[1]
Any power adder – be it a supercharger, nitrous, or turbo – has their pros and cons. These differences are what weigh our buying decision on which to choose. But what if you could blend two of the most popular power adders together? That’s basically what ProCharger [2] has done with their new programmable ratio supercharger.
[3]
[4]
I bet you’re looking at this new setup and saying, “This option is going to be way to expensive.” But not so. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that the programmable ratio supercharger option will increase the cost over a base kit by about $1800-$2000. “Our goal was to keep the street price below a twin turbo kit,” said Ken Jones of ProCharger. “The i-1 delivers higher compressor efficiency than screw blowers, utilizes the most effective intercooling, and avoids the heat transfer associated with engine-top mounting or an exhaust interface.”
The compressor is similar to the D-1SC. It’s a little smaller but it spins at a higher RPM. – Ken Jones
The i-1 is designed to support up to 850hp to the crank, or around 775hp to the wheels. This supercharger package is specifically designed for high performance street cars and ProCharger will not make a race version of the i-1. “The compressor is similar to the D-1SC. It’s a little smaller but it spins at a higher RPM,” said Jones.
The touch screen LCD comes as an additional option, but is definitely worth the $300-$400 price tag. The display acts like a boost controller with four levels of boost. This technology will allow you to make more torque at a lower rpm, more horsepower at redline, and changeable on the fly for different driving conditions.
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
While details on the custom tuning portion of the supercharger are still scarce, Jones has assured us that boost targets will be programmable in 500rpm increments, giving you the ability to ramp boost over RPM.
As we previously predicted, we felt that the i-1 was going to be a strong contender for a SEMA new products award, and it was, with a runner up award in the “Best Performance-Street Product” category.