Superchargers ?

[Okibi]

Any serious technical discussion of real substance is just not possible here.

Alright then, i'm sure it might go right over most of our heads but what did you want to discuss? There's some very technical people on this forum, most of them are very friendly and kind enough to "dumb it down" for the rest of us.

[KIJIMA]

Okay, its stupid question time.

Since there has been alot of talk about superchargers recently, after reading the thread about fitting one to an NB and with FFS becoming a club sponsor, thus increasing my curiosity I have been giving a supercharger some thought, but I do have questions and would love some reveiws of what the finished product (not nescesarily FFS supercharger) is like to drive from people with experience. So here come the stupid questions.

1. What bits am I going to need? other than the kit itself? ie Diff? etc... Im a little bit dubious thinking that the standard diff will cope with the extra torque.

2. The gains in power and torque suggest approx 40% is that realistic?

3. How does fitting a supercharger transform the driving of the car?

4. And finally the all important question, how large a hole will it leave in my pocket.

1.It will run fine on a stock engine with nothing added. The stock clutch will last until you do a drag strip start. If you road race or AX the car, the clutch will last quite awhile. Necessary items to chenge, none. Recommended things to change, clutch and radiator.

2. The Coldside kit takes you from a typical 110WHP to a etpical 190WHP. That is a gain of 72%.

3. The Coldside lets it drive like stock with a V6 under the hood.

4. Chris will have better numbers for costs in $AUS. In $USD it is $3695 plus shipping.

I hope Chris gets a chance to give you guys a ride when it is done.

Thanks Tom, chris was kind enough to offer a test drive after its finished if he makes it over to Melbourne, I'll keep all my fingers and toes crossed for that! Tom when you say radiator (and clutch) are recommended to be changed, what are the recommendations? And aus-cartalk guys, is there somthing ie alternative aussie built product I should look at?

P.S. I think this thread had another unexpected twist on page 7 too Who cares, just bring it back on to topic.

[Okibi]

There are some rather important issues about where the throttle should go, and how any blow off valve, or air bypass system should function. All production supercharged cars have efficient air bypass systems. None of the kits I have seen do, and it is not difficult..

So Tony, whats your opinion on each and why?

[Fatty]

ok so clearly you want to read things into what i said. i never even hinted that you are full of bullshit. i said you are full of attitude.

seriously what is your issue? i'm sure we could all learn a lot off you, you obviously know what you are talking about. no-one has questionned that!

and yes, please stick around and share your info. we are all here to learn, right ?

[The Pupat]

we're not ALL engineers you know. a lot of the tech talk is over our heads, and we can't make heads or tail of it.

Speak for yourself.

Warpspeed: I've never bothered looking around that forum much, what actually stops people who aren't Professional Engineers posting? Do they make you do a test of your knowledge or Star Trek/Star Wars (including checking that your favorite character is Scotty/Han Solo/Chewbacca).

[Tom @ FFS]

Kijima, Asking which clutch or radiator on a web forum is like asking which wine do you prefer at a wine tasting. ;-) You will get dozens of answers and, mostly, they will be right. In any case, I like the ACT stage 2. The stage one (HD) has a foot pressure like stock but grabs too close to the floor. The stage 2 (XT) grabs closer to the stock position but takes more foot pressure. I have had both and just prefer the XT. In stop and go traffic, it can be a real pain in the, err, leg.

I have had the PWR raidator and now have the Koyo 55mm. Hands down, the Koyo 55 is far superior in taking heat out of the engine. In round numbers, an internal combustion engine is around 25% efficient. That means that 25% of the energy stored in the fuel (BTUs) goes into making power. The other 75% goes into making heat which the radiator is required to remove. When you increase the power in the engine by 75%, you raise the heat induced by 75% as well. Personally, I think the stock radiator is marginal for stock Miatas in locations like Arizona where the summer temps range from 40-50C. The Koyo 55mm allows us to run the AC here in the summer and still beat on the car without having a heat issue. The PWR was way better than stock but not as efficient as the 55 Koyo.

[Tom @ FFS]

Warpspeed, ALL of the Eaton supercharger kits on the market have air bypass systems. The M45 kits from Moss (JR) have an external bypass and the MP62 kits that I sell have it built into the blower. Actually, I am not familiar with ANY after market supercharger kit for the Miata that does not have an air bypass? The Eaton blowers do not have any internal compression (like the Whipple, for example) and, when in the bypass mode, simply cavitate and are along for the ride. That is one of the reasons that our kits drive like stock off boost.

[jolt]

Tom

Is there any way of using an intercooler with your coldside kits? And by intercooler, I mean water-to-air or air-to-air rather than water injection (you use extra fuel in your kits, I think?).

thanks
Rod

[Tom @ FFS]

There is no way to add an intercooler to our coldside kits. We are working on an MP62 hotside kit and it will be able to run an A/A or W/A IC. The Coldside kit appears, at the moment , to be limited to ~210WHP on pump gas. The hotside should be able to make 300+ but I won't be selling those kits as I am in the market for customers with stock engines. I will be selling the base kits ~200WHP and let the customers up the power at there discretion. I think stock engines start to become vulnerable as power crosses the 210WHP threshold. I think I can eek out 225WHP in the coldside for track days with race fuel.

[Fatty]

hey tom, have you looked at using water injection with your kit? or do you find that fuel spray thing does the job as good, or was it just that using fuel instead of water is easier to install as you don't need to add a water reservoir, water lines , pump etc? seems water injection is gaining popularity with some of the miata turbo guys in the usa.

[Tom @ FFS]

The manifold is pre drilled and tapped for water injection. I used it for awhile but found the fuel to be just as good. If you turn the fuel up, you can get the temperature down to ambient. Here is a short video. Http://www.FastForwardSuperchargers.com/Brr.wmv. Note the A/F, boost and intake manifold air temp with changes in e-cool fuel.

However, if you want to ad WI, it is all ready for it.