Supercharger CARB questions

[James The Giant]

About to pull the trigger on a supercharger, but have a few questions for you guys...

My main goal with this build is reliability. I don't care about numbers, or who I can beat, I just want a little more oomph when I put my foot down. The car is my daily driver, and I thoroughly enjoy back roads and a good on-ramp.

From everything I've read, I am leaning towards the Jackson C30... But here is the issue... My local shop recommends the Kraftwerks Kit (obviously, because they supply it). I can get a hell of a deal on the Jackson kit and the exhaust I want shipped from an online vendor. But the catch is, if I do that, any warranty issues have to be handled over the phone with someone I've never met, instead of the guys actually putting the kit on, who can actually look at and work on my car... Another problem is: if I order online, the installation and tune my shop quoted me raises the cost well above the "Out the door" cost of the Kraftwerks kit (I know, they do this on purpose so I buy their stuff)

So I know a handful of other tuners who would probably do the install/tune for MUCH less... And from what I hear, the Jackson kit is an easy install, so that might not be a bad option... But with the amount of money for the kit and the car, I'm hesitant to take shortcuts. So what would you guys do?

Option 1: Kraftwerks kit: sold/installed/tuned/warrantied locally by trusted shop

Option 2: Jackson kit: ordered online and installed locally by trusted shop, but pricey labor, sketchy warranty situation

Option 3: Jackson Kit: ordered online, and installed by experienced but less expensive tuner, sketchiest of warranty situations

The anxiety and decision making is killing me, but...

I WANNA GO FAST!

[CounterSpace Garage]

Originally Posted by James The Giant

About to pull the trigger on a supercharger, but have a few questions for you guys...

My main goal with this build is reliability. I don't care about numbers, or who I can beat, I just want a little more oomph when I put my foot down. The car is my daily driver, and I thoroughly enjoy back roads and a good on-ramp.

From everything I've read, I am leaning towards the Jackson C30... But here is the issue... My local shop recommends the Kraftwerks Kit (obviously, because they supply it). I can get a hell of a deal on the Jackson kit and the exhaust I want shipped from an online vendor. But the catch is, if I do that, any warranty issues have to be handled over the phone with someone I've never met, instead of the guys actually putting the kit on, who I can actually look at and work on my car... Another problem is: if I order online, the installation and tune my shop quoted me raises the cost well above the "Out the door" cost of the Kraftwerks kit (I know, they do this on purpose so I buy their stuff)

So I know a handful of other tuners who would probably do the install/tune for MUCH less... And from what I hear, the Jackson kit is an easy install, so that might not be a bad option... But with the amount of money for the kit and the car, I'm hesitant to take shortcuts. So what would you guys do?

Option 1: Kraftwerks kit: sold/installed/tuned/warrantied locally by trusted shop

Option 2: Jackson kit: ordered online and installed locally by trusted shop, but pricey labor, sketchy warranty situation

Option 3: Jackson Kit: ordered online, and installed by experienced but less expensive tuner, sketchiest of warranty situations

The anxiety and decision making is killing me, but...

I WANNA GO FAST!

We have a significant amount of experience with supercharger setups. Perhaps we can guide you to a local who can give you some pointers or advice in your region as well. @dp1

[Xxyion]

Originally Posted by James The Giant

About to pull the trigger on a supercharger, but have a few questions for you guys...

My main goal with this build is reliability. I don't care about numbers, or who I can beat, I just want a little more oomph when I put my foot down. The car is my daily driver, and I thoroughly enjoy back roads and a good on-ramp.

From everything I've read, I am leaning towards the Jackson C30... But here is the issue... My local shop recommends the Kraftwerks Kit (obviously, because they supply it). I can get a hell of a deal on the Jackson kit and the exhaust I want shipped from an online vendor. But the catch is, if I do that, any warranty issues have to be handled over the phone with someone I've never met, instead of the guys actually putting the kit on, who I can actually look at and work on my car... Another problem is: if I order online, the installation and tune my shop quoted me raises the cost well above the "Out the door" cost of the Kraftwerks kit (I know, they do this on purpose so I buy their stuff)

So I know a handful of other tuners who would probably do the install/tune for MUCH less... And from what I hear, the Jackson kit is an easy install, so that might not be a bad option... But with the amount of money for the kit and the car, I'm hesitant to take shortcuts. So what would you guys do?

Option 1: Kraftwerks kit: sold/installed/tuned/warrantied locally by trusted shop

Option 2: Jackson kit: ordered online and installed locally by trusted shop, but pricey labor, sketchy warranty situation

Option 3: Jackson Kit: ordered online, and installed by experienced but less expensive tuner, sketchiest of warranty situations

The anxiety and decision making is killing me, but...

I WANNA GO FAST!

How set are you on the CARB tune? I realize doing a different tune might make it a little more expensive however i can highly recommend a good e-tune from Delicious. They did the tune for my Edelbrock and my car runs incredibly well. I'm not sure if its the same for the JSRC but i do know a lot of people were having issues with the Edelbrock CARB tune.

As far as warranty goes, is it through Jackson Racing? I believe there shouldnt be any sketchiness if its just a form that you fill out and send back. But i've been wrong many times before

[James The Giant]

Sorry, had questions about the carb tune when I first posted, but got them resolved...

If I go with Jackson, I'll be using the TIY kit. From what I understand the Jackson and Kraftwerks kit are essentially the same, the major difference being a ribbed or cogged belt. The plus for the Kraftwerks is it can be driven if the belt snaps... The plus for the Jackson is I haven't read of many belts snapping, so I shouldn't worry too much about that. Has the belt issues with Kraftwerks been resolved? I have seen people blame poorly tensioned belts, but also the cog belt altogether... Either way, is this still happening a lot?

I really like the idea of going with what my local shop recommends, as they will be installing/tuning/maintaining it... But I can get a much better deal online, that includes exhaust, for much less... Only problem is finding an affordable, EXPERIENCED tuner...

To clarify what I meant about sketchy warranty situations... If I order online and have an issue, I have to call the company, ship out parts, argue about whether it was installed properly, yada yada yada.... If I buy from my local shop and have a problem, I take the car there and they deal with it. No phone tag, trips to UPS, etc...

[James The Giant]

In the Baltimore Maryland area, if that helps.

[taiguy]

At least you have shops in your area who are willing to even tune your car. Nothing even close in the middle of the country. I had to install myself and then troubleshoot remotely with Edelbrock and Delicious.

Local support is definitely worth something.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by taiguy

At least you have shops in your area who are willing to even tune your car. Nothing even close in the middle of the country. I had to install myself and then troubleshoot remotely with Edelbrock and Delicious.

Local support is definitely worth something.

Time to move to SoCal!