The Jim G superharger installation marathon has begun . . .

[JimGnitecki]

Everyone has been asking, so here is the update: The official "Jim G supercharger instalaltion marathon" has begun!

Last night (Thursday 2-23), my skilled mechanic and hotrodder friend Randy Peurifoy came over and the two of us inventoried the parts in the Magnacharger kit that I bougt from 2005ssr6speed (Joe).

The kit is awesome in its organization and detailing. There is a paper structured parts list that identifies the part number for each subassembly of the kit, and then within that identifies the individual parts included. The physical parts are all clearly organized into clear plastic bags, each of which shows the subassembly number, and then each subset of parts or individual part is isolated from the others in the bag via heat sealing, so that each bag is actually a collection of individual chambers! No way you should get confused, and it makes it really easy to know right away before you start if there are any missing parts (there were not).

Just a few unexpected items came up during our inventory:

- There is a bright red insert sheet in the installation manual that now advises that the Supertuner microtuner included in the kit should be used to install the new program BEFORE the physical installation is started. Joe says that the purpose of this is so that any glitches that arise in accessing the computer can be found BEFORE the vehicle is made undriveable, and corrected before or during phsyical installation. This is a great idea.

- In my specific case, we do have an issue as my SSR is not stock, and therefore requires a program different than the stock one shipped via the Superchips microtuner. Joe, me, Randy, and Lyndon Wester all discussed last evening and again this morning what the best method is going to be for Lyndon to get his remotely developed custom tune into my vehicle's PCM. We are currently evaluating pros and cons of using a 2nd PCM or a handheld (similar to the microtuner) that Lyndon preloads and ships to me. Using a scond PCM raises some issues similar to what Matjow ran into on his install, so Lyndon is thinking carefully about what we want to do to make this as easy as possible, and potentially a prototype of a mthodology tat we can use on other Fanatics' SSRs.

- The intake manifold gaskets shipped with the lit have a different part number than the part number shown for the intake manifold gasket in the parts list. The difference is in only the last digit and suffix, but the photo for step 87 in the install manual also seems to show port gasket shapes that are "squatter" in dimensions than the "tall & narrrow" shape of the ports n the gaskets supplied. Joe had us physically check the fit of the provided gaskets to the supercharger intake manifold, and they do fit. I am assuming that since my order clearly identified my SSR as an o4 model, that if there is a difference in intake port shape right at the manifold to heads interface, between the 04 and 05 SSR (LM4 heads and intake versus LS2 heads and intake), that I have been sent the correct sueprcharger manifold! In other words, I am asuming, Joe, that Magnacharger did not accidentally ship me a manifold and gaskets intended for an 05 / 06 SSR with slightly different intake port shapes.

- The intercooler provided with the kit uses a water cooling system that requires its own supply of distilled water. The kit does not mention how MUCH distileld water is needed, so I asked Joe via phone, and we guessed "under 3 gallons max". If anyone who has done the install knows, please reply to this thread and tell us how much distilled water I should buy on the way home today!

- Randy and I know that we cannot simply easily install the heat exchanger for the intercooler in front of the AC condensor, as I already have both a transmission cooler and Mike Moro's auxiliary fan mounted in that same area, so Randy is planning on having to remove the tranny cooler and auxiliary fan, mounti g the heat exhcanger and plumbing, and then remoutning the tranny cooler and then the auxiliary fan. Joe has warned us last night to ensure that the heat exchanger is at the FRONT of this happy party, as it REALLY needs the cool air. He also warned us that running temporarily without the heat exchanger is not a good idea, as the amount of heat produced by the blower is sufficient to cause detonation beyond the limits of the PCM to compensate against, so everyhting HAS to be buttoned up this weekend (My SSR is also my daily driver).

Those are the "issues or questions" so far.

I cleaned out the garage beforehand for the marathon. We have good lighting, and at least 3 feet on every side of the SSR (the wife's SUV has been banished to the outdoors for months so that the SSR, my Ducati, and my motorcycle trailer can all live indoors (you have to kep your priorities straight. The SUV is merely primary transportation, but the Ducati and its trailer are precious!)

I'll try to post updates through the weeked as time allows.

Joe has told us he thinks we will find this simple, and I have no reason to think otherwise, unless we got the wrong intake, or the PCM re-programming becomes a problem (due to my non-stock starting point), or things are tighter than we hope in that fascia area (heat exchanger, tranny cooler, fan).

Joe has assured me that if the PCM becomes an issue, we CAN load the standard Magnacharger program via the Superchips microtuner provided with the kit, and the SSR will start and run. I just wold have to NOT use the boost until we could get the PCM properly re-programmed to allow for my Z06 cam and dual exhaust.

This difference between my SSR and a stock 04 SSR is not trivial. A stock 04 SSR produces about 235 to 250 rwhp, while my modified one produces a dyno confirmed 330 rwhp - more like a stock 05 / 06 SSR than an 04 SSR. Think about it. 330 versus 240 hp means 37% more power and therefor by definition 37% more air and 37% more fuel being passed through per minute. Getting into the throttle before getting a proper program could be very destructive, and msut not be done.

Anyway, more updates later . .

Jim G

[JimGnitecki]

One thing I should have said: Joe has been FABULOUS in his support on this. He spent about an hour on the phone with me and Randy last ngiht, and exchanged a few emails with me as well. I feel like we are in expert hands.

This is service that you should think long and hard about before trying to buy your supercharger kit somewhere else for just a few bucks less but forgoing all this valuable help from someone who lives on this website and therefore has a lot invested in our success.

I've got a lot tied up in my SSR, and want to work with the BEST on any mods I do.

Jim G

[2005SSR6Speed]

Thank you very much for the compliments once again. I assure you that the installation will be easier then you think. The install is actually cut down because the largest part (Supercharger, Intake, Intercooler, Fuel Injectors and Fuel Rails) are already preassembled. The hard part is lowering it down onto the engine due mainly to its weight. It is recommended that you have at least 2 people doing this so it can be placed down softly and aligned. I agree the biggest challenge will be the placement of everything forward of the radiator and the computer programming via Westers Tune. If you work slow and methodical it should be done easily by Sunday morning with enough time to double and triple check everything. Please keep me posted and dont hesitate to give me a call, I wake up at about 4:30-5:00 am and dont go to bed until at least 10:00 pm.

[Focks]

Originally Posted by JimGnitecki

Everyone has been asking, so here is the update: The official "Jim G supercharger instalaltion marathon" has begun!Jim G

If you do a good job, I will let you install mine, too. Ain't I swell!

[SMKN04SSR]

Originally Posted by Focks

If you do a good job, I will let you install mine, too. Ain't I swell!

DITTO!!!

[2005SSR6Speed]

Jim - I looks like yourself and Randy may have your schedules filled for a while. I could recommend you to future customers if that is okay.

[JimGnitecki]

If this one goes as well as we all hope, then, yes, I would think that more for others are a good possibility!

Jim G

[2005SSR6Speed]

Jim - You need to only stop long enough to post a response on your progress every 4 to 5 hours then get back to work. We are all awaiting the progress with pictures.

[Calcustom]

Originally Posted by Focks

If you do a good job, I will let you install mine, too. Ain't I swell!

Focks,
Sent you a PM on 2/20 in regards to your install.

Anyone in North Texas looking for someone to install supercharger, or Mike Moro's fan kit please let me know. I can easily handle these types of modifications. Turned wrenches for a living for a little over 21 years. I am located in North Richland Hills.

Gary

[1HOT12C]

Originally Posted by JimGnitecki

He also warned us that running temporarily without the heat exchanger is not a good idea, as the amount of heat produced by the blower is sufficient to cause detonation beyond the limits of the PCM to compensate against, Jim G

Just curious, What happens if the little pump for the intercooler stops pumping??? If this is a daily driver that could be bad news.

Originally Posted by JimGnitecki

This difference between my SSR and a stock 04 SSR is not trivial. A stock 04 SSR produces about 235 to 250 rwhp, while my modified one produces a dyno confirmed 330 rwhp - more like a stock 05 / 06 SSR than an 04 SSR. Think about it. 330 versus 240 hp means 37% more power and therefor by definition 37% more air and 37% more fuel being passed through per minute. Getting into the throttle before getting a proper program could be very destructive, and msut not be done.Jim G

37% more fuel passing through??? I thought you increased milage slightly with your modifications?

[41chevcoe]

Originally Posted by 1HOT12C

37% more fuel passing through??? I thought you increased milage slightly with your modifications?

He gets to his destination 40% faster, thus a 3% fuel saving!

[JimGnitecki]

The 37% more fuel per minute is under wide open throttle ONLY!! Not when just cruising.

If the intercooler pump stops working, you need to stay out of the boost is all.

1st update at Friday 7:20pm CST:

The "temporary" re-programming via the provided Superchips microtuner worked. We know this because we started the SSR after that install in order to drive it up the ramps to do the booster fuel pump install. It now starts readily but runs rich as pig at idle. It had trouble climbing the ramps (I didn't want to give it more gas for fear I'd shoot off the ends of the ramp into the garage wall of the home which is now sold awaiting closing!)

After the fuel pump install, the only work done from underside, we will lower the vehicle back to the floor. To do so, we don't want to start it agin because that would get the parts hot again, so we plan to roll it down BUT with the ignition key on so that we don't trigger the anti-theft provisions that prevent the vehicle from then starting! Joe says that even if we tirgger the anti-theft, the cure is to simply disconnect the battery negative terminal for a few minutes, and we need to do that anyway, so no big deal.

No issues so far.

Next update by 11:30pm CST latest, for those tuning into the soap opera.

Jim G

[mikepowell]

will the distilled water freeze
or is there some antifreeze

[Wildcat69]

Interesting, I have never heard of just using distilled water in an intercooler. It would seem that you would want the lubrication/anti rust and higher boiling point/lower freezing point qualities of a mix. Gords Performance Engineering recommends a mix in their intercoolers. Staying tuned for "As the Blower Turns".

[2005SSR6Speed]

I have a half and half mixture of distilled water and a coolant additive called wet wetter if I remember right.

[2005SSR6Speed]

Wildcat69 - Catchy phrase "As the Blower Turns".

[2005SSR6Speed]

Maybe "subdriver" can jump in with a synthetic addative for the intercooler.

This is a link off his site:

http://www.c66racing-synthetics.com/...ucts/ANTPB.htm

Here is a link for the thread on the transmission cooler I posted:

Transmission cooler

[Wildcat69]

SSR6speed,

Thanks for posting the threads.
Subdriver is the Mac Daddy of lubrication, isn't he?
Plus, he signed me up for a big discount program with Amsoil. What a guy!
BTW, have you looked for a +2 or +3 quart tranny pan? It would be a nice addition to our cars.

[2005SSR6Speed]

There was a link to an aftermarket transmission pan here a couple of weeks ago. It was a real nice aluminum pan with extra capacity.

[Wildcat69]

I think that that pan was for an 03 or 04 SSR. I'm going to look again. Do you know any 05 or 06 guys that have a plus size pan?

[JimGnitecki]

11:13pm update:

The intercooler actually takes a 50-50 mixture of Dexcool and distilled water. I found the reference to it later in the instructions.

We ran into an issue again related to my non-stock configuration: the location specified for the booster fuel pump would not work for us, as the fuel pump would be trying to sit in the same space as the engine exhaust with the headers and dual exhaust installed!

Randy simply mounted it slightly differently in the same area (I will post photos in a day or 2 if someone reminds me to. Randy, also being meticulous and cautious, raided the "gift box" of heat resistant wraps and sheeting that Mike Moro graciously sent me weeks ago. He found two perfect products in it to thermally isolate the fuel pump and fuel line from the nearby exhaust (I took photos of that too).

Randy also was fascinated with the dual exhaust "merge / crossover" that Reese Cox had designed and installed at MTI in Atlanta. Randy studied the blister pattern on the high temperature paint on that crossover / merge, took some measurements of where the two easily identifiably different areas of blistering occured, and of the two unequal length pipes coming into the merge, and pronounced that based on his years of hotrodding experience, his hat was off to Reese. Reese had apparently deduced EXACTLY where the two DIFFERENT lengths of right bank and left bank exhaust pipes would need the merge to be, and had neatly encompased BOTH of them via his novel solution! Randy says this places the crossover / merge PRECISELY where it needs to be for maximum effectiveness, which may explain why this particular exhaust system has been so wildly successful in making mid range torque and power, and in more than doubling the impact of the Z06 cam on the top end power.

Yes, we ARE having fun, but all these diversions are slowing the pace beyond what a straight install on a stock SSR would involve.

More tomorrow . . .

Jim G

[Wildcat69]

Hi Jim, Check this idea out when you get a chance. You can dramatically drop your inlet air charge temperatures with these devices. Works in conjunction with your intercooler.

http://www.killerchiller.com/

[JimGnitecki]

I need to examine that website much more closely when the exictement currently all around me dies down a bit. This looks interesting.

Jim G

[2005SSR6Speed]

Jim - The super-chillers like the one linked above are real nice but typically the hold tank is large and the chiller would almost fill the back of the SSR. I remember a few on the Syclone/Typhoon throwing the idea around a few years back. It worked great on a dyno but the extra weight was a killer.

Ford even tried a similar setup in the show new generation Lightning (The lightning didn't make it into production). It had the A/C running through the reservoir tank to super-chill the liquid. The A/C would turn off at WOT (Wide Open Throttle) so it was not a drag on the system while racing.

[JimGnitecki]

Thanks, Joe. Saves me the trouble of doing that research!

Jim G

[2005SSR6Speed]

Jim - Okay, back to work. We need updates on as Wildcat69 says "As the Blower Turns".

[Wildcat69]

Originally Posted by 2005SSR6Speed

Jim - The super-chillers like the one linked above are real nice but typically the hold tank is large and the chiller would almost fill the back of the SSR. I remember a few on the Syclone/Typhoon throwing the idea around a few years back. It worked great on a dyno but the extra weight was a killer.

Ford even tried a similar setup in the show new generation Lightning (The lightning didn't make it into production). It had the A/C running through the reservoir tank to super-chill the liquid. The A/C would turn off at WOT (Wide Open Throttle) so it was not a drag on the system while racing.

You are going to be suprised how far they have come with these systems. I was going to put one on my Cobra that had a Kenne Bell supercharger but I ended up selling the car. I have seen this installation and the system is only 12"tall by 5.5" long and 5.25" tall and the weight was under 15 lbs.. The system is made for superchargers and mounts in series with the stock heat exchanger utilizing the stock supercharger heat exchanger holding tank (but you can get some real sweet polished billet holding tanks from the mustang crowd http://www.pfabrication.com/cobrareservoir.html). Imagine how much the car would like a 30 degree air inlet charge. Heat soke is a weakness with these superchargers and their relatively small heat exchangers. It's worth looking into. How is the installation of the supercharger going?

[JimGnitecki]

Ok, here with go with some photos:

I don't know if the upload scrambles the order or not, so the descriptions might not match the ORDER of the photos:

Photo 001 shows how well the parts are organized

Photo 2 shows how everything was shipped by Magnuson to me

Photo 3 shows how each bag is individually labeled

Photo 4 shows the abeautiful job that Randy did installing the fuel pump in an alternate but very close location to what the manual specified (my aftermarket headers and exhaust were in the way). Note how he wrapped the pump and fuel line with heat reflecting material since they are so close to the exhaust. Those heat reflecting materials are courtesy of Mike Moro (Mike in AZ!). The pump is cooled by the fuel flow, not air, so we will not overheat the pump by insulating it with the wrap.

Note also the use of stainless steel bolt, lockwasher, and nut in place of the supplied self-tapping screws. We felt that since the pump is mounted to the transmission crossmember which will need to be removed and replaced when (note not "if") I get the hi-stall troque converter installed, the hardware usd should not be self-tappers but rather proper bolts and nuts. Stainless for corrosion resistance. After drilling the 1/4 holes to mount the pump, we also painted the raw metal edges of the holes with paint for corropsion resistance, before assembling the pump to them.

Photo 5 shows the undehood area at about 10 or 11pm Friday night . . . if this frightens you, consider hiring Randy to do the install . . .

Jim G

[JimGnitecki]

More photos:

Photo 9 shows that our intake ports are truly CATHEDRAL ports (and that the intake gaskets WILL fit - the photo i the install manual for the 04 SSR has simply been optically distorted).

Photo 10 shows that the ports are not smooth as delivered by the factory, so some PROFESSIONAL polishing would be helpful to air flow.

Photo 11 shows that the ports are also DEEP

Photo 13 shows that tape and rags are essential. The tape prevents anything from dropping into the intake ports, especially during the grinding of the alternator bracket so that it will clear the supercharger intake manifold.

Jim G

[JimGnitecki]

See also the photo of the exhaust system paint blistering at

http://www.ssrfanatic.com/forum/show...3440#post93440

(the exhaust thread I started a few days ago)

Jim G