Magnuson Supercharger 2K Mile Review and 6K Mile Review
- Thread starter bowhun2r
- Start date
Dinosaur Overland
New member
Does anyone tow with a supercharger? We pull a small camper with ours and hills become mountains pretty quick. Thanks
I'd like to get some feedback on this as well.
We tow a pop-up camper, bicycles, two kids and a dog constantly. Over the Sierra Nevada many times per year.
The truck is a pig for this use (but we still love it).
S4 all day ends the hunting annoyance but god-damn! this truck is underpowered.
Mentioned supercharger (and cost) on the drive yesterday (coming home from Joshua Tree to Bay area) . . . and my wife rolled her eyes . . . and my nine year old mechanically minded boy said LET'S DO IT!!!!
Hmmmm.
Jason
Denso IK22 spark plugs after 30K miles of Supercharged driving
Answers to yo ur questions here. Check spark plugs for gap, lean/rich signs, electrode condition.
If you don’t find your issues there, then check coil packs.
hockeystl
New member
Finally got my SC installed and, wow, it's amazing the difference in power. This is how the 4R should've been powered from the factory. Now have the power to pass on the highway. Also love the whine/wizz of the SC.
Install went mostly smooth. Had to do a slight mod to fit it around the SB cold air intake but not a big deal. My local mechanic charged me $1000, all in and he even filled the tank with high octane 93 (my dumba$$ had just filled the tank with 87 prior to the install...duh.... be sure to empty the tank of 87 BEFORE your install).
One significant problem was the time it took to get the software files for the tune. Emailed Magnuson on Thursday afternoon and didn't get everything we needed until Tuesday morning (after several back and forth emails). Apparently they use a third party to handle the software and that company definitely isn't timely with their responses. Plan accordingly regarding the downtime for your 4R.
Have several photos but have tried, and failed, to edit this post to add the pics.
Copied the links to Flickr where images are hosted without luck.
Install went mostly smooth. Had to do a slight mod to fit it around the SB cold air intake but not a big deal. My local mechanic charged me $1000, all in and he even filled the tank with high octane 93 (my dumba$$ had just filled the tank with 87 prior to the install...duh.... be sure to empty the tank of 87 BEFORE your install).
One significant problem was the time it took to get the software files for the tune. Emailed Magnuson on Thursday afternoon and didn't get everything we needed until Tuesday morning (after several back and forth emails). Apparently they use a third party to handle the software and that company definitely isn't timely with their responses. Plan accordingly regarding the downtime for your 4R.
Have several photos but have tried, and failed, to edit this post to add the pics.
Copied the links to Flickr where images are hosted without luck.
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I really appreciate the reviews on the Magnuson. Question for folks. How does the additional power behave w/the transmission? In previous cars I've tuned additional torque can cause the car to hold on to gears longer when you are trying to "kick down". Does it behave well?
hockeystl
New member
Great, timely question. I came to the forum today to make a follow-up post about this exact topic.
I have a Sprint Booster pedal commander installed and was having some very weird transmission shift issues the past couple weeks since installing the Magnuson. I was running the Booster at Red 5, one of the higher settings. Turns out this was messing with the transmission so I dialed back to Green 7 and the bizarre shifting issues have stopped.
aggrobot
New member
It sounds like your SB is not playing nicely with the SC tune. This sort of makes sense. All those pedal commanders do is remap your throttle input. You press down a little, it sends a signal as though youre flooring it. Thats it. This behavior can be replicated with an ECU retune, and probably should. You have your own VFTuner license which came with the S/C kit, and you also have the hardware. Id consider reaching out to tuner of your choice to have it all baked in to a single solution.
aggrobot
New member
I spoke with a local 4runner tuner about this. MY 20+ have TCM control, earlier models do not. While older model years will “hunt” less frequently as they have more torque to lean on before downshifting, youre still leaning on the original ECU tune for this. Anecdotal experiences have been that it hunts less and is much improved.
Eyeballing this kit myself for next spring.
Jealous of the $1k install price, wish I can find a shop in the SF Bay Area that would do it for that price.
Also I have 2023 so can't even purchase one yet until CARB is approved...patiently waiting...
Also I have 2023 so can't even purchase one yet until CARB is approved...patiently waiting...
Finally got my SC installed and, wow, it's amazing the difference in power. This is how the 4R should've been powered from the factory. Now have the power to pass on the highway. Also love the whine/wizz of the SC.
Install went mostly smooth. Had to do a slight mod to fit it around the SB cold air intake but not a big deal. My local mechanic charged me $1000, all in and he even filled the tank with high octane 93 (my dumba$$ had just filled the tank with 87 prior to the install...duh.... be sure to empty the tank of 87 BEFORE your install).
One significant problem was the time it took to get the software files for the tune. Emailed Magnuson on Thursday afternoon and didn't get everything we needed until Tuesday morning (after several back and forth emails). Apparently they use a third party to handle the software and that company definitely isn't timely with their responses. Plan accordingly regarding the downtime for your 4R.
Have several photos but have tried, and failed, to edit this post to add the pics.
2021nightshade4x4
New member
Why would anyone need a Sprint Booster with the SC?
SB gives PERCEPTION of power whereas SC is giving you actual power.
Sell it!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
aggrobot
New member
It’s a great question I cannot answer, but my guess is the tune with the SC kit already does this at some level, and the SB is just pushing too high. I agree with you.
All SB does is amplify the DBW input signal by some factor dependent on the mode you select. You do not need and should not use SB with a tuned ECU. The tune actually changes the the hysteresis between throttle pedal input and throttle plate output.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgln9L5Y7sQ
You can watch this for a basic understanding of DBW and then apply the logic of amplifying the signal to understand what SB does. Basically if your pedal input and stock ecu tuning results in 3 volts, the SB is making it 3.3 or 3.5 or 4 or whatever volts so that you actually get more throttle plate opening at the same pedal position.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgln9L5Y7sQ
You can watch this for a basic understanding of DBW and then apply the logic of amplifying the signal to understand what SB does. Basically if your pedal input and stock ecu tuning results in 3 volts, the SB is making it 3.3 or 3.5 or 4 or whatever volts so that you actually get more throttle plate opening at the same pedal position.
hockeystl
New member
Had the SB installed for about a year before I got the SC. That's why I had both. Yes, best to sell it now...
I saw this and figured I would join and chime in. I installed my Mag SC on my 2017 about a year ago while the truck was at a nice broken in 85k miles. I was debating on lower gears or SC.. went SC and still my add lower gears
Now she is at 105k and I have never regretted the decision. I have a 3" OME suspension lift at Medium weight, full RCI under carriage armor, Full length Goby Rack and a southern style Slim line with approach "flares."
It is on stock rims (still have not chosen a good wheel) and 285/75/17 Ridge Grapplers
All that weight hurts and the SC made it to where i can keep up with minivans now! Joking aside.. worth it but here is an honest pro/con at 20k
Pro
- Much MUCH better performance
- Towing MUCH better. I still keep in in S to stay out of 5th but it defiantly does not struggle like it used to. I Lug approx 4k worth of trailer + Kubota BX1880 tractor every now and then as well as work trailers as needed for Oil/gas operations. Always fun to take it on some of those "terrible" rig roads
- I love the sound way too much (see con #1)
- Can be a con but she gets a lot of attention from people. It is always fun to BS with other 4runner owners about their rigs though
- I can notice the power on some trails (especially around Pala Duro canyon) with steep inclines. For the most part you don't get into the power band but when you do it is appreciated.
Now for those Cons
- I LOVE that sound.... and My MPG with all my mods and weight is a solid 12MPG. Highway.. city.. 12. Most of this has to do with the lift and added weight but even before the SC i went from 14.5 to 12. I tend to get on it a bit so my fault and I set the cruse at 80-85 on the Texas open roads. 85 is pushing it because it gets so noisy with the lift/tires.
- Granted it was at 85k but about 5k after the install the Secondary Air Pump went out. Could be timing but that extra flow tends to put extra ware on your Emissions.
- Premium gas of course
- EDIT.. i forgot you need to let it warm up for a few min before you "goose" (as you should) If you don't it will be a little wonky and shift at lower rpms from first to second.
Now she is at 105k and I have never regretted the decision. I have a 3" OME suspension lift at Medium weight, full RCI under carriage armor, Full length Goby Rack and a southern style Slim line with approach "flares."
It is on stock rims (still have not chosen a good wheel) and 285/75/17 Ridge Grapplers
All that weight hurts and the SC made it to where i can keep up with minivans now! Joking aside.. worth it but here is an honest pro/con at 20k
Pro
- Much MUCH better performance
- Towing MUCH better. I still keep in in S to stay out of 5th but it defiantly does not struggle like it used to. I Lug approx 4k worth of trailer + Kubota BX1880 tractor every now and then as well as work trailers as needed for Oil/gas operations. Always fun to take it on some of those "terrible" rig roads
- I love the sound way too much (see con #1)
- Can be a con but she gets a lot of attention from people. It is always fun to BS with other 4runner owners about their rigs though
- I can notice the power on some trails (especially around Pala Duro canyon) with steep inclines. For the most part you don't get into the power band but when you do it is appreciated.
Now for those Cons
- I LOVE that sound.... and My MPG with all my mods and weight is a solid 12MPG. Highway.. city.. 12. Most of this has to do with the lift and added weight but even before the SC i went from 14.5 to 12. I tend to get on it a bit so my fault and I set the cruse at 80-85 on the Texas open roads. 85 is pushing it because it gets so noisy with the lift/tires.
- Granted it was at 85k but about 5k after the install the Secondary Air Pump went out. Could be timing but that extra flow tends to put extra ware on your Emissions.
- Premium gas of course
- EDIT.. i forgot you need to let it warm up for a few min before you "goose" (as you should) If you don't it will be a little wonky and shift at lower rpms from first to second.
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Great review. Question I haven’t heard others talk about. Does the transmission change its shift points and shift ‘earlier’ with the new power? In my last car, a tuned s/c Audi suv, when I added (a lot) of power over stock it caused the transmission to shift much earlier because it was getting confused. It thought I was being mellow with the throttle so it should granny shift. Does the 4r transmission do the same thing with the big bump in power? (edit: I just re-read the entire thread and noticed I'd asked this question previously. Question still stands though as I haven't heard much about the nuances of how shift patterns are changing)
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I skimmed through this thread but thought I'd add my experience. I've got a 2019 off road premium, on 285s with kings. I'm in Alabama but spend a lot of time out west and power wise my 4runner was a dog in the mountains when loaded with camping/fishing gear. My first step was to re-gear, went with east coast gear 4.56s and it helped some but not as much as I'd hoped. I just continued on like that for a while then about 100k miles ago I installed a Magnuson supercharger. It made a much more noticeable difference. It now seems more like I'd expected it to be from Toyota. With just the lift and 285s, it struggled on grades and was constantly gear finding/downshifting. It still does some of that but not near as pronounced and passing at speed is much easier. Overall I'm happy with the changes, cost is crazy high but for me the driving improvement was worth it.
I noticed someone mentioned having to use premium fuel which I've done since it was installed. Magnuson states 92 octane or above, well many places out west premium is 91 and occasionally 90. I've not noticed a bit of difference in fuel consumption and I've not had any knocking.
I'm just shy of 200k miles with the last 100k supercharged and I'm still happy with the truck. Thus far it's never left me, other than wear items no repairs. I just rebuilt the kings because the eyelet bearings were bad/squeaking and I'm considering changing out the wheel bearings as they are the originals but still tight and quiet.
I tried to post performance data from my obd2, before and after supercharger. Standing start, accelerator to the floor and let off as I passed 60mph. Not real scientific but you can see a significant improvement.
I noticed someone mentioned having to use premium fuel which I've done since it was installed. Magnuson states 92 octane or above, well many places out west premium is 91 and occasionally 90. I've not noticed a bit of difference in fuel consumption and I've not had any knocking.
I'm just shy of 200k miles with the last 100k supercharged and I'm still happy with the truck. Thus far it's never left me, other than wear items no repairs. I just rebuilt the kings because the eyelet bearings were bad/squeaking and I'm considering changing out the wheel bearings as they are the originals but still tight and quiet.
I tried to post performance data from my obd2, before and after supercharger. Standing start, accelerator to the floor and let off as I passed 60mph. Not real scientific but you can see a significant improvement.
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I edited my "con" for this, but the answer is yes and no. It Defiantly needs to "warm up" for about 5 mins before it really uses the higher rpms. If i leave the office (directly onto a 60+ road) and goose it when its not warm it will be a bit wonky and shift at 5k killing power a bit. If it warms up and I goose it going onto the highway it has no issues revving up the 6k before shifts. For the most part the 5spd is solid with the mod.
