Speedracer and a few other board members have ordered the HKS Supercharger kit. I was wondering if anyone had installed it yet? If so, what do you think of the kit?

 

Mine will be done and dyno'd by the end of next week at the latest. I'll post pics, dyno results and real world driving impressions by the end of next week.

 

ooh, Can you compare it to the Stillen 'charger?

Why did you go with that set up as opposed to GReddy, stillen, vortech, PE, APS, or ATi??

Specific reasons???

 

Stillen....I hated the hood mod, and roots type SC generate a lot of heat in an already hot engine bay. Customer service is also less than great.

Greddy......as a kit, it's crap. Individual components are good, but it is a "thrown together" system. Turbos are far too big for intended application, intercooler design is poor, tuning is far from complete, and wiring in the piggyback computer is a chore. If you want a super high power system with upgraded internals, etc. the Greddy turbos and manangement are a good place to start. I wanted a complete kit that would be reliable on stock internals.

Vortech....installation is a ***** for an SC, and requires a lot of ripping apart of the car. It is also noisy as hell and tuning is less than ideal.

PE....A good turbo system for this car but customer support in the U.S. is nearly non-existant.

APS....phenomenal system all around, clearly at the top of the pile...but, this much power will require internal upgrades to really give peace of mind. I don't want to be out on a trip somewhere and be worrying about my engine blowing. I don't want to spend the money for internal upgrades.

Ati....Decent system, but tuning is not great and customer support is poor.

The HKS system is thoroughly engineered, complete down to the last washer. The software engineering is complete and the wiring harness is plug and play. Power gains are substantial but still very safe on the stock internals. I didn't want to swap out the internals....just didn't want to spend the money. I wasn't looking for simply the most power. I wanted a decent jump in power with reliable tuning and a certain degree of safety. HKS will put about 320hp to the rear wheels which is just right for this car in my opinion. More is often NOT better. HKS also has very strong customer support and parts are easy to get in the event that something does fail. Also, as tuners go, HKS is really a cut above all these others. When you talk about the top Japanese tuners, certain names come to mind...Mugen, Spoon, HKS and alike.

 

"More is often NOT better"

That was one of the interesting things about this kit. HKS probably found the sweet spot for reliability AND traction. If it was a tad cheaper I would get it. I do realize that the cost of the kit is justified though. Hell after your review, you never know :P I like the idea of the Turbonetics kit too though. The price seems attractive witht hat kit. We'll see.

 

Excellent points Speedracer.

Also from what I have read about the HKS Supercharger:

1. Quieter than other S/Cs (uses fixed ratio planetary rollers instead of traditional gear wheels).

2.Very efficient cooling system. Even though intercooler is half the size of other solutions, the engine bay is still cool (I read not much hotter than stock). Also, the Intercooler does not block all of the radiator, which is a plus IMHO.

3. Complete fuel management system out of the box (Engine Management w/direct plug harness, 525cc Injectors and Bolt in Fuel Pump Assembly)

4. 100,000 miles before having to change S/C oil (unconfirmed though, I read about it at this site).

Price is kinda high at MSRP 7,250, but there is a retailer that is selling it for $5900, which is not too bad.

If your goal is safe F/I on stock internals I think this kit is the one to get.

EDIT: Note that much of the information I posted is from other people, since I don't actually own one. It would be interesting to see if this is all true. Once Speedracer installs his I will await his review.

 

Speedracer....will be looking forward to your driving impressions next week!

 

Thanks for your kind words on the APS TT system and I believe that you FI product overview on all if the products mentioned is very fair....................and I also agree that the HKS product is of very high quality.............they are an awesome tuning company

Just one point worth commenting on and that's the engine reliability factor of the Z engine................this is obviously an important issue to many Z owners.

There's absolutely no technical or practical reason that I know of why the HKS supercherger system at the identical boost pressure and using the identical fuel octane (say around 6 to 7 psi) will provide any greater engine durability than the APS TT system.

I believe that as the HKS system is very new as will be the APS TT system when released in the US market in October 04................no doubt both companies have conducted a good deal of engine durability testing over many months and miles to ensure reliable and hassle free operation.

I'd say confidently.................if most of the FI systems are using a similar boost strategy and that the fuel and ignition timing is safely controlled for the fuel octane available there should be little to no difference in terms of engine safety and durability.

Thanks

Peter

 

Looking forward to your review Speedracer. I thought you mentioned that the HKS fuel management system was not a total Plug-n-Play in a previous thread?

 

Same goes for the Vortech...you state the fuel and timing management wasnt up to par or what ever you said . Well thats bull . Vortech's Spilt second box....is very tunable and easy to use . Most problems with it are from poor installation . Which happens with ever FI kit . Plus its cheaper and more whp

 

Booger I did not mention Vortech or their engine management device................sorry don't know what you going on about.

Peter

APS

 

interesting post. i can't wait to see the results.

 

Peter,

I think Booger was referring Speedracer's earlier post.

I'm really interested in reading Speed's review of the HKS SC after install.

My main thing is the CARB factor. Like someone said in an earlier post (I think AmyCroft), everyone says they're pending CARB exemption but no one (except stillen) has it yet. In a state where you can't even drive withhout a front plate, worrying about passing emissions testing is a hassle I don't want. I wish I was that familar w/what the state wants but it seems like alot of hoops to jump through if it's taking this long.

At this point, I'm either going with APS or HKS and obviously reliability is very important.

Without having to go through the other threads (I know I'm being lazy) what are the gains from the APS kit if I plan to just have it installed and go?

 

Peter..I was just agreeing with you....that speedracer is making statements about other FI kits that arent true

 

I don't have personal experience with vortec, but two tuners that I know, that have installed the system (including one group that builds race vehicles from scratch) have told me less than great things about the split second sytem compared to others. Their feeling also was that the the physical space tolerances of the Vortec were too tight and the system was very noisy. Just going by what I have heard from what I consider very reliable sources.

 

I was asked to give the reason for my choice, and so I gave it. Obviously I can not have personal experience with all the kits. Some of what I passed on were things that I heard from other, and in my mind, reliable sources. These views were certainly a factor in my decision making process, and so I am simply passing them on. Sorry if I misled or was perceived to give false info. Didn't mean to do that.

 

Peter,

You will agree that even with identical boost pressure, TT will always make more power at a lower RPM than a S/C. While a S/C builds power linearly and only makes maximum HP at redline, a TT already has gobs of power at a lowly 3000rpm.

The fact that I have yet to read of a con rod failure on a S/C, but a couple already on TT setups, has led me to believe that TTs simply put more stress on the engine than a TT.

Most S/C failures I have read had to do with poor fuel management thats causes detonation, which would happen to a TT as well. Fortunately both HKS and APS have addressed this out of the box. Vortech has a solution too as well.

Besides the HKS only makes 320RWP, I know the APS kit makes tons more than that.

The fact that some TTs with high HP have not experienced con rod failures can be attributed to manufacturing tolerances, some will take boost better than others. But then again, maybe these con rod failures are due to bad con rods, and are not representative of other Zs? Who is to say? I don't like to guess.

IMHO, if you are staying with stock internals the HKS would be better, simply because it stresses the engine less. APS would be the preferred choice though for power, and you would be silly not to go with a TT with a built engine.

 

Engine management computer is completely plug and play. Simply unplug the stock harnesses from the stock ECU and attach the HKS "Y" harness in between stock harness and stock ECU. The FCON unit then plugs to the tail end of the "Y". Fuel system requires four wires to be installed into an included harness then plugs into engine management computer. If the harness was already attached, you wouldn't be able to physically get these wires from the engine compartment to the interior of the car. The fuel pump assembly is what really requires a little work. Hope this clarifies.

 

On 91 octane Californian fuel you would expect an additional 110 to 130 Horsepower at around 6 PSI..............this will depend on the exhaust system you're running on the Z.................stock or low restriction free flowing cat back system.

Peter

APS

 

Is that 110 rwhp?