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Frequently Asked Questions - Click the questions to Link to the answers

Because the blower is located over the headers are there any heat issues?

What are the prices?

How long is the installation and what is involved?

How soon can I get one?

What is a screw blower?  What is the difference between the screw blower and an Eaton or Roots blower?

What is the purpose of two throttle bodies and how does that work?

The base system doesn't have a throttle body in front of the blower, how does that affect the performance?

How does this compare to the Kenne Bell  or Magnacharger Systems?

How does this compare to a Procharger or Vortech System?

How does this compare to Dragon's Turbo Systems?

Where does the supercharger get its inlet air and are there any downsides to getting the air inlet from there?

How much faster can I expect my car to be with this kit?

Does this kit include everything I need?

Can it be accomplished by weekend mechanics or does this require a professional shop?

How do I become a dealer?

What other applications do you have besides the Corvette?

How much longer does it take to change the plugs with the supercharger there?

I have a C6 Z06 can I buy the system without the pistons?

If you have any more questions or would like to order please call us or fill out the form below

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With almost 2 years in development we're confident we've created the most powerful supercharger system available to bolt on your corvette. PSI to PSI no other supercharger system can match this system and it makes more power under the curve than even a comparable turbo system. The other added benefits:

- No hood change

- Upgradeability - We've provided you with enough supercharger and the aftermarket components to push this system to 800+RWTQ should you find the need.

- Custom Looks - We offer this system custom painted to match your vehicle or in several contrasting colors and some really vibrant House of Kolor Kandy colors for some real show stopping looks.

- More fun to drive & better performance - There's nothing like a screw blower for instantaneous mind blowing torque as well as addictive high RPM power

- Incredible reliability - the Whipple blower is a proven piece of technology with over 30 years of Whipple R&D behind it. This blower could outlast your vehicle and only requires infrequent oil changes and maintenance. Warranty is 1 year/12000 miles on the supercharger and 3 years/30000 miles on the system

- Cost - Cheaper than a smaller blower and a hood change. This system will run you between $7300 and $8400 depending on finish in basic intercooled form. For those that want to just get there hands on one to feel the thrill the price is significantly cheaper for the base non-intercooled system. Complete Prices are posted at www.dragonrace.com.

- Straightforward installation - Installation should take 20 hours or less and is quite straightforward. The only difficult part of the installation is the pinning of the crankshaft. Tuning is included via mail directly through Dragon.

- Power output is higher than any other base kit supercharger. The base 5 psi kit (sea level 5 psi) will provide you with over 470rwtq and similar HP minimum but you're more likely to see over 500 as we use a Mustang Dyno here which reads significantly lower than some of the other brands out there.

Because the blower is located over the headers are there any heat issues?

The question of heat soak of the blower is the #1 most frequently asked question but we've tested it and found it not to be any more of an issue than is associated with the other manifold mounted superchargers.

With Stock or Ceramic Coated Headers our supercharger ends up around 210 degrees when heat soaked on a 75 degree day...which is almost exactly the same temperature we read off the blower on a Magnuson[i] or Kenne Bell. This is NOT the air temperature just the case temperature of the supercharger.

With Stainless uncoated headers the temperature jumps another 20 degrees which does not affect the inlet air temperature on the intercooled setup significantly. In the case that a non-intercooled setup is installed we would recommend coated or stock type manifolds.

Air temperatures non intercooled can approach 170 degrees which is consistent with any non-intercooled positive displacement supercharger. Intercooled the temperature is 110-115 degrees at the inlet on a 75 degree day which is far cooler than a traditional intercooled and manifold mounted supercharger that has reached full heat soak.

On race applications utilizing our air to water upgrade...there is also the provision for intercooling the supercharger case.

Generally speaking the heat in the supercharger unit comes from the heat of compression of the air rather than any radiant heat from the engine or engine compartment.

How long is the installation and what is involved?

Installation is Approximately 20 hours for a single individual with mechanical experience, service lift, and some specialty tools.  For inexperienced mechanics plan on double this amount of time or 20 hours for two people.  

The most difficult part of the installation is the pinning of the crankshaft.  The LSx engines (LS1-LS7) have press fit harmonic balancers.  With the additional load placed on the belt by the supercharger the balancer on the crankshaft can potentially rotate on the crankshaft which can cause damage to the engine and/or drive belt system as well as decreased performance.  To eliminate this issue a hardened steel pin is inserted between the crankshaft snout and balancer hub by drilling a hole and inserting the pin behind the balancer bolt.  The torque required to remove/install the crank balancer bolt as well as steering rack interference make this a difficult job.  The engine support K-Member must be moved to move the steering far enough to gain access for this procedure.

The rest of the installation is fairly straightforward and requires only attention to detail and some care to do the steps in order.

One of our dealers will typically charge 20 hours or less for the installation of this system.  

How soon can I get one?

From the time your order is placed the system will be ready to ship within 10 business days*.  For custom color systems it can take up to 15 business days to build the system.   Typically we can ship within the same week on a standard black kit.

*Backorders and parts shortages can increase the time.

What is a screw blower?  What is the difference between the screw blower and an Eaton or Roots blower?

Developed and marketed by Lysholm[ii] of Sweden the Screw blower utilizes a male and female rotor to move the air down the supercharger.  This design is far more efficient than the traditional lobed roots design.   Lysholm manufactures the superchargers for their licensed wholesalers.  In the US those companies are Kenne Bell (use the smaller billet case versions) and Whipple (now currently manufacturing the larger cast case versions).   The superchargers are sometimes also referred to as Opcon Autorotor – the parent company of Lysholm.

This supercharger is the Whipple 200ax Screw Blower which generates 200CID of air per revolution vs the 112 of the Magnuson[iii] or 125 of the newer Magnuson. The technology is also based on the screw charger instead of a high helix three lobe roots blower like the Eaton[iv] (the new 4 lobe rotor is used on the 2009 ZR1). The screw blower is the most efficient positive displacement design supercharger available. It offers instantaneous boost as well as sustained gains over the rpm band. By using a much larger charger we've not only provided for upgrades later but also for cooler charge temperatures in the base kits. 

What is the purpose of two throttle bodies and how does that work?

The system utilizes two throttle bodies for a couple of reasons: Safety and Drivability.   By utilizing a throttle body in front of the manifold in the factory location idle characteristics, plenum airflow dynamics, throttle response, etc stay near stock so that the vehicle does not become laborious or difficult to drive.  The nature of the side mounted positive displacement blower means that the equivalent plenum volume associated with the pluming, intercooler, intake, and manifold make airflow dynamics very difficult to control.   Port fuel injection makes it possible to run the supercharger with a huge plenum volume effectively but throttle response especially on an electronically controlled throttle vehicle becomes spongy and noticeably slower to respond.  In testing we found that without the manifold throttle body the car was noticeably different to drive and lacked the inherent safety factors of having a throttle body in front of the manifold.   Without a throttle body connected to the manifold any blown hose or hose coupler can result in the car going to uncontrolled wide open throttle.  Obviously we weren't comfortable with a product that had that kind of potential hazard.  While the system should not ever blow any couplers off the pipes the nature of mail order systems means we cannot control the proper installation of all hoses and couplers.   The factory location throttle body was deemed necessary and easier to deal with.

This of course begs the question; Why the second throttle body in front of the supercharger?  While this throttle body is not entirely necessary (base $6500 kit does not include it), it does provide several drivability enhancements.   By shutting down airflow in front of the supercharger the entire supercharger effectively goes to vacuum, and when coupled with the recirculation valve from the pressure side of the blower, results in very quiet and near loss-less drive on the supercharger.   This means the supercharger is nearly inaudible at high vacuum cruising conditions and does not significantly affect power or fuel economy.  It takes only ~1-3HP to idle/cruise the supercharger.

The sequential throttle bodies are controlled wit Dragon's own proprietary electronics and wired into the factory harness. 

The base system doesn't have a throttle body in front of the blower, how does that affect the performance?

There is no performance detriment or advantage to having the second throttle body in front of the blower.  The nature of the positive displacement blower is relatively simple...its going to move X amount of air per revolution and changes to outlet design, intercooled or non intercooled, etc is nearly irrelevant.  By having the inlet of the supercharger open to the filter only with no potential for vacuum means noise will be generated by the supercharger compressing the air constantly although this is much quieter at idle.   However, the system is significantly louder than a system with a throttle body in front of the blower and is audible at all times.   The blower will run just as cool if not cooler but the fact is everybody will hear you coming and going.   This is the recommended setup for those that wish to race the car and the sound of the blower at idle or cruise is almost irrelevant.   In race setups this also allows the inlet to be much larger rather than being restricted to the maximum 90mm of the electronic throttle body.

How does this compare to the Kenne Bell  or Magnacharger Systems?

Kenne Bell Systems utilize the exact same screw blower technology in a cosmetically different case.  There's some hype that the supercharger case associated with these units contribute to performance but the cast Whipple case performs exactly the same.  The main difference is that these units are 2.2 and 2.8Liters per revolution vs the 3.3L of our Whipple supercharger.  The advantage of the larger supercharger is that it has a bigger power ceiling and runs very cool and efficient in base form.  We get almost 30% more belt engagement on our larger pulley vs the smaller pulley required on the smaller 2.8 blower moving the same amount of air.  The Kenne Bell system is manifold mounted and requires a hood change.   Other than these differences the exact same power curve can be expected from our system or the Kenne Bell System given that the air-flow through the blower is the same.  Both systems are much more efficient than the Eaton Based systems employed mainly by Magnuson.

The Magnacharger systems utilize a much smaller dual lobe roots style blower mounted to the manifold.  The Eaton design is a 3 lobe high helix design that is vastly more efficient than the old 2 lobe straight rotors associated with the traditional 6-71, 8-71, etc roots blowers.  However, this design is still not as efficient as the screw style supercharger and as of yet is not offered in a version larger than 125 CID/revolution and most commonly found in the 112 CID/revolution size associated with the base Magnacharger kit for the C5 and C6 corvettes.   Performance is similar to our system when the supercharger is turned faster to allow for identical airflow to our system but the inefficiency of the blower at those increased RPM’s begins to degrade performace at the top end of the RPM band.  Additionally these superchargers lack the potential of the 200CID Whipple purely due to the rpm/efficiency limits of the supercharger.

The largest noticeable advantage however is, that our system requires NO hood change.

How does this compare to a Procharger[v] or Vortech[vi] System?

Procharger and Vortech utilize what is known as a centrifugal supercharger.  A centrifugal style supercharger is similar to a turbo with the exception that it is belt driven.  A centrifugal supercharger is, for automotive purposes, considered a variable airflow and variable pressure device.  In reality this blower design is a variable flow static pressure device because it has a pressure ceiling.  However, most automotive applications never see this pressure ceiling on the blower.  This design is different from the positive displacement nature of the screw or roots blowers.  These blowers are constant airflow/variable air pressure devices meaning they can supply huge pressure numbers but only move x amount of air per revolution.  Without going into a massively in depth engineering explanation of how air is compressed in the various designs we can simply state that a centrifugal builds airflow/boost as rpm increases while a positive displacement supercharger gives instantaneous airflow/boost that is maintained across the RPM band.  A positive displacement blower behaves very similarly in performance to a larger cubic inch version of the boosted engine.  

From a performance standpoint instantaneous airflow translates to much increased torque at lower rpms and what is referred to as “more power under the curve” which is a reference to the fact that the area underneath the dyno torque curve is larger than that of a centrifugal with approximately the same final boost number.  More power under the curve necessarily translates into quicker acceleration and increased performance and has the added benefit of a more tolerant power band.  This is not to say that a positive displacement supercharger is superior in all applications to a centrifugal.  There are many applications in which a centrifugal is superior.

I am commonly asked about the 1000HP package with our supercharger and I constantly attempt to steer those customers toward our preferred centrifugal supercharger, the Procharger.  The fact is that there are other drivetrain limitations that make having instantaneous torque at these power levels more detrimental than its worth.  The Corvette’s chassis and driveline is very strong but it was not engineered for that much torque production and more importantly the instantaneous torque output change of 600-800 when the throttle is depressed on the 1000R maxed out.  Even if the driveline is built to endure the power this can create a very difficult car to launch at the dragstrip (the only application where this much power would be applicable).   The torque output is simply too much for even a race slick stuffed into a corvette and the chassis will not transfer the weight sufficiently to use all that torque.  In this instance a car employing a large Procharger is actually significantly quicker in the quarter mile as its huge power numbers come in higher in the rpm band and come on progressively allowing the tires, chassis, driveline to deal with the progressive change more easily.  A 427 Z06 with pistons and a 3.0 pulley will put down nearly 700 RWHP and 740ish RWTQ with the 1000R and will run mid 10’s at our altitude or high 9’s at sea level.  This translates to approximately 9psi.  A similarly equipped 427 with a Procharger F1A will run mid 10’s and 3 MPH faster at this altitude with a peak boost of 10.5 PSI and mid 9’s at sea level.  Both cars were in the 1.5 60’ range at 5800ft.  Now put the 1000R car to 14 psi ~800RHP and the Procharger at 15PSI ~800RWHP.  The 1000R car will still only run mid to low 10’s while the Procharger car will easily attain 9’s at 5800ft.  This is because launching this much torque is an impossibility for anything but a built drag car with huge slicks.  The Procharger provides a much more useful power curve at that point even though the 1000R is generating significantly more “power under the curve”.  For cars that see race and street duty above 800hp I would still recommend the Procharger system.  For cars staying under 800hp or full race vehicles the most performance will come from the 1000r.

How does this compare to Dragon's Turbo Systems?

A turbo system is very similar to a centrifugal supercharger system with the added benefit of being more efficient and more tolerant of inlet air density changes.  Because a turbocharger is a pressure relative device it will always attain its boost spring pressure or boost controller pressure in the manifold regardless of relative baro, heat, etc.  This means that the turbo car is less affected by altitude changes, good weather/bad weather days, etc.  A turbocharged car also generates more power to the tires by robbing less power from the engine to do the work of generating boost.  A supercharger eats power off the crankshaft in significantly larger amounts than a turbocharger does off of the exaust.

While a turbocharger is and will likely always be superior to superchargers in terms of pure power output it does have some limitations.   Turbo lag is a misnomer these days caused by the sensation as the turbochargers reach their peak efficiency range.  The acceleration in the turbo’s  peak efficiency range is nothing short of staggering and very repeatable but outside this range the car is significantly less powerful and responsive.  This has come to be known as turbo lag but the fact is that a well built turbo system rarely has less power at any rpm band than a similar centrifugal.   A turbo will have significantly less low end torque than a positive displacement supercharger.  A turbocharger cannot generate boost until the exaust pressure has gotten high enough to drive the compressor fast enough.  This means from a standstill a positive displacement supercharger is far superior in power output.  Although a turbo will generate the highest torque or power numbers of any of the power adders it has the least linear and narrowest power band.  From a driver’s standpoint a turbocharger is a great rush but from a track performance standpoint, the turbocharged car is tremendously difficult to extract maximum times from especially for manual transmission vehicles that cannot apply a load to generate boost off the line and release boost at shift if the throttle is released during shift.

Where does the supercharger get its inlet air and are there any downsides to getting the air inlet from there?

The air is drawn off the passenger fender duct that has its decorative plastic cover removed.   In testing we’ve found no real detriment to the performance from drawing the air from this area.  The filter sits above the battery (if battery is not relocated).  One of the advantages of the positive displacement screw blower is that it moves x-amount of air almost regardless of inlet or outlet conditions.  Restrictions on the inlet or hotter air on the inlet will cause a drop in power output with a positive displacement blower we have seen no significant restriction on the base kits.  Modified kits must have additional air and this means relocating the battery to increase filter area.

How much faster can I expect my car to be with this kit?

A stock C6 runs between 13.5 and 13.3 at 5800 ft with a practiced driver (14sec or slower without practice).  With tires a 1000R base kit equipped C6 is capable of high 11 second time slips at 5800ft and 10 second timeslips at sea level (practiced driver).  Stock MPH is 105 here at 5800ft.  Supercharged MPH is 120-122 MPH at 5800 ft.  Similar relative gains can be expected at Sea level.  TIMES ARE NOT GAURANTEED as times are dependent upon safety equipment, setup, driver, weather, tires, etc….these times should only be guidelines for what to expect.

Does this kit include everything I need?

The base intercooled kit includes everything needed to go from naturally aspirated to completed and supercharged.  Injectors, tuning, Boost-A-Pump, etc are all included with the kit such that the kit becomes a bolt on style system.  The base non intercooled kit comes with everything as well sans intercooler and secondary throttle system.  The differences between the two systems are explained elsewhere in this FAQ section.   A “Tuner” system does not include fuel system components (injectors, Boost-A-Pump, etc) or tuning.  All systems can be ordered as “Tuner” systems and any race systems or 8 rib drive systems are all considered “Tuner” systems currently.

Can it be accomplished by weekend mechanics or does this require a professional shop?

We recommend that you use one of our certified installers to ensure that the installation is done correctly but it can be accomplished without professional help.  Generally the guideline is do double the amount of man hours required to finish it, meaning for two weekend mechanics it should take approximately 20 hours to complete vs the 20 hours for a single professional mechanic with professional tools and a lift.

How do I become a dealer?

We encourage you to call us for an application at 303.438.1571.  Only verifiable and credible shops or distributors will be considered for dealership accounts.   You must have experience with the C5 and C6 Corvettes and the Gen 4+ LSx motors, a verifiable shop, and commercial license or entity associated.  Without going into long winded details as to why we aren’t going to support simple re-sellers, I suffice to say that its against our companies principles and we want a facility that can fully support our product.

What other applications do you have besides the Corvette?

The most in-demand application is the LS7 currently and we do offer that setup in a Race “Tuner” package already including the 8 rib drive system.  The full kit including pistons, tuning, injectors, fuel system, etc is coming soon.

Also planned in the next 3 months:

Dodge Charger – HEMI

Viper SRT-10

2009 Camaro

How much longer does it take to change the plugs with the supercharger there?

Plan on an additional 2 hours.  The job can be done from the bottom or the supercharger unit removed and re-installed.  Once the kit is on the car it is fairly straightforward to remove and install the supercharger unit.

I have a C6 Z06 can I buy the system without the pistons?

Yes you can we currently sell this race only “Tuner” setup.  Engine reliability is purely up to the consumer in this application as the factory pistons are notoriously incompatible with boost.  Please consider carefully before ordering a “Tuner” system for your Z06.  When ordering subtract $500 from the base intercooled C6 kit and add the optional 8-Rib cost back in – Z06 inlet should be designated when ordered.

 Current Retail Prices

For Racing - Utilize the 8 rib drive option for up to 900 engine HP (Torque output can approach 1000 engine nearly off idle - Only recommended for the purest of drag vehicles with traction and driveline enhancements designed for the torque) or check out our F1 Procharger options for a more streetable torque band and still phenomenal performance at the drag strip.

Main Sites: Dragon Race Engineering Home , Dragon Supercharger Systems Home , Dragon Turbo Systems Home ,

Supercharger Pages : C5 Corvette , C6 Corvette , C6 Z06 Corvette , Coming Soon ,

About Whipple Superchargers , About Procharger Superchargers