Edelbrock SC or sell for something faster?
 

Hi all, I’ll keep this simple.

There is someone selling an Edelbrock kit for $3000 locally. Great price, but I’m concerned that my car might blow up and cost me more than simply trading in my 86 and getting a Cayman or Type R.

I do like my 86 but not sure if it’s worth modifying if I end up blowing up the trans/engine and have to spend an extra 10k or whatever to get the car back on the road. At that point I would rather have a type r. Plus it’s my daily driver so I kinda need it on the road.

I’ve read the Edelbrock thread but I’m still not convinced it will be reliable long term (I’m talking 2-3 years). Any input would be helpful. Thank you as I am on the edge of putting the car back to stock.


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Ive been running a Cosworth Supercharger for several years and have driven hard with it. So far I haven’t experienced any issues with the engine or transmission but I have had issues maintaining the supercharger (and Subaru won’t let me do a recall with it on the engine). Why are you looking at Superchargers over Turbos? Just curious


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I already have a JDL header installed, plus living in FL, I understand I would need to spend more money on cooling for a turbo as it’s more complicated with more that can go wrong under the hood.

Also, JDL talked about price increases on their turbo kits. Is turbo worth the extra cost? For example, I saw CSG Mike’s full turbo build and he spent 5 figures on cooling/supporting mods.


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Probably not although I can’t speak to owning a turbo 86 or BRZ. It is definitely something to consider that you might have to spend money maintaining either option in the long run and reliability might suffer. That’s obviously the benefit of trading for a factory approved setup.


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I think this is more about what you want. Go read the cayman vs BRZ thread, a lot of people are liking the twins over the cayman because it’s lighter and more playful. But this is very subjective. Remember a Cayman will cost you a lot more to maintain if you are using it as a DD. For example I can easily afford a cayman but there was no way I was gonna put 18k a year on it going back and forth to work. Just oil, brakes and tires alone are significantly more expensive than on a BRZ, even if I do some of the work myself. Forget about it if something goes wrong, the cayman will cost more. That said both platforms are reliable in stock form. So adding the SC may effect reliability.

Would you mod the cayman or keep it stock? As modding p-cars is also more expensive than the twins.

Also the Cayman has a bit more status, if that is something you care about.

I wanted the cayman but have two kids to get through college first. So the BRZ was the next best thing and I could not be happier. Also needed that back seat a few times. Once this college thing is done, that weekend Cayman S might be just the thing. But probably still keep the BRZ for DD.

Really comes down to what you want.

As soon as you change anything from stock you increase risk. The greater the change the higher the risk.
Now, of course risk does not mean you will have issues just that the probability increases.
It is up to each individual if they can accept the level of risk that their mods creates.
Ask yourself some simple questions.
Can I live without the car for prolonged periods?
Do I have the ability to properly install and maintain a FI system?
Do I have the cash reserves to repair or replace an engine (or other components) if there is a catastrophic failure?
If the answer to any of those is no then you may be better off looking at something else.


But...


Keep in mind that unless you are buying new both the Cayman and Type R are going to cost you more in general upkeep. To buy used ones you will pay a premium to get something that isn't already somebody's money pit. In the long run having to swap out a blown engine in the Twin you already own and is paid for could be far far cheaper than purchasing, maintaining or repairing something that has more power to start with.
It is all a balancing act. Some win at it and some lose miserably.

Buy a car that is fast enough for you without engine mods if you want peace of mind. That is what I've learned from supercharging my BRZ.

Anytime you add power you’re compromising reliability. A lot depends if you enjoy modding. The 86 is a cheap mod platform as opposed to say, a Cayman. It’s tough to beat the handling of the 86. You won’t find that except for a Miata unless you spend a lot more on something like a 4C or Elise. S2000 is also a good platform.

Cost and cost of maintenance and repair always need to be factored in also. The bummer is any modding is money down the toilet on top of yearly depreciation. If I didn’t love the track I’d get a Cayman and leave it pretty much stock.

I was just checking and found that there are new 2019 Corvette Stingrays available for $50K. For my JRSC FR-S, I have already spent more than $15K over the initial purchase. Selling the car and paying 50K gets you a brand-new, under-warranty car that is faster and more powerful than your Edelbrock 86 can ever be. Adding Edelbrock, on the other hand, only makes sense if wrenching and building your own car is a hobby that you *really* enjoy. Your expenses will not stop after installing the Edelbrock kit. For example I recently paid $5K for replacing the valve springs out-of-warranty. Cooling upgrade, clutch upgrade (if manual), etc all add to cost and takes time if you do wrenching yourself.

NA is more reliable without question. But it doesn't mean that your engine will fail after the supercharger. in 4 years and more than 30K miles with my supercharged FR-S, it was only unavailable when the valve springs were being replaced which happened to many NA cars as well. It never failed to start otherwise.

Having just paid off my fr-s in Dec, and installing the Edelbrock SC in March. I can't quite give you a reliability assessment yet.
Eventually, with a manual I'll need to upgrade the cluch, and I'll sometime soon upgrade to the newer bypass valve.
If you maintain your car and don't beat on it, adding this SC shouldn't greatly affect the car's reliability. Your mpg is gonna take hit though.
The install was super easy. If you don't need to use your car, and have a garage to work on it, take your time.
By no means am I mechanic, nor am I font of Twins knowledge. But I know that how well you maintain and treat your car will increase the life span of it, modified or not.

I think a used C6 Corvette is right up your alley.

There are (I'm not sure) hundreds and hundreds of people who have been reliably supercharged on 9psi for years. It's not a time bomb. Doing the valve spring recall is s time bomb. If you want something fast get a sportbike. There is no such thing as a fast car, you cant change my mind. I have a 200whp s1000rr

As far as a car, I would just get something fun that you like. A supercharged frs/brz for example.

I was reliably supercharged on stock engine for 45k miles. Blew up without warning. Now built motor and I still worry.

All engines are reliable until they're not :) Best of luck with the next one, though.