Procharger: blow through carb vs. EFI
 

I'm narrowing down my choices for a blower for my '96 454 mag which is stock right now (carb). I'm looking into the procharger blow through carb model. Anyone know how well these work?

Other choice is to get an Ebay 454 mag merc EFI setup and swap everything over, then get the procharger EFI setup.

If the carb blow through model works great, what kind of carb do I need for it to work properly?

Re: Procharger: blow through carb vs. EFI
 

I've built engines with the blow through carbs and they work well I also made a custom manifold that was two piece and pulled through the carb through the blower and it worked better that engine was originally in a boat and ran great but we had issues with the impeller coming apart and damaging internal parts the boat was sold and now it's in a street rod in Miami with an 830 cfm it made 980 hp @ 6000 rpm on pump gas. Good luck Laz

Re: Procharger: blow through carb vs. EFI
 

For blowthrough carbs talk to Nickerson Performance (215) 781-1370. He has a proven track record with them. Ask him about using an Rtech system instead of Procharger.

You won't make anymore horsepower with EFI, maybe less. But EFI does have an advantage over carbs in transition to boost and planing. Blowthrough carbs are basically fooled into providing enough fuel since they don't respond to changes in pressure (why you have to change jets with altitude). EFI has a MAP sensor so it knows what the boost level is and the fuel map can be programmed accordingly.

We have made 740 HP with an Rtech system on a stock 454 Mag; 90 HP more than Procharger system on the same engine, back to back tests.

Good luck

Tom Robinson
www.rtechperformance.com

Re: Procharger: blow through carb vs. EFI
 

How much for an R-tech setup?

How much for a Nickerson carb?

Plus intake and gaskets...

Any other hidden costs? Is this a 10 grand project out of a $3000 supercharger?

Re: Procharger: blow through carb vs. EFI
 

I know that price is always the first consideration, but there's no use beating around the bush about it. Supercharging gives tremendous bang for the buck, but it costs a lot all at once to do it right. This is what it takes if you want to make 740 HP and live:

Supercharger system with intercooler
Blowthrough carb
Single plane intake, gaskets
Upgraded fuel system
Freshen heads and re-install with Cometic gaskets
New prop

This will chew up $10,000 faster than you can say "boost". But you are doubling the HP and there is no cheap way to do that. Hidden costs - bigger oil cooler and maybe a better water pump if you plan to hold the throttle down for a long time.

Re: Procharger: blow through carb vs. EFI
 

I spell it BOATT if you know what I mean, $10,000 is easy to eat up I run EFI it can be a great set-up however requires some work as far as fuel system, injectors and a good tumer for the ECM. Good luck,
Bob