Ok, sorry for the late check-in
Weekend has been non-stop since I left the track on Saturday. I wanted to just drop a little line (insert sarcasm) in regard to Huehuecoyotl's setup and my impressions of the Vortech system. For those who are in search of unbiased reviews or impressions that is what I am here to hopefully accomplish. Now a little background on the situation just so those reading this have an idea of the circumstances.
This was the first time Huehuecoyotl and I had met so the impressions I have of the Vortech system for this car are basically the same as anyone here on the forum would have access to. The reason I wanted to arrange a meetup was to assist my decision on forced induction for this platform just as many here are trying to do. What better place than the track. I am far from new to forced induction and as a matter of fact my other track car utilizes turbo. I know there is a lot of controversy about the reliability in the AZ environment with turbos and track time but if done properly they are just fine imo (not to be confused with pros and cons out of the box between the various FI options). I want to bring that up to clarify I do not have bias with regard to AZ extreme climate or altitude for the most part as their are clear pros and cons (again not to be confused with the differences environment can have on FI that I do genuinely recognize). I have been involved in many SEMA vehicle builds in the past and have worked with a substantial amount of aftermarket companies to bring new products to the tuning community. I bring this up because I want it to be known that my access and experience with lots of different parts and companies has refined my perspective of performance add-ons. I am a boost junky by nature no question about it and I have respect for all forms. Each with their pros and cons that compliment different uses in their own unique ways. Road coursing is my favorite playground of all the motorsports out there and it is the place I feel this car belongs when not looking fantastic on the streets. If you are looking for an all out straight line drag car or V8 tq. thrust then you may as well stop reading this now.... You have to approach this kit with a realistic point of view. I will tell you right now this setup is not going to net you superiority on the straights on the track but fast in the straights is only part of the track
(More on this later).
First of all thanks a bunch Huehuecoyotl for the ride along for both my girlfriend and I. I am glad we were able to make some minor tweaks to the suspension to get it dialed in to provide a little more corner speed and confidence. Just need to work on the brakes and I think you will really be able to carry some speed through the corners as we talked about. For those who may not have caught that, the car is fast enough to be limited by brakes at this point......
The tires were also brand new (literally 1 day old) so they first needed to be broken in which took no time at all when the track is roasting hot
So after a couple laps of breaking in the tires I was able to get a feel for Gem's car and the way it reacts on the track. Mind you I am paying attention to EVERYTHING, not just the power at this point, suspension, brakes, acceleration, cornering power, predictability, steering response, driver input, all of it. This particular track is 2.25 miles in length and is SUPER flat with very little elevation change throughout. It has a great mix of straight sections and nice smooth corners that in my opinion are really good to get a feel for this kit/car. We have a lot of road course tracks here in AZ so we are lucky but this was a good place for reviewing the Vortech. Here is the track for reference:
The first thing you will notice with Vortech is nothing!.......... Whoa wait a minute what does that mean? Your thinking to yourself I read all of this and the Vortech yielded nothing!?.......... Well don't panic this is actually a good thing
What you notice is an FRS/BRZ/86 that is faster, what you don't notice is why it is faster unless you pop the hood. Trying to find words to describe the feel of the vehicles new found breath of fresh air (literally) is not an easy task. The best way to explain it is that the little 2.0 liter boxer just became a bigger displacement NA engine. The power is incredibly smooth and the infamous TQ dip gone. The accelerator pedal matches the power, the vehicle is reactive to the foot. It is darn right unnoticeable except for the fact that it doesn't feel like your accelerating into a 50mph wind gust as the little boxer seems to exhibit in the 3k-4k range. It reaches redline faster in all situations around the track. The straights are fast and linear but vehicles with more power will make up some ground here however, Gem's car had no problem keeping up with much faster cars on the straights. I think it should also be noted that with the two of us in his car we were likely pushing the threshold of 400 extra lbs. I weigh a little over 200lbs myself and this can make a big difference for anyone who is use to carrying a passenger on the track. Cars are undoubtedly slower with extra weight. Still, even with this having been said the car still had no problem accelerating with ease.
It's fun! It's refined feeling! It's that little bit of power the platform was missing! Did I mention unnoticeable?
It lets you just simply drive the crap out of it while it secretly resuscitates the the boxer to life. It allows you to focus on skill as a driver as the vehicles behavior is so smooth and confident. Is it a neck breaker? Absolutely far from it..... Is it vocal about its existence like a turbo, roots, or screw makes it audibly known its there? Nope! Is it the fastest car on the track??........ Gem I think we can get you there to hold out in front next time with some apex refinement. The car had no problem leading the pack until we gradually became faster and faster and needed to make a couple suspension adjustments to compensate for a bit of understeer mostly in turns 2-3. understeer popped its head up in many of the corners but this was easily resolved. The car powers out of the corners with predictability and ease as it climbs through the gears. No burst of power to encourage the rear to overcome traction which was seen on multiple occasions as more powerful rear-wheel drive vehicles lost it on several corner exits. Could the kit use some more power for more advanced drivers YES but far from necessary. With that said my guess is that Vortech has a couple tricks up their sleeve that will allow users to further increase their powerband which imo can be more beneficial over more power on the track.
Conclusion, minus all the technical bits such as dynos that often muddy the waters for those looking for a kit that is going to just put a smile on their face. I love all that data, I really do but when the day is over all of that is only part of the equation. How does this thing feel on the track and on the street?
I think this kit is a fantastic compliment to the car. I have to be honest, it is hard as hell for me not to go turbo on this car but I also love superchargers. They each have their time and place and the way this kit reacted with this vehicle is damn near exactly what I was looking for. Even though we had a failure on the track don't let this be of too much concern as that is part of the game and more importantly not catastrophic. Vortech appears to be on top of it and there isn't much more you can ask for really. The system still runs hot and I am not afraid to say that I was actually surprised by the hands on temp of the cold side charge pipe after a 20 minute heat (it was really hot). Mind you this was felt after 2 laps around the paddock to cool the brakes down so feeling it right after the session would have been more ideal. We were not data logging at the time so I was unable to see actual IATs which would have given better insight. I have my way of suppressing heat out here in AZ which I highly encouraged Huehuecoyotl to perhaps look into. For those looking to purchase this kit I really truly liked this kit and it blends right into the car both visually and performance wise. I am excited to see this kit grow over time and I would say this is without a doubt a contender.
