Turbo Reliability VS Supercharger reliability

[CSG David]

Originally Posted by KGB

how much less exciting than the turbo?
I dont mind sacrificing a little bit of power for reliablity.

The excitement part isn't quite there because the power comes in so linearly that it just feels like the car is pulling at about the same speed. The only difference is, your speedometer numbers rise much quicker.

The "excitement" factor from the turbo is when you feel that torque kick in. With big power requires big money. The FA20 is nothing special in terms of holding big power, however, if you develop the powerband correctly with existing kits on the market, it'll make it one potent setup.

[s2d4]

It isn't linear.

[D K]

Originally Posted by CSG David

The excitement part isn't quite there

The only excitement on a turbo kit is the sound of metal braking as the rod forces itself through the block

[KGB]

If I go the supercharger directions. Which one do you guys agree on? Under 5000 preferably?

[CSG David]

Originally Posted by D K

The only excitement on a turbo kit is the sound of metal braking as the rod forces itself through the block

I've heard that sound a few times already.

Originally Posted by KGB

If I go the supercharger directions. Which one do you guys agree on? Under 5000 preferably?

I'll PM you so it doesn't become a war zone again. @King Tut

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by scmil95eg

I've seen several people make the same suggestions to the OP so I'm not calling you out specifically, but I'm interested in learning why you (or anyone else) thinks that way.

If I told you (or anyone else) that I didn't know how to swim, but wanted to learn, would you recommend that I avoid any and all contact with water until I learned how?

I hope you can see the catch 22.

If OP wants a little more power out of his car but doesn't know the difference between a wastegate and a BOV - I recommend diving in! Every cowboy has a first rodeo, and internal combustion knowledge isn't human instinct. Make mistakes, learn from them, and continue to build your knowledge and experience base.

The BRZ/FR-S and the FA20 engine is like not knowing how to swim and jumping in the middle of the Atlantic hoping to survive. If you want to learn and experiment then go pick up a $1000 car and throw an eBay turbo kit on it. The price of a quality turbo kit and the possible needed expense for a new motor should something go wrong plus the price of a new BRZ/FR-S is no kiddy pool.

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by scmil95eg

Acknowledged. But I still don't agree with the need for higher education. Hypothetically, if I paid a shop to install a turbo kit on my FR-S and tune it, and I drove away and something went wrong, I'm bringing it back to the shop to figure out. Because I didn't do it. And I have no idea what the shop did. But I paid for a finished product. So making it right is the shops responsibility. If a product flaw makes it impossible for a shop to make cars run right or reliable, I'd still say this is the shops responsibility for selling it.

That is the wrong attitude in my mind. You paid for a turbo kit and the install. You didn't pay for a warranty or free labor on anything that may go wrong. Parts fail, that is reality.

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by KGB

If I go the supercharger directions. Which one do you guys agree on? Under 5000 preferably?

Nobody agrees. Any of the centri supercharger kits will get you to 260 whp with some work and a good 93 octane tune. None of them will get you to 300 whp on 93 octane though, or at least I havent seen it. Don't think you will just slap the kit on and run the basemap and make those numbers though.

[scmil95eg]

Originally Posted by King Tut

That is the wrong attitude in my mind. You paid for a turbo kit and the install. You didn't pay for a warranty or free labor on anything that may go wrong. Parts fail, that is reality.

I specified install & tune.
You sound extremely understanding.
So if a shop installs a set of coilovers for you, and does an alignment, and you pull out of their driveway and your wheel falls off because they didn't tighten the lug nuts right, you'll just chalk that up to, "I didn't pay for a warranty or free labor on anything that may go wrong" and take care of it?

In my opinion, that's exactly the same as paying for a tune and getting a car that runs like sh!t, or not at all, or with chronic problems. It isn't right. And it's not the customers responsibility to make it right if that's what they paid for in the first place.

I'm sure you must agree, at least to some degree. And if not, I'll happily sell you a tune for your M3. My tune might not run right, but I'm sure you'll figure it out.

[SirBrass]

Actually you can easily reach 300 whp with a cetrifugal SC setup and 91 or 93 octane tune, if you have someone who is well practiced on the platform. Much higher with the right pulley and E85.

I still advocate for you to learn how to handle this car with the power it has stock. THEN consider your FI options. It gives you time to really get a feel for this car and to perform all the necessary and recommended reliability and prep mods for the car. If you end up NOT going FI, then you've just bullet-proofed your car even more, and if you do eventually decide to go FI (either SC or turbo), you've given the community and aftermarket suppliers that much longer to debug the tuning process and the kits.

With better tires, improved tune and headers this car really comes alive and is loads of fun. Even more so with FI, but with a new car you REALLY should take it in gradual stages as YOU grow and improve as a driver. It's not the car that is fast, exactly, but the driver. Improve yourself as a driver and, as my HPDE instructor told me several times last month, "Speed happens."

[Boxer486]

I'm always wary of people looking to upgrade power first. Yeah, okay, maybe a drop in filter. Soooo many things to do first. I'd go new rubber and pads at a minimum first both at the same time preferably.

[CSG David]

Originally Posted by Boxer486

I'm always wary of people looking to upgrade power first. Yeah, okay, maybe a drop in filter. Soooo many things to do first. I'd go new rubber and pads at a minimum first both at the same time preferably.

Brake pads, brake fluid, and alignment. Oh the number of people we school with just that setup.

[Reaper]

Yup my car is currently slower fi'ed than it was stock on successive corners under 50mph.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by CSG David

Brake pads, brake fluid, and alignment. Oh the number of people we school with just that setup.

Exactly. It was one of the NASA guys who said about my mostly (except for engine-back + tune) stock power brz: "You've already got enough power to have more fun than is legally allowed" :P. When driven smoothly, this car slices corners VERY well. It can get owned in the straights by the muscle cars, but if it can catch up and get well ahead in the curves, then it's already at the end of the straight when the muscle machine gets out of the curves (hopefully). And if not, that's when you begin to add power. You just have to learn to be more careful with the throttle elsewhere.

Or, like I was told already: speed happens (when you learn to take the right lines, hit the brake points, and otherwise drive and input smoothly).