Edelbrock Supercharged Crate Motor - Out-of-the-Box

[Ed Blown Vert]

Edelbrock Supercharged Crate Motor - Out-of-the-Box
Traditionally, building a supercharged engine is done in a sort of piecemeal fashion. A guy looking for a little forced induction fun decides how much power he wants and what kind of blower he'll employ to achieve that goal. Then he has an engine built to handle the job, and finally the whole deal must be dialed in so that it all works properly. But of course there are no guarantees on the outcome. Now Edelbrock, in collaboration with Magnuson, is making it easier than ever to get a supercharged engine in your car with the introduction of its E-Force RPM supercharged small-block 350ci crate engine, a package that comes ready to run with 500-plus horsepower, 500 lb-ft of torque, and a warranty. That's right, it's a supercharged motor with a two-year, unlimited-mileage warranty.
As we talked with the folks at Edelbrock about what goes into creating a blower motor that's actually backed up with a warranty, one word kept coming to the fore: proven.
"I think what we did is get together a proven package," says Dan Dragoo of Edelbrock's R&D department. Starting at the top, Edelbrock chose to collaborate with Magnuson in creating the E-Force supercharger. "They'd proven the basic configuration of it prior to our getting involved," says Dragoo. The compressors themselves come from Magnuson; the intake manifold and top plate or lid are Edelbrock castings created for the E-Force kits. Predictably, this setup is also available in kit form for those who want to create their own configuration, and we'll elaborate on that later. As for Edelbrock's ready-to-run combo . . . "The supercharged crate engine was a natural, since we already had our crate engine in place," Dragoo tells us. Many of these engines are based on GM's durable ZZ 350 short-block, and so is the new supercharged version. Edelbrock has done extensive testing with this lower end both on the dyno and in vehicles. But given that the majority of blower motor lower-ends are purpose-built for the job, we had to ask about the decision to use the ZZ4 partial engine in this application. "As we put it all together," Dragoo says, "it met the goals, so it all worked out." The goal was 500 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque; not coincidentally, this is the GM-defined output ceiling for the ZZ4 short-block. "I'd say we're definitely at the limit," Dragoo responds. "We've talked with GM, and they're comfortable with it."
The E-Force RPM crate motor comes set up to run 5 pounds of boost to create this 500/500 combo, and that's where Edelbrock intends it to stay. "If someone wants to spin it faster," Dragoo cautions, "they're on their own." Upping the boost to 8 pounds would yield maybe another 50 hp; it would also exceed the short-block limitations. Adding an intercooler-which is available from Magnuson and will be available from Edelbrock-would also increase power but isn't necessary at this relatively low boost level.
While the bulk of the key components were pulled right from its shelves, Edelbrock sourced MSD for the ignition, including a Pro-Billet Ready-to-Run distributor and Blaster 2 coil. More important, however, is that all of the crate engines come with an MSD Boost Timing Master, along with instructions on how to set it up for this application. The module pulls out 2 degrees of timing per pound of boost, putting total timing at about 27 degrees at max boost. It's a proven system that allows the engine to make good power without encountering detonation-even on California-style 91-octane gas. That's also a key component in allowing the warranty.
Most of the other critical workings-carb, heads, and cam-were pulled from Edelbrock's extensive catalog, and again, "proven" was the word du jour. The 800-cfm Thunder Series AVS carb (PN 1813), according to Dragoo, proved itself both on the dyno and during road testing in Edelbrock's test vehicle. The E-Tec 200 head was chosen for this specific combination. The supercharger kits are available in Vortech or traditional bolt patterns. The camshaft also comes from the Edelbrock catalog, PN 2204. "As it worked out," says Dragoo, "it wasn't necessary to develop a new camshaft, 'cause all the goals were met."
You can't drive a crate motor minus a vehicle, so driveability-with performance and reliability-was the central aim. "It's not just the horsepower," declares Vic Edelbrock, getting to the heart of the matter, "but the way you move from signal to signal or on the freeway when you're doing 65 and wanna go 80. You just touch it-boom, it's there." Well, yes, it is-and it's ready to run, with a warranty.
Test Flight
In addition to the crate motor on the dyno, Edelbrock dropped one in Vic Edelbrock's own '32 Ford roadster so we could get a real-world feel for the engine in a car, albeit a pretty light one. Edelbrock's '32 is one of several vehicles that have been serving as testbeds for this new engine as the company worked toward creating a ready-to-drive package. As it turns out, Edelbrock has driven this roadster-with this engine-from Southern California to Canada. As you might expect, he got right to the heart of the matter when we asked him to tell us about the development of the package. "It's the engine's ability to move the car that's important-its seat-of-the-pants performance," Edelbrock opines. "The Magnuson supercharger is different from the others in that it comes on quicker."
The Magnuson is a positive-displacement supercharger, so it makes boost as soon as you get hard into the throttle. That achieves fantastic throttle response and big low-end torque. Edelbrock also mentions the engine's compression ratio: "This is 9.5:1, and you can run that compression with 5 pounds of boost. What does compression do for you? It gives you performance downstairs."
As we experienced it in Edelbrock's roadster, we can testify that this setup indeed provides plenty of downstairs performance. Idle is good, throttle response is immediate, and there's torque on tap just about anywhere through the powerband. You push the pedal, this thing goes. Snappy is the word that comes to mind-especially given that the roadster weighs all of 2,300 pounds or so. We quickly learned to roll it on rather than tag it, but that took some restraint.
"It really gives you a package," Edelbrock sums up. "You have no detonation, and you run 91-octane. It's just like what we sell without a supercharger, but the supercharger makes it that much better."
ON THE DYNO rpm lb-ft hp2,500 447 2132,600 444 2202,700 445 2292,800 455 2432,900 457 2533,000 457 2613,100 455 2693,200 457 2793,300 456 2873,400 454 2943,500 459 3063,600 464 3183,700 465 3273,800 461 3343,900 469 3484,000 475 3624,100 475 3714,200 478 3824,300 475 3894,400 478 4004,500 483 4144,600 475 4164,700 472 4234,800 478 4374,900 477 4455,000 465 4435,100 456 4435,200 455 4505,300 445 4505,400 442 4555,500 441 4625,600 439 4685,700 435 4725,800 430 4755,900 433 4876,000 428 4896,100 421 4896,200 423 4996,300 411 4936,400 409 4996,500 402 498Average torque: 452 lb-ftAverage power: >385 hp Dyno notes Headers:131/4 4-inch dyno headersFuel:91-octane unleadedCarb:Edelbrock AVS 800Calibration: 0.113 primaries, 0.107 secondaries, 0.068x 0.046 metering rodsTiming:27 degrees totalSteady state numbers*500 lb-ft @ 4,500 rpm508 hp @ 6,200*A typical dyno run makes a sweep; therefore the engine spends very little time at any given rpm. The full dyno chart was generated with a sweep test. Edelbrock also runs steady-state tests on its engines, allowing the motor to stabilize at its peak power and torque rpm levels. That's where the 500/500 numbers came from.

Photo Gallery: Edelbrock Supercharged Crate Motor - Out-of-the-Box



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[Danger731]

wonder the price

[Blitzed]

wonder the price

your first born child

[JonB]

your first born child

Yeah especially since its from edelbrock. They make great products but there prices are a bit steep. Still pretty freakin sweet.

[Tobynine9]

sounds like a good setup for someone who wants a plug-and-play blown sbc.

[LS2Tuner]

We don't have a vaseline smiley......
It's $13,691.99 plus shipping @ Jegs plus $149.99 truck fee.


Sorry but I will spend $14,000 to build a hell of a lot more power than 500hp.

[Tobynine9]

Or you could just buy a crate LS7.

[LS2Tuner]

Or you could just buy a crate LS7.

True. But those are TWO COMPLETE different engine combos.

The Edelbrock is using a Old School mini roots type blower and is carbed.
No electronics needed not to mention accessory's.

Where as the LS7 will need some type of engine management system and alot of my customers have ended up spending thousands on brackets and accessory's that fit in street rods chassis.Not to mention it is a dry sump motor so you need to purchase all of that and plumb.

[Tobynine9]

Oh, yeah. For sure, there's going to be more cost to using an LS7.

I was just pointing out that this isn't the only option for someone wanting to open a box and find a 500 hp small block inside, edit: at that price level.

[Marc 85Z28]

You can buy a turn key bigger inch SBC with an identical warranty that makes A LOT more power and torque on pump gas, for thousands less. And they won't have the fitment problems that a roots blower would either.

[LS2Tuner]

Oh, yeah. For sure, there's going to be more cost to using an LS7.

I was just pointing out that this isn't the only option for someone wanting to open a box and find a 500 hp small block inside, edit: at that price level.

Hell ya I feel ya on that. I would buy a New LS2 for $5500 sell the stock heads for $800. Spend another $1900 out of my pocket after selling the new stock heads for some AFR's and a custom ground roller and have a 500 plus horse power motor and a 750+ motor on the bottle for under $8000.

I can't see the cost worth the extra power for the Ls2 versus the Ls7.
$5700 $13,000

The one good thing I can say about the Edelbrock crate motors is they do stand behind there 2 year warr.