Sn 2000 install info

**Billythekid** · 01-28-2010, 09:20 PM

Just bought a used SN 2000 and a paxta-map. Only problem is I have no install or tuning info for either. Anybody got any info. Application is for a 92 LT 1 Covette. I've included some pics. Thanks for any help you can provide. Scott.

**89LX** · 01-29-2010, 02:22 PM

I have a Paxton SN-2000 I bought new last June but on an 89 Mustang. I bought mine with the HO curved vein impeller and only get 5 PSI boost out of it. Look up the VR4 kit
under SN and you will see a group buy on the all but extinct VR4 kits. It will increase your Boost to 15 PSI and double your CFM to 1500. It cost 600.00 but is a cheap horsepower
booster. The real advantage to the ball driven units are they are inexpensive to rebuild
compared to gear driven type. I was able to get the owner of the Paxton Ball drives to
commit to making these if he got 15 orders, so far he has 7 with mine. These have been
like Hens teeth on here and would make your Vette Fly ask around on here. These guys
can also help you with your other questions to-boot. I just figured I'd mention it to you
before you got it on your car.

89LX,
Todd

**Billythekid** · 01-31-2010, 10:56 AM

I'd be interested in the up-grade. Only thing is it's going on a stock motor. 15psi. would be fun but short-lived. Maybe I"ll buy the up-grade 1st then save the bucks for bottom end. If I don't find install info and how to run the paxta-map, I just have an expensive paper weight for my desk. lol. I tried to email blowerworks, but didn't get a response. Someone suggested paradise wheels, but when I go to there website I'm not sure what it is that comes up. Hope someone has the info I need. Thanks Scott.

**89LX** · 01-31-2010, 11:36 AM

It all depends on your intake and head volumes as to exactly how much you'll
get as I'm sure you already know. I have a basically stock 5.0 with just a BBK-SSI intake for now but have a new engine block and some stuff on the stand getting ready for spring. I figure I will use the stock pulleys to keep boost reasonable and never get to the 45,000 max rpm's of the supercharger. It should live for a long time with a cooler and regular oil changes. Speedytang
on here has run one as a daily driver for years. I was told you don't need a bypass valve until you get to 10 PSI, I guess I'll need one now. If I get 10 it
will double what I have. You can e-mail Craig Conley at Paradise Wheels at:
conleyr107@sbcglobal.net his phone number is: 1-760-740-0956. I bought my system last June Brand new and would have upgraded to a VR4 if it was available before I installed it but there just aren't any left so this is why I'm
trying to get these kits made for us. The only other option is to purchase a
different supercharger for alot more money to equate to the VR4 Boost levels.
I also like the quiet from the Ball Driven type as I have a sleeper style Mustang. Feel free to contact me again if you need anything or have any questions. The History at the top of the SN page is quite interesting it tells
you how Craig came to own the Ball Driven units.

89LX, Todd

**Michael** · 01-31-2010, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by Billythekid

I'd be interested in the up-grade. Only thing is it's going on a stock motor. 15psi. would be fun but short-lived. Maybe I"ll buy the up-grade 1st then save the bucks for bottom end. If I don't find install info and how to run the paxta-map, I just have an expensive paper weight for my desk. lol. I tried to email blowerworks, but didn't get a response. Someone suggested paradise wheels, but when I go to there website I'm not sure what it is that comes up. Hope someone has the info I need. Thanks Scott.

I still think BlowerWorks is your best bet for the install info. I say that because they were the ones (back when they were The Carroll Supercharging Company) that actually engineered the kit that you bought.

Back in the early-mid 80s Paxton went to Greg Carroll and had him design and engineer a kit for the L98 (and later the LT1 cars). Greg not only engineered the kits, but actually assembled them for Paxton. Greg sold his own version of the kits and in his words, "put a few 'goodies' into their kits versus the Paxton kits". Your kit was sold as a Paxton kit (it's carved into one of the large brackets), but I can guarantee it came from Greg.

Email Greg @ BlowerWorks again, and if you don't hear from him after a couple of days, just call. The last time I emailed Greg about an install manual for my '89 Corvette, he said they were about $40 or $50 (I don't remember the exact number). Unfortunately, he didn't have any printed copies at the time so I never got one; I just got too busy to keep after him to get copies printed.

**Billythekid** · 02-02-2010, 07:01 PM

Finally heard back from Greg @ blowerworks. He said these sn 2000 are really unreliable, he would help me with the blower, but he wouldn't help me with the paxta-map as it's obsolete. He suggested some other parts. I'm really wondering if I should have bought this blower. I just don't have 7-8K for a new system. I'm sure I can bolt the thing on and plumb it. I'm that mechanical. Totally lost in tuning, pulley size, and what belt to run. My car has a double-sided serp. on it. If anyone has any helpful info please feel free to post. Thanks Scott.

**89LX** · 02-02-2010, 08:14 PM

I know tons of guys on here that have run these for years. The key it to not overwind it past 45,000 RPMs. Change the oil frequently and use the correct oil, and keep it cool as possible via large capacity oil cooler. I have 3000 miles
on my charger and have changed the oil twice already in it. Use a suction gun,
it takes about 5 minutes to do. I have a long piece of copper tubing in the suction hose, I snake right down into it. A couple of times and your done refill,
and it will come back to you in the end longevity wise. It really doesn't matter what charger you use, whether you use the engines oil to lubricate it or if it's self contained you have to keep the viscosity up as the heat will break it down. I never liked the idea of using the engines oil because of the risk of
losing one or both components also just as an example;
If you run a gear drive timing setup it wears and the metallic shavings as microscopic as they are end up in the engines oil and are now in the supercharger causing extra wear unecessarily. As for reliability, Ask Speedytang on here how many years he has run one of the SN series blowers both street and strip.. If it does ever break it won't cost you your first born to rebuild it either. If you are mechanical you should be able to rebuild it yourself. Just a few different points of view that's all, something else to think about.
89LX, Todd

**Michael** · 02-03-2010, 02:09 AM

Originally Posted by Billythekid

Finally heard back from Greg @ blowerworks. He said these sn 2000 are really unreliable, he would help me with the blower, but he wouldn't help me with the paxta-map as it's obsolete. He suggested some other parts. I'm really wondering if I should have bought this blower. I just don't have 7-8K for a new system. I'm sure I can bolt the thing on and plumb it. I'm that mechanical. Totally lost in tuning, pulley size, and what belt to run. My car has a double-sided serp. on it. If anyone has any helpful info please feel free to post. Thanks Scott.

I can't see the SN2000 being any more or less reliable than any other SN series Paxton charger. The internals of all SN chargers are, for the most part, identical.

89LX is right. Maintenance is the key to the SN's longevity as a power-adder. Install an oil cooler and change the fluid in the charger regularly (I think once every 3000 miles is fine; once every 1500 miles may be a bit overkill but it won't hurt anything) and it should last a long time. 39,000-40,000 rpm is the limit for these chargers - anything higher then that and you'll just be producing more heat, which only serves to break down the fluid faster and wear the internals down. And yes, if at some point the charger does require repair, rebuilds aren't difficult or overly expensive.

As for the Paxta-Map, I think Greg may be correct in saying it's obsolete. But, that's not really a surprise. Fuel management technology has come a long way over the last few years, especially in the area of forced induction. I'm sure there are more advanced ways of dealing with fuel management for your application. Did you download the Corvette C4 supercharging guide/catalog from the BlowerWorks website? I believe it lists a couple of different fuel management devices/solutions and their respective prices. I'm sure one will work for your application.

Unfortunately, I am not near the SN89 I have so I can't measure the pulley diameter that came with the charger. I know the stock crank diameter for all LT1 equipped Corvettes ('92-'96) came with a 7.0" diameter crank pulley. Again, if you downloaded the Corvette C4 supercharging guide/catalog from Greg's site he has a list of available pulleys (pg. 87) for Paxton chargers on LT1s ranging from 3.75" to 4.625" dia. I'd suggest either a 4.25" or 4.625" dia. pulley (given the stock 7.0" diameter crank pulley) in order to stay within the 40,000 rpm range of the charger. There's a handy spreadsheet you can download from our General Tech section which shows supercharger RPM vs. engine RPM for a number of different pulley combinations.

Spreadsheet

BTW - did Greg give any indication as to whether or not he had the installation manual you were looking for?

**Billythekid** · 02-03-2010, 12:10 PM

No he didn't say anything about install manual. Last email I recieved said not to spend another cent on the paxton. And don't make it into a VR. Since I'm on a limited budget, I thought the paxta-map would save me some green. Surely it's not totally useless? If I just had some clue about how to tune with it. If I had the 7-8k I'd have bought a new pro charger system from the start. Darn expensive hobby! Lol. Got to figure out how to make this work. I'll checkout the info you provided. Go from there. Thanks.:violent:

**Michael** · 02-03-2010, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by Billythekid

No he didn't say anything about install manual. Last email I recieved said not to spend another cent on the paxton. And don't make it into a VR. Since I'm on a limited budget, I thought the paxta-map would save me some green. Surely it's not totally useless? If I just had some clue about how to tune with it. If I had the 7-8k I'd have bought a new pro charger system from the start. Darn expensive hobby! Lol. Got to figure out how to make this work. I'll checkout the info you provided. Go from there. Thanks.:violent:

I'm certain the Paxta-Map isn't useless. It may be outdated, but it's not useless.

I wouldn't worry so much about the tuning part at this point. Instead, you should focus on whether or not the blower is mechanically sound. What information did the previous owner give you regarding the supercharger itself? Was it operating fine when he removed it from the car? Was it making any loud noises? Has it ever been rebuilt before? If so, when? How often was the fluid changed in the unit? Etc... Once you're certain about the mechanical condition of the head unit itself, then you should start planning how to bolt the system up to your car.

I'm surprised that Greg has said such 'bad' things about the SN2000. I've had a few email discussions with Greg (years ago) and at no time did he mention to me that the SN89 I had picked up was to be avoided. In fact, he was telling me to send him the water injection system the supercharger came with so that he could check it and make sure it was working properly.

Ultimately, I don't think you've made a mistake in buying a ball-drive Paxton supercharger. They are surprisingly simple (internally) and when maintained properly, their service life can actually be quite long. Spending $7000-$8000 on a new blower is fine if you have the money, but if you honestly believe that you wouldn't have any problems because it's a 'new' supercharger then you're fooling yourself. They would just be different problems.

**Billythekid** · 02-06-2010, 06:56 PM

Finally got the blower from Fed ex. It turns hard and smooth. No notching or catches. That's good. Greg suggested running an oil cooler on the blower. What would that consist of, and how would you plumb it?

**Michael** · 02-07-2010, 06:29 AM

Good to hear the supercharger turns smoothly without any notches or catching.

As for the oil cooler, I believe if you contact Craig Conley of Paradise Wheels @ 1-760-740-0954 he sells an oil cooler kit specifically designed for Paxton ball-drive superchargers that will include everything you'll need (hoses, fittings, heat exchanger, etc...).