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The Camden Supercharger System utilizes a roots type supercharger developed specifically for automotive engine applications. The present supercharger design has evolved from the first Camden Supercharger built in 1956. The experience gained from hundreds of installations in circle track race cars, sports cars, passenger cars, trucks, marine, aviation and stationary engines has been applied to periodically upgrade the design for increased reliability and improved performance. Design features of the Camden Supercharger include extruded aluminum rotors with Teflon tip seals, pressure lubrication of the rotor shaft bearings, flanged pulleys for Micro-V drive belt, one piece front extension and multi ribbed rotor housings.
A supercharged engine when operating under boost, that is, with positive manifold pressure, will experience higher combustion pressures than a normally aspirated engine. The effect is quite similar to raising the compression ratio. The major difference is that a high compression engine experiences increased loads at all times whenever the engine is operating, while a low compression ratio supercharged engine encounters higher pressures only when under boost. Most modern engines can withstand these increased pressures if proper consideration is given to fuel octane quality. As with any high compression engine, supercharged engines require the highest octane fuel available to minimize any tendency towards destructive detonation.
Camden Superchargers recommend that boost be limited to 6 psi on an engine having a compression ratio of 8.5 to 1 when running on premium unleaded fuel of 92 octane. If your engine has a lower compression ratio, it is possible to increase the boost. Conversely, if your compression ratio is greater than 8.5 to 1, it will be necessary to reduce manifold pressure to prevent detonation.
If it is impractical to reduce the compression ratio of your engine to 8.5 to 1 or lower and you still want the performance gains associated with 6 psi boost, there are some options. First of all, you could use higher octane fuel if it is available. As an alternative, octane boosting additives are available, but their cost may make them unattractive for everyday use. Boost retard systems are available, which automatically retard ignition timing as manifold pressure rises. The major objection to these devices is as you retard timing you lose power. The rationale appears to be that it is better to lose a little power under boost than to destroy an engine under detonation. A type of boost retard can be accomplished by hooking the vacuum line from the distributor vacuum advance to the intake manifold. This will assure no vacuum advance is occurring while under boost.
Another alternative which works well on borderline knocking engines is water injection. A system which increases the volume of water is introduced as boost increases is commercially available and has proven to be quite effective in controlling detonation. However, just do not run out of water when you are under full boost.
Fuel mixture is extremely critical when operating under full boost as a lean mixture can lead to detonation. A boost enrichment system can be added to provide a slightly richer mixture under full throttle, max boost operation. The cooling effect of a rich mixture can prevent detonation under wide open throttle, full power conditions. If managed properly, the slight loss of power due to excessive richness will hardly be noticed.