'll be back, peace.

Originally posted by 96 WS6
This is turning out to be a real nice post... sup Charlie. I'm almost done tuning my car, I started out with 7* of retard now I'm down to 4* only when I shift... Oh and about the tire spinning thing, first the tires are like butter. Second as long as I don't shift too hard I'll keep traction. Maybe its that retard but I think my car should feel a little faster... I'm doing a walbro 340 and A/C delete in the very near future so that should help a little. Oh and my gauges should be here monday so hopefully I will see if I'm making full boost or not or if I have some sort of drop in fuel pressure when I shift causing it to knock (otherwise it would be timing right) bahhhh damn knock. Hey to Charlie and Larry, I made a post about this cam I have and if it would be a good blower cam... It's a 218/234 on 112lsa, can you pls check out the post and tell me what you think because I only got one reply. But anyway enough about me -

To the guy with the weird MAF... take some rubbing alcohol and put it on a qtip and clean those little resistors in the MAF. Also what I would do is order the pcmforless OBDI conversion... that way you have free upgrades for the program for life (275+shipping) and you can use all the free scan software so you can watch and see exactly what is going on at all times. DITCH THE HYPERCRAP. My good friend (mike95z28) told me about something he read where two LS1 guys dynoed using the hypertech programming. One guy had a 15:1 A/F and the other had a 17:1 A/F!!!!!!! That thing is useless especially for a blown car. Pay for pcmforless with the money you spent on that.

I'll be back, peace.

You live in CA and are doing an AC delete? Damn, I wouldn't do that here in the frozen north under any circumstances, let alone in CA.

Rich Krause

hello i am buying a 95 Trans Am 6speed with a lt1 crate motor paxton SC bbk headers a cam of unknown origin stock heads and a cat back. i dont seem to be able to find any info on the paxton SC kit anyway. and i wanted to know if any one knew anything about them also any hp gestemets and 1/4 mile times thank you any thing you know about them would help, Brian:confused::confused: