Best Supercharger for my Driving
 

Hello, FT86 forums. This is my first post as I've been lurking for a pretty long time now. I've been researching a lot about FI and have decided that I want to upgrade my FRS with a supercharger. I've had my FRS for two years now and I love the handling & responsiveness of the car, but I dislike how it lacks in power.

This is my daily driver car and I don't plan on taking it to any tracks frequently or anything. The first half of my commute consists of driving through winding back roads and then the second half is driving on the freeway. As for my driving habits, I usually like hitting 4-5K RPMs when driving out of city when I take off, very infrequently 6-7K RPMs

After reading the stickied FI threads and the DYNO comparisons, I've narrowed the choices down to four superchargers (which are CARB legal; since I live in California this is a must):

Jackson Racing Supercharger: JRSC seems reliable, but I know I won't always be hitting the higher RPMs all the time, so I don't know how worthwhile this will be.
- centrifugal, so the real boost will only be at higher RPMs
- easy to install
- very clean track record; of all the post I have read, it seems like most people who have purchased a JRSC have not had many problems with them
- generally agreed that this is the "ugliest" supercharger


Vortech Supercharger: I would prefer Vortech over JRSC but it costs much more than the JRSC (I'd need to purchase the CARB-legal tune) so I do not know if it would be worth the premium cost.
- like the Jackson Racing supercharger, has a boost at higher RPMs
- better low-RPM power than the JRSC and eventually passes the JRSC in terms of HP boost around 7000 RPM


Innovate / Sprintex Supercharger: Innovate could have been a nice choice, but I'm not sure where I would be able to find a vendor. I also don't know how negatively it could affect my gas mileage. The Sprintex would not work because it is not CARB-approved.
- early boost at low RPMs
- Innovate is now discontinued and is sold under Sprintex, but without the CARB approval
- also appears to be quite popular
- may negatively affect city MPG since boost comes at low RPMs


Phantom Electric Supercharger: The Phantom ESC looks the least risky because it is cheap, but I know the least about it because I find that there is much less information about them than the other superchargers. If there are owners of this ESC then please fill me in on the details!
- non-parasitic boost
- easy to install and "beginner" friendly due to its less mechanically-complicated design and low price
- acts slightly different than the other FI choices?

I have not looked into the Edelbrock Supercharger as much because I do not know if or when it would be receiving a CARB approval anytime soon.

Which supercharger would be the best choice for me? I'd like people who know more about these superchargers to chime in about their boost characteristics, gas mileage, reliability, etc.

Also, somebody please correct me if I'm wrong about any of the information above! :thumbup:

EDIT: I'm starting to lean towards an Edelbrock Supercharger, based on what I'm getting in responses and what I've read about it. Only concern would be the lack of CARB approval (which it will receive soon hopefully).

I'd say Phantom ESC as it has some of the best daily driving characteristics of all. BUT there is no CARB tune. Still you can remove it in about 30 minutes for smog/dyno comparisons so that's not a huge deal. Most importantly though, the wait is a mile long. Unless you can get one second hand, you probably won't have one for quite some time (12 months or more).

With that being the case, I'm going to recommend one you didn't list which is the Edlebrock E-Force for it's mid-range torque, fit and finish.

Tertiary/Quadriary would be Jackson Racing or Vortech depending on your budget.

That's about it. Good luck.

Yeah, I was looking into the Edelbrock SC as well, but I was not sure about when it would get a CARB-approval. I would definitely consider it if it gets it, though.

But that's disappointing to hear that the Phantom will be hard to get my hands on, and the fact that there is no CARB tune for the Phantom ESC..

is there a reason you haven't mentioned the edelbrock kit?

I didn't mention it because I wasn't able to find out when the Edelbrock would get the CARB-approval. Otherwise, the numbers I was seeing on it makes it seem like a good choice too.

Of those listed, Jackson racing seems the way to go. It's probably one of the most reliable. Edelbrock would also be a good choice.

I'm slowly leaning towards an "Edelbrock vs Phantom" decision more and more. In more recent posts it seems like people have been recommending Edelbrock a lot.

There has been rumblings that they have passed their CARB approval, but no official announcement. I was in the same boat and was worried about not having CARB, but looking at Edelbrock's track record, all of their kits have been CARB approved, so I'm not too worried.

Edelbrock seems the best match for usable power on the daily and reliability.

Phantom would be a no go IMO. Electric supercharger issues plus long wait time to receive. Not really considered a valid form of FI. Somewhat ok gains, but... not worth it.

Stay away from the Phantom superchagrer. I had it and was, for the most part, disappointed in it. I could go on and on as to why but it mostly has to do with the dull feeling it gives your car when out of boost (which is 98%) of the time and how you activate it.

I don't feel like I'm at 6 to 7k that often in any rpm other other than 1st and 2nd as an NA car. Having said that, you would be witj the centrifugal charger. Go Jackson

That sounds quite promising. I'll definitely start looking into Edelbrock superchargers and wait for the CARB approval.


What exactly are some of the issues with the Phantom ESC? I noticed that most of the people who speak positively about it can only say that it's "the best bang for your buck" and not much else. I'm assuming that there's a noticeable difference in boost between an ESC and a mechanical SC?

I see, thanks for your input about the Phantom ESC. It's pretty hard to find feedback about its performance.

I live in CA, and had pretty much the same considerations as you did, and i went with the Edelbrock.

Charge time, battery packs, wiring, etc. Idk if looks matter to you but it is easily one of the worst looking kits when the hood is open. Plus.... its an electric supercharger.