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From Chris
Weisberg of Works Power:
As far as the connection between Autorotor, Lysholm, and Whipple: Mr. Alf
Lysholm invented the screw supercharger many years ago. Lysholm company
today still owns the rights to the design. Whipple imports true Lysholm
superchargers. Autorotor builds their superchargers under license from
Lysholm. Kenne/Bell imports Autorotors.
We chose the "Whipplecharger" (the Lysholm) for several reasons: One was
the quality of the supercharger itself. Lysholm invented the screw blower,
so we think it is safe to say they know more about how to build them than
others. Additionally, in 1998 Eaton Corporation obtained license from
Lysholm to build screw compressors. Eaton has shared much of their
technology pertaining to building reliable and efficient automotive
superchargers with Lysholm. As a result, Lysholms (Whipples) now use Eaton
bearings, shafts, and gears. This makes us feel comfortable about the
unit, since Eaton spent millions of dollars developing reliable bearings
and gear tooth profiles during the inception of Eaton's supercharger
division. The auto manufacturers must feel the same way we do, because
some are gearing up to use these Lysholm-based Eatons on production
vehicles in the near future. Mercury Marine is already on board, and now
so are Saleen, Comptech, and others. From what we've seen on the new
GT-40, Ford is getting involved too. Through Eaton's involvement these
superchargers are QS-9000 certified (QS-9000 is the common supplier
quality standard for DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and
General Motors Corporation). According to Autorotor's website the
Autorotors are not
QS-certifiable.
The other main reason we went with Whipple also had to do with quality -
of the importer. We visited Whipple Industries and were impressed with the
facility and the crew. They have a good reputation and we've been pleased
with their performance as a vendor. Some end users may not be concerned
with the vendor(s) upstream of the retailer where they purchase their
goods, but if/when there is a service issue, or a repair needed, or a
warranty defect which needs to be stood behind, it gets old pretty quickly
to hear even the friendliest retailer saying "I don't know, I still have
no word back yet from my supplier" (or worse). With Eaton involved, the
issue is not mechanical reliability or efficiency, and with Whipple
supplying the superchargers, as far as I am concerned, neither is customer
service.
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