Why not add a Supercharger?

[CobaltDeadHead]

I'm new to boating, new to Cobalt and hence, new to this forum.

I love the forum. It's a wealth of information and super fun to read about all of the owner's passion for their current Cobalts, talking about new models and especially seeing the pictures of everyone's boats and their families and friends out having fun on the water.

It seems that everyday a discussion comes up about engine selection for the boat they wish to buy. Do you get the small block 300 or 350 or a big block 380 or 430? That's a very common question on this forum.

What I want to know is why do so few people (seemingly) not add a Supercharger like a Whipple? Seems to be about a $10k upgrade. That's obviously not small money, but when so many folks are buying $100k+ new Cobalts, it's a little surprising to me that so few don't consider the Supercharger option to maximize their boats performance.

Why is that?

Added maintenance costs? Lower fuel economy?

Basically from what I read here, folks like to throw quite a bit of money at upgrading their babies. Very few throw that money at a Supercharger

Why?

[jhnmdahl]

Edit - see below posts for Whipple supercharger kit examples and hp/speed increases that I wasn't aware were available when I made this initial post.

First, nobody really provides aftermarket tuning for current boats - you'd need to hack and reprogram the ecu, maybe add injectors and/or a fuel pump, etc. to get it running. I don't know of any aftermarket kits, but there might be some out there. Second, if you do manage to run say 7lb of boost and pump up peak HP by 35% or so, you'd be lucky to be going 5mph faster for all your trouble and maybe a fraction of a second faster to plane. Finally, a boat isn't like a car where it's "coasting" most of the time and has short bursts of acceleration - it's pushing water rather than air, and is under fairly heavy load most of the time it's underway. The engine is already under significantly more stress than a car engine (that isn't racing anyway), and adding a supercharger will only multiply that stress.

That said, turbos and superchargers are much more common in cars now than they were 10 years ago, and I expect we will eventually see something trickle down to a stock marine offering from Volvo Penta or Mercury that incorporates forced induction to keep weight down and fuel efficiency up.

John

[CobaltDeadHead]

Great feedback John. Thank you

So I have a 2005 24SX with a Merc 350Mag 300 engine. Hole shot is plenty quick and speedo tops out around 52 on flat water. Mind you I'm pretty pleased with my boats performance. But.....I always have it in the back of my mind as to what could do to make it pop even more.

Out of curiosity I asked for engine performance data from Cobalt on available Merc engines at production. See attached for what they provided me.

Seems like the 380 is probably the best combination of hole shot and top end for my boat.

Whipple makes a specific Supercharger for my engine and the dyno results they list have about a 30% increase in torque throughout all speeds and an estimated HP of over 425.

Seems to me that would make my 24SX a 60+ mph boat and outperform the naturally aspirated top V8 available from Merc.

Disagree?

[CobaltDeadHead]

https://whipplesuperchargers.com/index. ... uct_id=142

[Table Rockin]

I love the thought here....maybe one day a single screw will pump out 600 horse. As a stock option.

[cmattj]

Ahhh if Dealers and people would just check the 8.2 box when the order is placed.

That 10k factory upgrade to a 8.2 HO is 430hp of Mercury tuned normally aspirated power.
It’s a fantastic option to give you a lower rpm plus a fast cruise speed and those fun wide open hits.
So adding a Whipple to a 5.7 in a Cobalt Sure sounds fun but the next user may not appreciate the continuing whine and the wonder of how it was treated with its increased power and lacking components to support the extra power.

If it’s your forever boat I say do it and put some $$ aside for a spare bravo X drive.

And keep us posted if you pull the trigger

[Big Block Power]

Is a more than grand per mph. Cobalt just isn't the right him to do this to. Let's face it. It's a slow heavy pig. My wife already hates the 8.1 whistle not add it to every rpm of the engine nope. Plus the extra stress it puts on a engine na not worth the extra cash. I thought about adding it to my tow vehicle though

Let's see what Whipple days about it when he reads this. Maybe Matt can talk white lightning into giving us his 2 cents on this

Superchargers have there place and I don't think it's on a 350mag or on a Cobalt.
I even passed up a donzi with one.
They really have to be dialed in correctly to function right.

[Whippled263]

Boy where do I begin. There's a lot going on in this thread. Lets start with whipple and the kits they sell. They are highly refined and thought about pieces. They are built right and preform even better. Their tuning is amazing. My boat runs better than many many boats I have seen and been on. So that puts holes in Johns thoughts. I run 5 lb. of boost and my boat will run in the 70's all day long. Whats a stock 496 ho 263 run? Maybe 60mph? So again John is not correct in his 5 mph assumption. No offence John loce ya

Cmattj there is NO continual whine with a whipple charger. I can run my boat all day and if I didn't want you to know(throttle control) you would never know its whipplecharged.

BBP I coulnt agree with you more. Cobalt's are heavy pigs with a slow hull. That doesn't mean pigs don't fly every once in awhile. I can not stress enough when done RIGHT adding a whipplecharger to your boat will put smiles on your face like no other. It can be done safely and reliable. My boat had the whipple charger installed by cobalt of Arizona immediately after being delivered from the factory. I now have 506 flawless hours on my boat with nothing more than normal maintenance.

SIDENOTE. My boat has a 1000 horsepower aeromotive fuel system, merc bravo 3 xr outdrive, hardin stainless water pump, corsa exhaust. So the supercharger has all the added support. THIS IS IMPORTANT

[Whippled263]

Oh and If anyone is EVER in the finger lakes region of NY and wants to go for a ride on the boat and look it over please reach out to me. I would loce nothing more

[cmattj]

Oh and If anyone is EVER in the finger lakes region of NY and wants to go for a ride on the boat and look it over please reach out to me. I would loce nothing more

Loce it! Great report and at a modest 5psi. We’ll bring juicy boxes and snacks!

The OP may not understand the investment needed ie( Bravo XR ) and supporting items.

Most don’t understand the upgrade you spend from a 6.2 to a 8.2HO is more then just power upgrade.
100 hp for $$ .
Even Volvo went to a DPX drive with thier 500hp and 600 hp version.

Now let’s talk time to plane

[CobaltDeadHead]

There's a shop on our lake that specializes in Whipple installations. I'll likely have a conversation with them next season, but from the little I've read online it's roughly a $10k upgrade. I'll likely want to experience a Supercharged Cobalt in person before committing. Maybe take Whipple263 up on his offer. Never been to the finger lakes, but hear they are fantastic. Only about a 6-7 hour ride from me. Also perhaps someone on my lake has a Cobalt with a Whipple setup

This will be something I will consider a year or two from now perhaps. I have other projects with a higher priority to complete first.

Not concerned with resale. I see no reason why this boat can't go the distance in my lifetime provided I take great care of it and I avoid accidents. It's only 15 years old. I'm 45. So, yeah, hopefully just keep her going for 30+ more years God willing. Perfect size boat and layout for our needs. Haven't really seen anything else from Cobalt built since in the 24-26' range I like as much. Some the new tech is cool for sure, but digital gauges and fancy flip down swim platforms aren't must have features for me. I'm kind of old school. Still buy manual transmission cars as an example.

[jhnmdahl]

Whippled, glad to hear you have a good package - my point was simply that there's a lot more to it than bolting on a blower. If someone came out with an Eaton TVS package with strong ECU tuning for Volvos and Mercs, I'm sure they'd sell thousands of them within a few months.

You mentioned going from a top speed of around 60 to 70 with 5psi boost - any idea what your change in HP is with the addition of your supercharger? I'd think with 5psi you'd normally be looking at something like 25% increase max, e.g. 350 to 440 hp, which now that I look at the numbers seems plausible.

John

[akorcovelos]

Funny I’ve been researching this very thing as recently as today.

1st thing, there is no “budget blower” setup that’s going to keep an engine together. A blower shouldn’t be called a bolt on like Whipple and procharger do. To do it “right” you need upgraded fueling, exhaust, Ecm tune or carb conversion, and new head gaskets at a minimum.

That said, with a reputable tuner and a realistic budget you can take a great boat and make it perfect. I’ll keep you all posted.

[Big Block Power]

Also to me this is relative and funny that Whippled263 you have 1000hp and onky reaching 70. Yes cobalt is a big fat pig. Put the hp in a donzi or a Baja and you will have over 80 no problem. Again how much money do you want to spend per mph. Don't get me wrong im the first one that would jump on this ban wagon. I looked at it for mine.

[Whippled263]

Also to me this is relative and funny that Whippled263 you have 1000hp and onky reaching 70. Yes cobalt is a big fat pig. Put the hp in a donzi or a Baja and you will have over 80 no problem. Again how much money do you want to spend per mph. Don't get me wrong im the first one that would jump on this ban wagon. I looked at it for mine.

I said I have a 1000 horsepower aeromotive fuel system. Meaning it can support up to 1000 horsepower. LOL 1000 horsepower c' on man. "chris carter". A stock 496 ho puts out 425. With the addition of my whipple the consensus is i'm around 625-650. I have seen higher mph than 70 also. I stated it would run in the "70's".