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Phase IV Twin Intercooled
Supercharged 1UZ-FE V8,
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Phase IV Twin Intercooled
Supercharged 1UZ-FE V8,
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by Peter Scott
Maybe back in 1991 the 190kW 1UZ-FE V8 was sufficient for the Soarer - but nowadays technology has overtaken the 1UZ-FE and all the luxury V8 coupes and sedans seem to start at 240 kW. The new cars have the power - but I've driven a bunch of them and I still love my Soarer. I love the way everything works, the way the car feels - it is still one of the nicest most satisfying cars I have driven - it oozes quality and workmanship - it still impresses me. As a group people tend to hang on to their Soarers for this reason.
But power - I want more. Undoubtedly the RUSH brand new bolt on blower transforms the car and adds a minimum 30% torque, not just peak power. Bingo - for $6000 you can transform the Soarer into a modern day 240 kW (315hp) car - fabulous value for a kit that is street and drag proven and includes every single part to complete the job including brand new professionally cast manifolds and intakes.
To get more than this I would need intercooling, fuel upgrades, decompression, ECU upgrades - the cost and complexity skyrocket. The law of diminishing returns comes into effect and you really have to ask yourself is it worth it to try and get more than the 240kW the Rush kit offers.
A bigger twin screw supercharger and intercooling V8 kit for the LS1 V8 is offered by Starr Performance ( http://www.starrperformance.com.au/ ). In between the blower and the engine sits a small water "intercooler" - water is pumped through the small looking radiator removing heat from the compressed air. The water is then pumped to a front mounted air conditioning condenser where the incoming air removes the heat. The complete system installed costs $19 800. The kit uses standard compression. It's a lot of money - but a complete intercooled new positive displacement V8 is a complicated and expensive system.
Starr Performance $19 800 installed water/air intercooled Supercharger. I know this is
a practical, powerful engine, but it isn't a thing of beauty to me, well really it looks
as if it's been hit with the ugly stick a couple of times. The stock engine minus blower
looks much nicer. Heaps of power - 400 kW ! wooHoo! that would move.
Close up of the Starr LS1 Water/air intercooler - hot air blows through it, coolant
takes away the heat. That coolant hose does look a bit kinked doesn't it? The twisted wire
to hold the hoses doesn't look the best either. It isn't a factory finish. There is no
where near enough room to fit one of these under the blower in a Soarer and retain the
stock bonnet. Yes this is a $19 800 Aud kit fitted.
The Australian Monaro is shipped to the USA as a LHD GTO. Sure enough, out comes a supercharger for it:
Now this is pretty! GTO Magnacharger kit. $5795 US satin finish or $6795 US polished.
Looks like an Eaton M112, mounted backwards with a toothed belt at the back being
transferred to the front by a shaft. These high performance LS1 motors have huge intakes -
look at the size of them! I don't know if this kit is intercooled.
So kits for the V8 can vary enormously - form $7000 fitted for the RUSH blower to $19 800 fitted for the massive horsepower kit for the LS1. What about factory cars?
To get into the 300 kW (400 hp) club what is required for long lasting reliability? I like to look for factory offered cars as good examples. If a factory produces a 300 kW car - then I reckon they will do it right, it will be under stressed and should last the distance. For lots of reasons no factory car comes with a Vortech type blower - so not for me. The Audi RS6 has a twin turbo 4.2 litre V8 and is a fabulous car with 336 kW. But no way can I fit twin turbos in my Active - too much plumbing. And as much as I love turbo cars, my heavy car with its power sapping suspension pump needs low down grunt, not turbo lag.
A Centrifugal blower like the Vortech leave the driver with a
vehicle making good horsepower, but not where you normally use the car, at low to mid
range RPM. In this RPM range where you use the car 95% of the time the centrifugal
supercharger kits have only slight horsepower increases and leave the driving package to
be less than desired. Eaton supercharger kits are for the drivers car with power and
torque increases everywhere in the rev range.
One of my favourite cars was a Supercharged V6 Holden Statesman - big heavy car with the GM 3.8 litre V6 and Eton M90 blower. No intercooler. Same configuration as the RUSH blower. This car had great grunt off the line and returned a fabulous 9L/100 km on the open road. But not in the 300 club.
The updated Jaguar XKR with it's supercharged twin intercooled Eton M112 has 298 kW (400hp) and rave reviews where ever it was tested. It's nearly two years ago that I lusted after the Jag setup:Eaton MP112 supercharged Jaguar V8 A closer look at the Jaguar XKR - a model for the Soarer V8?
it's the engine's magnificence that defines the XKR's character. As in every other factory-supercharged automotive power plant sold here, the device doing the work is a belt-driven Eaton Roots-style blower.
Atop the relatively short-stroke four-valve AJ V-8 (which spins to 6200 rpm before a fuel cutout turns off the fun), the blower turns at 1.9-times engine speed and huffs out 11.6 pounds.
At 1600 rpm, says Jaguar, the supercharged AJ V-8 is making more than the unblown version's peak 290 pound-feet of torque on its way to its own peak 387 pound-feet at 3600 rpm. Toe into the accelerator, and there's no telltale sensation that this engine is supercharged other than the massive thrust.
XKR coupe is seriously swift, bounding to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 13.8 seconds at 105 mph.
Doesn't that sound just the best? The early model Jag with the 4.0 L V8 had 276 kW - the later model 4.2L V8 had the 298 kW. Capacity increased from 3996cc to 4196cc, with bore and stroke of 86.0/90.3mm (previously 86.0/86.0mm). - Naturally aspirated XK8 engine produces 300bhp (DIN)and 420Nm (310lb ft) of torque. Supercharged XKR produces 400bhp (DIN)and 553Nm (408lb ft)of torque, with more than 86 per cent of peak torque available from just 2000rev/min.
This is the early 4.0L motor. Look at that log style exhaust manifold - surely room
for improvement there? Air runs along the far side bank, into the back centre of the motor
and into the bottom of the Eaton 112 blower. The blower is mounted "upside
down". Air comes out of the top of the blower and is split into two. Twin water/air
intercoolers sit either side and cool the compressed air. Each intercooler feeds each bank
of four cylinders with four short intake runners.
This Jag motor looks fabulous to me - I like seeing all the bits - I like the symmetry and the neatness - top stuff. The 2003 motor below has a different air intake and a plastic cover - neater perhaps but not as pretty to my eye.
2003 4.2L motor - air enters across the top centre of motor, then into bottom of
blower, then exits the top of the blower to each side and then into the intercoolers.
Doesn't that exhaust remind you of the log style manifolds from a Crown?
Then it looks like Jaguar covered the whole lot up with a black plastic cover:
Eeeeuuuw! I don't like the new look at all.
This is the early model again - a small photo - but the supercharger has been painted black with silver writing. Now I like this a lot!
This silver and red writing is awful. Air intake clearly visible on left.
This cut-away shot shows the bar and plate? water/air intercoolers on either side of the blower. An electric motor circulates the coolant to a front mounted heat exchanger.
mmmmmm - supercharger ...... The big silver allen key drive round "nut" next the
V8 raised lettering is the fill point for the coolant - it's the highest point. This photo
gives an idea of the coolant routing to the intecoolers. And like all factory offerings
the hoses are a perfect fit with preformed bends and hose clamps are neat factory items -
no bits of twisted wire or worm drive clamps form hardware stores in sight.
Another pretty cut-away pic - showing the intercoolers and the twisted lobes of the
biggest supercharger Eaton make - the mighty M112. The front snout has cast in bolt holes
to bolt the blower to the motor - the oil fill plug is visible - this is a sealed system
to lube the gears - no oil lines needed (same as every Eaton).
Graphs for Eaton blowers are readily available - these ones are from capa.com.au
Notice the bigger M112 blower is narrower and longer.
The Jaguar has a custom casting for it's M112 - only the rotors etc are the same. The Jaguar doesn't use an internal bypass - it has a dual bypass for each intercooler.
For 5 psi the M90 requires 20 hp at 10 000 rpm, and increases the air temp by 95 degrees F. The M112 for the same 5 psi requires 25 hp and heats the air an extra 115 degrees. The M90 does a better job - that's why it's on the RUSH blower. The M90 also builds boost quicker.
M90 graphs above.
M112 graphs.