Posted: Mar 10 2009 at 7:43am | IP Logged

After getting no advice about whether or not it is safe to disconnect super charger,I asked a couple of local mechanics that I trust.They both concurred that if I could stand the power loss that it would not hurt the engine.I took the belt off of the SC (which also runs the air conditioning) and will closely moniter the gas milage. So far I think I can live with power loss as motor seems to run ok just has less power.

Posted: May 03 2009 at 2:03am | IP Logged

    That does sound a bit low unless you are drag racing at every light?  I haven't driven my 01 S/C Frontier all that much but I got right around 20 mpg in mine on the highway going about 70-80 MPH.  I was happy with that as my 3.0L Hardbody (2WD) got about the same milage, with far less power.  Pulling a boat I can understand the milage being less but you should be over 15 even in the city driving.

    You can't just pull the S/C belt off and disconnect it.  If it didn't spin, there would be a huge obstruction in the air intake of your engine.  I would recommend a K&N intake and/or a free flowing exhaust.  I haven't put one on my Frontier yet but they have dramatically improved power and milage on my other vehicles.  K&N claims nearly 15 HP gains with their intake.  Anything you can do to remove restriction either before or after the engine (intake/exhaust)  will improve its efficiency. 

   Even if you could just remove the supercharger, the engine has a much lower compression ratio to allow for the increased pressure the s/c adds.  The engine would have a lot less power than the N/A 3.3L V-6. 

    The best thing to do for better fuel economy (if everything is working fine with your engine) is a free flowing intake and exhaust and trying to accelerate slower from stop lights.  If it has higher miles, sometimes changing the O2 sensor (s) can help.  Also changing spark plugs and tune up items can help but they only add maybe 1 or 2 mpg.  The K&N would be the best "bang for the buck"- costing about $240 and should get you at least 3 mpg better economy.