A Silverado Supercharger Is the Refreshment You Need for Your Vehicle

Generational Dominance

In the first generation, we can notice light-duty trucks like the GMC Sierra 1500 and Silverado 1500. The models were available in three versions: 2-door standard, 3- or 4-door extended, and front-hinged 4-door. The same applies to cargo beds, although you couldn’t match any cargo size with the door type.

After that, the company released heavy-duty models that came in 1500HD, 2500HD, and 3500HD versions. The story continued with the second generation of Silverado (between 2007 and 2014). The third generation was between 2014 and 2018, and the current or fourth-gen Silverados appeared in 2019 and are still available.

Each new generation offered many improvements and changes not only to the design but to engines as well.

Evolution of the Engine

The engine of the car is one of the most important parts, especially if you are wondering about future upgrades. Over the years, Silverado underwent different changes when it comes to the engine. The supercharger you need to buy depends on the series and model of the engine that is already in your vehicle. You will need to know the size and type if you are looking to find a blower that will fit.

Even though some of the differences are only slight, that doesn’t mean that superchargers are designed to be one-size-fits-all. So, let’s start from the beginning.

The First Generation of Silverado 1998–2006

The first generation of Silverado comes in several options, and the engine models you can find are based on Vortec by General Motors, at least for light-duty vehicles.

Series	Type and size of the engine	HP range
1500	4.3 L Vortec V6	195 HP–200 HP
	4.8 L Vortec V8	255 HP–285 HP
	5.3 L Vortec V8	270 HP–310 HP
1500HD/2500HD/3500HD	6.0 L Vortec V8	300 HP
	8.1 L Vortec V8	225 HP–340 HP
	6.6 L Duramax V8	300 HP–310 HP
	6.6 L Duramax V8	360 HP
Silverado SS/VortecMax	6.0 L Vortec V8	345 HP

The differences in HP are due to changes to the engine for each new model. While the size and the structure of the engine are the same, the newer models often have different performances.

Naturally, the same goes for the second, third, and fourth generations of Silverado, where the highest HP models are 2500HD and 3500HD, with the Duramax V8 engine from 2020.

The Second Generation of Silverado 2007–2014

The second-gen trucks follow a similar pattern, and we can notice a couple of different models of vehicles and engines.

Series	Type and size of the engine	HP range
1500	4.3 L Vortec V6	195 HP
	4.8 L Vortec V8	295 HP–302 HP
	5.3 L Vortec V8	315 HP
	6.0 L Vortec V8	367 HP
	6.2 L Vortec V8	403 HP
2500HD/3500HD	6.0 L Vortec V8	353 HP–360 HP
	6.6 L Duramax V8	365 HP–397 HP
Silverado XFE/Hybrid	6.0 L Vortec V8	332 HP

The second generation of Silverado or the third generation of Sierra mostly stuck to Vortec engines, although you can find a couple of models with Duramax V8.

The Third Generation of Silverado 2014–2018

The third-gen Silverados have three versions when it comes to models and three options for the engine.

Series	Type and size of the engine	HP range
1500	4.3 L EcoTec3 V6	285 HP
	5.3 L EcoTec3 V8	355 HP
	6.2 L EcoTec3 V8	420 HP
2500HD/3500HD	6.0 L Vortec V8	360 HP
	6.6 L Duramax V8	397 HP
	6.6 L Duramax V8	445 HP

Here, we can notice a switch to newer versions of LS-based engines, and the company introduced the EcoTec3 version. However, some models that use Vortec are still available.

The Fourth Generation of Silverado 2019

This is the newest or the current generation of Silverado trucks. If you get one of the newer models, you’ll have the pleasure of enjoying one of the engines in the table below. Keep in mind that 4.3 L EcoTec3 and 5.3 L EcoTec3 engines will not be available in the upcoming models.

Series	Type and size of the engine	HP range
1500	4.3 L EcoTec3 V6	285 HP
	2.7 L Turbocharged l4	310 HP
	3.0 L Duramax l6	277 HP
	5.3 L EcoTec3 V8	355 HP
	6.2 L EcoTec3 V8	420 HP
2500HD/3500HD	6.6 L L8T V8	401 HP
	6.6 L Duramax V8	445 HP

The current generation of Silverado trucks offers a significant boost in HP, and getting a supercharger for one of these models will allow you to breathe a new life into your Silverado.

Chevy Silverado Superchargers

Regardless of the model and age of your Silverado, you can still find a supercharger kit for Chevy 5.3 that will fit the engine. The idea behind the blower is quite simple. Since the engine needs a mixture of fuel and air to work, increasing the amount of air can allow the engine to burn more fuel, providing more power on the output.

Air Boosting With Superchargers

The only way to increase the amount of air in the combustion chamber without increasing its size is to introduce compressed air. As you might know already, superchargers are air compressors.

Now, you can find three main types of superchargers:

1. Centrifugal superchargers
2. Centrifugal turbochargers (or superturbochargers)
3. Positive displacement pumps

The third type is based on positive displacement. That means that the device will entrap the air and mechanically move it through the device. Then, the air will travel from the intake to the engine, where the supercharger will compress it during the process.

Types of PD pumps are:

• Roots
• Lysholm
• Sliding vane
• Scroll-type or G-lader

The first two types of superchargers, or Roots-type and Lysholm, are the most popular on the list. Lysholm is also known as a twin screw due to its design. You can also find Whipple superchargers, but they still use the twin-screw method. The only difference (visually) is in the number of lobes for each screw. That is, Whipple superchargers will always have three and five lobes.

What About Superchargers For Silverados?

When it comes to Chevrolet Silverado, you can find Roots-type, Lysholm, and even Whipple superchargers based on the year and model of the engine. Needless to say, it all comes down to the budget and what you are trying to achieve with the blower.

6.2 Supercharger — How to Pick the Right One

The trickiest part is to find the right supercharger for your vehicle. Since there are so many different options for the blower itself and for the model of the vehicle, you will need to determine a couple of things before you can go shopping.

• Model of the car
• Year
• Type of engine
• Type of supercharger you want

Model

The first thing on the list is the model of the car. In this case here, we have a Chevrolet Silverado. You need to know the exact type before you can proceed to the next step. Let’s say you need a 2001 Silverado Supercharger. Your car was made in 2001, which leaves you with three different options. You can have a 1500, 2500HD, and 3500HD model.

Engine Size

The next thing on the list is to know the size of the engine, or ideally, the type. General Motors used Vortec and Duramax engines in 2001, and if your truck has a 6.0-liter engine, that means that you own a 2001 Silverado HD with Vortec 6000 V8 engine. This is just one example of how you can determine the type of supercharger you need. In this case, you would be looking for a 6.0 supercharger for a 2001 Silverado.

If you know that you own a Silverado 3500HD from a certain year, and you know the size of the engine, it won’t be hard to find a suitable supercharger. For example, a supercharger for a 5.7 Vortec. Most manufacturers will write the name of the supercharger in a simple way, so you can easily see if it is suitable for your vehicle.

How to Install a Chevy Silverado Supercharger

Probably the first thing people would want to know is if it is possible to install a supercharger by yourself. The answer is yes. If you have experience with cars, replacing parts, or tinkering with the engine, installing a supercharger shouldn’t be a problem.

You are here faced with two different options:

1. Install the supercharger by yourself
2. Take your truck to a mechanic and let the professionals handle it

Both options are good. If you don’t have time or the experience needed to deal with it yourself, you can always let someone else do it. However, if you decide to do it alone, keep in mind that you will need time and appropriate tools to complete the installation.

What to Do?

Our advice is to get a supercharger kit that includes all the necessary parts for the installation and replacement. While you can get a blower on its own, it might require additional parts for the installation.

With a kit, you will also get an instruction manual, and you can follow it step-by-step to complete the process. The best thing about superchargers is that you don’t need to cut or weld anything. There are no permanent replacements, and you can always remove them if you feel like it.

The installation is simple, and you can remove it just as easily. Of course, no one would want to remove the supercharger from their car, especially when you consider the improvement in performance.

Chevy Silverado Superchargers — What Can You Expect?

In general, superchargers can give you between a 50 and 65% increase in HP. The total amount of horsepower on the vehicle will depend on the original engine, which we could see from the list. Regardless of the model of the truck you own, supercharging a Silverado is an excellent choice.

If you own a model with 400 HP, for example, you will be getting more than 200 HP boost from the supercharger alone. Of course, you can also upgrade other parts of the car that will make the engine run even better.

2015 Silverado Supercharger — The Finish Line

All things considered, getting a supercharger is one of those rare win-win situations. You will get a significant boost without any downsides to the process. And the best thing about it is that even if you get bored of having an incredible truck, you can always remove the blower and return the engine to the stock version.