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Installation of the Ripp Supercharger on my 2015 SXT+ went relatively smooth. My son came down to help with the install and did most of the underneath work. The instructions Ripp provides are not 100% complete. They say to remove the horns, but do not mention reinstalling them: things like that. There are no torque specs given in the instructions. We were able to work it all out just fine.
Ripp should also provide a part list so you know what should be in the kit. It turns out there were “extra” bolts/nuts and a bracket that were not called on to be used (!?). Otherwise, the kit was complete (no missing parts!), well packed, and even came in a little before expected date. I had ordered it in January, hoping for a Memorial Day week install. It arrived in mid-April.
I had ordered a 3pk of Vortec SC oil since I knew it needs a change at 500-1K miles and then every 3k afterwards. The Ripp kit comes with 2 bottles, and the head unit comes loaded with oil. So I am good for about 15k miles worth of oil changes.
Prior to the install, I decided to paint the Intercooler and the piping. I taped off the fins on the intercooler and used the same paint I had used on plastic parts in the engine bay previously. It turned out as good as the rest, passable. Looks great from the front! (IMHO – see below)
Ripp has you scrap the shroud/bumper support in front of the radiator. It is used to mount the ambient temp sensor as well as divert air to the radiator. We were able to cut the plastic back to have the piece fit.
Also, in the lower chin, there are 2 pieces that block off part of the outer edges of the air dam (near the fog lights). They would normally hit the intercooler and pipes if not removed. We ended up removing them, but keeping the mount for wiring. It actually exposes the intercooler piping more. I did not expect the intercooler to “pop” as much as it does through the front grille. I thought, maybe only if you crouched down and caught it straight on, I guessed. I had painted the pieces expecting only the last piece that plugs into the throttle body to show. The rest would fall under the “I know it’s there” category. I am pleasantly surprised with how it looks.
I was able to get a 5.5 (with slippage) and 5.3 sec 0-60 run with 1 passenger in the car and a full tank of 93 octane gas in 80 deg weather.
I did take it a few days later (car was mostly sitting) to the performance shop for a dyno tune, but I discovered a coolant crossover leak! Ripp has you use a RTV gasket you make yourself. After some discussion with the shop, I decided to take it back and redo the RTV coolant gasket (we did not allow enough cure time prior to adding coolant and running engine). So off comes the SC, and applicable hoses, and rework of the RTV gasket and then reinstall everything, including the most difficult of pieces (SC Hat). That part is a P.I.T.A. to take off and put back on! Friction fit and ½” of room to wiggle it on.
I then went for a ride and on my 1st WOT pull, I popped off the downspout elbow (hose) to the Vortec head! I was able to gently get home. I checked for coolant leaks, reattached the charge hose better this time and did another run. This time solo, I ran a 5.1 for my 0-60, with some traction slippage and 80 deg weather and later a 5.0 in 74 deg weather again with some slippage.
So…tires will be on a future upgrade, but the ones I have now are low miles (Eagle Sport A/S) so I can’t justify the money yet. Maybe I’ll look into summer tires, since I do run winter tires on a 2nd set of rims. Maybe at that time I can get wider rims, but I will cross that bridge when I get to it. I am not racing for pink slips, I just wanted to have more fun from time to time. It won’t be driving WOT 24/7 by any means.
I still have a couple of things to finish/ touch up. The engine cover was painted on the vertical stripes (2 left and right). That needs to be cleaned up. I also want to paint the air intake tubing that I tried to polish, it doesn’t fit as a polished piece anymore, with the airbox and elbow now removed.
At this point I am waiting to hear back from the dyno shop to get a reschedule date. So now I have to get a time to get back in for a tune and go from there. Once I have a fresh dyno tune, I can post up final numbers here.
Below are some pics from the install. We did the install over 3 days, but most of day 2 was me replacing all of my Hose Candy hose covers with Flex PET covers. And the first day was really a half day of actual work.
Ripp should also provide a part list so you know what should be in the kit. It turns out there were “extra” bolts/nuts and a bracket that were not called on to be used (!?). Otherwise, the kit was complete (no missing parts!), well packed, and even came in a little before expected date. I had ordered it in January, hoping for a Memorial Day week install. It arrived in mid-April.
I had ordered a 3pk of Vortec SC oil since I knew it needs a change at 500-1K miles and then every 3k afterwards. The Ripp kit comes with 2 bottles, and the head unit comes loaded with oil. So I am good for about 15k miles worth of oil changes.
Prior to the install, I decided to paint the Intercooler and the piping. I taped off the fins on the intercooler and used the same paint I had used on plastic parts in the engine bay previously. It turned out as good as the rest, passable. Looks great from the front! (IMHO – see below)
Ripp has you scrap the shroud/bumper support in front of the radiator. It is used to mount the ambient temp sensor as well as divert air to the radiator. We were able to cut the plastic back to have the piece fit.
Also, in the lower chin, there are 2 pieces that block off part of the outer edges of the air dam (near the fog lights). They would normally hit the intercooler and pipes if not removed. We ended up removing them, but keeping the mount for wiring. It actually exposes the intercooler piping more. I did not expect the intercooler to “pop” as much as it does through the front grille. I thought, maybe only if you crouched down and caught it straight on, I guessed. I had painted the pieces expecting only the last piece that plugs into the throttle body to show. The rest would fall under the “I know it’s there” category. I am pleasantly surprised with how it looks.
I was able to get a 5.5 (with slippage) and 5.3 sec 0-60 run with 1 passenger in the car and a full tank of 93 octane gas in 80 deg weather.
I did take it a few days later (car was mostly sitting) to the performance shop for a dyno tune, but I discovered a coolant crossover leak! Ripp has you use a RTV gasket you make yourself. After some discussion with the shop, I decided to take it back and redo the RTV coolant gasket (we did not allow enough cure time prior to adding coolant and running engine). So off comes the SC, and applicable hoses, and rework of the RTV gasket and then reinstall everything, including the most difficult of pieces (SC Hat). That part is a P.I.T.A. to take off and put back on! Friction fit and ½” of room to wiggle it on.
I then went for a ride and on my 1st WOT pull, I popped off the downspout elbow (hose) to the Vortec head! I was able to gently get home. I checked for coolant leaks, reattached the charge hose better this time and did another run. This time solo, I ran a 5.1 for my 0-60, with some traction slippage and 80 deg weather and later a 5.0 in 74 deg weather again with some slippage.
So…tires will be on a future upgrade, but the ones I have now are low miles (Eagle Sport A/S) so I can’t justify the money yet. Maybe I’ll look into summer tires, since I do run winter tires on a 2nd set of rims. Maybe at that time I can get wider rims, but I will cross that bridge when I get to it. I am not racing for pink slips, I just wanted to have more fun from time to time. It won’t be driving WOT 24/7 by any means.
I still have a couple of things to finish/ touch up. The engine cover was painted on the vertical stripes (2 left and right). That needs to be cleaned up. I also want to paint the air intake tubing that I tried to polish, it doesn’t fit as a polished piece anymore, with the airbox and elbow now removed.
At this point I am waiting to hear back from the dyno shop to get a reschedule date. So now I have to get a time to get back in for a tune and go from there. Once I have a fresh dyno tune, I can post up final numbers here.
Below are some pics from the install. We did the install over 3 days, but most of day 2 was me replacing all of my Hose Candy hose covers with Flex PET covers. And the first day was really a half day of actual work.
