LS1 Magna Charger TVS Supercharger Install - Magnificent!

Finishing up the bottom end, we added the factory oil scrapper and pick-up, and from there it was only a matter of placing a small dab of sealer on the four corners prior to installing the factory pan.

For the cam we went with a Comp custom grind that had 230/236 duration at 0.050 with 0.591/0.601 inch lift on the intake/exhaust on a 115 lobe separation. We retained the factory timing chain for now, but that'll be swapped out for a Comp piece (PN 7153) during our next round of testing.

These Comp Cams Ultra-Gold aluminum rocker arms are the latest hot items for the company's LS lineup. These are completely CNC-machined for a lightweight design and offer additional clearance for larger, 1.650-od valvesprings. For the pushrods, we completed the valvetrain with Comp Cams' 7 1/2-inch-long, 5/16-inch Hi-Tech pushrods with 0.080-inch wall thickness.

Installing the TVS system is similar to a manifold swap. Ours came complete with the fuel rail assembly and 60-pound injectors.

The TVS system uses a rear drive mechanism to draw air directly into the intake. To do this, it utilizes the front drive accessory to rotate the front pulley, which is connected by a supercharger driveshaft to the rear pulley, which ends up spinning the internal rotors. While low-boost applications can easily use an 8-rib belt setup, we would definitely recommend stepping up to the optional 10-rib or cog pulleys for higher boost and horsepower applications.

From the rear, you can see how the supercharger's carbon fiber driveshaft is connected to rotate the rear pulleys. The larger, 10-rib pulleys or cog assembly apply here too.

Supplying the water to the intercooler is an external water pump that is included with the system. For our purposes, we simply fed and returned the water directly from the dyno's water tank.

Magna Charger's bypass mechanism is smart in that it constantly regulates pressure levels based on vacuum signals. When your foot is matted to the floor, you reduce the amount of vacuum, which closes the bypass and allows boost to be created for maximum power. In the opposite situation, namely when you're cruising around, the valve opens to allow incoming air to bypass the rotors and flow right into the intake.