Yes, if you are in the wrong supercharger gear it may knock off a LOT of the planes performance. For instance, if you fly the F4U at sea level with SC gear 3, you'll lose about 100 km/h and 5 m/s in climb - that hurts a lot, it makes the plane worse than an A6M.
Also, in a higher supercharger gear you have the tendency to overheat more. So it's better to apply a little bit more power in a lower gear than to apply less power in a higher gear for as long as you can set power higher to maintain the desired performance. Of course, if you need 100% of the performance, you don't have that choice, but for cruising it should be considered.
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