Procharger vs Turbonetics? - Advantages/Disadvantages?
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Procharger vs Turbonetics? - Advantages/Disadvantages?
I have a 2005 STOCK 350Z Perormance Edition with a 6 speed manual tranny.
I have it narrowed down to either a Turbonetics ST or a Procharger.
Turbonetics Advantages
1 - More power on a stock car at stock boost
2- Quieter at idle
3 - ECU reflash for safe a/f, retards timing under boost, and overboost protection
Turbonetics Disadvantages
1 - Have to punch hole in oil pan
2 - Have to send ECU to Turbonetics to reflash = downtime
Procharger Advantages
1 - Easiest to Install and go back to stock, no hole in oil pan to punch
2 - Don't have to send ECU in, just has a FMU
3 - Can install and drive same day, no downtime
Procharger Disadvantages
1 - LOUD at idle
2 - Less power and torque out of the box
3 - Does not pull timing under boost
What do you guys think the better choice is for my DAILY DRIVER as far as reliability goes?
Which is the safer kit on a stock engine out of the box?
Thnaks,
Howard
I have it narrowed down to either a Turbonetics ST or a Procharger.
Turbonetics Advantages
1 - More power on a stock car at stock boost
2- Quieter at idle
3 - ECU reflash for safe a/f, retards timing under boost, and overboost protection
Turbonetics Disadvantages
1 - Have to punch hole in oil pan
2 - Have to send ECU to Turbonetics to reflash = downtime
Procharger Advantages
1 - Easiest to Install and go back to stock, no hole in oil pan to punch
2 - Don't have to send ECU in, just has a FMU
3 - Can install and drive same day, no downtime
Procharger Disadvantages
1 - LOUD at idle
2 - Less power and torque out of the box
3 - Does not pull timing under boost
What do you guys think the better choice is for my DAILY DRIVER as far as reliability goes?
Which is the safer kit on a stock engine out of the box?
Thnaks,
Howard
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there's no downtime in sending the ECU off if you logistically plan it:
aka, you can't drive your car while it takes you a minimum of 2 days to install the kit, so send out the ECU while you install the kit. It's back within 2 days.
Don't have to punch a hole in anything, buy the JWT oil pan spacer. BAM, problem solved.
I'd heard of a LOT of prochargers popping motors....and not many people on this board run 'em.
I think safer out of the box is going to be the turbonetics. in my opinion, just using an FMU for management certainly doesn't cut it.
aka, you can't drive your car while it takes you a minimum of 2 days to install the kit, so send out the ECU while you install the kit. It's back within 2 days.
Don't have to punch a hole in anything, buy the JWT oil pan spacer. BAM, problem solved.
I'd heard of a LOT of prochargers popping motors....and not many people on this board run 'em.
I think safer out of the box is going to be the turbonetics. in my opinion, just using an FMU for management certainly doesn't cut it.
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JWT sells this...its jsut a spacer. I'd suggest Turbonetics. I feel like a lot of people get SC only to get disapointed by it and get turbo. However, procharger has a lot of power potential. Also if ur running at 400rwhp on procharger...the sc it self requires 50or so hp to run..ur stressing ur engine more.
#6
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between the TN kit and the procharger, I'd get the TN kit
the procharger is nice and can make some good power, but I'd only do it if you're going to push the kit and make some bigger power. The TN kit will satisfy you out of the box where I'm not sure the stock procharger would.
yeah the supercharger has some parasitic losses, but I think that vs the higher torque levels hitting on the rods at 3500-4000 rpms with the turbo, i'd say there's equal risk to hurting the engine. The procharger will feel like it has medium power in the midrange vs the TN's huge midrange power. The procharger only starts to have some advantages over the TN kit when you start upping the boost on it a lot - in which case the low and high rpms will feel nice and strong with a medium midrange. While the TN kit will probably feel a little more flat in the upper rpm range because the torque usually starts dropping like a rock after 5000 rpms
Also it's not like you can upgrade the procharger a whole lot (that I know of) other than changing the pulley. You can't upgrade the blower, and if you could the bracket holding the blower and pulleys is not strong enough and will bend. The TN kit has a lot more potential.
tapping the oil pan is not a big deal. Newbies seem to be scared of it when really every kit needs to tap into the engine oil in some way. Get a oil pan spacer and tap that or get an APS pan that's already tapped. Even if you tap the block, no big deal - you can get it fixed/welded up later on if you did go back to stock
the procharger is nice and can make some good power, but I'd only do it if you're going to push the kit and make some bigger power. The TN kit will satisfy you out of the box where I'm not sure the stock procharger would.
yeah the supercharger has some parasitic losses, but I think that vs the higher torque levels hitting on the rods at 3500-4000 rpms with the turbo, i'd say there's equal risk to hurting the engine. The procharger will feel like it has medium power in the midrange vs the TN's huge midrange power. The procharger only starts to have some advantages over the TN kit when you start upping the boost on it a lot - in which case the low and high rpms will feel nice and strong with a medium midrange. While the TN kit will probably feel a little more flat in the upper rpm range because the torque usually starts dropping like a rock after 5000 rpms
Also it's not like you can upgrade the procharger a whole lot (that I know of) other than changing the pulley. You can't upgrade the blower, and if you could the bracket holding the blower and pulleys is not strong enough and will bend. The TN kit has a lot more potential.
tapping the oil pan is not a big deal. Newbies seem to be scared of it when really every kit needs to tap into the engine oil in some way. Get a oil pan spacer and tap that or get an APS pan that's already tapped. Even if you tap the block, no big deal - you can get it fixed/welded up later on if you did go back to stock
Last edited by sentry65; 06-16-2006 at 12:01 PM.
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The downtime fo reither kit will be teh same. It will take a quialified mech 1-2 days to do either car (if he has a helper ), plus tune. I wouldn't run either kit w/ just a reflash, but thats me. I can't imagine how it would be perfect everytime.
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I installed the ATI kit with 7 psi pulleys, ran fine, no problem what so ever, car was FAST. Then went to 9 psi pulleys, short retune, even faster.
My car is now in the shop for forged internals and 14 psi pulleys. You can also get 18 psi pulleys but they take the ProCharger to redline at 6600 engine RPMs. And since I intend to rev quite a bit higher than 6600...
Definitely get the APS oilpan. More oil, better cooling because of the fins, pretapped. Good investment.
Another advantage of the ATI is that it is easier on your clutch (/my automatic).
Procharger is not that loud...
Danny
All that said: if I had to do it over, I would most likely go TN.
My car is now in the shop for forged internals and 14 psi pulleys. You can also get 18 psi pulleys but they take the ProCharger to redline at 6600 engine RPMs. And since I intend to rev quite a bit higher than 6600...
Definitely get the APS oilpan. More oil, better cooling because of the fins, pretapped. Good investment.
Another advantage of the ATI is that it is easier on your clutch (/my automatic).
Procharger is not that loud...
Danny
All that said: if I had to do it over, I would most likely go TN.
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This is GREAT advice and I am really taking all of it in to consideration.
In my whole life (42 years) I have only had one Turbo car, a Dodge Stealth TT. 300 horsepower at motor.
I have had 2 Supercharged 5.0s (Vortech and Powerdyne) 414rwhp & 461rwhp SAE
2 Eaton Supercharged 03 Cobras - 445rwhp & 492rwhp SAE
1 Paxton Novi 2000 supercharged & intercooled 4.6 GT Mustang - 385rwhp SAE.
I guess a Single Turbo should be on my TO DO list.
Howard
In my whole life (42 years) I have only had one Turbo car, a Dodge Stealth TT. 300 horsepower at motor.
I have had 2 Supercharged 5.0s (Vortech and Powerdyne) 414rwhp & 461rwhp SAE
2 Eaton Supercharged 03 Cobras - 445rwhp & 492rwhp SAE
1 Paxton Novi 2000 supercharged & intercooled 4.6 GT Mustang - 385rwhp SAE.
I guess a Single Turbo should be on my TO DO list.
Howard
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Originally Posted by dscheers
I installed the ATI kit with 7 psi pulleys, ran fine, no problem what so ever, car was FAST. Then went to 9 psi pulleys, short retune, even faster.
My car is now in the shop for forged internals and 14 psi pulleys. You can also get 18 psi pulleys but they take the ProCharger to redline at 6600 engine RPMs. And since I intend to rev quite a bit higher than 6600...
Definitely get the APS oilpan. More oil, better cooling because of the fins, pretapped. Good investment.
Another advantage of the ATI is that it is easier on your clutch (/my automatic).
Procharger is not that loud...
Danny
All that said: if I had to do it over, I would most likely go TN.
My car is now in the shop for forged internals and 14 psi pulleys. You can also get 18 psi pulleys but they take the ProCharger to redline at 6600 engine RPMs. And since I intend to rev quite a bit higher than 6600...
Definitely get the APS oilpan. More oil, better cooling because of the fins, pretapped. Good investment.
Another advantage of the ATI is that it is easier on your clutch (/my automatic).
Procharger is not that loud...
Danny
All that said: if I had to do it over, I would most likely go TN.
Just a quick question. I'm on the market for an F/I application but the decision gets harder day by day. You say if you had to do it all over again, you'll go TN. Why is that or are you just saying it's the best application out of the box power when comparing it to your procharger? I heard there's a few procharger Z's out there sitting over 500hp to the wheels and the procharger kit is capable of 24psi which is in 700+hp range. I'm not sure if that's at the fly or to the wheels. Interesting kit to me!
Another question this is for all the F/I guys. If you was to choose any F/I application on the market from the start. What would be a good kit to get, far as starting off on stock block then eventually rebuilding the motor for more power? I'm referring to which would saved you the most money from start to finish? ......TIA
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Originally Posted by dscheers
TTs, especially factory ones, are far more "civilised" than aftermarket turbo kits. Single turbos tend to come one with a lot more "OOMPH" then TTs.
Danny
Danny
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The highest boost pulleys you can get for the ATI Procharger kit that is bolt on for the Z are the 18 psi ones. You would redline your Procharger at 6600 Z-engine RPMs with those (Superchargers have a max RPM too). Now taking into account that each 1 psi adds max 6.8% of HP to your car and the base WHP od a Z is 220HP, that translates into roughly 15WHP per psi or at 18 psi max an added 270 HP. Add that to the 220WHP base and you get a max of 490HP. This doesn't take into account lowering compression, parasitical drain (the HP the supercharger needs to turn) and thermal inefficiencies. So with some extra goodies like Cams, heads, (dual) exhaust, plenum etc you might be able to get to 500WHP MAXING your system.
Now most turbo kits can make a lot more boost, without running at their max.
I now feel just too limited with the ATI. Mind you, I didn't when I considered an FI kit for my car and if you're just looking for a bolt on kit 7 - 9 psis, it's a great kit, great fun, great price.
Choosing an FI kit depends on your style, what you're looking for, what is your HP goal, and once you hit that, how much further do you want to go?. Do you want a be shot out of a cannon once you hit that magical RPM (ST), do you hate lag (TT, SC), etc...? where do you want the power more? it all depends on your driving style and as such, there's no "one solution fit for everyone" in FI.
If you do a SEARCH, you'll find a wealth of information on this forum. Enjoy !
Danny
Now most turbo kits can make a lot more boost, without running at their max.
I now feel just too limited with the ATI. Mind you, I didn't when I considered an FI kit for my car and if you're just looking for a bolt on kit 7 - 9 psis, it's a great kit, great fun, great price.
Choosing an FI kit depends on your style, what you're looking for, what is your HP goal, and once you hit that, how much further do you want to go?. Do you want a be shot out of a cannon once you hit that magical RPM (ST), do you hate lag (TT, SC), etc...? where do you want the power more? it all depends on your driving style and as such, there's no "one solution fit for everyone" in FI.
If you do a SEARCH, you'll find a wealth of information on this forum. Enjoy !
Danny
Originally Posted by southern_info
Just a quick question. I'm on the market for an F/I application but the decision gets harder day by day. You say if you had to do it all over again, you'll go TN. Why is that or are you just saying it's the best application out of the box power when comparing it to your procharger? I heard there's a few procharger Z's out there sitting over 500hp to the wheels and the procharger kit is capable of 24psi which is in 700+hp range. I'm not sure if that's at the fly or to the wheels. Interesting kit to me!
Another question this is for all the F/I guys. If you was to choose any F/I application on the market from the start. What would be a good kit to get, far as starting off on stock block then eventually rebuilding the motor for more power? I'm referring to which would saved you the most money from start to finish? ......TIA
Another question this is for all the F/I guys. If you was to choose any F/I application on the market from the start. What would be a good kit to get, far as starting off on stock block then eventually rebuilding the motor for more power? I'm referring to which would saved you the most money from start to finish? ......TIA
#18
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for some people 500whp just isn't enough, for the rest of us, it's more than enough
personally, if I ever built a high whp car, it'd be AWD with a turbo. Otherwise the power only becomes useful at higher speeds like on the highway with a RWD car. It starts becoming harder and harder to control a RWD car with high hp even with drag radials. AWD seems like the ideal setup for high hp cars unless you can fit those HUGE racing slicks the pro drag cars use or set up your suspension so that the front end lifts off the ground
The bugati veyron team decided AWD was the only way to go to manage 1000 crank hp - which is something like 850whp and that sucker even weighs over 4000 lbs pushing down on the tires.
the turbo oomph is a great feeling, but it is an illusion of speed to a degree. Once the boost is fully on, you don't really get that ooomph anymore and because turbos maintain whatever PSI to redline, the torque starts dropping hard as you reach redline. The turbo will feel extremely responsive when you first get on it though and that's what most people are wanting really. If it's being compared to the same psi procharger, the TN kit will win almost every time. You'd need an extra 2 lbs of boost or so on the procharger to match with the TN kit
personally, if I ever built a high whp car, it'd be AWD with a turbo. Otherwise the power only becomes useful at higher speeds like on the highway with a RWD car. It starts becoming harder and harder to control a RWD car with high hp even with drag radials. AWD seems like the ideal setup for high hp cars unless you can fit those HUGE racing slicks the pro drag cars use or set up your suspension so that the front end lifts off the ground
The bugati veyron team decided AWD was the only way to go to manage 1000 crank hp - which is something like 850whp and that sucker even weighs over 4000 lbs pushing down on the tires.
the turbo oomph is a great feeling, but it is an illusion of speed to a degree. Once the boost is fully on, you don't really get that ooomph anymore and because turbos maintain whatever PSI to redline, the torque starts dropping hard as you reach redline. The turbo will feel extremely responsive when you first get on it though and that's what most people are wanting really. If it's being compared to the same psi procharger, the TN kit will win almost every time. You'd need an extra 2 lbs of boost or so on the procharger to match with the TN kit
Last edited by sentry65; 06-16-2006 at 02:41 PM.
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Originally Posted by DBZ33
Take it from someone who went from a Vortech to the TN kit. Turbonetics all the way. Night and day diffrence. Im sure others will agree. Good Luck.
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Originally Posted by dscheers
Procharger is not that loud...
Good luck with whatever you do.