New Supercharger Advice

eep · 01-14-2003, 01:42 AM

I have a 96 z28 and have finally decided to add a supercharger. I have added a flowmaster exhaust, low temp thermostat etc. My baby has only 46K miles so its not tired. I am trying to decide between an ATI P1SC with intercooler and a Vortec SC. If you all had to do it all over again, which would you choose and why? Reliability is very important as my car is a daily commuter and does see some traffic. Also, I'm assuming that I will have to upgrade the stock clutch. Any suggestions? I would really hate to spend a good bit of money and end up disappointed, so any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks.

TimbrSS · 01-14-2003, 03:55 AM

First of all, you mentioned reliability, which you don't get once you add boost. You can be reasonably safe, but you will have to expect to join the rebuild club at any moment.

With that out of the way, you really cannot go wrong with either blower. Both can make big power. For every person that says go vortech, one will say ATI.

I have the ATI D1SC with twin intercoolers. I'd say overall, i'm really happy with the kit, and i'd buy it again. There were lots of little changes i made to the system to bring it up to my standards.

A couple reasons why i went with ATI:
You get intercooler with ATI for about the same price as non intercooled vortech.
Self contained head unit, no tapping oil pan, and i like the idea that they both have their own oil supply so one cant take out the other.
From what i've seen, ATI kits make more power.

MEAN LT1 · 01-14-2003, 08:06 AM

I like the ati because it doesnt sit on top of the engine bay blocking off thing that i need to get too. The vortech unite sit on top of the engine and if you get the aftercooler your pretty much blocking the whole right side of the engine from the top. and of course the intercooler are a pluse too.

frankjr8 · 01-14-2003, 08:46 PM

Ati all the way, mounted low. Intercooled, need I say more!

mongse_1 · 01-15-2003, 09:26 AM

The rebuild club is a fun club to join...my credit card company wishes I joined it more often.

Both have advantages and disadvantages. ATI are excellent blowers w/ the intercoolers, but have horrible tech support. Vortech has great tech support, but I have never liked the design of the aftercooler.

You'll get a lot of opinions, but I would have to say ATI. Just find a good dealer (Ramchargers, Tenacious Performance, etc.) that will take care of any additional hardware you want(pullies, belts, upgrades) and you should be fine.

BOOST FED 95Z · 01-16-2003, 02:34 PM

I have an s-trim and aftercooler and I would never have it any other way (except maybe a t-trim). I have never had a problem out of it. I also had one on a Cobra that I owned previously that I enjoyed very much. One thing I dont like about Vortech is there customer service, it is very poor. I saw mentioned above that prochargers were making more power. I would have to say that everthing that I have seen comparing the two Vortech has made more power. Another thing I dont like about the procharger is that from what I have seen here locally alot of people have a problem with chewing belts. I think they are both good superchargers but here is a vote for Vortech.For what its worth USA MOTORSPORTS has the best price that I have found and that was an s-trim and aftercooler for $4,095. I havent seen anyone beat that.

mongse_1 · 01-16-2003, 04:21 PM

Quote:

One thing I dont like about Vortech is there customer service, it is very poor.

I've heard the exact opposite from a LOT of people. Can't be much worse that ATI. It took me a little over 6 weeks just to get a 12-rib belt/pulley combination.

BOOST FED 95Z · 01-16-2003, 05:33 PM

When I ordered my kit USA Motorsports had to get it from Vortech directly. It took about 4 months to get it and I had a couple of run ins with vortech where they would give me absolutely no information at all about where my $4100 went. I actually called Vortech to cancel the order and order a procharger and then my kit was magically found and shipped overnight. I have since tried to get technical help on pulleys and other accessories and have gotten one word answers and asses for representatives. I have called ATI just a couple of times but they seamed more customer friendly than did Vortech. That is just my experience.

Scott

EricTheBald · 01-19-2003, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TimbrSS
Self contained head unit, no tapping oil pan, and i like the idea that they both have their own oil supply so one cant take out the other.

That's important. No cross-contamination in case of either engine or charger breaking.

tbyrne · 01-29-2003, 10:55 AM

Both systems tend to be very popular but I'd say that we sell slightly more Vortech kits than the ATI. The Vortech produces 7# of boost while the ATI is rated at 8# (you really don't want to go much higher than 8# with the stock LT1 bottom end). The P-1SC is nice because you don't have to tap into the oil (this is required for the Vortech). You'll see about 125-140hp increase from either system.

At some point your stock clutch will need to be upgraded to handle the additional power. I've seen some last for well over a year while others have started to slip after a few months. It just depends if your doing mostly street driving or visiting the drags with sticky tires every weekend.

Vortech recently had a price increase so none of is would be able to get the Aftercooled system out for $4100. now but we can offer you a VERY good deal on either brand.

Tom

DarkblueTA · 01-29-2003, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mongse_1
Both have advantages and disadvantages. ATI are excellent blowers w/ the intercoolers, but have horrible tech support. Vortech has great tech support, but I have never liked the design of the aftercooler.

I never had any problem with ATI's tech support, but I do ask for Dorean(sp?) if he is there because he helped me out a lot when I called ATI's tech line to ask questions before making a decision on the blower.

I chose ATI for the following reasons...
1. no tapping into the oil pan
2. made more power
3. didn't like the way vortech sat on top the engine
4. air to air intercoolers on the street <cough cough> is where it's at....(oh...wait..I want to add ice to my water to air intercooler...get my pic?)
5. Don't have to relocate a ton of things
6. I thought it was a better deal
7. Install time was roughly 8 hrs including a lunch break.
8. Didn't have to mess around for a pump/lines/etc for the water to air intercooler.

I love my P1SC (although I have an LS1) and I recommend ATI to anyone, especially the P1SC and D1SC kits.

DarkblueTA
8# Procharger and then some