Horse Sense:
When we asked the folks at Vortech how pleased they were with the way the V-24 XC- Trim performs, we were surprised when they said, "We don't know." It turns out their official testing results are awaiting a new 250hp blower dyno now going together in their Channel Islands headquarters. Guess you won't be turning a V-20 with a six-rib belt!
Supercharger companies seem to enjoy putting the boost on each other almost as much as they like putting intake pressure in engines. The competition helps deliver great products to consumers. Vortech, which once ruled all the popular Mustang drag racing classes, moved its focus away from the all-out classes in the late '90s. Investments in state-of-the-art machining centers, a new building, the quiet V-2 street supercharger, and a bit of legal jousting with industry competitors explain Vortech's street-oriented approach to racing visibility.
However, a new supercharger from Vortech is signaling the company's return to the higher-visibility end of the Mustang drag racing world, namely Pro 5.0, Super Street Outlaw, Renegade, and Drag Radial racing classes. Dubbed the V-20 series, the new blower is a robust centrifugal characterized by a totally new drivetrain and case that promises a distinct jump in severe-duty durability.
So, what questions was Vortech answering as it penned this all-new blower? President Jim Middlebrook explained that the central idea was a stronger gear case. On-off acceleration loads are troublesome for centrifugal superchargers and their high-speed internals. Drag racing may not seem to offer many on-off supercharger loads, but it does. Rapid rpm changes begin in the burn-out box, with a ton of throttle and a dropped clutch. Most burnouts are at a steady, high rpm, followed by brutal deceleration when the tires hook at the end of the burnout. Next is the impact-gun-like standing start where the supercharger is caught between 7,000 rpm and hot sticky slicks glued to a prepped launching pad. Hard manual-gearbox shifts and a rapid shutoff at the end of the run only add more stress to the supercharger drivetrain.
In fact, all these loads slam the impeller, the drive gears, the bearings and the related shafts and pulleys with tons of pressure. Vortech engineers say the tire-chirping end to a big burnout can almost make the impeller seem like it's moving backward for an instant. Put a massive impeller on the blower and then drive it with a cog belt-the problems get much worse as the weight involved rises and shock-absorbing belt slippage is all but eliminated.
Other applications also require a take-no-prisoners drivetrain and case durability. Marine-and a smattering of aviation-ventures are dependent on long terms between overhauls, with definitely no hassles tolerated in-between services. More fiscally important, the industrial side of Vortech-Vortron-demands heavy-duty performance in applications where the supercharger blows high-pressure air for thousands of hours.
Vortech was also after much more accurate machining. "There are eight ways of screwing up the alignment of the V-1-type blower case with its locating and dowel holes and other attachment points," Jim says. Even Vortech's impressive aerospace-grade machining centers will deliver variations with this many holes and alignments to drill. So while the standard-issue V-1 Vortech does OK with merely great machining and super-accurate, ground-dowel-pin alignment, the new V-20 blowers are located off the single center hole bored in the gear case and cut using the same high-end machining centers Vortech is so proud of. With only one hole to locate and work off of, machining accuracy is vastly improved.
Given its hulking cog-drive...
Given its hulking cog-drive pulley and siren-like 6-inch inlet bellmouth, the V-24 XC packaging seems more cubic than vertical compared to other Vortech blowers. This new 2,000hp Pro and Outlaw unit is a massive supercharger-it will take custom fabrication to get it under a Mustang hood. Weighing about 31 pounds, it ought to make enough noise to raise those dead a week or less.
The V-20 case is a one-piece...
The V-20 case is a one-piece casting for strength, with end caps top and bottom. This is a bare case with its gear-case cap attached-it's much like a main-bearing cap in an engine and attaches with four 3/8-inch Allen-headed bolts. The large hole cut through the case and gear-case cap is the input shaft bore. It's the central point for all machining, and because the case and cap are machined as a unit and don't come apart save for final assembly, machining accuracy is superb. Furthermore, the impeller shaft bore is the same size (diameter) as the input bore, so no tooling changes are made-again, more accuracy because the machining center does not have to change tools.
At the bottom of the case...
At the bottom of the case is the sump cover. It's drilled and tapped for the oil-drain-back feature. Should the V-20 ever offer self-contained oiling, this sump plate will have fins protruding up into the oil sump for heat-transfer purposes, along with engine-coolant cooling to ensure the oil does not overheat. Vortech says with the standard engine-supplied oiling, such additional oil cooling is not necessary.