Magnuson Supercharge Owned 3rd gen or buy a 4th Gen

Looking for some input. I currently own my 2019 tacoma having 30k on it. Its has a mild 5100 lift with short add a leaf, 275/17 Wildpeaks, ECGS Bushing, OTT tune (which helped a lot) and in perfect condition from sitting in a garage. Where I live, this truck can sell for 42k to 48k giving me the means to pay cash a 2024 OR.

I drove a 2024 really liking the pull of the turbo and mannerism of the 8 speed, however, I’ve also been throwing around the idea of dropping a Magnuson SC on my 2019 instead to give it that missing low end pull I so desire. Technically, it will cost me more money to SC my 2019 than get a new one but I feel like the missing performance could be rectified and have much more of the fun factor added.

I’ve never SC anything and maybe someone’s experience could tell me the SC is not all its cracked up to be for the price.

 

So basically it’s a SC vs a turbo. I would opt for a 4th gen. Less mileage and almost similar to pricing. Lots more of new features on 4th gen. If it had nothing to do with SC’s or turbos I’d opt for 3rd gen.

 

I didn’t think the supercharger was all it’s cracked up to be when I installed one. Nice for sure but the truck still felt underpowered. It now costs $3000 more than when I bought it three years ago so I’d go with a 4th gen.

 

Upgrading a turbo is easier and cheaper than installing a super charger . That doesn’t deliver all the time . I say go for the 4th gen .

 

How much do you like to tinker?

Do you have a reliable competent mechanic?

To get the most out of the SC it will require more parts than just the SC.

Are you ok with your truck becoming a science project?

Do you have another vehicle to drive while mods are being done or hiccups occur?

Not trying to dissuade you from the SC, these are just questions I'd have to ask myself if contemplating this.

Gears might help the 3G more than the SC.

Both gears and a SC would be killer!

Do you see how this rabbit hole goes?

Since you have this mod, now you need this mod, and so on...

Or just buy a truck thats turbo'd with a warranty and have fun with it?

Just depends on what your expectations are

 

A third option is rev the shait outta that 3rd gen and spend that $8k~$10k towards a used 2GRFKS when required.

 

I believe Jacob is on to a good,economical idea. Regear it and have less issues than with a SC.

 

I’ve had multiple aftermarket supercharged vehicles; they never run quite like factory. If you’re happy with the 4th gen performance and drive, that’s an easy decision. When I supercharged my 1st gen Tacoma, they were also really cheap by comparison. It’ll cost you the better part of 10 grand to supercharge the 3rd gen.

 

don't buy a first year 4th gen.

 

If you're only putting 6k miles per year on it I'd keep the truck as is and either save my money or spend it on something else. I know that wasn't one of your options but now you have the opinion of one random idiot from Missouri.

 

I have a second gen Tacoma with a TRD supercharger which is made by Magnuson. If you install their kit as-is, its pretty damn reliable. I have about 70k miles with the SC on and I've never had any issues. With 35s and all the armor on the truck, it's still a turd, but it's a well built kit.

Imo, if you can sell the 3rd for a good price that gets you into a 4th gen, I'd vote for that. With the 4th gen, you'll have warranty and all the new tech it has to offer. I'm sure in the coming years, there will be aftermarket options to get more power out of the motor so it's a win-win situation.

 

Has anyone tried the VT Racing supercharger? It’s $4500 vs the Magnuson which is $7200

 

I don't have personal experience with either kit but the VT is coming from China. I doubt its as good as a known quality vendor like Magnuson. VT does claim to use the Eaton TVS (excellent supercharger) but not sure how much I trust that its just not a Chinese knockoff of it.

 

I'm also curious if VT provides a tuning solution (ecu flash update) or just depend on customers to find their own tuning solution. The web page I found simply says "ECU/Engine Tuning Required."

We all know that tuning/fueling is a VERY important and apparently tricky piece of the puzzle with the 3.5L 2GRFKS.

 

Much appreciated info. Consensus seems to be go 4th gen which is what I will do, however, thinking I will wait until the 2025s are rolling out in hopes of first year bugs getting fixed.

Mahalo to all

 

Why SC an already marginally reliable engine for very low gains.

 

LOL. There's always one.

 

Being in Hawaii this probably isn't an option, because HI = Tacomas. 5.0 F-150 with the whipple super charger, I think it's rated at 700HP.

 

The truth hurts sometimes

 

Ya know, this is the kind of humility we can all aspire to