Supercharger lifespan

[adamtom 10]

Hi.

 

I'm looking at buying a g60 and I was wondering what he lifespan of the super charger is and what the cost to replace or recondition?

[SR_Neale 10]

My charger was rebuilt by jmr in October 2014. It had a stage one which cost £385. You will also have to factor in removal and re fit costs unless you remove it yourself. Obviously it will cost more if you go up a stage or 3. The lifespan will go down the higher you go. Hopefully someone can post expected lifespans of each stage. For some reason I've got either 40 or 60k in my head for a stage 1 but could be wrong.

[Gti_Jamo 10]

Depending on how there run makes a big difference to longevity. Constant ragging and aggresive down shifts will wear them out quick or ruin them completely. Smaller pulley will also reduce it's time between services. I've got a standard one that has done in excess of 60,000 miles and still works well albiet an outer oil seal has recently failed. Servicing is around £400- £600 and new your looking close to £2000.

[adamtom 10]

Thanks for the advice really useful. Much appreciated.

[adamtom 10]

The stages you refer to are they to do with the level of tuning?

[SR_Neale 10]

The different stages are done by making the ports larger to increase air flow as I understand. Smaller pulleys can also be used to increase the rate at which the charger spins. Bare in mind you will need a new chip if you go up in stages or down in pulley size.

[Yandards 0]

The two most important things for good charger life are regular engine oil and filter changes and to not use any air filter system that will allow fine particles into the air intake.

 

As the charger uses the engine oil supply system for lubrication it is critical to the overall life of the charger, you also tend to fine small chips out of the softer scroll section when it is stripped down due to people fitting poor quality air filters or not replacing them regularly.

 

Factors effecting life between servicing are done to mileage done against pulley size, smaller the pulley the more often you need to service it and it also puts much more stress on the charger overall.

 

Finally the rubber drive belt that keeps the whole thing in sync needs replacing regularly so I would tie it in with the Camelot life of 5 years maximum but adjust that downwards depending on usage and pulley size.

 

Its also worth replacing the oil supply braided hose and the return rubber one if you have not done it as I have known someone on the past go through 3 chargers before they discovered the return line was blocked causing an overpressure blowing the charger seals.

 

You can get replacement internal scrolls from a few companies in Germany and the USA and one German company makes a G75 charger that is a bolt in option if you want to go that way: G75

[Rich the Chef 10]

I changed my serp belt annually, oil every 3k and ran a jabbasort stage 4 with anSLS chip and small pulley and Porsche 944 fuel pressure reg (allowed more fuel etc) I used a large (lampshade sized) cone filter. It was a cotton gauze type (Jetex I think..) Don't use foam as the oil in them draws in fine dust that makes a good grinding paste.... I had zero trouble with the charger over 50k ish miles.

This was in my second Rallye.

[SR_Neale 10]

While on the subject are there any warning signs when the charger is on its way out?

[sparks 0]

While on the subject are there any warning signs when the charger is on its way out?

 

poor pressure my charger needs doing its got a 68mm pulley so it needs servicing every 30K-40K i had 14psi when good now i get only 10psi at full revs so the apex seals are on the way out im guessing plus like all the rest have said thrash the hell out of it with poor oil or red hot and not letting it cool and switching off the engine kills everything basicaly treat it like a turbo nice warm ups and long cool downs

most of the time 2 miles before i get home its very careful driving not high revs and lots of coasting letting the oil cool to 100degs C on the MFA before i turn the engine off and the same in reverse i let the oil get to 100degs C before giving it serious beans

and when i mean beans its getting the whole can lol just cant beat that noise on full chat sunny day windows open stereo OFF

 

 

cheers stu ..

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

wow!

 

no offence to G60 owners (i would like to complete my collection & have one myself one day) BUT the supercharger needing a rebuild, & the nursing they apparently need, every 30-40 thousand kilometres sounds much more expensive in the long term than chains on the VR

 

i regularly read about peoples fear of VR chains but if my VR was a G60 i would have potentially had to have the supercharger rebuilt 2.8 times in 6 years. i have now done about 70,000 miles, ie 112654 km's

 

whereas my VR, now sat on approx. 166K miles, has only required the chains doing once.

 

just out of interest does anyone know if the BBM chargers have similar rebuild intervals? their twin screw unit it a cracker but hugely expensive in the first place

[sparks 0]

wow!

 

no offence to G60 owners (i would like to complete my collection & have one myself one day) BUT the supercharger needing a rebuild, & the nursing they apparently need, every 30-40 thousand kilometres sounds much more expensive in the long term than chains on the VR

 

i regularly read about peoples fear of VR chains but if my VR was a G60 i would have potentially had to have the supercharger rebuilt 2.8 times in 6 years. i have now done about 70,000 miles, ie 112654 km's

 

whereas my VR, now sat on approx. 166K miles, has only required the chains doing once.

 

just out of interest does anyone know if the BBM chargers have similar rebuild intervals? their twin screw unit it a cracker but hugely expensive in the first place

 

bbm is fit and forget but the noise is totally different and the thing that makes a G60 is the G60 charger and like you say BBM is very expensive as for the chains yes most people i know buy a VR6 and the first job they do is service the chains but then again how easy its it versus cost to get more power out of of a VR6 most poeple chip and smaller pulley G60s at low cost to get the same power as a VR6 without the front end weight of one

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

bbm is fit and forget but the noise is totally different and the thing that makes a G60 is the G60 charger and like you say BBM is very expensive as for the chains yes most people i know buy a VR6 and the first job they do is service the chains but then again how easy its it versus cost to get more power out of of a VR6 most poeple chip and smaller pulley G60s at low cost to get the same power as a VR6 without the front end weight of one

 

very true sparks, i know from personal experience that it can be quite costly to get a power increase out of the VR. that said i was extremely pleased with the 10% gain received from BMC & 263's & the stealth map makes it so much better over standard ECU mapping

 

i guess it is horses for courses really like you say, both have their own pro's & con's

 

i had approx. 60K miles of very happy driving in my VR before i tackled the chains, & only then as i suspected my valve stems were worn & opted for a head rebuild at the same time

 

i think your point about the noise generated is spot on too. i guess some people like the sounds of the G60 charger & others, like me, prefer the range of noises the VR makes

 

interesting you say the BBM is fit & forget, i wonder why they don't need servicing like the G ladder's

 

also the sound they make is crazy lol

[sparks 0]

very true sparks, i know from personal experience that it can be quite costly to get a power increase out of the VR. that said i was extremely pleased with the 10% gain received from BMC & 263's & the stealth map makes it so much better over standard ECU mapping

 

i guess it is horses for courses really like you say, both have their own pro's & con's

 

i had approx. 60K miles of very happy driving in my VR before i tackled the chains, & only then as i suspected my valve stems were worn & opted for a head rebuild at the same time

 

i think your point about the noise generated is spot on too. i guess some people like the sounds of the G60 charger & others, like me, prefer the range of noises the VR makes

 

interesting you say the BBM is fit & forget, i wonder why they don't need servicing like the G ladder's

 

also the sound they make is crazy lol

 

BBM is twin scroll no apex seals as such wearing on the side casting all the time hence why jag ,mini ,merc are all roots /twin scroll although G60 performs the best v bhp zapping off the belt as for noise have you ever heard a BBM without the sliencer kit on it God thats loud nice at shows and car parks but not on long drives and on the way to work everyday like you say horses for courses

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

BBM is twin scroll no apex seals as such wearing on the side casting all the time hence why jag ,mini ,merc are all roots /twin scroll although G60 performs the best v bhp zapping off the belt as for noise have you ever heard a BBM without the sliencer kit on it God thats loud nice at shows and car parks but not on long drives and on the way to work everyday like you say horses for courses

 

good knowledge to know have, thank you very much!

 

i have listened to a few youtube videos of the BBM's on a rado but never heard in person. they sound brutal on the videos lol

[SR_Neale 10]

Can't beat the whine of a g ladder at full chat even when you get people who don't realise that is what they should sound like and suggest you get it looked at.

[Gti_Jamo 10]

You can save money by rebuilding the G-lader yourself as all the part are readily available now. A bit harder than doing chains on a VR6 but still worth a go if your confident. Also the G60 engine is pretty bullet proof and does not seem to suffer as badly as high mile VR6 bottom ends. Having had both a VR and G60, the VR wears thin after a year or so while I couldn't see me ever getting bored of the G60 and I've had it 2 years now.

[SR_Neale 10]

I told the wife I wanted to be buried in my G60 not a coffin. She wasn't to impressed.

[sparks 0]

I told the wife I wanted to be buried in my G60 not a coffin. She wasn't to impressed.

 

shes just thinking of the amount of dirt shes got to shift thats got to be a triple plot size

 

a guy done it in America in his corvette has to get special permission and have all fluids drained from the car and the removal of the engine and petrol tank they sat him in the driver seat and rolled the car into the hole so to speak thinking about it sign me up thats a hell of a way to go

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

I told the wife I wanted to be buried in my G60 not a coffin. She wasn't to impressed.

 

ha ha me too but in my valver

 

either that or put on a wooden raft/boat set on fire & pushed out to sea or lake

[SR_Neale 10]

Don't mind if they take the engine and stuff just put me in there with a tool kit and I can spend eternity fixing all the rattles.

[g0ldf1ng3r 13]

don't mind if they take the engine and stuff just put me in there with a tool kit and i can spend eternity fixing all the rattles.

 

lol