WP230 Eaton Supercharger anyone fitted? - still ok as daily driver

[3onTree]

VE SSV Redline with the V8 Power Pack from Walky. All sunshine, loving it, but I want more. I want to go the WP230 but want to know first hand if anyone has fitted it and if its still ok as a daily driver. I don't want to cruise around all the time making a massive fuss unless I bury the the throttle.
The car is near new and I know there are heaps of supercharger packs from the US at half the price, but warranty still matters. I've taken a look and
cannot see any posts on the WP230 product from any guys who have fitted and how the upgrade affects drivability, fuel consumption, flexibility. I
know its a massive jump in power and torque, I just want to know if I can live with it.

[brad VE SSV]

Is this done by hp factory you were looking at? Just curious as to what rwkw they would actually get because the kit is for SS/hsv with gains up to 480kw and 860Nm.. But the uP to would be HSV at the fly wheel with a gain of total 155FWKW (325kw hsv)
Is that right?

I'm interested in this as well as I have ssv redline as well, I was going to go the mp1900 kit from capa but havn't fully decided yet..

[Troy711]

^^^ I see your username still has SV6 in it. Should change it lol. There is a thread in Feedback if you want it changed. I'd suggest BradSSV.

[brad VE SSV]

Thanks mate.. Had no idea u could do that.. Cheers

[3onTree]

Hi Brad, I'm an exSV6 guy myself. The HP factory are walkinshaw agents so they do the same thing as the guys from Clayton (Walkinshaw HQ). I had my V8 Power Pack upgrade done at Clayton so I figure I'll just get the WP230 pack done there too. There are massive power gains I think the numbers quoted are at the flywheel though. Still they are big numbers. Before I cough up better part of 15k I want to make sure I am not going to make the car too hard to live with. As much as I like to surprise posers with the howl of the walkinshaw system I have now, which sounds bloody awesome and trumps almost everything on the road, I more often just need to get around for work too. I'm hoping the supercharger doesn't whine and scream at 2-3k rpm and that the pulleys and idle are civilized without screeching and whining. Supercharged V8 of old have always been uncivilized brutes which is ok for weekend car but not for mon-fri. Surprised not any guys with the Walky WP230 jumping out of the woodwork.

[dmacey]

That's a big chunk of cheese 15k, ask them to call you next time they fit one and see if you can hope in as passenger when they test drive.

[SilverVH]

Hi Brad, I'm an exSV6 guy myself. The HP factory are walkinshaw agents so they do the same thing as the guys from Clayton (Walkinshaw HQ). I had my V8 Power Pack upgrade done at Clayton so I figure I'll just get the WP230 pack done there too. There are massive power gains I think the numbers quoted are at the flywheel though. Still they are big numbers. Before I cough up better part of 15k I want to make sure I am not going to make the car too hard to live with. As much as I like to surprise posers with the howl of the walkinshaw system I have now, which sounds bloody awesome and trumps almost everything on the road, I more often just need to get around for work too. I'm hoping the supercharger doesn't whine and scream at 2-3k rpm and that the pulleys and idle are civilized without screeching and whining. Supercharged V8 of old have always been uncivilized brutes which is ok for weekend car but not for mon-fri. Surprised not any guys with the Walky WP230 jumping out of the woodwork.

The WP230 are the Edelbrock E-Force supercharger setup.

Firstly, the Eaton supercharger has an integrated boost bypass valve. What this means is it allows the supercharger to spin with minimal parasitic loss as there will be no internal compression of the air. So if boost is not required, it will drive and consume fuel similar to a naturally aspirated car. A twin screw (like a whipple for example) would behave differently. The Eaton superchargers are very stealth until throttle load is high. The VI generation Eaton which is used in the E-Force setup have a different and more efficient rotor design so even under boost conditions, the "whine" is not obscenely loud.

Personally, I believe the 2.3 litre Eaton is oversized for the L98/L76/L77/LS2/LS3 displacement and the 1.9 litre Eaton is much more suited, particularly for day to day driving.

A few things you will need to keep in mind:

You will need to run the car on 98 octane fuel.
Whilst the supercharger setup might be ADR and EPA certified, it will not be certified on an individual vehicle unless the appropriate testing is carried out on that specific vehicle.

I wouldn't buy one through Walkinshaw Performance if it was me. Firstly because it is an Edelbrock E-Force kit that can be bought cheaper elsewhere and secondly because you can essientially buy the same setup from a different manufacturer elsewhere. But that comes down to individual preference.

In regards to your drivetrain warranty, I would be surprised if they covered and/or honoured the clutch in the manual and the 6L80e in the auto but rather lay blame on mechanical abuse. Other things you need to keep in mind is non-drivetrain related warranty and will it continue to be honoured by Holden.

After all that, in answer to your original question, yes it would still be ok as a daily driver and you will easily be able to live with it. The Corvette ZR1 uses the same supercharger setup and the soon to be released special edition HSV in 2013 will be using the same engine configuration.

[DAZ60L]

That's the type of reply you want..... Goodshit

[3onTree]

Very useful advice, just the detail I wanted to consider. 15k is a serious chunk of change, after tax! I will try and get a ride in a Walky car with the WP230. Interesting what you say about the 2.3 Eaton and other superchargers on the market. I will look into other kit too. You seem to know your stuff SilverVH what would you fit to 2011 SSV for an owner who wants the power without unnecessary fuel use and noise - Eaton 1.9?

The WP230 are the Edelbrock E-Force supercharger setup.

Firstly, the Eaton supercharger has an integrated boost bypass valve. What this means is it allows the supercharger to spin with minimal parasitic loss as there will be no internal compression of the air. So if boost is not required, it will drive and consume fuel similar to a naturally aspirated car. A twin screw (like a whipple for example) would behave differently. The Eaton superchargers are very stealth until throttle load is high. The VI generation Eaton which is used in the E-Force setup have a different and more efficient rotor design so even under boost conditions, the "whine" is not obscenely loud.

Personally, I believe the 2.3 litre Eaton is oversized for the L98/L76/L77/LS2/LS3 displacement and the 1.9 litre Eaton is much more suited, particularly for day to day driving.

A few things you will need to keep in mind:

You will need to run the car on 98 octane fuel.
Whilst the supercharger setup might be ADR and EPA certified, it will not be certified on an individual vehicle unless the appropriate testing is carried out on that specific vehicle.

I wouldn't buy one through Walkinshaw Performance if it was me. Firstly because it is an Edelbrock E-Force kit that can be bought cheaper elsewhere and secondly because you can essientially buy the same setup from a different manufacturer elsewhere. But that comes down to individual preference.

In regards to your drivetrain warranty, I would be surprised if they covered and/or honoured the clutch in the manual and the 6L80e in the auto but rather lay blame on mechanical abuse. Other things you need to keep in mind is non-drivetrain related warranty and will it continue to be honoured by Holden.

After all that, in answer to your original question, yes it would still be ok as a daily driver and you will easily be able to live with it. The Corvette ZR1 uses the same supercharger setup and the soon to be released special edition HSV in 2013 will be using the same engine configuration.

[SilverVH]

Very useful advice, just the detail I wanted to consider. 15k is a serious chunk of change, after tax! I will try and get a ride in a Walky car with the WP230. Interesting what you say about the 2.3 Eaton and other superchargers on the market. I will look into other kit too. You seem to know your stuff SilverVH what would you fit to 2011 SSV for an owner who wants the power without unnecessary fuel use and noise - Eaton 1.9?

Theres a few options for you, keeping into consideration there is a budget of 15k.

A lot of people like Walkinshaw for the fact it is a known and trusted name, which is fair enough. You pay a premium for that name and the service that comes with it, which is to be expected. It isn't necessaraly the "wrong choice". You go for what you are happy with, what best suits your intended purpose and future aspirations (if any).

This is the best advice I can give on superchargers and is what I tell everyone when they are deciding on what displacement to go:

"Use the smallest supercharger you can that will provide your targeted boost amount. It will use less HP to drive it and will be more responsive. Your average HP and torque will be greater than a larger blower in your usable rev range."

The main difference between all the different manufacturers of the Eaton supercharger kit is their inlet manifold design. Everything else across the board is pretty much equal or has a negligible difference in comparison. The Harrop inlet manifold design is probably the most efficient and effective mainly due to the w2a core design/thickness. Companies like PWR and CAPA use Magnuson as their supplier so are essientially the same product. The only thing you have to be wary of is there was a bad batch of Magnuson kits that had the supercharger case rear oil seal weeping.
For simplicity sakes, I won't go into alternative manufacturers and their offerings, for example Vortech, Kenne Bell, Procharger, Whipple etc.

Personally if I owned your car and was looking at supercharging I would consider 2 options. Firstly I would speak to Walkinshaw regarding their warranty offering and what it covered followed by Holden and their stance on warranty if Walkinshaw was to perform a supercharger installation. The last thing I would want after spending 45k on a car would be voiding the warranty with 2 years remaining and having niggling issues non-related to the supercharger installation not being covered by warranty within that timeframe.

The second option would be to price up a TVS1900 Eaton setup with an upgraded (smaller) pulley and obtain a quote from a reputable and trusted workshop to fit and tune (which there are several in Melbourne). I would also price up a camshaft to suit the supercharger setup, lifters, L98 valley plate etc. and if manual, an upgraded clutch which should total the 15k budget. (or possibly exceed!)

If the vehicle was out of Holden warranty then I wouldn't even consider option 1 and go straight for option 2. Option 2 should give you close to 400rwkw with a suitable exhaust and intake pipe setup.
The biggest problem with either is once you get used to the power, you will be forever wanting more.

If you want any recommendations of workshops to speak to and help advise you on a decision just let me know. Half the problem in dealing with workshops is a lot just want to take money whilst not always recommending what is right for the customer. This is another problem as to why it is daunting for a lot of people to deal with workshops and would rather go with a well known and endorsed brand.

[brad VE SSV]

When you mention the smaller 1900 sized supercharger kits I noticed KPM Motorsport do one with included cam upgrade
KPM Auto > Holden > VE I, II and III 6.0,6.2, SS,SSV,HSV > Supercharger Packages. (KH54 kit)

Which is around the same power same price and can retain factory warranty..

[3onTree]

Thanks SilverVH that information is what I needed. I wasn't aware that the big blowers like big turbos really spool up and kick in further up the rev range. Your comment about target power is a right on the money - I never looked at it that way but I suppose my question about usability is exactly this. I don't want to get too practical because on that basis the 6.0 with the current Walky Power upgrade already feels like I am carrying a cannon to a knife fight most times - in respect to everyday traffic. On this basis a smaller displacement blower would be better on public roads.... rather than generating big boost from a bigger blower that's mostly being bypassed - unless I get a chance to unleash (which I don't want to do on public roads). Looking at supercharger applications in factory cars and they're mostly used in cars that run smaller motors but need to deliver more power / torque. Given how taxes work in Europe (based on on engine displacement) I can see why Merc use Kompressors Jag use them in the XJR for outright performance. The Eaton 230 is probably better for track work, but I am rarely going to go there. I think user dmacey is right, I need to get a chance to drive one of these things before laying down the money. I'll ask the walky sales guy for drive when Im ready.

In respect to warranty Walkinshaw have a very comprehensive warranty on driveline. It covers everything between the motor and the wheels. My experience to date given my current mods with Holden has been great. I had an issue with engine heating up a bit and thought Holden would just laugh at me and blame the Walkinshaw ECU. But thankfully no, they checked it out (dodgey cap on the radiator reservoir was losing pressure) and didnt utter a word about the Walky bits. I think given the Holden dealer is selling Walky accessories in the shop and the commercial relationship with Holden and HSV, the Walkinshaw mods are respected and not raised unless something directly related to running gear failure comes up..... at which time the Walkinshaw warranty would take over. For this reason and for resale value I think I'll stick to Walkinshaw. If the car was 5 years old I would not bother, I'd find any shop who know their stuff.

[gsh1970]

Excellent info - cheers