Can i put a supercharger and ram air on at the same time?

[saturn2187]

Can i put supercharger and ram air on at the same time? My limited knowledge is telling me that the ram air and the supercharger both push air through the ??intake manifold?? tube which leads to the enginge. Would i have to split that tube, or does the supercharger go somewhere else? if i did get it, would i need a new hood? could i get both a turbocharger AND a supercharger? which one is better?

[John_D.]

Questions, questions...

First, supercharger and ram air. Yes. Ram air will probably not noticeably increase the net boost pressure. What it will do is provide an ample supply of cooler outside air to feed the s/c. The s/c would be between the ram air and the engine, all one intake tract.

Would you need a new hood...? For true ram air, yes, since this is typically done through vents built into the hood. (although you could run ductwork from the grille, the fog lights, under the car, etc. Anywhere that air pressure will build up while moving. The typical CAI kits for the '98 take the air from beneath the car, just forward of the radiator.

ok, the supercharger vs. turbocharger debate....

Regardless of which one is "best" (from a power, durability, or show-off standpoint), the biggest deciding factor on our cars is space and ease of installation. The turbo requires significant exhaust plumbing in the engine compartment, to the point that it is extremely difficult to implement. The supercharger poses some problems as it has to be mounted sticking away from the engine, out towards the grille, instead of mounting alongside the engine like normal belt-driven accessories. There are several people who have solved this with custom brackets, the obsolete Vortech kit, and now the new beta ATI kit.

Can you get both... Theoretically yes. The s/c would supply more quickly, down low, the turbo would supply more air up high after getting past the lag. There are twin turbos, staged twin turbos, and twin superchargers. Depends on cost, underhood space and logistics, and engineering know-how.

The stock engine will only handle so much added power without something breaking inside, so a dual setup would require beefing up the engine internals - crank, rods, pistons, and the list goes on...

The thing I have in the back of my mind, is after getting the s/c ironed out and tuned, then throwing a dry 50 shot of nitrous in the mix!!

Yes more total hp load on the engine, but also more intake air cooling effect to minimize detonation, so hopefully the combination will be easier on the engine instead of worse. Especially if I bring the shift points down a hair, to maybe 5800, I hope the engine lives a long time.

[saturn2187]

thanks for the help, and i forgot to mention that i do have the ram air hood currently functional.

[knowledgefreak]

you can get your air supply from the hood opening but NOOOOOO that ram air affect that you want will never even be noticed anyways. SS vs z28 = nada

The blower will force air in period, it will not care if it is coming from your hood or not, it will not be forced any faster into the engine than what the blower is already doing.