Which Supercharger kit HKS vs. Others ?

[svnintl]

Hi, hope some of you experts can help me decide quickly on a SC kit. I've been doing some research on the different SC kits available but just don't have the time to follow (dedicated) to these forums . First, this is my specs, situation, and what I'm looking for.

SPECS: 15 FR-S
- GReddy CS GT dual exhaust
- Motiv catted midpipe
- Tomei overpipe
- Tomei UEL uncatted headers
- Grimmspeed intake

Situation: I'm in the military so am always on the move and driving a lot, living in different places, cross-country sometimes. Car currently registered in TX so inspection is a little easier to pass with aftermarket parts...least last to my knowledge. I use my car as a daily driver, maybe once in a blue moon plan to take it to the track. Once in a while, get some leave time to work on my car...so far attached is what I've been able to come up with. So my theory was to have my FR-S get a SC kit for the drive-ability/street-ability (i.e. fun, feel) and reliability (its hard living in different locations to have dedicated maintenance or have any tools with me, some places I've been to refused to even try get my old Scion TC car on the rack because it was lowered).

Looking:Narrowed it down to (older systems) Jackson Racing, Innovate (Sprintex) intercooled, vs. (newer since I can't find much on comparison data) HKS V3 System. I'm actually leaning more towards HKS because of their name, reputation, R&D (there's 3 versions out...tells you it should have gotten a lot better)...but how does their specs compare? Is it more of a low end power boost? The reasons is because I usually never drive above 4000 RPM unless its trying to overtake someone, never do any "street racing", and don't foresee using this car as a "racing" car. So wanted a kit that produces more lower end torque/HP for the "feel" and fun aspect more than the top speed or overall HP gains, and again a conservative kit that won't blow my engine or making maintenance a headache over the long run.

[Matt@Cosworth]

get yourself along to an owners club meeting where you can get some passenger rides
the feel of a PD blower vs a centrifugal is quite different and you may prefer one over the other
as you're probably aware PD blowers tend to come on stronger in the lower rev range and lose out to the centrifugal type at the top end

[SleepingPanda]

Sounds like the edelbrock eforce is exactly what you'd want. I hear install is super easy. Instructions are crystal clear. And everything fits as it should. No cutting, bending, or tweaking anything. The roots style supercharger is always going to give you much better low end power compared to the centrifugal like the rotrex.

[HFP-CivicSI]

Kraftwerks! I have a brand new kwsc for sale in the classifieds, over 20% off mrsp. You can't beat that value per dollar for that, and its intercooled. Don't buy anything that isn't cooled if you plan to push your car or make more than 250hp reliably.



I am biased, I make over 390whp with my kraftwerks 8then SI, for two years making lots of power at 8600rpm skyhigh revs all day, with no problems.

[Andew727]

go with the hks. going to be a little tougher to install yourself than a compressor mounted on top replacing the intake manifold. but you will be much happier with the end product. keep your tq low and run e85 as much as possible, if you can, change out valve spings and you should be pretty good.

i doubled the cars whp with an hks compressor, the only failure so far were the weak valve springs. one snapped, chipped the guide and dropped into the cylinder. anything can happen. just take all the right steps and budget for future issues. best advice i can give.

i would not go with kraftwerks over an HKS or a Jackson racing kit though. never.
for the pd blowers. id go with cosworth or the intercooled innovate kit. edlebrock is fugly to me

[Summerwolf]

Edelbrock is probably the easiest to install / maintain, arguably the most reliable setup, and easily the best looking / most thought out kit available. For your goals (low down torque, street driving) the edelbrock is probably your best option. The TVS blower is efficient and reliable, and all the positive displacement kits seem to be the best when it concerns belt routing / intake routing and overall reliability.

[jwvand02]

Depends somewhat on your overall power goals and availability of E85 as well.

I went with the Sprintex(Innovate) unit because I heard pretty consistently from shops that it was the best daily-driver setup, since it produces a ton of torque early on. If you have E85 readily available, I think it's the sweet spot for this car, especially if you don't beat on it a lot. It's pretty critical that you do a good job on the install, and will be a headache if you don't.

I'd say from what you're telling us, the centrifugal setups are definitely out of the question.

[Andew727]

Originally Posted by jwvand02

Depends somewhat on your overall power goals and availability of E85 as well.

I went with the Sprintex(Innovate) unit because I heard pretty consistently from shops that it was the best daily-driver setup, since it produces a ton of torque early on. If you have E85 readily available, I think it's the sweet spot for this car, especially if you don't beat on it a lot. It's pretty critical that you do a good job on the install, and will be a headache if you don't.

I'd say from what you're telling us, the centrifugal setups are definitely out of the question.

torque is what breaks trannys. its nice to have it down low and all but if you want reliability you want to keep tq low and hp high for power on these. i think the tranny was rated for like 160 stock

[weederr33]

Where in Texas are you? I'd recommend driving someone's car who has a kit. The HKS is nice, but I'm partial to PD as I have that type.

[jwvand02]

Originally Posted by Andew727

torque is what breaks trannys. its nice to have it down low and all but if you want reliability you want to keep tq low and hp high for power on these. i think the tranny was rated for like 160 stock

I mean technically, everything on the car is rated for 160tq stock. I haven't really seen anything that suggests these transmissions can't handle at least 250wtq. If anything the clutch starts to fail first, right around that point.

[MisterSheep]

Whats up with all the blue hoses?......

[CSG Mike]

Based on your "keeping it under 4000 rpms" post, the Edelbrock is what you want.

[Knshro13]

if you don't mind me asking, what was your purpose in covering up the tower bars and your oil dip stick and everything else thats wrapped?..

[maicolp]

Originally Posted by Knshro13

if you don't mind me asking, what was your purpose in covering up the tower bars and your oil dip stick and everything else thats wrapped?..

guess its for the look... engine bay look more tidy