When you consider that the addition of a very compact supercharger on a very mild engine with stock iron heads made an additional 140 hp at the peak of its power curve representing a 38 percent power increase over normally aspirated-that's plenty impressive. The beauty of this combination is that you can drive it anywhere, and there's always power on demand. You never have to open a valve, refill a bottle, or spend additional money to go fast. Even the initial investment is reasonable at just under $2,500. In addition to the Vortec-head manifold, Magnuson offers this same blower in the more traditional 12-bolt intake-manifold configuration.
Of course, this stimulates conjecture on how this engine would respond with a better set of cylinder heads. Imagine bolting on a set of AFR 195, TFS 195, or Dart Pro 1 200cc heads and a slightly more aggressive camshaft with more lift. While that gets into more coin, the power would be ultra-impressive.
| CAM SPECS |
| Description | Duration (Adv.) (degrees) | Duration (0.050) (degrees) | Lift (inches) | Lobe Separation (degrees) |
| Crane Hyd., Int. | 288 | 226 | 0.488* | 114 |
| PowerMax, Exh. | 296 | 234 | 0.504* | |
| *Stock lift at 1.5:1 rocker ratio is 0.458/0.473. The above lift figures are calculated using a 1.6:1 Crane Gold Race rocker. |
Power Numbers
The following chart and graph illustrate the big difference delivered by the Magnuson supercharger.
Test 1 is the normally aspirated 350ci Chevy with stock Vortec heads, Holley 750 carburetor, 151/48-inch headers, and Flowmaster 211/42-inch mufflers.
Test 2 is the same exact engine except with the addition of the Magna Charger 122ci supercharger.
| | TEST 1 | TEST 2 | | DIFFERENCE | PCT. GAIN |
| RPM | TQ | HP | TQ | HP | Boost (psi) | TQ (psig) | HP | HP |
| 1,800 | - | - | 412 | 162 | 4.9 | - | - | - |
| 2,000 | 333 | 127 | 412 | 162 | 4.9 | 79 | 35 | 24% |
| 2,200 | 323 | 135 | 426 | 178 | 5.3 | 103 | 43 | 32% |
| 2,400 | 335 | 153 | 449 | 205 | 5.7 | 114 | 52 | 34% |
| 2,600 | 352 | 174 | 462 | 229 | 5.9 | 110 | 55 | 31% |
| 2,800 | 366 | 195 | 476 | 254 | 6.1 | 110 | 59 | 30% |
| 3,000 | 377 | 215 | 470 | 268 | 6.2 | 93 | 53 | 25% |
| 3,200 | 385 | 235 | 480 | 292 | 6.3 | 95 | 57 | 24% |
| 3,400 | 393 | 254 | 495 | 320 | 6.5 | 102 | 66 | 26% |
| 3,600 | 400 | 275 | 500 | 343 | 6.5 | 100 | 68 | 25% |
| 3,800 | 406 | 294 | 511 | 370 | 6.4 | 105 | 86 | 26% |
| 4,000 | 410 | 312 | 512* | 390 | 6.3 | 102 | 78 | 25% |
| 4,200 | 411* | 328 | 512 | 410 | 6.2 | 101 | 82 | 24% |
| 4,400 | 407 | 341 | 510 | 427 | 6.2 | 103 | 86 | 25% |
| 4,600 | 400 | 350 | 509 | 445 | 6.1 | 109 | 95 | 27% |
| 4,800 | 390 | 357 | 500 | 457 | 6.1 | 110 | 100 | 28% |
| 5,000 | 380 | 362 | 499 | 475 | 6.1 | 119 | 113 | 31% |
| 5,200 | 370 | 366 | 490 | 485 | 6.2 | 120 | 119 | 32% |
| 5,400 | 359 | 368* | 472 | 485 | 6.4 | 113 | 117 | 31% |
| 5,600 | 345 | 368 | 461 | 491 | 6.6 | 116 | 123 | 33% |
| 5,800 | 330 | 365 | 449 | 496 | 6.8 | 119 | 131 | 36% |
| 6,000 | 318 | 364 | 441 | 504* | 7.1 | 123 | 140 | 38% |
| 6,200 | - | - | 420 | 496 | 7.4* | - | - |
| Avg. | 380 | 257 | 473 | 367 | 6.2 |
| Peak | 411 | 368 | 512 | 504 | 7.4 |
| Power/ci | 1.17 | 1.05 | 1.46 | 1.44 |