HKS Supercharger owners thread

[Lee]

Originally Posted by Efferalgan

Nope. Fuel pump is fine for the HKS ones. And on stock injectors you won't reach the maximum of this SC even w/o a restrictor. Injectors upgrade (to HKS or any other larger injectors) is needed to do it. If you build the engine, use smaller pulley and planning to reach the 350 whp mark - you'd better get a new pump. For 300 whp the stock one is OK.

I meant as a general fueling comment (not specific to HKS) that the fuel pump is more limiting than the injectors. i.e. rail pressure will drop before you are at 100% duty cycle

[Efferalgan]

My HKS stopped blowing this morning. Couple of days before that the car started to show clear signs of illness which I initially attributed to the AT gearbox. It was acting wierd on high rpms, rmps were jumping at shifts, sometimes some jerking in mid-range and vibration at idle was somewhat more notable than usual... Yesterday it progressed to a situation when at speed, 80-100 km/h on 3-4 gear around 4000 rpms the car did not accelerate further despite floored accelerator. Today the arrow on my boost gauge doesnt go above 0 at all. The car feels worse than NA and vibration further increased. The blower is dead. No signs of external damage. Oil lines are intact, belt is flawless. The unit was on the car for about 7 months and did just about 4000 km. 4-5 track/drift days. I really hope that there is some kind of warranty because it seems to the 2nd case with the V2 SC in Russia among 4 cars with V2 that I know (including mine) - scary statistics

[10Stars]

Originally Posted by Efferalgan

My HKS stopped blowing this morning. Couple of days before that the car started to show clear signs of illness which I initially attributed to the AT gearbox. It was acting wierd on high rpms, rmps were jumping at shifts, sometimes some jerking in mid-range and vibration at idle was somewhat more notable than usual... Yesterday it progressed to a situation when at speed, 80-100 km/h on 3-4 gear around 4000 rpms the car did not accelerate further despite floored accelerator. Today the arrow on my boost gauge doesnt go above 0 at all. The car feels worse than NA and vibration further increased. The blower is dead. No signs of external damage. Oil lines are intact, belt is flawless. The unit was on the car for about 7 months and did just about 4000 km. 4-5 track/drift days. I really hope that there is some kind of warranty because it seems to the 2nd case with the V2 SC in Russia among 4 cars with V2 that I know (including mine) - scary statistics

Not good

Keep us updated

[wbradley]

I'd check if the bypass vallve is stuck open first. If when the car is off air pressure flows thru the outlet pipe (needs to be disconnected from blower), that could be a sign of malfunction. Normally it only opens when the skinny pipe from the intake manifold is under vacuum. When the skinny pipe is pressurised the bypass should be closed. I'd get a mechanic or someone experienced to take a look as that's fairly simple to correct provided you can get a replacement. Otherwise the blower would need to be removed and inspected, if its not generating pressure it is creating an intake restriction. Also, I check if the belt slips when revving engine. Listen to if things sound normal. A hose may have disconnected in the intake system under boost. This has happened to other boosted cars. There is a thread somewhere recommending to clamp a small hose somewhere below the intake manifold.

[Efferalgan]

Originally Posted by wbradley

I'd check if the bypass vallve is stuck open first. If when the car is off air pressure flows thru the outlet pipe (needs to be disconnected from blower), that could be a sign of malfunction. Normally it only opens when the skinny pipe from the intake manifold is under vacuum. When the skinny pipe is pressurised the bypass should be closed. I'd get a mechanic or someone experienced to take a look as that's fairly simple to correct provided you can get a replacement. Otherwise the blower would need to be removed and inspected, if its not generating pressure it is creating an intake restriction. Also, I check if the belt slips when revving engine. Listen to if things sound normal. A hose may have disconnected in the intake system under boost. This has happened to other boosted cars. There is a thread somewhere recommending to clamp a small hose somewhere below the intake manifold.

Sure, everything will be checked and photos taken tomorrow. But the symptoms were progressing before it finally stopped blowing which rules out suddenly stuck by-pass valve. Intake restriction is evident - the car is slower than stock and accelerates with great hesitation. Belt and hoses are fine. All the hoses that you mention are clamped (that's actually even shown in the HKS installation manual and clamps are provided with the SC kit).

I'm so pessimistic because the first case of the SC failure had exactly the same symptoms - I'm in contact with the owner. So, I'm going tomorrow to the shop which installed and dealt with that SC which was the first to fail. If 2 cases are exactly similar, we'd probably join forces to ask HKS some questions and claim warrantly if entirely possible (both SCs were imported from Japan not via an official HKS dealer)... I understand that the blower alone costs about $2000 if not more - a bit costly, if it's needed to be replaced every 3k miles

The budget solution would be to restore the failed thread with lazer threading and then balance the unit (that's what the guy who inspected the 1st failed one said) - but that's really home-made custom approach which I wanted to avoid when was buying stuff from such a reputable firm as HKS...

[wbradley]

Not sure which thread might have failed. The impeller shaft bolt? Input shaft to input ring?

[Efferalgan]

Originally Posted by wbradley

Not sure which thread might have failed. The impeller shaft bolt? Input shaft to input ring?

This one. Not sure how those parts are called...

[wbradley]

Hmmm I can tell where that is in the superchrger. I have a dismantled one at home, I'd like to figure out where that thread is.

[Efferalgan]

That is the thing which is connected to the pulley and rotates the entire SC. Hope these pics give you the idea. I'm so pissed off, can't say anything else. Need to decide what to do next. The summer is ruined. Don't want to go back to NA. Pay another $2000+ and wait for couple of months (if I'm lucky) to get a similar piece which lasts 4000 km? Damned...

[wbradley]

From the above pictures, I see the side of my blower that isn't yet opened. How does it pump the traction oil?
That must be the last part of the blower that isn't opened up.

Your unit looks repairable if the threads can be somehow restored.

[Efferalgan]

Originally Posted by wbradley

From the above pictures, I see the side of my blower that isn't yet opened. How does it pump the traction oil?
That must be the last part of the blower that isn't opened up.

Your unit looks repairable if the threads can be somehow restored.

Yep, hopefully that's right. The guys at the shop who disassembled the SC say that they can try make a new "cover" from a stronger steel, put the threads on it and re-assemble the blower.

They welded the "cover" back to the unit in the first case of failed SC but that "fix" did not last long and the unit failed again. So, that another guy bought another SC for his own money as the SC was on the car more than a year and did >7000km and chances for warranty replacement were non-existent. So far the replaced unit is working fine.

Even if I put this new custom made detail I'll need a $300 traction fluid + new filter at least to make it work again. And if this home-made solution fails in 500 or 1000 km (I consider that scenario as likely) - I will need to buy a new SC anyway... So, now I have a dilemma - whether to buy a new SC+fluid+ straight away or try to fix the existing one first. If HKS did not improve the construction, I guess the local made steel cover might be even better solution if done properly...

[wbradley]

I was unable to buy a new filter from HKS in North America, there was no stock whatsoever. I ended up buying the Rotrex filter, which was identical. They are telling me a replacement supercharger, part#12002-AK115 (described as a "rebuild" on the HKS corporate site, won't be available for approx 8 weeks. You might want to try fixing yours. I have the part that is broken on yours, but don't know how toremove it and since my unit ran dry I am unsure of condition.

[Efferalgan]

Originally Posted by wbradley

I was unable to buy a new filter from HKS in North America, there was no stock whatsoever. I ended up buying the Rotrex filter, which was identical. They are telling me a replacement supercharger, part#12002-AK115 (described as a "rebuild" on the HKS corporate site, won't be available for approx 8 weeks. You might want to try fixing yours. I have the part that is broken on yours, but don't know how toremove it and since my unit ran dry I am unsure of condition.

I think I will try fixing mine. What's Rotrex filter part # please? I will just need to get the tracktion fluid then.

I don't think that you can properly remove it without damaging it, so I don't think it makes sense to even consider that option. Thanks a lot mate!

[Efferalgan]

As expected HKS just replied: "F..k off!" because I bought the unit not via an official dealer for the region but at Yahoo acution in Japan. This bloody SC was the last item of this brand that I bought... However, no, I still have to buy their traction fluid for $300 and a filter to get my car moving again even for some time before that crappy blower fails again...

Why only I did not buy a turbo?!!