We get questions about our components: why do you use the 1900 TVS blower instead of the 1740 like other manufacturers?
We get questions about horsepower: why are horsepower claims by manufacturers so inconsistent? Some of them seem excessively high.
We have answers.
The Mallett Performance Cars team got back to our roots with this 2019 ZL1 Camaro project. When a customer is looking to add some power under the hood, they know that nobody brings the hammer down like Mallett.
Modifications include:
Our very own Chuck Mallett recently sat down for The Truck Show Podcast with Lightning and Holman to discuss our supercharger program and much, much more.
We’ve cut together an edited version of the show below that sticks to Chuck’s contributions, but we highly recommend heading over to their page and listening to the full show wherever you like to stream your podcasts.
The story below appeared on GM Authority on August 29, 2019, comparing the Mallett Performance Supercharger system to the proposed Lingenfelter tuning package.
Chevrolet Colorado Supercharger Battle: Mallett Performance vs Lingenfelter
BY JAKE STUMPH— AUG 29, 2019
Earlier this month, Lingenfelter announced a new supercharger kit for the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2. The highlight feature of that package is a major power bump for the 3.6L V6 LGZ engine, going from the stock 308 horsepower to 416 horsepower. That 35 percent bump in power is thanks to an Edelbrock supercharger.
Since then, GM Authority has taken to compare the supercharging kits, and spoke with Mallet Performance Cars – which was first to offer a supercharger solution for the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon way back in 2015. The North Carolina-based tuning firm has provided some interesting information that calls the Lingenfelter offering into question.
Mallett vs. Lingenfelter Supercharging Kits For Chevrolet Colorado & GMC Canyon
First, let’s compare the two kits. Both use Eaton-based superchargers, with Lingenfelter using a TVS R1740 while Mallett Performance using a TVS R1900. The numbers refer to the amount of air, in cubic centimeters, that the blowers push per rotation. Generally speaking, a smaller supercharger will have to be spun harder, using more boost to make as much power as a larger supercharger being spun at a slower rate and running on less boost.
The Mallett kit produces 361 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque at the wheels, and “that’s on a conservative, heat-soaked pull,” the firm tells us. Meanwhile, Edelbrock – which supplies the supercharger for the Lingenfelter kit, claims its kit is good for 345 horsepower and 306 pound-feet of torque at the wheels. The slightly lower power figure for the Edelbrock unit is understandable due to the smaller blower. However, Lingenfelter advertises 416 horsepower for its kit, presumably at the crank. As a result, it would seem that Lingenfelter is maxing out what that kit is reliably capable of.
And that is problematic, for a few reasons, the most noteworthy of which is that running more boost through a smaller supercharger tends to generate more heat, which can compromise durability and consistency. In fact, Chevrolet itself applied this very principle when sizing the supercharger for the 2019 Corvette ZR1 compared to the Corvette Z06.
“The key to engine longevity is intake temp and careful tuning”, Mallett tells us. The cool air being run through the TVS1900 used by Mallett keeps intake temps down. The company then adds Fluidyne intercoolers and a custom reservoir that holds roughly two gallons of coolant to stabilize those temperatures. That enables the Mallett system to “run wide open all day without any thermal issues.” Meanwhile, the Edelbrock 1740 in the Lingenfelter system will pull more heat into the air, while featuring a smaller reservoir. Hence, the kit will likely have trouble performing consistently when placed under heavy loads, such as being driven at high altitudes, towing, or towing at high altitude.
Of course, different dynos with different calibrations are going to produce different numbers, but the rest of the Lingenfelter kit seems to be on just as shaky of ground due to the drive belt. The Lingenfelter kit extends the standard five-rib drive belt to also drive the blower. That belt is perfect for driving the alternator and AC compressor, but its use in also powering the supercharger isn’t necessarily ideal, since an overburdened belt can quickly become the weakest link of an integrated system. If it fails, it can cause the entire truck to not run. By comparison, Mallett uses a bespoke eight-rib belt, with “the best idlers and tensioner in GM’s inventory and the best belt Gates makes.”
As an independent publication, GM Authority has no stake in the game, but when there are multiple aftermarket options available, buyers and bound to cross-shop. This is what Mallett Performance has told us thus far, but seeing that the Lingenfelter kit has yet to be released, the truth will out once it hits the streets. The only wild cards here are the price, with the Mallett kit coming in at $7,200. Pricing for the Lingenfelter kit has not yet been announced.
In the meantime, subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevrolet Colorado news, Chevrolet news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
It’s a fantastic day when the least powerful car in the field has 442 horsepower.
Our annual tuner-car beat-down, presently called the “Supercar Challenge,” has all the earmarks of becoming a tradition at Car and Driver.
Need we say it was a carnival of horsepower and torque? As before, we spent day one driving the cars on public roads and rating drivability on a five-star scale (five being best). The second day was spent at Michigan International Speedway, a 2.0-mile banked oval with an infield road course. There we gave each entrant five runs through a modified autocross course.
We divided the cars into two classes: Open and Sedan. A sedan is a car with a back-seat space of 36 or more cubic feet, and an open car works out to, well, anything else. So we have a winner for each class.
Winner Sedan Class: Chuck Mallett CTSV Cadillac
As a member of the bigger-hammer school of tuning, Chuck Mallett is aptly named, and this CTS-V is a prime example of his work. Owned by John Bender, the car made its competition debut in last May’s One Lap of America, finishing second in the Luxury Sedan Class.
But it was clear that winning the Sedan Class in this shootout would take more. More is Mallett’s specialty.
The stock 5.7-liter V-8 was replaced by a 7.1-liter V-8 block (of Le Mans Corvette fame), a billet crank, and forged pistons from GM Motorsports. The heads are Corvette LS6 with stainless-steel headers.
The V-8 is force-fed by a Vortech supercharger with a Garrett/Vortech intercooler blowing at “about 16 to 17 psi,” according to Mallett, who adds, “I’m quoting 751 horsepower.”
Considering its vast output and ferocious Corsa-muffler exhaust note, the Mallett-massaged Caddy was surprisingly manageable in the public-road portion of our show. Nevertheless, it makes the forward progress of a standard CTS-V seem fairly tame. Punch the throttle, and you’re pasted into the driver seat like cake batter as the car leaps forward like some great primordial beast.
Habit forming.
There’s more to this mad Mallett than just motor: double-adjustable coil-over shocks, heftier anti-roll bars, HRE 18-inch forged aluminum wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires.
On its final pass, the CTS finally hooked up, knocking almost a full second off its quarter-mile time and nipping the Vishnu Evo by 0.2 second for the day’s fastest Sedan Class run. The secret: “We turned on the A/C,” says Mallett.
Mallett muscle doesn’t come cheap. On the other hand, this is just about the baddest Caddy around. John Bender can hardly wait for One Lap 2005. —Tony Swan
1/4-mile: 12.4 sec @ 125 mph
Road course: 50.8 sec
150-to-0-mph braking: 740 feet
Total course time: 103.9 sec
Street drivability: ★★★★
TRANSMISSION: 5-speed manual
Front brakes: Stoptech 14.0 x 1.3-in vented, grooved discs; Stoptech 4-piston calipers
Rear brakes: stock 11.6 x 1.3-in vented discs; stock 2-piston calipers
Brake pads: Hawk HP
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 103.3 in Length: 178.5 in Width: 69.7 in Height: 57.1 in
Curb weight: 3217 lb
Weight distribution, F/R: 60.0/40.0%
