What happened to the 2.7L superchargers?

Recently I’ve dabbled a little bit in the idea of a supercharger on my taco. I’ve got a 2.7L 4cyl. Ive heard of the Magnusun supercharger kits for it, but can’t find any. But yet there are still plenty of kits available for the V6. What happened to them? Was the V6 more popular? Were the 4Cyl superchargers unreliable? Where could I find a kit? What’s the price run for one? Just humor me before you say “buy a V6”.

 

Theres never been much available for the 4cyl by way of superchargers, I don't believe Ive ever seen one from Magnuson for them.
URD has/had one, haven't looked into them in a while but that would be a place to start.

 

There is a URD kit which is a centrifugal supercharger, and a VT racing positive displacement supercharger. VT is a Chinese company and it is a newer product, but people with Mazdas use them and have decent experiences. URD is a US company, and the unit they use is a Rotrex. Awesome dudes, super helpful and great to work with. The rotrex unit scares me a bit due to the input shaft issues, but I think if you had issues URD would make it right. I am going to go SC at some point in the next year or two, and will go URD if I do.

 

To your original post:

What happened to them?
-answered

Was the V6 more popular?
-yes, v6 makes more power with very close fuel economy, and had option of TRD charger in gen 2+. Only gen 1 4 cyls got factory SC option I think, but someone can correct me. 2TRFE is more reliable.

Were the 4Cyl superchargers unreliable?
-more unreliable than NA, but that is the obvious answer! Rotrex impeller issue is worth really digging into. They have reshaped and replaced with a larger shaft diameter, but I still see issues popping up. Overrev, sharp rpm changes, belt tension, and oil changes are extremely impactful with the rotrex units. also not rebuild-able and must be replaced unless you send them to a specialist (one in the UK who is great). Again, I say all this, but I still want to go forced induction. Probably just as many people here have done their own custom turbo kit (not a lot). the engines respond very well to boost.

URD kit is amazing and top notch stuff, I just really wish they would have partnered with another company like procharger or something for the actual unit. I'd pay another grand or two for a kit that didnt concern me, personally. But I understand needing it to be a value balance on their end in order to sell and be quality.

Where could I find a kit?
-answered

What’s the price run for one? Just humor me before you say “buy a V6”.
-both 6k ish DIY unless you wait for a sale. Dont buy a V6, 2.7 all the way!!!

 

Ok thanks all. I’ll have to do some looking into things, and make a decision from there. Reliability and a sort of “plug and play” build style is the intention. Like everyone was so happy with supercharger kits for the V6.

 

I believe LC Engineering is still coming out with a supercharger kit for the 2.4L.

 

Yes, they are. One of the members on here has his truck dropped off with them to be the test guinea pig for fitting and testing of the kit.

 

I get it OP. I'm all about go fast. But I wouldn't consider putting a power adder on a 2.7 taco. The thing these trucks have going for them is dead on reliability and the potential to go hundreds of thousands of miles before heading to that big old truck lot in the sky. Why F with that?

If you want a faster vehicle, just go buy one. Here, let me help you out. Some of these can be had for less than you'll sink in that supercharger (at least by the time you get it running right).

https://www.topspeed.com/top-15-cheap-cars-that-are-really-fast/

AND, I'll apologize now for being a boomer who thinks he knows everything. Guilty. When I was younger, I chased a lot of performance mods too. Just kind of got over all that at some point.

 

I agree with this overall. I am going to add performance mods to my truck in a couple years, but first there are some important destinations I want to go offroading while my truck is absolutely solid, and it is not my only vehicle. If it was my only vehicle, no chance would I mess with the reliability. For me mods are a hobby more than a speed thing though, so I find it hard to stop messing with a good thing against better judgement.

 

Agree. I've got an old mustang I have thrown more $ at than I'd ever admit to.

The supercharger on a 2.7 though? I mean you're talking about taking a slow but reliable truck and making it "less slow" (Not fast....not average....just less slow) at a pretty hefty cost in $ and potentially less reliable.

My daily is a twin turbo eco-boost Explorer (400HP). I'll sell it long before I'll sell my taco, because, fast as it is, I won't trust it once it gets to about 120,000 miles. It'll need to go by 100,000. My wife will have to sell my taco after I'm gone. I'll never sell it.