You should listen to most of the guys in here, HKS is good dont get me wrong but for the price...PL or Greddy/APS TT enough said. BOOOOOSTTTTTT is addicting you will want more.

 

Are any of those CARB legal?

 

To the OP, congrats on your almost decision! GTM wont steer you wrong. Sure it's a bit pricey for an SC but you already know that and if you are fine with the $$ for what you are getting then go for it. This is a decision that I agonized about for quite awhile. The main problem is that we live in Cali otherwise I would have gone TT no questions asked. I never really considered SC until this kit came out with CARB. There are lots of Vortech lovers on here (for good reason, its a nice product) but I wanted something different and in my opinion better. If you are going Stage 4 on the HKS I bet you will be very happy with the performance and reliability. I wanted bigger numbers so I chose to stroke to 4.0L as well which is always an option for you down the road. I cant give you much input on the SC yet as I am hoping to get my car back from Sam by next weekend.

I think the 350Z should have been offered with the HKS SC from the factory as an option. It is such a clean install and Sam can have that on your Z in no time.

Ask around for more input....there is no shortage of experts willing to give their opinion and SOME of them really know what they are talking about. In the end just go with what suits your needs and you feel comfortable paying for.

Good luck with your final decision.

 

Well this state is the reason why I ended up changing my mind about the JWT TT kit. I was almost set on getting that until I looked into what would happen if a cali cop were to look under my hood, definitely not a good thing when your expensive turbo installation has to be removed. It's not like I am really tracking or racing my Z anyways, I just want to get more power out of my Z reliably. Plus from what I have gathered there is a lot of room for big HP from the HKS down the road if I want it anyways.

This GTM supercharger setup looks to be about the best SC kit I can get for my Z, but damm is it expensive at the same time. Vortech looks good for a cheaper solution, but I know that it is not as reliable, and it is definitely louder too. A lot to think about...

 

it may sound a little excessive, but building up a few things for reliability purposes with a vortech would probably be much safer per dollar. If i had another 4k to spend with my setup i could have easily gotten 400whp, with a valve body, which you will want with that kinda power... Also oil cooler, gauges, possible meth spray to cool and clean. Just offering some suggestions.

The kit as is, obviosuly better, but its kinda like buy a corvette, or buy a Z and spend the extra change making it better than the vette.....

 

Exactly what I was thinking about before I made my decision. I plan to keep the Z for quite awhile and I dont want to worry about the po-po.

 

Having installed the HKS Kit as well as a good majority of the forced induction options available for the Z/G chassis, i can say there is maybe only one other kit available that is as complete and well thought out as the HKS kit. I agree that it is pricey, and i agree that i would rather have a twin set up, but there is probably only one set up i would consider, and that doesn't matter because it won't pass smog, and it could be a rather large problem if you got pulled over by the wrong officer. So that leaves you w/ the Vortech vs HKS debate, and the vortech reliability issues are enough (on the VQ as well as other chassis) that i would be willing to try just about anything else first. Cheaper entry price only matters if thats the last thing you have to pay for. Even if Vortech warranties the SC itself, who pays for the rental while you have no SC, and who pay for the uninstall/re-install? Other thing that comes to mind is the noise of the vortech, some might think it sounds cool, but its not for everyone.

Personally, HKS SC, and have about the perfect power to traction ratio for everyday street tires, and if you want more power for the drag strip, use some nitrous. If you want to be faster on the road course, spend some money on suspension, or driving school.

 

hmmm...

OP I'm assuming you are auto?

If u are revup m/t, be prepared to wait..., or maybe not since you have a Z and I think Sam received additional special revup kit(s) besides mine, but dunno fersure.

I'm revup G coupe and ordered 4 months ago and still waiting Just part of the cost associated with ordering a custom one-off JDM kit from a remote location I guess. I'm willing to wait more because It's the exact setup I am after. Go with what you want OP, and not what others want, and you will surely be happy.

I still have faith that Sam will come through for me.

Nyways, from the review of others, you should really enjoy your HKS GT SC setup. Keep us informed with updates, and pic's please

GTM FTW

 

It seems like a lot of people failed to read your first post bro. To answer your question, there are no T/TT kits that are CARB legal in Cali. This is the exact reason why I went with the Vortech kit a little bit over a year ago through GTM also. The HKS GT SC kit wasn't available at the time or I would have strongly considered it also. I was also considering the JWT TT kit but it came down to CARB for me also. Yes, GTM is pricey and not for everyone. But those of us that do go with GTM for our builds couldn't be happier. Good luck with your decision bro.

 

Vortech S/C is carb legal. Just get that and some supporting mods you should close to 380whp. All these brand name s/c kits have pretty good quality components, so those components' reliability shouldn't be a problem. The problem is the engine can't take that much power. So unless you're building, save your money and go with the Vortech kit.

 

^Vortech had qc issues w/ their bearings.

The HKS GT SC is also quieter, more compact and more efficient than the Vortech. Just some food for thought...

 

If you own a garage with all the tools and lift to do them by yourself or have a tuner as a good friend maybe, but I don't think $15K is enough to cover all the reliable parts and the labor... I think I spent $30K when all said and done...

 

That was only a small batch sold last summer bro. Unfortunately I bought one of bad Vortechs but not only did Vortech warranty it, they extended my warranty from 3 to 5 years. But since last summer, they fixed the issue with the bad bearings.

 

I know that everyone has different points of view when it comes to this stuff. Living in Cali your options are quite limited and the whole turbo debate is out of this equation. For the amount of money you are spending you could easily go built motor and a Powerlab ST or a nice TT on a stock block. I spent about $8500 on everything an even bought a used kit and installed it myself. I easily spent $1000 on the clutch and labor so things add up quick. I did a lot of extra things like meth injection with safety in mind and I ended up with a very good running decently powerful Z. I could of spent about $3000 less and easily have the same power as I have now. I do kind of kick myself sometimes because I did go conservative but I know that having a broken car to me is just not worth the risk. I have never seen or driven a HKS Supercharged Z. I can say the Vortech is noisy and creates some weird vibrations at idle. This does become annoying and sometimes I just drive my Acura for some peace and quiet. If the HKS is smooth and quiet I can see how this would be really nice. This is your daily driver so this should be a important factor to consider. I feel that the Vortech is more bang for the buck and would be just fine as a daily driver but you will have to put up with more noise. The HKS is about twice as expensive but will probably be just as good as Nissan would produce from the factory if they ever made a supercharged Z. Personally I would just do the Vortech and put about $5000 in the bank (and there are ways to quiet the Vortech like routing the bypass valve exhaust back into the intake) but if you are one of those people who has more money then sense just do the HKS.

 

You will be happy with the HKS SC, I have about 6k on mine now and still no issues.....

 

Also, I'm not sure if people realize that the $10k quoted on GTM's website includes a custom GTM upgraded pulley, DW injectors, a Walbro fuel pump, and the FCon VPro. So it's not like you are getting the basic HKS GT SC for that price.

 

Well then 10K isn't sounding like that bad of a deal......

 

Yeah for sure. HKS is definitely quality, but definitely overpriced as well.

 

you can get a vortech tuned and installed for $6Gs man!

 

Just do it. Nike.