First, the video was literally taken moments after the Camaro fired for the first time with the blower in place. It was just the start of the Magnuson's calibration process, and not a full power pull. Anyone familiar with how chassis dynos work will immediately recognize the easygoing pull seen in the video as less than a full-throttle flog. Hennessey is aiming for its completed HPE550 supercharger package to produce a total of 562 horsepower (the stock Camaro V8 is rated at 426 hp) after they've tweaked the fuel map to their own liking and equipped the car with other components, including a freer-flowing exhaust system.
Second, the leaked video and photos don't offer much insight into how the Magnuson/Hennessey supercharger system is engineered. The major element is Magnuson's MP2300 supercharger that uses Eaton rotors inside a Magnuson-made case. Since the Camaro is closely related to the Pontiac G8 GT, the supercharger system for the Camaro is closely related to the system Magnuson has already developed for the G8. The intake manifold for the Camaro comes straight from the G8 and the pulley and drive system is the same, too.
As in the G8, the Camaro's blower is positioned with the intake up front and the drive pulleys in back. There's a direct shot from the stock Camaro airbox into the supercharger that should minimize obstructions and restrictions. Turning the blower takes some convolutions — a rubber belt takes power from the engine's crankshaft and turns a pulley on one end of a short driveshaft along the right side of the blower case. At the other end of that driveshaft is another pulley that is connected through another rubber belt to the blower's final-drive pulley. Go ahead and speculate about what parasitic losses may be involved with such a setup, but Magnuson claims they've never had any problem with similar systems over hundreds of thousands of miles of use.
With the blower running at just about twice engine speed, the Magnuson system is set up to produce somewhere around 5-7 pounds of boost. With modest tuning, that should work well with the Camaro's standard fuel delivery systems. It's up to tuners like Hennessey to get even more from it.
Early in the calibration process, the supercharged Camaro seemed to run well. There was no apparent detonation in the system, no misfires and no indications that the engine was running either lean or rich. With the stock system in place, the car is too quiet for its own good, but that's another challenge for Hennessey.
Inside Line says: IL will be the first to test this car after it's shipped back to Hennessey in Texas for further modifications. And there's every reason to believe that Hennessey's prediction of 562 hp will be attainable. — John Pearly Huffman, Correspondent
Add A Comment »