Vishnu/Vortech SC development
 

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Hi guys,
As some may already know, we have been working with Vortech for a little while now. The goal has always been able to offer a high quality, pre-tuned, fully sorted forced induction kit at an affordable price. And that time has now come :) First, I'd to explain why we chose to include the Vortech SC in our OFT300 package. Our business philosophy has always been to provide products that offer unsurpassed value, OEM level of refinement and ease-of-use. And it doesn't take much more than a visit to Vortech (Oxnard, CA) to realize that they share the same philosophy. Seeing how they operate and the effort they place on product development and post-sales support makes us very comfortable with including their products in our OFT300 performance package.

First let's start with their Quality Assurance room. It's bigger and well-equipped than most entire tuning shop garages:
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Next, let's take a peek at the rest of their facilities which stock and manufacture product. Yes, Vortech builds just about every component in-house. This includes the supercharger itself. They cast their own housings, machine their own compressor wheels and even build their own SC gearboxes! This is very different from other manufacturers which source their components from other manufacturers and them assemble kits.

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Have you ever seen a supercharger dyno? I haven't either. And Vortech has one of the two in existence. To dyno a supercharger, just insert it in this testing rig, drive the gearbox by the giant electric motor, and then measure pressure and temps with all those pressure transducers and thermocouples:

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And of course, they have their own engine dyno:
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And here is where it all comes together... in in their tuning/installation room:
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And meet Lance Keck, Vortech's Calibration Engineer. He's the guy who tunes all their supercharger kits for safe and effective performance. He has a lot of tuning experience and understands how to build a proper off-the-shelf map. He and I got along very well during my week-long visit :):
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During the week of my visit, a lot accomplished. First, Vortech installed their standard FRS/BRZ supercharger kit on the test car (2013 BRZ) I drove down from San Francisco.
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Then Lance and I spent a few days on the dyno working on the OpenFlash Tablet tune. Prior to this, his only experience was with the Ecutek platform. I think we converted them :)

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[ame]http://youtu.be/Ptyi9mT0XoA[/ame]

Reserved for Part 2: From Vortech SC to OFT300

Awesome read, can't wait to learn more about this!

I'm excited for part 2 of this..

Very excited for this. Been waiting for a kit just like this!

This is awesome.

Okay, so now we know which direction to throw our money, will you please tell us how much to throw?

@shiv@vishnu

can you explain the valvetrain noise at the 23,second mark around 4000RPM. what is a actually happening in the motor causing that sound.

this is a very very good post.

Its part 2 time right?

Coming soon. Just writing some XMLs for the Miata right now :)

TAKE MY MONEY NOW!!! :)

Just want a price...

cliff notes: well under 4k for the SC alone once OFT dollar discount is applied. And then additional discounts when purchasing header to go with him. Exactly pricing to come soon as i get some time to add the OFT300 page in the website :)

I'm buying one, just tell me when!

Real talk: I keep fussin' bout the Innovate SC, is this something we might see you releasing down the pipeline? Or do I abandon all hope and save up for the Vortech?

Shiv can you answer tuning question above?

Yes Please! Oh mommy! I need a second job!

Please let the OFT and OFH dollars apply to those that have already purchased. :bow:

More vortech twins = awesome

hmm. so I'm guessing around $3600 or $3700 with OFT dollars, what about with OFH dollars? Hoping for around $3300.. I could part with that today..

FYI, there is no such thing as OFH dollars. Only OFT dollars.

you said there was an additional discount when buying the headers with the sc so I assumed it was the case that you were doing the same thing by way of "dollars"

When are ofh shipping?

We shop a handful of OFHs every week. So they are always shipping technically :)

I got the OFT from a group buy, not directly from your website.
Do I have OFT dollars? :)

Can you guys just wait til they release the pricing? Jesus lol

Sent from my SCH-I605

I've been meaning to ask this for the longest time.

Hopefully we will at least get some. I'm open to anything ;)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

More close ups of ofh

Money ready to swipe. Looking hard at yours, and jdl

How about in USD? :D

Hi guys,
The extra induction growl you hear at ~4000rpm is just from VVT mapping. Once the OFH is installed, VVT mapping changes and that goes away. But even with that noise there, it's pretty subtle. Seems like it's just amplified from being indoors in the video.

Also, I don't expect much extra power running the 3.0" exhaust over the 2.5". Just a bit more exhaust volume. I'd say we would have to be making another 50hp before I'd expect to see any exhaust restriction worth mentioning.

Lastly, I should have pricing later today.

Cheers
shiv

PS. Pics of our OFH are on our Facebook page and on our website

Shiv, not sure if this is the best place to ask but here it goes. How would you describe this setup to the ESC for normal street driving. I understand they provide fairly different power curves, but you are one of few people who has had a good amount of seat time with both set ups.


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Two different beasts. Both have very distinct pros and cons. Once I find the time, I'll do a comprehensive write up comparing the two.

Cliff notes: If you want something that can be installed/uninstalled quickly, there is nothing better than the Phantom SC. Once the battery packs are installed, you can literally remove the SC in minutes for dealership visits or, in my case, NA map development/testing. On the dyno, it also provides more torque up to 4500rpm which makes for better top gear highway passing performance (less need to downshift). Being an electric supercharger (not belt driven), you will also see better fuel economy which isn't trivial.

The Vortech kit, on the other hand, will get a a bit less mpg, give you slightly more whirring noise under the hood (I kinda like it). And while it won't give you as much torque on the dyno in the low end, the torque it does give you is IMMEDIATE. Whereas the ESC needs to spool up from rest, the SC is always spinning with the engine. So when the foot goes down, the bypass valve closes and you immediately have boost. This difference alone makes the two feel comparable in the low end. One gives more torque but is lagger. The other gives you less but is immediate. End result is about the same level of performance but with the SC feeling more natural and coherent (just like a larger engine) vs feeling like a smaller engine with an on-demand power adder.

Above 4500rpm, no comparison. SC wins hands down. It's definitely more satisfying. Not just in power but also response and power delivery and controllability. It's not an on/off switch like the ESC. And it makes peak power above 7000rpm which makes it feel and sound like a race car. When driving, you get into a groove of shifting, WOT, shifting, WOT, etc,. and it's very very satisfying in that it feels like a bigger, higher revving engine. No surges or any indication that it's boosted other than the sound of the bypass valve relieving pressure from time to time. Definitely a better driver's tool.

But the ESC is A LOT more affordable, especially when you factor in installation cost. Which in itself, is enough reason for many people to consider it. I suspect you will find more people going with the ESC first and then swapping over to an SC later once they get the taste of boost. I don't foresee people going the other way around. We have the Phantom kit on our shop car and I enjoy it very much. For less than $2k you pick up heaps of torque and ~40whp gains. But I'd be lying if it didn't say I wouldn't go with the SC if it was logistically feasible for us at this time. We are still developing NA maps and can't exactly install/uninstall the Vortech kit as needed.

Is it later yet? :happyanim:

Reminds me of kids asking are we there yet on road trip lol

How about now? :D

DAD SHES TOUCHING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Better yet, when can we expect a compound charging tune for a combo of the ESC and Vortec :evil: (just kidding.... or am I?!)

Whatever happened with the ESC?

Shiv said next week hopefully! It's what I'm waiting for got mine sitting in the box

Shiv

Indian to Indian I will come by and offer you my Amex to go buck wild on but I need to know you're committed to my results

Last we spoke three months ago and you weren't ready for what mike and I at vortech have done to my car

Are you ready now?
Meth
E85
Race kit oil fed sc 11.5psi
Race gas

Have money to burn can't find a tuner worth my dime

...So... we there yet?

Please don't get Shiv strung-out on Meth. We need him. :lol: