I noticed a lot of people asking the same questions that I have been considering for a bit now, which kit should I get the Vortech SC or the Turbonetics ST. So I thought I'd start a thread and hopefully get some good feedback for everyone interested in these kits.

It seems as though they put out comparable power. The Turbonetics puts down a little more WHP and torque (out of the box) but has more potential to crank up the boost down the road. With the Vortech you can bump the pulley and do a fuel system to get more power.

The Vortech has no emission issues and is 50 state legal at least from what I can tell. The Turbonetics however, has no cats so emissions is an issue. They do offer a HF cat version. Yet it remains unknown if that will pass emission tests.

Please post up thoughts, issues etc. Thanks.

 

Turbo.

 

T-nics v. V-sc

More Potential = T-nics
whp out the box = about the same/close
wtorq out the box = T-nics
mantenance = T-nics hasn't been out long enougth..but otherwise turbos typical have little more maint involved then sc.
emissions = depending your area CA=SC, if in an area where it's only OBDII tested, T-nics should pass if it doesn't throw codes.

I would go with Turbonetics Turbo for the potential and torque.

 

Same question I had. After 2 months of research, I went with the Turbonetics ST.
Out of the box Vortech v.s. out of the box ST, there is no comparison. Upgrade pulleys and fuel Vortech v.s. out of the box ST...maybe...but you will be spending around the same amount of money on the supercharger than to the ST.

However, if you just want a decent power increase, simple set it and forget it kit, just do the Vortech.

 

yeah I would do the pulley and some fuel mods if I go Vortech. They seem very comparable that way. Except that the TNetics looks like more value for the $.

 

You know my answer. If the turbonetics would have been out at the time I bought the vortech I would have gone with it. By the time you start adding the costs of all the extras to get more power with the vortech you could have been half way to building the bottom end.

 

i'm from CA and regarding the emission issues, if i go with Turbonetics, so most likely it will not pass emission? What can you do to make it pass? put back the stock cat?

 

Most likely neither of the ST kits (APS or Turbonetics) will ever become carb approved because they mess with the factory cats. If you go ST you will have to go back to stock for emissions.....or pay someone off.

 

There are "ways" around emissions in Cali although none are of course legal. The Turbonetics kit with the high flow cat should pass a sniffer. Something interesting I did hear the other day. Someone I believe in Norcal wnet and got their Z smogged with high flow cats etc. when they got to the smog station all the guy did was plug in the OBDII scanner and check for codes. The guy had none and they just basically pulled the scanner off and asked for some cash. No visual no roller test. Someone else just told me the same thing too....If this is how they are doing the test with no visual or sniffer then you are good to go. The Turbonetics kit includes O2 bung extensions to eliminate any cat code you would have thrown.

 

thanks for the question on emission part. Now another one.

Do i have to buy any addition part to upgrade to get a bit more hp out of it? Do i have to rebuild my engine? are they 100% plug-and-play? Thanks

 

I am sure your experience is true and many of you could have the same experience when getting your car to pass smog. On the other hand, I was amazed to find out how much the fine was for running aftermarket cats according to the laws in California. I suggest to anyone they research the laws and weight the pros/cons when doing anything to your car that effects being smog legal. If you get fined for running illegal cats or no cats, YOU are the one paying those fines or the one paying to return your car to be legal.

Performance has many costs. There is the cost of the products, the cost of installation, the possibility of getting fines, and the issue of reducing the life of your motor. Because of these issues, it is important you know how each of the products you select for your car is affected in these areas. One person might not be a risk taker and could care less about smog or durability; another might be much more concerned about those issues. There is no way another person can tell you how much risk you are comfortable in taking. You must determine your comfort level but base your decisions on research and not ignorance.

 

No not at all. So far the Turbonetics kit has been reliable for me. I cannot speak to the Vortech kit.

 

Yup. The run down with should look some what like this..

Vortech tuner kit ~$3800
9lb pulley ~$65
Emanage ~300
Fuel Pump ~100
440 Injectors ~550
Colder Plugs ~70
------------------------
Total ~$4885

or

Turbonetics ST ~$4800
Colder Plugs ~70
--------------------
Total ~$4870

I recommend fuel return system(~$1000) and CAS wires($75) for both systems.

Dyno from AAM:
Stock
Tuned 9lb Vortech
Turbonetics ST

 

Blue = stock
Red = vortech with 9psi pulley
Green = Turbnetics

 

Thanks, I edited.

 

thanks for all the helpfull info. At first, i am sure that i will go with Vortech but now i'm leaning toward Turbonetics ST.

you mention something about fuel return system(~$1000) and CAS wires, what exactly those 2 will do?

 

You won't be disappointed!!

 

Actually, you don't even need colder plugs to run safely on the Turbonetics kit.

 

i bought the topspeed header last week. About to install it but someone mention that Turbonetics will not fit with TopSpeed header. So which aftermarket header will fit with Turbonetics?

 

+1

And how long does the Vortech SC take to install? That would be another factor i think compared to the 10-12hr install of the Tnetics ST.