Fuel Mileage and ProCharger…WHAT?!

A supercharger will decrease the fuel economy of your vehicle, right? WRONG!!

Although roots superchargers have significant parasitic load and do dramatically decrease fuel economy, centrifugal superchargers (like ProCharger) will yield approximately the same fuel economy as normally aspirated engines under normal throttle conditions. This means that after the installation of a ProCharger intercooled supercharger system, if you drive your vehicle in the same manner as you did before the installation, you should see no drop in fuel economy and in some cases customers with heavier vehicles have actually increased their fuel economy because of less frequent downshifts! However, the purpose of the supercharger is to get more air into the engine…and when you add air you must add fuel. So when you stand on the throttle and that impeller starts force-feeding your motor the air it deserves, your fuel system will allow more fuel in to create gobs of Grandma scaring horsepower. It is during those moments when supercharged vehicles see a drop in fuel economy.

To explain further, a supercharged engine operates at a much higher power and efficiency level than a naturally aspirated engine. So why, under normal operating conditions, would making an engine more efficient decrease fuel economy?

ProCharger has a large and ever changing fleet of test vehicles running the streets and race tracks every year. We use these vehicles to test everything you would expect from a company like ProCharger…durability, aesthetics, noise, drivability, power. What you may not expect is that we also collect fuel mileage data on these test mules. A small snapshot of some of our data is below.

• 2005 Mustang V6
  • Intercooled ProCharger P-1SC
  • Automatic Transmission
  • Factory Mileage Claim: 19 City/25 Hwy
  • ProCharged Fuel Mileage: 22.55 mpg
• 2004 Corvette Z06 
  • Intercooled ProCharger P-1SC-1
  • Manual Transmission
  • Factory Mileage Claim: 19 City/28 Hwy
  • ProCharged Fuel Mileage: 21.00 mpg
• 2007 Mustang GT
  • Intercooled ProCharger P-1SC-1
  • Automatic Transmission
  • Factory Mileage Claim: 18 City/23 Hwy
  • ProCharged Fuel Mileage: 19.59 mpg
• 2006 Dodge Charger 5.7L HEMI
  • Intercooled ProCharger P-1SC-1
  • Automatic Transmission
  • Factory Mileage Claim: 17 City/25 Hwy
  • ProCharged Fuel Mileage: 21.00 mpg

The majority of the above data was taken during mostly highway driving on the 2007 Hot Rod Power Tour. As you can imagine, fuel mileage was not the main concern of our drivers when cruising along side the amazing cars that grace the Power Tour. The Dodge Charger fuel mileage was recorded on a recent roundtrip from Kansas City to Tampa, FL. Also, keep in mind that the above vehicles are all stock with the exception of the intercooled ProCharger system. Your fuel mileage may vary depending on your vehicle combination and driving habits.

2001 Chevrolet Silverado customer testimonial after the installation of a P-1SC-1 Intercooled ProCharger system.

“My gas mileage has increased nearly 1 mpg on my annual trip from Michigan to Alabama, from 16.19 mpg naturally aspirated to 17.06 mpg with the ProCharger. Considering these trips are taken during Christmas in the winter with periods of idle time and speeds with the flow of traffic the ProCharger actually helps gas mileage. Add the extra on demand power and the smiles per gallon, the truck makes the trips fun!”

2006 Hemi Ram customer testimonial after the installation of a P-1SC-1 Intercooled ProCharger system.

“I’ve got 34K miles on the supercharger system in the past 9 months, and it’s great. I pass other trucks on hills all the time while towing Bobcats and other heavy loads. And my fuel economy is about the same as it was before, but with a lot more power.”