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Supercharger or Turbocharger

28K views 35 replies 11 participants last post by  snrusnak 
#1 ·
I am thinking about either supercharging or turbocharging my 2009 dodge ram 1500 with the 4.7L V8, does anyone have any suggestions on which option to go with and maybe some ideas on what products are available in either option.
 
#2 ·
Check out air ram's website, it looks like they are the only ones putting together a kit:

http://www.airram.com/custompage.php?page=18

Other than that, as far as I know it'd all be custom. Even with that kit ^ you'd need a way to tune it I'd guess, I doubt they will supply everything, but look into it. I'd like to bolt that on my truck depending on price and how much power it added...
 
#3 ·
The question is...what are you doing with the truck? There's many different variables to a choice like that.

Supercharger is better if you just want light to light performance on the street. If you're actually going to drag race it, a turbo would be a better choice as there is more power potential with a turbo. Also, a turbo is great for towing.

Turbos are a much more involved install, though, and usually more expensive. Superchargers are much more straight forward and simple to install, but, as I said, there's not as much power potential with them.

Superchargers, however, give you instant throttle response, whereas a turbo has a minor lag between putting the pedal down and it responding.

So...back to my first question...

what are you doing with the truck?
 
#9 ·
The question is...what are you doing with the truck? There's many different variables to a choice like that.

Supercharger is better if you just want light to light performance on the street. If you're actually going to drag race it, a turbo would be a better choice as there is more power potential with a turbo. Also, a turbo is great for towing.

Turbos are a much more involved install, though, and usually more expensive. Superchargers are much more straight forward and simple to install, but, as I said, there's not as much power potential with them.

Superchargers, however, give you instant throttle response, whereas a turbo has a minor lag between putting the pedal down and it responding.

So...back to my first question...

what are you doing with the truck?
As someone who has built and installed numerous turbo and supercharger kits...i disagree. Turbos are a MUCH easier build/install. The only "hard" part is all the piping. Now this is from a custom build stand point. A supercharger "kit" is very simple to install! Problem with superchargers on our truck is the high compression ratio. i think the 4.7 runs like 9.5:1. ideal is 8.5:1. Youd have to keep boost levels WAY down or you could do some MAJOR damage to your motor. All in All id go turbo. unless you find a decent Supercharger kit. And whatever you do...TAKE YOUR TIME! :smileup:
 
#7 ·
I really like the sound, instantaneous power, and ease of use on a supercharger. If you're really wanting to squeeze out a GOB of power out of a 4.7, go turbo. If you're looking to tow a boat, have more power on the road, hit a stop light to stop light race or two, grab a supercharger. Nothing beats that bottom end torque that a good ol eaton supercharger gives. If you can gear drive it, even that much better.
 
#8 ·
Hi and a warm Carolina welcome to the best RAM ForumZ on the web. I'm not the first and won't be the last to ask ~ How about posting a few photos of your truck? I'm here to help you navigate the site so how about jumping over to the Newbie Checkin and introducing yourself.

:iagree: all above comments are valid so what are you looking to get out of the 4.7?
:Hey:
 
#10 ·
As someone who has built and installed numerous turbo and supercharger kits...i disagree. Turbos are a MUCH easier build/install. The only "hard" part is all the piping. Now this is from a custom build stand point. A supercharger "kit" is very simple to install! Problem with superchargers on our truck is the high compression ratio. i think the 4.7 runs like 9.5:1. ideal is 8.5:1. Youd have to keep boost levels WAY down or you could do some MAJOR damage to your motor. All in All id go turbo. unless you find a decent Supercharger kit. And whatever you do...TAKE YOUR TIME!
What always stopped me from doing forced induction was tuning.....but it seems tuning has become more available and easier...
 
#12 ·
I went to AirRams site but didn't see anything about turbos for our engines. Does anyone know what size turbo is recommended for our motor? I have a brand new complete setup that was for a tacoma 4cyl engine. The kit has the Garrett T3/T4 turbo. It would be cool to pick up a second one if it will work on this engine and start building a twin turbo 4.7L!!
 
#13 ·
I went to AirRams site but didn't see anything about turbos for our engines. Does anyone know what size turbo is recommended for our motor? I have a brand new complete setup that was for a tacoma 4cyl engine. The kit has the Garrett T3/T4 turbo. It would be cool to pick up a second one if it will work on this engine and start building a twin turbo 4.7L!!
Airram only has the supercharger kit they are working on as far as I know, nothing turbo...

I know a little about forced induction, but not enough to say I'm an expert, and I don't know how to size them to an engine, it has to do with trim, etc..., etc.... but if it was designed for a 4 cylinder I'd guess it'd be too small. You could also do a single turbo, doesn't necessarily have to be twin turbo to perform well. Human beings have this weird need to be symmetrical.....it's not necessarily needed though.....I saw a small block chevy v8 that had a single turbo off of one manifold, the other manifold did not connect to the turbo in any way, and the car ran like a bat out of hell.
 
#14 ·
That's a good piece of info, I like the idea of twin turbo but I guess it's not needed. Does anyone know what the benefit of twins would be versus single?

Based on some research, the T3 T4's are a good setup for most V8 applications

I am not a Ford fan but I found this:

"When it comes to street turbos for 5.0L or modular Fords, there are basically two common sizes: the T3 and the T4. Sure, there are a few crazy individuals out there who opt for the large frame monsters, but the T3 and T4 families can serve the needs of just about any V-8 from mild to wild."

Read more: http://www.musclemustangfastfords.c...g_turbo_size_guide/viewall.html#ixzz1XNMxvhvx
 
#15 ·
I know going too big causes spooling lag...I'd think with twins you would have less lag because you could run two smaller turbos instead of one larger...again this isn't something I have alot of experience with though. I've dealt mostly with NA applications...Also forced induction likes cams with little to no overlap.
 
#16 ·
I would love to see a T3/T4 Twin turbo'd 4.7L. I just wonder if the bottom half of the motor could hold up to the horsepower. You'd need a lot of work done too on the fuel system to keep up with all that air. That combined with the 2011's (which I have) and they haven't cracked the codes for things yet so its a bit frustrating. I won't do anything wild till my warranty runs out then its MOD TIME!!!
 
#17 ·
The bottom end of the engine is pretty strong; The new 4.7L (don't know about the first gen) does not use individual main bearing caps, it uses something similar to a cradle, I bet it would be damn near bulletproof. I don't know about the crank, rods, and pistons/rings, but I'd guess the weakest link would be the rings. I'd think you could run mild boost and not have any issues, it seems to be a very strong bottom end from what I've read, at least stronger than most other engines.
 
#23 ·
As far as I know the closest "bolt on" supercharger kits are a hemi kit that some have modified slightly to fit, and airrams ongoing 4.6L adapter project. I gotta say though the guy at airram sort of seems to be missing or something lol.
 
#27 ·
Just wanted to add to this that I found the dakota guys (first gen) were using a paxton novi 1000 (or maybe 2000) kit that is no longer made. They come up every once in a while for like $1,000-$2,000 and could probably easily be adapted to any 4.7L. Would be a pretty inexpensive boosted project, although there would be things to work out. They say depending on pulley/boost it increases hp by about 40-60%. Not bad, that'd take a stock 2nd gen 4.7L (310hp) up to about 430hp on the base pulley.

There are also other kits I found for the 4.7L that are no longer in production such as a screw type kenne bell (less fuel efficient than the centrifugal type paxton.
 
#28 ·
I contacted kenne bell and they told me they never made them...then i pointed them to the old website on their domain with an advert on it..... never got another email response... heh
 
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