Dodge Challenger Hemi Supercharger: Off-Season Install

A Dodge Challenger Hemi supercharger is the single biggest power upgrade you can make to a 5.7L, 6.1L, or 6.4L Mopar, and the off-season is the right time to install one. A supercharged, rear-drive muscle car has no business on salted winter roads, so the Challenger, Charger, or Chrysler 300 is already tucked in the garage — which is exactly the multi-day downtime a forced-induction build needs. At our Tampa, FL shop we schedule these boost projects through the cold months so the car rolls out dyno-tuned and broken in for the first warm weekend of spring. This guide walks through what an Edelbrock E-Force system adds, which kit fits your engine, and how the install actually goes.

Why the Off-Season Is the Best Time to Supercharge a Hemi

Winter is the ideal time to supercharge a Hemi because the car is already off the road and the install requires days, not hours. A supercharger swap on an LX/LC platform (Challenger, Charger, 300) involves pulling the factory intake, mounting the blower assembly, plumbing an air-to-water intercooler circuit, and — on 2015-and-later cars — shipping the ECM to Edelbrock for a mandatory 8–10 day modification. Trying to compress that into a summer weekend means your muscle car sits dead during driving season.

Cold-weather logic also protects the car itself. Road salt and slush are brutal on a Hemi’s underbody, brake hardware, and wheels, and traction-limited winter surfaces are the last place you want an extra 100–200 horsepower. Parking the car from the first freeze through early spring turns dead time into build time. Budget the calendar realistically: order the kit, allow shipping for a freight-class (LTL) pallet, block a full weekend for the mechanical install, and overlap the ECM turnaround so nothing is waiting on anything else.

Because these are special-order forced-induction systems, we recommend ordering early in the season. Browse the full lineup in our supercharger collection and lock in your engine-specific kit before the winter build queue fills up.

How Much Power Does an Edelbrock Hemi Supercharger Add?

An Edelbrock E-Force supercharger transforms a naturally aspirated Hemi into a forced-induction street car with documented rear-wheel numbers. The 6.4L 392 kit (part #15172) is rated at 572 rwhp and 531 rwtq at the rear wheels — a massive jump over the roughly 485 crank horsepower the 392 makes stock. The earlier 2011–2014 5.7L kit (#1534) is rated at 471 rwhp and 475 rwtq, and the 6.1L SRT8 kit (#1536) is rated at 556 horsepower and 501 ft-lbs at the flywheel, up from the factory 425.

The reason those numbers stay streetable is the hardware. Edelbrock’s current systems use the Eaton Gen VI R2650 TVS rotor assembly — a four-lobe design with 170 degrees of twist that maximizes flow while keeping intake air temperatures and noise low. An integrated bypass valve nearly eliminates parasitic loss under light throttle, so cruising and fuel economy stay close to stock. Air charge is cooled by Edelbrock’s patented DP-3C (Dual-Pass Three Core) intercooler, which routes the intake charge through the core twice and adds 45% more surface area than conventional designs for lower, more consistent air temps.

The top-pick 2015–2018 5.7L E-Force kit (#1517) uses that same larger R2650 TVS blower and DP-3C intercooler as the 572-rwhp 6.4L system. Because the earlier 5.7L kit already made 471 rwhp on the smaller Eaton 2300 rotor, the current 5.7L system — running the bigger R2650 — comfortably meets or beats that 471-rwhp mark while keeping the daily-driver manners the platform is known for. It is engineered to increase low-end torque first, which is what makes a 4,200-lb Challenger feel genuinely quick, not just peaky at the top.

Edelbrock Hemi Supercharger Kits Compared

Here is how the four Edelbrock E-Force kits we stock for the Mopar Hemi line up. Every kit ships as a complete street system; match the kit to your exact engine and year before you order.

The Kits We Recommend for a Winter Hemi Build

The E-Force 2650 TVS is our top pick for 2015–2018 R/T owners. It pairs the Eaton R2650 TVS blower with the DP-3C dual-pass intercooler and fits under the factory hood, so the car keeps its stock silhouette. On 2015-and-later cars the ECM must be sent to Edelbrock for modification, which is why we start these builds early in the off-season.

Already have a 392? This is the big one: 572 rwhp and 531 rwtq at the rear wheels from the same R2650 TVS platform, with an air-to-water intercooler and low-temp heat exchanger keeping charge temps in check. Fitment covers Scat Pack, 392, and SRT cars from 2015–2018.

For first-gen LX SRT8 cars, the 6.1L kit is rated 556 horsepower and 501 ft-lbs at the flywheel — a huge wake-up for the 425-hp SRT8 — with little to no decrease in fuel economy thanks to the bypass valve. It is the answer for owners keeping an early SRT8 and building it right over the winter.

The most affordable way into boost on a second-gen 5.7L car. Rated 471 rwhp and 475 rwtq using the Eaton Gen VI 2300 rotor assembly, it delivers the biggest bang-for-buck jump in this lineup and installs the same way as its bigger siblings.

How to Install an Edelbrock Supercharger on Your Hemi

Installing an Edelbrock E-Force supercharger is an advanced, shop-level job that takes a full weekend of mechanical work plus the ECM turnaround — which is exactly why the off-season suits it. The steps below outline the process so you can plan the build; if you are not comfortable pulling an intake manifold and plumbing an intercooler circuit, our Tampa shop handles these installs start to finish.

Step 1: Plan the Build and Order Early

Order the engine-correct kit and the matching tuner at the start of winter. These systems ship freight (LTL) on a pallet, and 2015-and-later kits require the ECM to be sent to Edelbrock for an 8–10 day modification, handled with next-day shipping on each leg. Overlap that turnaround with your mechanical work so the car is never just waiting.

Step 2: Disconnect the Battery and Strip the Top End

Disconnect the battery, drain the cooling system, and remove the factory intake manifold, throttle body, and any components in the way. Winter garage downtime means you can take your time labeling connectors and keeping the bay organized instead of rushing.

Step 3: Mount the Supercharger Assembly

Set the R2650 TVS supercharger/manifold assembly onto the engine with the supplied hardware. Edelbrock’s inlet configuration is designed to be short and low-profile so the complete system clears the stock hood — no cowl hood or body modification required on these kits.

Step 4: Plumb the Intercooler Circuit

Install the air-to-water intercooler system: the front-mounted low-temp heat exchanger, the coolant pump, the reservoir, and the connecting lines. This dedicated circuit is what holds intake air temperatures down through repeated pulls, and it is the part most worth taking your time on.

Step 5: Fuel, Belt, and Final Assembly

Fit the supplied fuel-system components, route the accessory belt through the new tensioner path, and reconnect everything you labeled in Step 2. Double-check torque specs on the blower mounting hardware and every coolant fitting before first start.

Step 6: Flash the Tune, Prime, and Break In

Reinstall the Edelbrock-modified ECM or load the supplied handheld program, refill and bleed both cooling circuits, and prime the intercooler loop. Do a leak-check start, then complete the break-in and a dyno verification pull before the car sees a public road. Done over winter, the car is validated and ready for the first warm weekend of spring.

Edelbrock E-Force Supercharger: Pros and Cons