I've been thinking about this for a while now and don't know what to do.

The complete HKS system can be bought now for $4500 or less...this makes it cheaper than any complete vortech system I've seen and slightly more expensive than a Vortech tuner system.

My car is a daily driver and it's my only car. While I'd love to have 600+whp I really don't think it's a good idea to go this far on a car you have to depend on daily. So I'm going to limit myself to 350-400whp or so. I know the vortech can make this power much easier but I can't help but overlook just how well made the HKS system looks and I really believe that the stock intercooler on the HKS is it's biggest limiting factor...it's TINY!

Also, is the HKS system even upgradeable without having to buy the complete GTM stages?

What would you guys do?

 

Why not take $1,000 and buy yourself a beater DD and save up for what you really want... 350-400 gets old quick at least it did for me....

 

HKS vs Vortech...not being FI myself, I can tell you that the general answer you probably will receive is: A) whatever you want for yourself B) do a search and C)lots of flame thrown your way.

That being said, if you are absolutely positive 350-400rwhp is all you need, go with HKS or Vortech. Both achieve that goal easily.

There are tons of threads addressing this topic. please do a search before the FI vets tear you apart.

 

Because I couldn't stand driving a beater while my toy sits in the driveway most of the time. I've tried it before with another car I had and ended up selling the beater and driving my toy daily...lol.


I've searched and I've read a million topics....but they are all useless now because the HKS kit actually became affordable and competitive ( It used to be a no brainer since the HKS use to cost an arm and a leg ) and 99% of the complaint for the HKS were the bang for the buck factor.

No I want to know how people feel about them both since this time around the HKS is actually CHEAPER than the Vortech.

 

https://my350z.com/forum/8007064-post94.html
he posted his opinion based on his own HKS

https://my350z.com/forum/7981064-post67.html
his opinion and dyno based on a Vortech.

https://my350z.com/forum/forced-indu...r-price-4.html
both from this thread.

 

If your happy with your power goals and you want daily driver reliability, go with the HKS. I think the Vortech has had too many issues for my liking.

 

i have had zero issues with my vortech for over 10k miles at 420whp/355ft. lbs. on a dynojet and i daily drive the car in the summer time...This is really a no brainer to go with vortech, for the upgrading factor and that the hks kit isnt easy to upgrade to more power like the vortech is...I also have yet to see any numbers from a hks kit that have impressed me (horsepower or torque)..Vortech all the way in this comparison and vortech is carb legal as well, I do feel the hks kit would be a good kit for someone not looking for more than 350whp...Even to get up into the 400whp range i beleive the gtm porting mod needs to be done or whatever it is to the hks blower and all that to even be able to get there unlike the vortech where u just drop the pulley to a smaller size

 

Go with the HKS.

 

I am biased towards HKS since I have one. I personally like how it is way quieter than other SC kits out there and how it looks in the engine bay. If you do some reading on this forum you will quickly see that the upgradability of the HKS is much less than with a Vortech. But then again there is only so much power you can squeeze safely and reliably out of a stock engine (depending on what year engine you have).

 

I actually have an 03 G35.

 

If you are looking at the HKS GT kit... it has to be installed by an authorized dealer.. Add some more money on top of the 4500( I got quoted 6k in CA)... But, If you can somehow get the kit shipped to you, installation is straight forward and I'm sure you can do it yourself. Power gains are not the best, but it's a reliable kit that won't give you issues in a daily base. I've done tons of research on the kit and bought one myself since I was in the same situation as you I can't say much about the vortech since I have no experience with it. However, there is tons of info in the forums about the vortech kit.

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

 

Sorry to slightly derail the topic, but where have you found the HKS GT SC for 4.5k? I just did a brief check on a couple of sites and saw it listed for close to 6k. Furthermore, the listing on intensepower seemed to indicate that it was not being sold, pending a redesigned unit arriving in the near future.

 

^^^^ http://www.hksusa.com/info/?id=3408

 

It has to be installed by an HKS dealer if you want the warranty, if not then you can buy it and install it yourself. I believe I'll end up with the vortech just because of the fact that if anything DOES go wrong it'll be a billion times easier to source the parts to fix it. We'll see...

GTM sells it for $4500 and I've seen it go for $4200 in another website.

 

Vortech because of upgrade potential. Like many have said, you will get bored with out-of-the-box supercharger power levels.

 

Well, looks like I'm going to be getting a vortech kit.

 

Just to clear things up. You can find the kit for around 3800-3900 if you shop around. You can also buy it and install it yourself but you don't get the HKS warranty on it.
The kit isn't a power house, out the box and it is harder to upgrade it for big power, but if that's not what your looking for then it's definitely a better made kit than the vortech. It will also produce more torque than the vortech at the same horsepower.
It is also a lot quieter. So for DD i would consider it a better option.

 

Too late, I just put a deposit on Cux350z's kit...lol.

 

congrats mate.. I also just paid my Vortech.. Just can't wait for it to come home!!

 

Stay NA