Edelbrock vs Speed By Design 400x/500x
 

I'm trying to pick between the two.

My car is DD for now (might turn it into a project car in 3 yrs - not sure).

My goal is to go FI while staying reliable and not spend too much (don't want to upgrade the clutch, injectors, etc) right now. Would be nice to be able to upgrade later if I want more power (not sure if I will want more)

It seems like Edelbrock is more reliable for DD. However, SPD owners are also very happy with their kits.

Edelbrock is a bit pricier than SBD500X (Complete Bundle Package) while putting out much less power. Their torque curves seem similar (might be wrong on this).

They both seem to offer everything for me to install (or have it installed)

sort of different kits, the best would be finding someone near you with each kit (or at least edelbrock vs turbo) so you get a feel for what each is like.

Can't really go wrong with either though

in my opinion, supers are much more reliable than turbos.
BUT turbos are much more fun. the lag is fun, the blow off can be super fun.
but.. i'd go super, if i could go back.

The SBD500X does indeed put out more power... but any more power than the edelbrock and you will need a clutch. So you need to factor that in as well.

I currently have the Edelbrock kit. Its a great kit and if you get a Delicious tune you can put down some decent power with some nice low end torque. Also it has the pedigree. Edelbrock has been building engines and boosting them since the late 40's. It's also one of the best built kits out on the market.

SBD kit however is the best bang for your buck in terms of dollar per horsepower. Pretty simple to install and you have a few different ways to tune the kit as well as it supports the OpenFlash Tablet. It's modeled off the Greddy Turbo kit so reliability seems to be pretty good.

The benefit ti the Edelbrock is the CARB legal tune you get with it. I'm in California so that was a no brainer to me. It also makes the best mid range power out of all the SC kits out there.

Since you are in Florida i'd highly recommend the SBD kit. Don't have to worry about CARB and you have more space to take advantage of being closer to 300 who.

Don't get the 500 kit unless you plan on building your engine. that kit can easily push 400hp on 93 octane and more on e85. With the 400 kit you can run lower boost (which ups reliability) and come up right below 300 whp which won't compromise your engine life. It will also make it so you won't have to buy a new clutch for a while.

If reliability is a big must then strongly consider the Edelbrock. The benefit to running a supercharger is you don't need any supporting mods (catch can, oil cooler) unless you plan on tracking the car. Also power isn't as big of an issue especially if you don't want to upgrade your clutch. With the right tune and fuel you can easily hit 270 whp.

Remember you can really only pick two, reliability, cost, power

If you go with Edelbrock i'd personally get a clutch first. The power from any FI will make the stock one wear a lot faster, and once the supercharger is on, the slave cylinder is a pain to get to, so it's easier to do the clutch before.

Do you want to hear a wine or whistle?

If the edelbrock whined, I would have been all over it. Every video I've ever seen it is more or less silent. The Sprintex whines like an SoB. If I could get that on an edelbrock I'd be in heaven lol

yup, everything I've seen points to the edelbrock kit being quiet

Can confirm, it's suuuper silent. I can hear it every now and then but generally only starting from a dead stop.

I just made this decision and for the first time in over 20 years of modifying cars went with the Edelbrock supercharger. I have had many turbo cars over the years (Turbo E36 M3, multiple RX7s etc) and the supercharger is...different for sure. The blower feels like the car just has a larger engine, there is no violent hit like with most larger aftermarket turbos. Also heat management with the supercharger seem better with the packaging limitations. I guess only time can tell if I would have rather gone turbo but I am enjoying my choice so far.

The Edelbrock kit was one of the nicest and most complete FI kits I have ever installed on a car.

Also a second on the Edelbrock being quiet, with the heat exchanger so far back most people probably cant even tell the car is modified.

Sbd 400x is pretty much the best kit you can get IN MY OWN OPINION. Ive been running an sbd kit for 13k miles at 10 psi/93 octane and hasnt missed a beat. Chris offers full and CONSTANT (he listens/replies to everyone) support, multiple upgrade packages, package deals with kits, and several different deals depending on the time of year. As far as the turbo v SC debate, you'll always have people on both sides of the fence. I'd do what others have suggested and try to find a vehicle with a turbo/supercharger and ride in it. I had the advantage of riding in a Vortech V3 before I purchased my SBD and I am VERY happy that I did.

Tl;dr
SBD is a bangin' deal, Chris is literally ALWAYS there for any questions (or just ask the FB group), and you get to hear the prominent stututututu.

SBD is right now really hitting that legendary unicorn of good power good reliability and low cost.

I dont hear too many horror stories of this kit failing on people. However i havnt read on any long term reliability. Only thing close is someone ran 80k miles on a Vortech Supercharger. I'd love to see numbers on people who have ran this kit for something close to that number.

Now if only they could get it CARB certified but put out the same power...=D