I am looking into buying a used Vortech but when it has been run for 15k miles how good really is it? I am sure grandma was driving it either.. What should I look forward to when buying a used Vortech SC ?

 

I was a 3rd owner of a vortech super charger and recently removed it and installed it on my friends car now the 4th owner. Im guessing this charger had approx 50k miles on it and no probs watsoever. Its the first design s/c and I did my fair share of beatings on it. Very reliable. Only removed it b/c traded car in for something better

 

ya, there are guys with 100k on their blower. no worries. and even then a 300$ refresh and its like new!

 

they are reliable.. well sometimes the seals go bad.. but like he said ^ 300$ input and output shaft seals and there new again!

 

That's not an easy question to answer without more info. Mileage means almost nothing... I used to DD my SC'ed Z for over 20k miles in slow stop and go traffic so the kit still ran perfectly because the blower wasn't pushed hard at all. I guess the best thing to do is to at least figure how what size pulley is being used and driving habit of the previous owners or whether the kit was involved in track action?

 

The reason I am buying/getting a Vortech is not to race/track it.. Maybe ONCE or every blue moon..Because for the time being it will be my DD, and finding a good DD setup for the Vortech I still do not know.. But it is good to know that SC's last that long and 300$ goes a long way on em.. :}

 

check the serial number and see when it came out..the older ones are much stronger imo..i now have 4k miles on mine and no problems, knock on wood...ive heard good and bad though.. and have been told the older kits are actually better

 

SC over ST/TT for longevity. Should be good. But, hard to say.

 

^+1

Hard to tell you without looking at it. But even it is ok, I would spend 300 bucks to get a new seal from vortech. Just my two cents.

 

1 billion years or untill the bearings fail......which is common.

 

^What's the typical sign of the blown bearings...a fatal whine from the blower?

 

Here's mine when it went bad. the impeller starts to hit the volute.
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I think a lot depends on how aggressive it was used. I installed mine in 2004 and it has 80K miles on the blower. Never had any issues with it, still running well and it is using the 2.87 pulley.

 

A Vortech SC will be very reliable in most cases despite what certain members on here say. If you set a power goal of 400whp (DynoJet) it can be obtained in a fairly reliable manner. The good thing is that you can further increase their reliability but adding supporting mods like an intake plenum spacer, exhaust components or a 928M Impeller. These supporting mods all help because they allow you to spin the blower slower and still make more horsepower. Good tuning in regards to timing and fuel also help.

Overall the headunits are very reliable assuming you stay within the parameters they were designed for.