In today's episode of "Ask HeyYou", we are discussing TorqStorm superchargers.

I know there probably aren't many people dumping this kind of money into these trucks anymore given their age, but I have an 01 Off Road Edition that I've been quasi-restoring over the 5 years I've owned it, and I plan on probably owning it for a lifetime as 2nd vehicle for winter driving, towing, hauling, hunting, etc. So I don't mind spending some coin now and again on it.

The one thing I've always found lacking with this truck is passing power. I thought about going with a larger camshaft, or a stroker, but there are considerable drawbacks to these. Bigger camshafts make more power, but typically sacrifice off idle torque and vacuum. Also tend to take a considerable fuel economy hit. Strokers are expensive and with stock intake/heads aren't going to make much more horsepower, though they will make more torque. The Kegger basically makes upgrading heads/cam a waste of time/money, and I don't want to switch to a Hughes because 1. expensive and 2. it makes a less favorable torque curve than the kegger for a near stock truck application (I'm not going racing here).

So that leaves boost. No positive displacement options exist currently (though marty fletcher is working on one), but even if they did, Whipples and Eatons are $6000+. More than I'd like to spend. I considered buying a couple small, budget turbos that would spool quickly and make low boost (<10psi), swapping the stock manifolds side to side, and plumbing a basic TT setup myself. This is still an option, but the complexity of the underhood piping would be annoying and make servicing/repairs cumbersome.

That brings me to a TorqStorm unit. They're relatively inexpensive ($2800 for the kit), they make plenty of boost for my application, they're simple, and they're easy to work around under the hood. From what I can tell, the TorqStorms specifically have a different shape to their impellers that allow them to build boost at much lower RPMs than traditional centrifugal units (they claim to start building boost at 1850rpm, and full boost by like 2300 or something like that). They are gear driven internally (unlike an old powerdyne), and have a self contained oiling system (no plumbing).

Notably, unlike a cam/stroker or a positive displacement unit, there should be minimal impact on fuel economy while cruising or driving under low engine load conditions. The only parasitic loss would be spinning the unit itself, but it has much less mass than a roots/twin screw. Meaning I could still get similar highway cruise economy to what I get now, and I would just have a big surge in power when I put my foot down.


So this all seems like a great idea to me, but I'm looking for opinions. As far as supporting mods, the truck would require a better fuel pump, injectors, and a tune. I can do the tuning myself with Hptuners for just the cost of a $50 vehicle credit. So I figure I could be out the door here for like $3100-$3200, and making a significant amount more power than I am now.

 

You can actually tune vehicles? I never done any superchargers even in the shop. Everyone does turbos nowadays. I wouldn't run more than 8psi on the stock bottom end.

 

Still a novice, but yes. I bought the Hptuners suite last year (primarily to tune my 2014 Charger R/T). They just recently started supporting the older Jtec computers in these trucks, so I can run it with the stock PCM. Just have to swap to a 2 bar map sensor.

Yeah 8psi was right about what I had in mind. The nice thing about an older engine is that the ring gaps have opened up a bit on their own from normal wear, as have the oil clearances on all the bearings, so a slightly higher mileage engine is actually a better candidate for boost than a fresh one. My 5.9 is in good shape, makes good compression, but has 174k on the clock so in my opinion it's an ideal candidate for a low boost application.

 

That's good you know how to tune we contact out tuning. Is there a warranty with the supercharger?

 

Lifetime. All made in the USA in Michigan.

 

I'd go with it. Hell I might even get one to slap on the 2500 got a link? A guy that works for me knows about forced induction I will talk to him tomorrow when he comes in

 

http://www.torqstorm.com/kits_single_ram_5.9.html

 

I'll talk to him and see if he knows anything about them

 

Sounds like you have a good plan there. Keeping the boost around 7-8 PSI, the stock motor, even with it's age, will live a long time like that. You will most certainly like the additional power. 2 bar map, and doing your own tuning will also save you a bundle. You are going to want a wide band O2 sensor, I assume the software suite has the capability of doing data logging, does it also support additional sensors? (wide band O2...... specifically, Given it's 'professional grade' software, I would think it would....) May want to freshen the motor up just a little bit though.... timing set, at least. That was the BEST 'mod' I did on my old 360.... I was amazed at how much better it ran afterwards. (and that was the only change I made at the time.) If oil pressure is still good, that's probably the extent of what I would do. Have you done anything with the plenum yet? If not, better address that as well. Two-piece manifolds don't always like boost.

 

Wideband is a requirement for tuning, absolutely. Hptuners does support datalogging and additional sensors, but the additional sensor component is on the pro version, which I do not have. Might be worth upgrading to though, I think it's like 150 bucks if memory serves.

Engine got a Melling double roller set about 2-3 years ago when I had it apart to do the plenum plate. Refreshed the heads, put on an aluminum plenum plate with shorter bolts and a fel pro gasket. Oil pressure is excellent, probably in the mid 40s at idle and mid 50s at cruise rpm. Engine is in great shape overall, still makes real good compression (147.5psi dry average. 145 on lowest cyl, 149 on highest), still has visible crosshatch in the cylinder walls (at least it did when I had the heads off).