Hey, I'm supercharging my '86 gxl n/a 13b with a Camden 7" blower and I'm interested in trying to set it up with a magnetic clutch to turn it on and off. Anyone know anything about that sort of thing, or where i could find out, or if it even works? if you know ANYTHING please let me know! thanks

 

You'll prolly be looking at AC clutches (magnetically actuated friction type). The Mercedes C32 and SLK32 use this same system. The S/C is controlled by the computer, but I'd rather have a Mad Max button. I've been looking into this same thing for my car.

Reading Material:
http://www.sae.org/automag/techbrief...001/techb3.htm (second article)

and you might chat up these guys:
http://www.warnernet.com/

 

i love that button in Mad Max!

 

hey thanks! that info helped alot!

 

yeah you need to super charge my old car nicky

 

Yo, e-warrior, I'm planning on doing the exact same thing to my 88 GXL. What kind of info can you give me on the Camden blower? What sort of setup are you using with it? I'm trying to figure out what kind of blower I could put in my system and what size pulleys and such.

 

hell he doesn't even have the car yet and he is buying things for it he is buying the car from me.

 

im not sure if you can do that kinda setup with the camden blower (first off would require a custom clutch to put between the blower and the pully which probably doesnt exist)

and also, judging from what i know of supercharger internals, i dont think any air can be pulled thru the supercharger if its not spinning

when you have the car at partial throttle with a after throttle supercharger the supercharger is not drawing much power nor is it creating much boost, at very little throttle its still under vacuume

so i dont think its really an issue with it... its only with the before throttle superchargers where having a clutch could come in handy

 

yes a camden type charger, at idle or light throttle
driving turns with very little effort as the rotors of the
charger and spinning in a vacuum.
its like a carpet vacuum when you block the hose
the motor speeds up and the amps to run the motor
go way down, the vacuum sounds like its working
harder but really its not.

matt

 

The incoming air wouldn't be able to get past the peanuts in a Camden SC if it didn't spin while the engine is running.

 

I was also trying to find a way to take care of that. Part of the reason I want to do that is to maintain some of the little life left on my engine. If I was blowing all the time it would hurt the engine life, but if it's only when I want to have some fun that would be great. Like last night in the rain, more power would not have been good, I already broke my wheels lose enough. But when a slightly faster car wants to race then a few psi more would be great. Any help SOLVING these problems would be great, but please don't repeat the same problems over and over and say it won't work, find a way to make it work.

Sorry, don't mean to jack the thread or anything, I just don't like people saying IT WON"T WORK and not trying to find a workaround.

EDIT: Also, anyone have any idea how to get around that little intake problem when the sc's off?

 

The engine still runs in vacuum during part throttle cruising. The only time it's under boost is when you're on it. I'm not sure the supercharger would freewheel if it were not driven. If your engine is in question, and you're trying to maintain some engine life, a supercharger is a bad idea.

 

For the record, if the original poster was in North America, Mad Max was on Fox on Sunday evening, ended shortly before the original post was posted.

Basically, if you want a way to not have boost, don't push the throttle down so far. I forget if the Camden is a Roots type blower or a centrifugal supercharger, but either way the engine will not like trying to breathe through a stopped supercharger.

BTW - Mad Max was a movie. The blower was fake. It was hulled out and there was a carburetor in the shell. The lack of throttle blades upstream of the blower should have been a clue and a half. (So would have been when Mr. Rockatansky went to blip thr throttle in the garage and he reached down to the *manifold* for the linkage. Uh-uh, you *never* put the throttle blades downstream of a Roots blower...)

 

Of course it was fake, but it's still cool. Anyway, right now I'm just trying to figure out how to put one in at all.

 

So, in other words, you would prefer a turbocharger over a supercharger, but basically any expensive performance enhancer is going to be a waste of your money because your engine needs basic repairs and maintenence. I think you have answered your own question, but you are in denial of the truth.

http://www.superchargersonline.com/content.asp?ID=14

 

Actually..... you hit the nail on the head. I'm looking at selling mine right now, then buying a turbo locally. And the engine doesn't need any extra maintainance really, it's just probably near the end of it's life seeing as how it's at 179k miles right now.

 

I also drive a MR2supercharged so I have a little experience. In general the SC uses the clutch for that last little bit of MPG. You must have both a bypass valve and a SC clutch.

When the vacuum is high the valve opens and the clutch disengages. The SC also does freewheel some.

As the vacuum lowers, first the clutch engages while the bypass valve is still open (to save the clutch) and then the valve closes and you are on boost.

You can get 95% of the benefit from just the bypass valve. There is very little drag from the blower when all the boost recirculates through the bypass valve.

I seriously doubt you would be able to gain a noticeable advantage over just a bypass valve by adding a SC clutch.

ed

 

With a Roots blower there's little need for a clutch (though there is some). Its the Twin-Screw ones you need a clutch for, since they have internal compression.

 

Does the Mazda Millenia (Eunos?) have a clutch?

Since even a roots compressor is supposed to be more efficient than a piston compressor, especially if an intercooler is involved, then a boosted engine is always more efficient than the comparable larger engine.

You technically do not need a clutch or a bypass valve unless you want to get better MPG than the comparable larger engine. It will not appreciably lower the strain on the engine. The strain is caused by your right foot.

Trying to run the engine at heavy load without the SC engaged will cause significant loss of efficiency, HP, and MPG compared to stock. (Like having the SC but only turning it on at the track)

I say - put it on and leave it on.

ed