photos by: the author
Taking a C7 Stingray to the Next Level with the Help of ProCharger
When a new performance car is released, the inevitable arms race begins in order to be the first to market with go-fast parts. The 2014 C7’s release started this cycle all over, and did it in a big way being a new chassis and having the brand new LT1 engine. One of the biggest names in the aftermarket, ProCharger, is the first to release a supercharger kit for GM’s flagship performance car. This new kit landed in the hands of Pickups Plus Cars (PPC) in Lewis Center, Ohio to get installed on a customer’s fresh-off-the-lot C7 Stingray.
The new C7 kit uses the P-1SC-1 head unit and boasts the potential of a 50% power gain over stock. You can pick up the kit with a polished, satin, or black finish or a Race Inlet if you are planning to put down big horsepower numbers. ProCharger also designed this kit to accept their larger F-1X and F-2 head units without additional brackets.
To make installing this kit a snap ProCharger designed it in such a way that you don’t need to relocate a single OEM part. By not having to relocate any parts and leaving everything in stock positions all systems under the hood work just like they were designed in Detroit. All of this preparation by ProCharger leads to an installation that takes less than 8 hours.
GM put some serious design into the aero package on the C7, and ProCharger wanted to take maximum advantage of this with their system. Starting with a clean slate a brand new intercooler was designed by ProCharger for the C7. The big 24”x9”x4.5” intercooler core is offered in both a vertical and horizontal mounting configuration for the C7 kit.
The PPC team also got to install a set of brand new Kooks 1-7/8” long-tube stainless headers, 3-inch dual Green catalytic converters and X-Pipe on this C7 to compliment the new ProCharger. This kit comes with ARP header bolts, O2 extensions, and the aforementioned Kooks’ Ultra High-Performance Green cats. This package will help the LT1 breathe better and take advantage of the new P-1SC-1 that is strapped to the front of the engine.
Buying the blower and getting it installed is part of the battle, you have to get the car tuned to maximize performance. Brady McCoy at PPC uses a proprietary software when he puts the tune up in customer’s cars. McCoy says, “the final tune is loaded into a handheld unit and given to the customer. Utilizing the handheld has the added benefit of allowing for remote updates down the road for when parts are changed, and also allows for the reading and clearing of diagnostic trouble codes without a trip to the shop.”
ProCharger’s new kit offers sizable gains in power without sacrificing drivability. At just 6.8-lbs. of boost and with the Kooks headers, the stock C7 picked up over 174 horsepower and 167-lbs. of torque to the wheels on the PPC Mustang Dynamometer. The ease of installation and power gains make this kit very attractive for any Corvette owner who wants to give their new C7 a little extra rip, and maybe give the occasional supercar the scare of a lifetime at a stop light.
Underneath the hood of a stock C7 might look tight, however the new ProCharger head unit and piping will fit like a glove.
The ProCharger kit is very shipped with everything you need for installation on your C7 Corvette. Included with the kit is all the hardware, fasteners, piping, brackets, intercooler, crank pulley, bypass valve, and head P-1SC-1 unit.
Before PPC installed the ProCharger, a set of new C7 Kooks headers were bolted onto the LT1. Just installing the headers alone with ZERO tuning before the ProCharger added 27hp, and over 30-lbs. of torque at the tires.
To get things started removing inlet tract and other stock air induction pieces is required. The airbox takes some extra maneuvering to get free.
To begin the process of removing the front fascia, both wheels need to be removed. This gives you total access to all of the hardware that needs to come out on each side for future steps as well.
After getting the fender liners loosened up all of the underbelly front fascia screws need to be removed.
After all the fasteners are removed, it’s time to pull the font fascia off. The front fascia clips in across the top edge and the passenger side, but they did not want to release easily. By flexing the bumper upwards slightly, enough room was gained to allow the loosening of the final retaining clip with a 10mm socket.
With the front fascia removed, work can begin on getting the engine bay ready for the air shroud, intercooler, P-1SC head unit, and piping.
To keep the fan and radiator assemblies in place for the next steps, they are temporarily zip-tied to the front support. This is done in preparation of dropping the radiator support cradle.
Next the K-member is loosened for spacer installation.
After the spacers have been added the front sway bar is loosened and the hood struts are removed.
The instructions say to unbolt the steering rack and lift to gain access to the crank bolt. The PPC crew took a few extra minutes to remove the entire rack assembly, which really opens up the work area, and provides ample access to the crank bolt.
With everything out of the way crank pulley removal can begin.
ProCharger supplies a proprietary crank pulley that uses a unique cam lock design. Here, Brady begins to assemble the cam locks onto the pulley for installation.
Next the cam locks are tightened down to the ProCharger crank pulley and the crank bolt is tightened to a staggering 240 ft-lbs.
With the crank pulley torqued down, the supplied 8-rib belt is inserted and the steering rack is reinstalled. The beefy supercharger mounting bracket can now be bolted to the front of the engine.
It’s now time to add the P-1SC head unit to the bracket assembly. The black finish of the unit matches very well with everything else under the hood.
After the head unit is in place, the supercharger belt can be installed and the belt tension be set to the correct amount.
ProCharger supplies a modified air shroud that allows their air-to-air intercooler to be installed on the front of the car.
After installing the air shroud , the intercooler can now be bolted in place. ProCharger offers a vertical or horizontal mounting position for the intercooler. The vertical style kit is used in this installation.
Next up, its time for some tube routing. ProCharger supplies a great diagram to help show how everything will be oriented when installed.
The first major step in installing the piping is getting the charge pipe between the supercharger and the intercooler installed. This kit used a 2-piece pipe coming off of the blower outlet. ProCharger plans to make this a single piece for the production kits.
Getting all the couplers on can be a challenge on any forced induction installation. To help lube the silicone couplers and make hose assembly easier, Brady gives them a shot of rubbing alcohol. The hoses will slip right on, and it leaves no mess to clean up.
After the charge piping has been installed, the supplied bypass valve assembly can be added to the build.
Next the MAF is installed into the pipe leading to the throttle body, then connected to the throttle body and intercooler.
PCV system routing can be done either above the coil cover or below. PPC chose to modify the coil cover so that we could hide the PCV hose under it. With a die grinder, the coil cover can be trimmed to allow the PCV hose to run under
The air intake is installed next on the supercharger. This particular kit included a preproduction race inlet, and will be powdercoated black to match the blower.
Finally, Fred adds oil to the supercharger that is supplied in the kit by ProCharger.
The finished installation is very clean, and looks almost like an OEM part that was on the car as it rolled off the line in Bowling Green.
Bone stock the C7 put down 392hp to the wheels on the PPC Mustang Dyno. The addition of headers gave a nice 27HP bump at the tires. When the ProCharger P-1SC was added the car put down 566hp and over 530lbs of torque through the automatic transmission a. These gains were all on 93 octane pump gas and totally keep the drivability of the car.
Spending his childhood at different race tracks around Ohio with his family’s 1967 Nova, Brian developed a true love for drag racing. When Brian isn’t writing you can find him at the track crewing on Ray Litz’s X275 car, doing freelance photography, or beating on his own nitrous fed 2000 Trans Am.
