Kraftwerks Supercharger Owners Thread

[tendogy]

Compilation of Owner-Mentioned Hiccups

Multiple people have stopped by to ask what issues the owners are having, because that is often one of the top questions by people trying to decide on a kit. Slogging through dozens of pages is laborious, so here is a compilation of the hiccups/issues reported by the owners here.



The numbers in the grid are the post numbers where the hiccup is mentioned, and the resolution is in parenthesis. "sr" means the issue was self-resolved by the owner, "kr" means the issue was resolved by Kraftwerks, "dtr" means the issue was resolved by Delicious Tuning; the number inside the parenthesis indicates the post number where the resolution was resolved. For example, digital_assassin reported his belt cover was missing in post 44 of this thread and reported in post 77 of this thread that this was resolved by Kraftwerks.

There are 16 owners currently listed in OP. Of those owners, nine of them (56%) mentioned a total of 37 hiccups/issues.

Of those who mentioned hiccups/issues:
78% remarked that the smooth pulleys resulted in louder whine then they expected.
56% commiserated about the suckiness of the Rotrex oil reservoir installation.
44% did not receive their belt cover with their kit.
44% had bumper fitment issues with their FR-S.
33% received pulley bolts that were the incorrect length.
33% expressed disappointment with the process of getting their ECUTEK license.
all other issues were only reported by 1 or 2 people.

Feel free to interpret the data however you wish. I hope it was useful to have it compiled from 21 pages to one image.

100% of owners were very satisfied with their car post-installation

[mit_peid]

Here's a photo of where the FRS grill is touching the inlet and outlet IC piping. After looking at it again, I don't think it is really as much the IC itself but just the piping.

Maybe this was why the JR kit decided to go with smaller 2" piping instead of 2.5" piping? I think some very minor trimming (maybe 1/4" deep for 3-4" from the side) of the grill bottom like in the red circles would do the trick and nobody will ever notice.

[utekineir]

Originally Posted by mit_peid

If you're talking about this piece, I was able to put it on after the tube/air filter was on.

Same, was just wondering if anyone else kept it on. I pulled it tonight, intake noise got louder. Bpv still sounds like doo doo. Of course it wasn't really apparent till going back to stock exhaust from 3"

[captain_jack]

Originally Posted by tendogy

Compilation of Owner-Mentioned Hiccups

Multiple people have stopped by to ask what issues the owners are having, because that is often one of the top questions by people trying to decide on a kit. Slogging through dozens of pages is laborious, so here is a compilation of the hiccups/issues reported by the owners here.



The numbers in the grid are the post numbers where the hiccup is mentioned, and the resolution is in parenthesis. "sr" means the issue was self-resolved by the owner, "kr" means the issue was resolved by Kraftwerks, "dtr" means the issue was resolved by Delicious Tuning; the number inside the parenthesis indicates the post number where the resolution was resolved. For example, digital_assassin reported his belt cover was missing in post 44 of this thread and reported in post 77 of this thread that this was resolved by Kraftwerks.

There are 16 owners currently listed in OP. Of those owners, nine of them (56%) mentioned a total of 36 hiccups/issues.

Of those who mentioned hiccups/issues:
78% remarked that the smooth pulleys resulted in louder whine then they expected.
56% commiserated about the suckiness of the Rotrex oil reservoir installation.
44% did not receive their belt cover with their kit.
44% had bumper fitment issues with their FR-S.
33% expressed disappointment with the process of getting their ECUTEK license.
all other issues were only reported by 1 or 2 people.

Feel free to interpret the data however you wish. I hope it was useful to have it compiled from 21 pages to one image.

100% of owners were very satisfied with their car post-installation

I also had the wrong pulley bolt lenth. Even not fully tuned yet i am still happy.

sent from your mom

[OmarGC]

Originally Posted by tendogy

Compilation of Owner-Mentioned Hiccups

Multiple people have stopped by to ask what issues the owners are having, because that is often one of the top questions by people trying to decide on a kit. Slogging through dozens of pages is laborious, so here is a compilation of the hiccups/issues reported by the owners here.



The numbers in the grid are the post numbers where the hiccup is mentioned, and the resolution is in parenthesis. "sr" means the issue was self-resolved by the owner, "kr" means the issue was resolved by Kraftwerks, "dtr" means the issue was resolved by Delicious Tuning; the number inside the parenthesis indicates the post number where the resolution was resolved. For example, digital_assassin reported his belt cover was missing in post 44 of this thread and reported in post 77 of this thread that this was resolved by Kraftwerks.

There are 16 owners currently listed in OP. Of those owners, nine of them (56%) mentioned a total of 36 hiccups/issues.

Of those who mentioned hiccups/issues:
78% remarked that the smooth pulleys resulted in louder whine then they expected.
56% commiserated about the suckiness of the Rotrex oil reservoir installation.
44% did not receive their belt cover with their kit.
44% had bumper fitment issues with their FR-S.
33% expressed disappointment with the process of getting their ECUTEK license.
all other issues were only reported by 1 or 2 people.

Feel free to interpret the data however you wish. I hope it was useful to have it compiled from 21 pages to one image.

100% of owners were very satisfied with their car post-installation

I don't think the "louder then expected whine" should be considered a hiccup. Just my .02

Also for licensing resolved you can list that as KW/s2 resolved with dt guidance

[Kakawate]

I cannot wait to get my car back from kraftwerks!

[Calum]

Originally Posted by OmarGC

I don't think the "louder then expected whine" should be considered a hiccup. Just my .02

Also for licensing resolved you can list that as KW/s2 resolved with dt guidance

I do. A too long bolt wouldn't phase me though. Different strokes...

Sent from my samstone

[tendogy]

Originally Posted by OmarGC

I don't think the "louder then expected whine" should be considered a hiccup. Just my .02

Yeah, I figured it could go either way, but it's mentioned so often I figured I should compile it. It seems like half the people don't mind it but half the people do seem disappointed in it. Either way, it's worth noting that one of the two primary advantages of Rotrex over a gear-typed centrifugal supercharger is that the Rotrex is supposed to be much quieter.

Regardless, it's more of a table-of-contents for those topics in the thread. People can use the post #s to read for themselves; that's the most useful thing.

[Ralph Spoilsport]

Originally Posted by utekineir

Bpv still sounds like doo doo.

That's weird. I'd have thought vacuum operated bypass (basically same scheme used in production turbos by the millions) would be nearly silent.

[utekineir]

I knew about the whine pending the clogged idlers going into it.

My license issue was more a product of the way the product was purchased, it was originally ordered as a tuner kit then the upgrade to tuned kit was offered and the difference was pay palled. My order still was recorded as tuner but a tuned kit was drop shipped. It created a bit of confusion finding the purchase when I called for the tune.

[utekineir]

Originally Posted by Ralph Spoilsport

That's weird. I'd have thought vacuum operated bypass (basically same scheme used in production turbos by the millions) would be nearly silent.

I could be wrong and it's something else so I pulled the bumper and padded any potential charge piping rub spot and made sure the hoses were good. Also removed the black plastic pictured above since it was in contact with the intake tube.

The noise only occurs at the same inputs that would cause a bvp/bov noise on other fi vehicles.

Really it's more me being nitpicky now that the exhaust is quiet. Going to pull and make sure it's all situated right, may find a forge 007 or similar used to try as well.



Update: After some reading Flipped direction of bpv so air flows across the piston rather than into the face of it. Noise gone

[mit_peid]

Is anybody considering this FA20Club Oil Cooler Liquid/Liquid Kit? link This design sounds similar to the Robispec design discussed elsewhere on FT86club.com. What is interesting is that it specifically has a "Kraftwerks Compatible" option under the Thermostatic Plate drop-down and you can choose between a Mishimoto radiator or a Koyo radiator (for $30 more).

Note that there aren't any photos of the specific "Kraftwerks Compatible" version nor does it actually tell you if the KW compatible variant has a Thermostatic Plate. I'm guessing they have taken into account the tight clearance concern between one of the idler pulley bolts and the oil cooler itself.

[captain_jack]

Originally Posted by utekineir

I could be wrong and it's something else so I pulled the bumper and padded any potential charge piping rub spot and made sure the hoses were good. Also removed the black plastic pictured above since it was in contact with the intake tube.

The noise only occurs at the same inputs that would cause a bvp/bov noise on other fi vehicles.

Really it's more me being nitpicky now that the exhaust is quiet. Going to pull and make sure it's all situated right, may find a forge 007 or similar used to try as well.



Update: After some reading Flipped direction of bpv so air flows across the piston rather than into the face of it. Noise gone

Um doesn't that valve only work one way?

may the schwartz be with you....

[Ralph Spoilsport]

@mit_peid

I'm about 87.65% certain the FB20 DIT oil cooler will work. It would be very helpful if someone (such as yourself, for instance) could drop a ruler on the flange of the oil filter mount and show us (i.e. with photo) how high above that flange the end of the pulley support bolt is.

Presuming that there is enough clearance, presuming the ice age comes to an end (-9 F in New Hampshire this morning) and presuming I pull the trigger on the KW kit I've been oogling for about two months now, I will add some version of the DIT sammich oil/water cooler (I have other ideas on coolant routing, but that's for later).

Bottom line for me is that -- given the option -- I'd rather run a few feet of hose at 15 psi carrying coolant than the same length of hose at 75 psi carrying oil. As well, the DIT setup drains to sump just like stock during oil changes, no need to break oil line connections to do a complete drain.