Originally Posted by LantanaTX
I would be looking at this a different way. If possible it would be easier to replace only the s/c pulley (and a whole lot cheaper). You can usually put a 15% - 19% underdrive pulley on a s/c engine without having to worry about anything else. I would put a solid mounted pulley on the s/c and get rid of the clutched pulley. Just about no other OEM factory system uses a clutched pulley. Maybe Mercedes did this to get better gas mileage. If you research the manufacturer of the supercharger I bet you will find that there are other pulleys out there maybe used in other cars.
I looked into it - thinking that if it could be done someone would have done it.
I spoke with a Supercharger factory rep at a car show (can't recall the company) and posed the same question.
Basically MB will not sacrifice the reliability of their motors - a very important feature to their brand identity. The clutch allows the engine to gain some RPM prior to engaging, this can be eliminated or reduced by the ECU parameters but he claimed I would not be happy having the SC engage prior to 1K RPM - and to shut the SC down prior to overheating - as some forum members have called "sometimes sluggish acceleration" when the HE pump or temp sending unit go bad. With out the clutch - engine damage can occur.
Removing the clutch pulley requires disassembling the SC and removing the shaft - more expensive then an OVPS.
Again, this is what I've been told and I am not an expert on superchargers - this is my first car in over 30 years of driving- and my first supercharger so it's been a learning experience for me.
But I sure love my SRT and think $1,650 or so for 65 HP is not so bad. I can install the pulleys myself so it comes out to $25 or so per HP gain. Not to bad.