I'm seriously considering adding a supercharger to my Tundra with the 5.7L. It's non flex fuel and has been well maintained with 80,000 or so miles on it.

Thoughts? Things to watch out for? I'll probably pay to have it installed.

You'll use a lot more fuel just driving around town as it takes HP to turn the supercharger. Superchargers also tend to shorten the lifespan of the engine as well.

Damn, I just looked it up. A TRD supercharger is $6800! That's crazy expensive.

Why?

Are the other drive line parts parts up to the increase in HP and torque, and when it comes on?

quote:

Originally posted by walkinghorse:
Are the other drive line parts parts up to the increase in HP and torque, and when it comes on?

That's a good question. I have a friend who added a supercharger to his Mustang and had to replace the drive shaft.

There is a factory setup available for the V6 Tacoma might see if there is something similar for the Tundra.

quote:

Originally posted by Jus228:
There is a factory setup available for the V6 Tacoma might see if there is something similar for the Tundra.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
Damn, I just looked it up. A TRD supercharger is $6800! That's crazy expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:

quote:

Originally posted by walkinghorse:
Are the other drive line parts parts up to the increase in HP and torque, and when it comes on?

That's a good question. I have a friend who added a supercharger to his Mustang and had to replace the drive shaft.

Depends on how much boost and how robust the OEM drive line is. I was close to adding a supercharger from Bell Engineering to a 1990 Miata. They offered three kits. The lowest one that added about 55 HP IIRC to the factory 116, didn't require any additional mods that I recall. Another option was dropping a normally aspirated Mustang 5.0L that required an RX-7 tranny and differential, and a serious upgrade to brakes and front suspension. Might even have recommended some unibody stiffening. I bet there's been a bunch of engineering already worked out on this by the manufacturer of the supercharger.

Some supercharged Tundras suffered from bent rods when the boost was manipulated up.

Would the tranny likely see a reduced service life due to the added power of a supercharger?

I'm going to purchase a Sequoia Limited in a few months and have been wondering about supercharging the 5.7 much like Riley has.

Old rule: when you add power to the top of an engine, you need to reinforce the bottom.

Adding a supercharger isn't as simple as bolting the parts in place.
Then you have to be sure everything downstream is up to the task.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
Why?

Because sometimes you just have to pull something bigger than the Space Shuttle.

I just can't see the long term benefits of a SC to any engine, even factory production. Kicking HP higher with a smaller engine has to have long term impacts on all the stress points.

I just like a large enough engine to push the vehicle along at reasonable speeds without extra stress. My F150 has a 5.0 V8 that I could not be happier with, without a SC in the mix.

Like turbo charging, supercharging works best in modest amounts- little here, a quick boost there. If you're going to be running it for a long stretch, like towing a heavy trailer or boat up-hill, the build up of increased low end stresses and increased heat will be detrimental to service life.

I thought that TRD quit selling the supercharger for the Toyota V8's because of the weak connecting rods that comes stock on the engine ? From what I have read the weak connecting rods bend easily if there is any ping / detonation. Just what I remember from my research from about 5 years ago. God Bless

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Would the tranny likely see a reduced service life due to the added power of a supercharger?

I'm going to purchase a Sequoia Limited in a few months and have been wondering about supercharging the 5.7 much like Riley has.

EVERYTHING will see a reduced service life anytime you add a lot more HP. Just how shortened depends on how much power you add.

quote:

Originally posted by sig229-SAS:
I just can't see the long term benefits of a SC to any engine, even factory production. Kicking HP higher with a smaller engine has to have long term impacts on all the stress points.

I just like a large enough engine to push the vehicle along at reasonable speeds without extra stress. My F150 has a 5.0 V8 that I could not be happier with, without a SC in the mix.

It depends. The 5.0 engine (that's in your truck), people are reliably making 600HP out of them all day long with a stock bottom end and a supercharger and bolt ons in the mustangs, it is stout enough to handle it.

Other motors destroy themselves very quickly if you add 20% more power. Then other motors are built by the factory with superchargers or turbo's like the ecoboosts and will last 100,000s of miles.

I've thought about the TRD supercharger for my Tacoma but I don't really need it for towing and it does fine Offroad. If anything I'll probably just go with a lift and bigger tires.

For the $$$$ spent supercharging a Tundra or Tacoma, unless you need the power for towing, there are better ways to get your speed fix. Personally I'd rather spend that money towards a S2000, old Mustang GT or Porsche Boxter.