Drift-Office : Phantom Supercharger - Tuned!

[Drift-Office]

Ref : http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39719

As I sat down to pen my thoughts two weeks ago about the “ESC Project” as we call it, it became apparent to me that this wasn't going to be one of those regular 'reports' that I would make. Let me first preface the post by saying that most of you here know me as an advocate for FI, turbo specifically. Truth be told, that couldn't be further from actuality. Thus when a fellow member approached us to get his car with the “Phantom” ESC calibrated, I was more than curious to say the very least.

To start with, let's give a little insight to the guy behind it all – Rob. He's been a motorsport enthusiast from an extremely early age, an Aeronautical Engineer @ Pratt & Whitney (you know, the guys that make ENGINES for airplanes) and quite the entrepreneur. The Phantom product is as he says, one of his “personal engineering project(s)” and in my limited online discussions with him, has proven to be certainly nothing short of informative.

>>> Insert Dyno Chart <<<


Ref : http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...postcount=1858

There. I've posted it. Here are the results that all you all want to see. A WOT (Wide Open Throttle) calibration using 92 Octane Chevron fuel. If all you need to see is in the dyno sheet, then that's all you'll need to know; time to move on and not bother to read the rest of this. For those that are still interested, let's make this proclamation right now :

“It's not for everybody.”

So how does it work? Indeed, the best way to describe this would be as a “limited NOS” system. You get the practical effect of a typical NOS shot, but without the costly refills. After the constant speed compressor (read : SC) is installed, you arm it via a switch. Conveniently located with the switch is a meter that shows you it's duty cycle. The duty cycle reflects the discharge energy available and takes a few seconds to replenish after being depleted.

You drive around as you would a NA car until you deem it go time. You gun it @ WOT and almost instantly, without any lag, comes an impressive 150 foot-pounds (and more) of torque at the wheels. This carries on throughout your entire rev range until 500 RPMs short of your redline, @ 7000 RPM. Coming from a stock setup, this would seem like a GODSEND to mere mortals. Wait a few seconds and your dump pack recharges, ready for another round of awesome. Repeat as necessary.
Most of you would think this improbable, but I'm here to state that it is true and actual. I mean, how can an electric blower of sorts attain such results? We've all seen those videos of NOS induced leaf blowers blowing into car intakes that generate gobs of power right? So why not this?

>>> Insert Phantom ESC Pics <<<








Benefits? From the pics above, everyone should notice one key difference between the Phantom and the likes of say, a typical SC product – there's no belt driving the SC unit. This means that the system is non-parasitical in nature. The engine isn't taxed by any pulleys or belts holding it back. Unlike some 300 crank HP SC units that require up to 45+ HP to drive it, there's nothing to restrict (and I use this loosely in this context) “boost” in this case with the ESC.

Installation is a snap, and I reckon it wouldn't take more than an hour to complete, even if you're all thumbs.

Worried about fuel consumption? Fear not – fuel burn is as close as it can be to a stock OEM calibration. Only when you're WOT and committed will your consumption go up.

This product should be awesome for AUTO-X applications. When going around tight turns, gunning this @ WOT would pull you out of the corner, giving you great accelerative G and that's what you'd look for; bottom end torque and power to boot. All of which guaranteed to make you laugh out in a girlish-giggle.

So you're probably thinking that I'm gushing and we should all go out and get ourselves one now right? Well, not quite. Read on.

FI without cooling. You guys have heard me (and others) go on about that. Insert meme here : “One does not simply put on a non-intercooled FI system without consequence.” Nuff' said. The good news here (sorta) is that while the Phantom is an actual FI product, it doesn't generate merely as much boost and subsequently, heat as a typical SC unit would – but understand that prolonged sessions of usage would result in decreased performance and generate adverse IATs. Why not just slap some on some sort of intercooler then you say? Well, since the unit isn't generating much boost, one has to be concerned about the pressure drop the system will see when you introduce a FMIC. And unlike a NOS setup, you don't get the cooling effects of usage either.

Additionally, when the system is not in use and is switched off, the SC unit in itself becomes a restriction. I could post up the technical relevance here but let's face it, the short answer is that it's there but it's not bad since the SC unit freewheels when in stasis. While we're at it, you'll need to get a tune to realize the gains. Don't expect to put this on and run this with any NA calibration either.

Here comes the big one. The system usage is designed around a single pull and upon throttle switch activation, not in a volley of consecutive back to back ones. Anyone catch my WOT mentions? There's nothing sinister about any of the previous references, only that it's just that – Wide Open Throttle. Notice that I didn't say it would be great for DRAG and or DRIFT applications? That's because this system will not activate in partial throttle, at all. This is where the Phantom ESC differs, and slight adjustment in driving styles are needed.

Think about this real quick – you're in the burnout box ready to rumble. You launch, floor it, hit rev limit and grab second. At which point in time, the recharge isn't going to be full when you go wide open in that gear. Additionally, with each successive gear change, the rate of 'recharge' that the batteries provide will be diminished and your IATs build up, producing less than optimal results. It's still better than stock, all things said. Same issues apply with drifting.

But why would it work better in Auto-X? Because you're not going to be constantly in WOT. Incidentally, how many of us (normal folk) drive @ WOT all day long? Not many I reckon. Even when going to overtake, I don't think there's a necessity to do that. But I digress.

Do I think it a toy? No. A novelty? Perhaps. The latter really depends on how well this product matures thru it's development cycle. It will see a few revisions no doubt, and there's LOTS of potential here! Let's not forget the innovation either! The bottom line is understand and respect what it was designed to do, and only then will you appreciate the Phantom ESC for what it is.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ltL_pbHPY"]YouTube[/ame]

Cheers!


Bob @ Drift-Office, LLC

[Drift-Office]

Reserved for future updates!

[continuecrushing]

Nice! I know a lot of people were waiting for this!

[brichard0625]

wow great review and pretty good gains as well. i think you hit on the nail ''The bottom line is understand and respect what it was designed to do, and only then will you appreciate the Phantom ESC for what it is''. The people buying this kit know what it is and understand that this kit does not replace FI. This kit is great for people who daily drive their car and just need the extra kick here and there. Im glad to see that the gains are consistent as more dynos appear.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Dat torque, yo.

[bfrank1972]

Originally Posted by brichard0625

wow great review and pretty good gains as well. i think you hit on the nail ''The bottom line is understand and respect what it was designed to do, and only then will you appreciate the Phantom ESC for what it is''. The people buying this kit know what it is and understand that this kit does not replace FI. This kit is great for people who daily drive their car and just need the extra kick here and there. Im glad to see that the gains are consistent as more dynos appear.

I agree - I'm happy to see a good level of consistency in gains with this system. I think for those who have been following the whole thread, this system performed exactly as advertised. :happy0180:

[mid_life_crisis]

@Drift-Office
I think you meant to say
"it doesn't generate nearly as much boost"
not
"it doesn't generate merely as much boost".

That done, you did a great job verifying what so many of us have been saying all along. You won't go racing with this system. It's for daily drivers who want to know they have sufficient power to make that pass or maybe occasionally surprise someone on a back road. The price point relative to full-on systems is appropriate for what you get. This system fills a need that was not being met previously. It gives a nice bump in power for when it is needed without requiring extensive work to install or breaking the bank. But don't plan on going racing with it. Exactly what I need.

[fenton]

Originally Posted by Drift-Office

Here comes the big one. The system usage is designed around a single pull and upon throttle switch activation, not in a volley of consecutive back to back ones. Anyone catch my WOT mentions? There's nothing sinister about any of the previous references, only that it's just that – Wide Open Throttle. Notice that I didn't say it would be great for DRAG and or DRIFT applications? That's because this system will not activate in partial throttle, at all. This is where the Phantom ESC differs, and slight adjustment in driving styles are needed.


Bob @ Drift-Office, LLC

I believe ThaTruth was running with only 1 re charger at that point in time. Once you wire up the second the battery fills up as soon as you let off the throttle. No you wont make it to full charge between shifts but the system still produces boost

Now if you are doing the 1 mile and not a 1/4 mile that may be different. During my tests of 0-200km/h i was not able to deplete the system to the point of no boost

Great review Bob, absolutely agree with the slight change in driving style.

[industrial]

Felt this plot was missing from the conversation. The purple line is taken from a previous thread with full bolt ons and a tune. Pretty interesting setup. Phantom setup reminds me of a tiny turbo setup like in the old vw 1.8t compared to a full bolt on setup which is more like a honda vtec plot.

[Gary in NJ]

In for the conversation. I'm not part of the horsepower wars, just looking for occasional boost. The Phantom ESC is perfect for my needs. I'll post up my results in the next few days.

[Robftss]

Auto-x and DD......more than enough.

Thanks to Thatruth2001 and Bob for the effort to set this up, I'm aware of the time involved.

Always evolving this system.

Rob.

[zc06_kisstherain]

holy moly that Torque!

[xsnapshot]

Can't to see what this thing makes with full bolt-ons + tune+ E85 (or even 93)

[fenton]

Originally Posted by xsnapshot

Can't to see what this thing makes with full bolt-ons + tune+ E85 (or even 93)

This was mine on 94(10% eth) with @Toma's tune. Keep in mind a dynodynamics reads a little lower than a dynojet.