FORM & FUNCTION
SUPERCHARGE AND DRESS-UP YOUR LS
IT’S NO SECRET that LS engines have become the go-to choice for engine swaps. Because of their popularity, aftermarket companies of all sorts have developed many products that not only make the swaps easier, but they also enhance performance. In last month’s coverage of LS engine builds we walked you through what it takes to install a
6.0 LQ4 short-block into a drop-in-ready engine (ST May 2018, “New Age Power,” pg. 32). The only item we were missing to finish things up was a good front-drive setup. Front drive setups go by many names, like serpentine pulley setups and front accessory drives. Basically, they make up the essentials that you’d find bolted on the front part of the engine. For example, things like the water pump and alternator are necessities; however, a power steering pump and AC compressor are also commonly included with the front accessories. All of these components are connected by a belt or two and are driven by the crank pulley, hence the name “pulley setup.”
All American Billet has been cranking out these types of setups for some time now, and it offers a lot of different setups for more than just the LS engines. In fact, All American Billet makes a ton of parts to dress up your engine and the rest of your truck. We reached out to the company to help us address our engine’s pulley setup, and the crew recommended one of their brand-new systems.
The fresh gear included something most pulley setups don’t normally have, a supercharger. Vortech Superchargers and
All American Billet teamed up to create an all new front-drive setup that includes one of Vortech’s V3-SI centrifugal blowers. This supercharger is capable of increasing rotational force to 775 hp with 26 psi of boost. We don’t plan to get that crazy with our engine, but it’s nice to know that the efficiency is there if we want it. The blower setup, combined with our pulley kit and engine specs, should deliver around 8 psi of boost. Because the supercharger is a part of the pulley kit, everything included is bolt-on; so, the complete system can be installed relatively easily by most garage weekend warriors. We’ll cover some of the specifics in the following photos.