Supercharger effects on MPG

[TexasTruck]

I must be having "another" mid-life crisis, but I'm not sure... Having a 5.0 now, I've been researching superchargers, the pros and cons, etc.

Assume daily driver, drive it responsibly, don't want to race. The SC kits are basically bolt on with a tune. What about the factory F-150 5.0 components holding the extra stress and strain?

TIA

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[Pedaldude]

If you think milking the throttle on a supercharged V-8 is going to be similar to driving around the Ecoboost V6 like there’s a block of wood under the throttle; your going to be very disappointed.

While there are stories about getting better MPG ‘towing in the mountains’ after supercharging. Those are like the people who talk about winning big at the casino but fail to mention all the times that they lost.

One of the biggest drawbacks when going to a SC over the EB is that the tune isn’t a proven factory one on the engine/transmission and while the various companies have gotten better over the years, there’s still the fact that you’re doing some of the work that they already ironed out at the factory. One of the ways that they try to keep it safe when modifying the engine is erring on the side of running rich, even when idling.

The newest Coyote comes stock with a silly high compression ratio, which doesn’t exactly help with adding a supercharger and seeing the huge gains that the same mod would have resulted in back in the day.

If I were going to a supercharger, I would want to start with a block built with a supercharger in mind. Which would really drive the cost up and at that point; if you would be happy with a crew cab shortbed, go get yourself a Raptor R and call it a day.


$100K plus might seem like a lot but it would hold its value far better than a modded truck in addition to having a warranty. MPG should be the absolute last concern for what you are thinking about.

 

[MJG44]

Terrible and 91+. I've had a few SC trucks in my day and if you always try to stay out of boost, then don't get blown.

Poor MPG plus you MUST go 91+. It's an expensive venture and the costs increase adding in the fuel consumption and octane, possibly of breaking stuff with warranty complications etc.

That said, if I didn't drive my truck SO much for daily use I would totally throw on a Roush.

 

[TexasTruck]

Thanks guys. I had a feeling. Play you pay as they say…

 

[SCTYDOG]

Ahh..superchargers. Anytime I hear that word I think of one of my favorite Chuck Norris movies, Lone Wolf McQuade. "Oh yea? Supercharger THIS!"

 

[NavyChief]

I daily drive about 2k miles a month on my whipple supercharged 5.0 and average 17mpg which is about 1mpg less than before supercharging. True you have to use super moving forward but it doesn’t affect it that much on mileage.
I did lower my truck as well so not sure how or if it made any difference. I also pulled off the active airdam mess so it’s hard to say if my lost 1mpg was just from supercharging or other things.

Oh and I drive in sport mode pretty much all the time unless I’m towing then I use tow haul mode.

 

[TexasTruck]

Thanks for that. I just saw a F-150 Super Snake-wow! I use 93 octane anyway. I average 16/17 mixed roads today. I keep the RPMs in the 2K to 2.5K daily just to keep up with traffic. Not looking to race, just more oomph.

 

[NavyChief]

Thanks for that. I just saw a F-150 Super Snake-wow! I use 93 octane anyway. I average 16/17 mixed roads today. I keep the RPMs in the 2K to 2.5K daily just to keep up with traffic. Not looking to race, just more oomph.

They look pretty sharp for sure. I want to take some cues from them as I change my exterior a little.
‘if your using premium already you really want see much difference in cost but you will have plenty of oomph
I also added a Cobb cover for the coolant tank. I had to modify it a little on the right side for the whipple coolant tank but really makes a difference in appearance.

 

[TexasTruck]

If I were going to a supercharger, I would want to start with a block built with a supercharger in mind. Which would really drive the cost up and at that point; if you would be happy with a crew cab shortbed, go get yourself a Raptor R and call it a day.

@Pedaldude Thank you. I guess I was thinking a SC F-150 Coyote has the same engine capability as a SC Mustang.

Are we saying that factory SC engines are built differently/better capable of supporting the SC vs a run of the mill F-150 Coyote?

When you say build it with a SC in mind, does that mean pistons, connecting rods, crank, etc. capable of supporting the extra stresses and strain a SC adds?

...sorry for all the questions... reminds me of the PSD 6.0 and the heads lifting from the added cylinder pressures from tuning...

 

[NavyChief]

@Pedaldude Thank you. I guess I was thinking a SC F-150 Coyote has the same engine capability as a SC Mustang.

Are we saying that factory SC engines are built differently/better capable of supporting the SC vs a run of the mill F-150 Coyote?

When you say build it with a SC in mind, does that mean pistons, connecting rods, crank, etc. capable of supporting the extra stresses and strain a SC adds?

...sorry for all the questions... reminds me of the PSD 6.0 and the heads lifting from the added cylinder pressures from tuning...

Don’t overthink the bottom end, it pretty much has similar power handling as the mustang just different head/cam profiles and an intake designed for torque. I’ve had 4 Coyotes and 1 Voodoo this past year and three were supercharged. These engines in stock form are very capable and can easily handle just a supercharger with 8psi.
My voodoo had 1kwhp at 16psi on E85 so I had a stage 2 short block in it but had 700whp in a 15 GT stock bottom and my truck is stock bottom at 650whp. I plan to go up to about 800whp on this build in current configuration.
I’ve seen these 10spds take up to 900whp pretty easy if you don’t beat on it Like cleedus.
But here’s my thing, I build my shit with the intent to to fix it myself with upgrades if I break something. Warranties are for people that don’t modify and want some kind of safety net.
Im going to palm beach dyno this week to turn it up with an SCT program and a pulley hopefully.

 

[Pedaldude]

@Pedaldude Thank you. I guess I was thinking a SC F-150 Coyote has the same engine capability as a SC Mustang.
...sorry for all the questions... reminds me of the PSD 6.0 and the heads lifting from the added cylinder pressures from tuning...

Just generalizing here and trying to be a wet blanket it’s almost too easy to say ‘go for it’ when it’s someone else’s dime but it’s something that I have considered as well and it’s one of those things where any engine is going to benefit from forced induction but the Coyote is just so damned good naturally aspirated and my truck bounces off the speed governor so quickly that it’s hard to imagine how useful an extra 300 horsepower would be.

The naturally aspirated 5.0 Coyote comes with a 12:1 static compression ratio. The Raptor R 5.2 has 9.5:1, which will help with handling the boost. The cams are probably different too.

The stock cranks and heads are legit on all the Coyote engines, they’re pretty much high performance already. I think the big difference between the mustang/F-150 is just the intake manifold. Which is getting replaced either way when adding a blower.

The most impressive thing that people have started to take for granted is that you can simply install a supercharger and see all the gains with a new tune and not have to change out cams at the bare minimum. Back in the day, adding forced induction and just changing carb jetting would see only modest gains with major driveability issues and a cloud of unburnt fuel following wherever you go. I think the Whipple kit comes with new port injectors and you don’t even need to change out the spark plugs. The new engine management is incredible how it can make power and keep the engines well behaved in all situations. Yet, there are douchebags in brand new BMWs tuning their cars to backfire and run like shit on overrun and misfire at idle for some bizarre reason.

Diesel is another story entirely, they’re going to be 18:1 and running 1.5 to 2.0 bar of boost with a stock setup. Shit’s definitely going to separate when going silly with the boost, even if everything is working as it should. That’s why high performance engines like the old Offenhauser and some of the turbo era formula one engines had monobloc engine construction despite it being a huge PITA.

I don’t know but it’s always a slippery slope when thinking about this type of thing.

 

[JohnMcClane]

Just generalizing here and trying to be a wet blanket it’s almost too easy to say ‘go for it’ when it’s someone else’s dime

Literally everyone on the forum.

 

[dolsen]

They look pretty sharp for sure. I want to take some cues from them as I change my exterior a little.
‘if your using premium already you really want see much difference in cost but you will have plenty of oomph
I also added a Cobb cover for the coolant tank. I had to modify it a little on the right side for the whipple coolant tank but really makes a difference in appearance.

pffft thats ugly

(is my jealousy showing?)

 

[NavyChief]

pffft thats ugly

(is my jealousy showing?)

Lol they are like 70, get you one

 

[dolsen]

Lol they are like 70, get you one

I was referring more to the entire SC setup haha

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