Congiiee's Vortech Supercharger INSTALLED!!! Visconti Tuned
 

Intro:

As the title says I just installed the Vortech Supercharger kit (upgraded version). I purchased the STG1+ kit from Visconti who was very helpful and responsive through the whole process of purchasing the kit and waiting for it to come. Although it took 45 days for it to come, I did get the upgraded version of the kit and did not have to ship it back and forth to do that. This was probably the longest and most unbearable wait I'd ever experienced xD

Car before Vortech:

Alright this is embarrassing but my car was BONE STOCK with only Visconti's pump fuel tune as a performance upgrade. I didn't even upgrade my wheels nor tires yet. Because of my tires my first impressions section underneath would be with the fact that traction control was on... I will get my new wheels and tires mounted hopefully the end of this month of the next and will be more aggressive when that times comes to test out the kit.


Installation:

Originally I set out to try to taking a lot of pictures didn't get to it as I was trying to figure out how to install it as I went. It did take me two days and around 12 hours to install total. Note I am 20 years old and know nothing about cars until I bought my BRZ. If I were to do it again I could probably get it installed in around 8 hours with the proper tools. The hardest part in my opinion of the installation would have to be getting the mounting bracket for the intercooler installed. I had a terrible drill :(. Having another person helping you is a must in my opinion. Taking the bumper off was also pretty annoying as I didn't really know how rough I could be with it to take it off. Overall I managed to install it and that SAYS a lot! If I could do it anyone could install this kit and save themselves a few hundreds dollars of installation.

After everything was on, things to make check over was if the belt was properly seated to the pulleys, hoses were all on and out of the way of moving/hot objects and CHECK/TIGHTEN ALL CLAMPS!!

The kit I purchased also came with the smaller pulley from Vortech and Injectors/fuel pumps from Visconti which I did not install. I figured its better to add a little bit of power at a time and see how it goes. I don't wanna risk putting to much stress on my car just yet. Once I need more power I will install the smaller pulley and get E85!

First Impressions:

Immediately after the installation, I got my laptop and tuned the car with the Ecutek Prokit from Visconti and his STG1 tune. That was probably the easiest part of the installation ;). Once that was done my heart was pounding like crazy. I was half worried/anxious that I might have not done something correctly. A took a deep breath and pressed that button (BRZ Limited). The car.....STARTED! I have never felt more accomplished. I will also post the video of the first start up. I waited a bit for the tune to do its thing then took the car out for a spin. HOLY F$*%! I was easily able to feel the boost kicking in starting from 2k to 3k rpm (DD speeds). The car moved much more easily around these rpm ranges. After 3k you really feel the boost kick in and at 5k+, you're in for a roller costar ride. With the added speed I can say the car still maintain its characteristics.....but on STEROIDS! With that I haven't even pushed my car past 7k and I believe with John's tune it goes a little past 8k rpm or at least has the ability once he fine tunes it more. On the second day I actually got into some races on the highway (DONT DO THIS AT HOME BTW lol). It was actually coincidental I happened to run into 4 people racing down 66 (major highway in Northern VA). I downshifted to 3rd gear and challenged a WRX which I believe was an STI. The first round...I got smoked as I did not know what I was doing. The second time I pushed passed him so fast he just stopped. Then the third was the most fair and when we started, I easily pulled ahead of him. The speeds that were at was around 55-100 mph. I also got to race a heavily modified Chevy Cobalt or at least I think it was. It was past 11pm and I couldn't really identify the car. The first time I had a bad start but starting gaining on him. Then the second time.....I will post this tragic experience on the issues sections... Overall I love how my car is now!!! I honestly would be content and happy with this as it is without adding the pulley or E85 down the road. Even so I feel like some more boost is very manageable and drivable in this car with the right upgrades to complement more boost.

Problems/Issues:

Unfortunately I did run into a few issues. Luckily they were minor errors. The first one would be the wash fluid reservoir. I did everything correctly but it seems to leak. I tried to use tape sealant but it still had a slight leak so I decided to give up for now and drain the fluid. I just wanted to drive my car. The next issue would be involving racing the Chevy Cobalt. I was in third gear and at around 60mph. Floored the pedal and at 7k rpm heard a rush of air escaping and lost my acceleration. I immediately knew something felt weird. Driving home I could feel the car not being as powerful and as if air was escaping somewhere. Originally I thought it was my blow off valve leaking. After taking the car home and inspecting it I could see that the pipe connecting the pipe coming from the supercharger was loose. It was 1/4 off. I suspected I had forgotten to tighten the clamp. Had to take out the bumper again but fixed the issue. I am with BOOST again :)

Future Plan:

NOTHING!...................jk

heres a list:
-wheels/tires
-lowering springs,
-spyder taillights
-carbon fiber interior
-perrin catback exhaust resonated
-perrin front pipe catted
-perrin overpipe
-nameless header catted
-light weight pulleys
--thats it for now that I can think of. If you have any suggestions post them!

PHOTOS/VIDEOS/DATA:

My car ride:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...1&d=1365397524

It came!!
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...1&d=1365397726

took off bumper and intake
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...1&d=1365397318

installed
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...1&d=1365397318

Intercooler
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...1&d=1365397318

yes that goofy asian kid is me lol
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ns29vrc5pa7pra7/IMG_0919.MOV

I will post pictures, videos, and dyno sheets once I get them. If anyone wants to see anything or have questions just request it in a post. THANKS!

RESERVED for.....I don't even know what lol just in case

Get that kit dynoed!!!

there you are..

yes, I'm in for results too

So right now your car is bone stock + supercharger ?

uh huh...lol. I will try to get my car dynoed ASAP. I need to also do some data logging and getting it fine tuned before I dyno.

I was just curious to how the tires handled the extra Hp?

You'll be our first bone stock vortech sc car.

DEFINITELY want to see a dyno of this with John's tune and NOTHING else.

What kind of gas is available where you are? Are you on 93?

Wish we could have gotten a baseline dyno but still interested in seeing what you get.

Also, street racing is bad. Mmmkay?

We will say he wasn't street racing. He was aggressively passing.

And it just so happens that person was trying to pass him at the same time. What are the odds. Lol.

Another one in for results!!

Or we could say he was street racing. Take vids next time, I wanna see a frs actually win a street race for once.

I'd like to see some dyno too! And maybe a 0-60 + 1/4 mile if you ever have a chance?

awesome! can i get a ride? :)

I wanted to do that, but as @congiiee mentioned the wait for the kit is excruciating...and I had this shiny new exhaust just sitting in my living room.

:bonk:

For everybody that NEEDS to see a dyno bone stock I plan to do it this Wednesday at Ptuning. Probably will need an appointment lol. If not next week for sure. Tomorrow I will try to do some data logging and submit it to John to refine the tune if it needs it.

I would have done the same xD.

BTW for anybody in the NoVA area that wants to see it in person just pm me. I'd ask for some beer in return but I'm not old enough :(

I just realized you said you were in NoVA! That's awesome! I'm hoping to see you around Katie's C&C or the Friday meets at Chik Fil A near Dulles Towncenter!

...That is if you're near the Leesburg/Sterling Area...

*UPDATE*
On my original post I left a few things out.

MPG?: Well after three days of driving the car I have noticed that I do get higher MPG when driving the car responsively (<3000rpm). I don't think that I have lost much city miles either. Its possible that I may have lost 1 or 2 but it is offset by the 2-4 mpg I have gained from highway cruising. If I were to put numbers down driving below 3000rpm I'd get around 28-29 mpg and this is 75% highway and 25% city. On the other hand, when I am driving like a maniac or "aggressively passing" I get around 24-26 mpg.

stock wheels/tires?: Okay so I have mentioned above that I have kept my car's nanny systems on. With it on, my wheels/tires are perfectly fine. It's still possible to spin the tires a bit but the traction control easily gets it back on track. I have not tried driving without traction control nor have I tried to launch the car. But besides that fact, even with traction control on it is still very fast and enjoyable to drive. Much safer too...for now until I get wider wheels and tires.

Congrats! We need more pictures though. Also, I'd blur out the address on the box in the original post. :thumbsup:

:lol:

[QUOTE=civicdrivr;849068]Congrats! We need more pictures though. Also, I'd blur out the address on the box in the original post. :thumbsup:

Good call. Did not realize how good iPhone 5 photos are. UPDATED

Congratz man!! Definitely in for bone stock dyno on this kit :thumbsup:

Damn... I was hoping someone resized the pics

No auto/mechanical experience whatsoever and you installed this yourself? Damn - kudos to you and congrats on a job well done!

I have the tools/know-how to do this, and I'm still thinking about hiring someone to do it for me just so I don't have to! LOL

You've inspired me to just go ahead and do it myself... Guess it's time to send Visconti more money.

Its always a learning experience/way more fun to do it yourself. Yes there can be frustration and headaches, but its worth it to stand back and say you did it, and didn't pay for someone to do it.

Plus, i'm cheap and don't see a point in wasting money on installation costs when i'm capable :lol: No but really, just being an enthusiast, I enjoy learning the car as I work on it.

Agreed 100%

Are you planning on getting this kit? Perhaps we can do a local NY get together/install session, similar to what the Houston gang did.

If you guys need any help let me know :) I gotta make my way down to NY soon anyway...

Its very easy..

Yeah I decided to do the self install cause of so many reasons. One is so I can undo it if anything goes wrong, save around 800 bucks (wheels/tires), and the rush of excitement accomplishment at the end was good too haha

if you do decide to install it and run to any problems like shit might not seem to fit pm me. I ran to that problem a few times and eventually found a way to fit things.

Hey I have been getting a lot of pm from people in the NoVA area about seeing the kit. Would you guys like me to arrange a meet so you can all see it simultaneously? OR maybe someone can help me arrange one haha

I am really trying to stay away from F/I :lol: I doubt that it will happen though. Even if it does it probably won't be for a while. I've been going OD on buying crap for this car.

I'm down to meet up and help/hang out though!

heres a link to the video of the first ever start up ;)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ns29vrc5pa7pra7/IMG_0919.MOV

Yes, that would be cool. Why don't you pick a Day and Time that you are free and a Location that works for you and see how many people are interested in showing up.

yes I will! I am thinking next week either Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. Will keep you posted once I get a set date.

Yeah, I definitely hear you on that. My desire to have someone do it for me was more along the lines of making sure it was done right, and if it wasn't, someone other than me would have to man up to it ;) But yeah, the knowledge of doing it so that you can undo it later (or address any minor issues) is worth doing it yourself.

Appreciate your offer of guidance if need be!

I still haven't put any money down on a kit - but I know I'm going to definitely go FI over the next few months. Leaning towards the relatively plug/play effort of the Vortech and the numbers are right at the point where I can justify it. If a local group of folks are planning on getting it and would like to do a group installation effort, I'll definitely be up for that and would enjoy having you you guys come out and help/hang.

I ALMOST FORGOT! VISCONTI HAS AN AWESOME BLOW SALE FOR THESE KITS SO GET THEM WHILE THEY'RE HOT!! 15% off!!

The look on your face is priceless man.

Also, I hope you took the painters tape off the intake snorkel! ;)