New 2004 SC'd Monte SS

What do you all think about this new SS? Worth getting one? Or forget about it?

Oh yes, specially with pully upgrades and better breathing for the engine. Should be a pretty peppy car!

I've never driven a supercharged car before. So obviously, I'm not too familiar with them. What's it gonna be like? When does the supercharger kick in? Does it depend on how much throttle you're giving it or is the power always there at easy disposal? Is it gonna be like driving a V-8? THOSE, I've driven pleny of :biggrin: but never a car with a supercharger. Thanx.

If youve driven in a turbocharged car, you might have experienced "turbo lag," which is the time it takes the TC to "spool up."

Superchargers are driven from the accessory drive belt, and are always spinning, therefore no lag. However, superchargers generally dont have the power in top end speed that turbos do. SC are better than turbos in my opinion, no backpressure, and no lag. Also, you are pushed into your seat a bit harder under WOT.


Yes, I am looking into a SC SS actually.

OK, cool. So this SC is always spinning with the belt so when you punch it, the SC blows more air into the engine than it would get without the SC? Is that right? Hence, more power?

Hmm, this sounds like a excellent car to replace my Blazer Xtreme with. I love my Blazer alot, but I could use "more power" hehe. Sounds like Tim Allen.

Also, one thing I hate about the Blazer, or any GM truck for that matter, they are always limited to 97 MPH. I've seen a 120 mile speedo on the "regular" Monte SS, I hope they don't still limit it to 97 MPH.....especially with a SC. Also, I like that the Monte has ALL the analog gagues you need (speedo, tach, gas, oil, temp, volts.) you don't see that too often in cars except for the Mustang. That's the MAIN reason I've stuck with trucks and SUV's. I hate when all you get besides the speedo is a gas and temp gague, how cheap is that? Bunch of dummy lights. Gay. And it seems this SC'd Monte even adds a boost gague, too.

Now what about the FWD? I don't care if it's FWD, RWD or AWD. It's just that the longest I've drivin a FWD at one time is like 6 months. I've heard the term "torque steer" thrown around a little and that it's a bad thing. Can you explain this a little, please? Am I gonna see a big difference when I go from a RWD Blazer to a FWD car?

Sorry for the stupidity, I'm just used to RWD cars, trucks and SUV's. That's all I've drivin for years....

Alright, your right on with the concept of superchargers!

As for torque steer, that it when under heavy acceleration in a FWD car, it is difficult to turn because the front wheels have so much power going to them, that they don't want to turn. This only effects the car at high speeds and heavy acceleration.

Also, I'm sure that the speedo will go past 100. My cousins Regal GS (supercharged also) has a fair amount of torque steer, and the speedo says 120, but I've been with him when he has gone to about 107 I think. That is where the governer is, I believe.

turbo's are much more efficiant and can generate alot more power than a supercharger. a super charger is run off the aux drive belt and put a load on the engine. usually anywhere from 5-15 % this is bad. sure you have instant boost, but the top end isnt there. if your shooting for a 1/4 mile car a supercharger is for you. but if you want to race on the highway and go into that 120 range a turbo is what you need. Turbo's are exhaust driven. Which means exhaust fumes come out of the exhaust manafold and are directed into the turbo and spool the turbo up. Spooling the turbo causes the compressor wheel in the turbo to compress air and shoot it into your intake manifold(or intercooler then to the intake mani) providing boost. Turbos do have a small window of lag but with the right trim and wheels you can get one that you wouldnt even notice. Since turbos are run off of exhaust. They are taking the wasted energy of the exhaust and using it to produce boost. Thus turning a negative into a positive. and personally there is nothing like the feeling of a turbo spooling up and then dumping the boost to create power that will throm you in your seat at 80 miles an hour. lol its cool. Well everyone has thier own opinion about turbos and superchargers. you will just have to decide for yourself. i have a 2000 monte and am going to in the neer future turbo it. thanks for your time. damon

Very True Damon, and good points all around.

However, It's not exactly legal to go 120mph, so it is a bit foolish IMO, unless you plan to circuit race your car. A SC is All you need for basic everyday driving.

Also, you act as if the turbo has no side effects. You say that the SC puts a strain on the engine, well, the turbo does the same thing. The length of exhaust manifold going to the turbo gets extremely hot, and builds pressure until it can make the torbo spool up. That is called backpressure, very bad. TC and SC both have advantages, and disadvantages, and it is a matter of opinion as to which you like.

I'll stick with a Supercharger, myself.

ok that is true, and I guess a super charger is for more low speed accel than anything else. But ill take my turbo and go home. Thanks. Peace and fast cars for everyone

Me 2 Damon, I'm looking into turbo for my 01 SS. Maybe we could talk? Two of us talking to the same company would be better. I've already chatted with ItsTurbo about one.
E-mail me : [email protected]
or AIM : PlayBoi 465

Yeah, GM finally gave Chevy access to the SC 3800 Series II V6.
Meanwhile they were developing the Series III with 20 more HP that debuted in the 04 GTP.

The lack of a SC V6 car in the Chevy line-up in 2001 was the SINGLE reason I bought a Grand Prix GTP.

Definitely get the SC SS, you won't be sorry.

Agreed sounds like a fun car to drive

it's about time GM gave the monte carlo a supercharger! the SS without it is just.. sick. not worthy of it's badging.

anyone who wants to know all about super chargers and turbos and turbochargers ( best of both worlds ) should check out howstuffworks.com

no car is worth buying new. they all lose 1,000's of $$ in value as soon as you leave the parking lot. wait until 2005 to buy a 2004 SS wit 5,000mi on it for $4,000 less.

I think that it will be a sweet car. It'll be a fun car to drive too. It has awesome styling, and some more power now.

is it possible to put a turbo and supercharger under one hood

Three things are necessary to do that, guest.

1)Time
2)money
3)You need room under the hood to house all that added stuff.

Man that would be pain in the a$$ plus the turbo lag would just confuse the hell out of me with a supercharger man I dont even think that would be worth the money I would just stick with either a supercharger OR a turbo(s) not both I prefer superchargers myself :smooch:

What do you all think about this new SS? Worth getting one? Or forget about it?


As an owner of a 2003 Monte Carlo, equipped with the 3800 V6. I would like to pass this on. I have just received a recall notice from General Motors stating they have decided that certain of the vehicles above may have a condition in which engine coolant may leak at the upper intake manifold throttle body gasket, or at the upper intake manifold to lower intake manifold gasket. This condition may result in a low engine coolant level and higher engine operating temperatures. Here is the fix! Dealers are to replace the three throttle body fastener nuts and add cooling system sealant to the radiator tank. The ingredient in the coolant supplement is ground up ginger root and walnut shells. A great band aid approach to maintenance and a return to the 1970's in QUALITY!!

I'd rather have the new Intimidator SS. It's dressed up with Dale Earnhardt things, and looks pretty good to me.

After GM's band aid approach to fixing an obvious defect in the 2000-2003 Monte Carlo SS along with other GM production 3.8 V6 engines cooling systems. My vote is to avoid the 2004. GM needs to learn that the American consumer will not tolerate this approach to quality, or should I say “Lack of Quality”. GM and Chevrolet apparently feel they can live on the past reputation of the Monte Carlo SS muscle cars of the days gone by. This seems to be the approach they are using to boost profits at our expense! The “Band Aid fix they are using (adding crushed nuts and roots to the cooling system as a sealant) will most likely get them the 36/36 warranty they have. Please note most auto makers now offer much longer warranties on their power trains, while GM only offers the minimum industry standard across the board. Unfortunately the purchase of a new vehicle was a major expense to me (as it is for most Americans) and I’m stuck with the SS for the next couple of years. When I can financially afford to unload it I will replace it with a NON GM PRODUCT! Most likely an import if they maintain the quality and warranties they currently have!

C-130load, while I do empathize with you on your plight with GM quality, do note that we are discussing two different engines here. Your complaint lies with the L36. The L67 does not have those cooling problems.

can someone post a link to the recall on the low coolant problem.. cause the low coolant light keeps coming on in my step moms and her coolant is fine.. thanks

Also, one thing I hate about the Blazer, or any GM truck for that matter, they are always limited to 97 MPH. I've seen a 120 mile speedo on the "regular" Monte SS, I hope they don't still limit it to 97 MPH.....especially with a SC.

My 2K SS has 140 on the dash and I got to 119 before I got off of the pedal. I would expect the same of the SC if not more.

you can always get them chipped or reprogramed to shut off at a faster speed... so why should this matter so much.. its only like 50 bucks for someone to reprogram it.. or buy the stuff yourself? am i right or wrong? Most people go my there tire rating.. if they have a rating off 140 you can have them reprogram it to 140 to be safe..

if you wanted to know... there is no governer on a 01 monte ss. my spedo goes to 140 but i can only manage to get about 130/131 out of it. it dosent have enough power to pull out the revs in high gear only about 5400, but with the supercharger it shouldnt be a problem

I'd rather have the new Intimidator SS. It's dressed up with Dale Earnhardt things, and looks pretty good to me.
Tman, The wife just got herself an 04 Intimidator SS and it is such a fun car. It looks great, rides great and has a huge (Like Enormous!) trunk. Drive it like the masses on the interstate and you'll get 27 MPG or turn off the traction control and turn the goodyears into sticky goo. People can say what they want about GM quality, but I'm more than satisfied with it. She dropped 24 large for it and I nearly choked, but I've always been the cheap one. Still, I really like it and we get lots of compliments on it. If you want all the performance and would like to save 4 thou, just drop the NASCAR package and you're in there. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

is it possible to put a turbo and supercharger under one hood
Doesn't quite work like that, friend. Turbo's and SC's do the same thing, they put more air in the intake manifold than the atmosphere could normally provide. 5 PSI of boost is 5 pounds per square inch more air than the atmosphere. So more air equals more fuel down the hatch and hence more power. But they only go so high. A turbo has a wastegate that lets off pressure when it gets too high otherwise there would be too much air in the cylinder and the compression ratio goes too high. Turbo and SC engines are built with lower compression ratio's (maybe 8 to 1) so that when the extra air comes in, the compression ratio climbs to 9 or maybe 9.5 to one. More than that, it will begin to predetonate (ping) and bent connecting rods are right around the corner. You would need higher octane fuel to keep this from happening and the Monte SS already needs 91 Octane for this reason. Really hot street rods with 12 to 1 ratio's need that octane booster or they predetonate and make lousy power. So if your experiment worked and you put a turbo on a SC engine, the SC would make 6 PSI and the Turbo would make 6 PSI, but the waste gate would open at 7 PSI and all the rest of the air gets dumped overboard. That's a good thing because 12 PSI would probably need that purple racing stuff or the engine would grenade on you.

there was a camaro drag car that had 2 roots type blowers and 2 turbochargers. not sure what fuel it ran on though, although I'm sure it wasn't something you can buy at the local citgo.

T-man,
Yeah, there's lots of methods out there, but your earlier post said it all. "Money, Time and a place for it all." Mostly the money. Did you ever see the 57 Chevy some clown put 8 little turbo's on? Made a zillion horsepower for the magazine, but is probably in a shed more than on the street. Talk about a pile of money. Basic engine science says (for guys on the street buying fuel from the 7-11) you would have precious little to gain from a combo of two systems and much to lose in terms of money and time. Besides, you would have to start really low for compression and it would have to be built strong to accommodate the increased compression from both a turbo and a Supercharger.
Egads, we've spent a lot of time discussing a dumb idea! Got any ideas for cowl induction on my roadmaster wagon? I put a post up on the Buick Roadmaster forum.

tman, the stock gp only goes to 107 to....:(

quest36...ever heard of the detroit diesels back in the day? they had both, the turbo blowing right into the supercharger.....way cool!!! but has anyone heard about the sts remote mount turbo setups?? reduces heat more efficiently, so no hot tubes under the hood, the longer charge pipe acts as an intercooler without buying the intercooler, and there is no more muffler, the turbo goes there. an ingenious idea i do say.
www.ststurbo.com for more information and concepts!

quest36...ever heard of the detroit diesels back in the day? they had both, the turbo blowing right into the supercharger.....way cool!!! but has anyone heard about the sts remote mount turbo setups?? reduces heat more efficiently, so no hot tubes under the hood, the longer charge pipe acts as an intercooler without buying the intercooler, and there is no more muffler, the turbo goes there. an ingenious idea i do say.
www.ststurbo.com for more information and concepts!