do superchargers require special maintenance?

[JoonPrime]

car noobie here who cant seem to find his papers he got when he first got the SC installed.....
ive got a kraftwerks supercharger(the regular one, not upgraded pulley)

-is the maintenance as simple as a oil change? like for engine oil?? and if so, how many miles in does it last?? ive tried using the search function but found no definitive answers....sorry and thanks people!

[cdrazic93]

(Dont have an SC) but you could probably just google search it for other more often cars that are supercharged.

[campy]

Not from KraftWerks, but the Jackson Racing install manual says to change the Rotrex traction fluid every 2 years/50,000 miles. Also change engine oil/filter every 3 months/3,000 miles. It should be the same for your kit as they're both using the same Rotrex C30 supercharger.

Another good piece of advice is to keep an eye on your belt. Some kits seem to shred them occasionally, even though it doesn't seem to be a problem on the JR/KW kits.

[rs999]

The Innovate kit I think is belt and oil every 30K. This extra maintenance makes me want a turbo more which is more install and forget it.

[Whatabouteggs]

The only thing most require is an occasional fluid change. Roots type blowers seem to go longer on changes because they don't have to spin as fast. The M90 on my gtp had intervals of 80k or something.

There are some centris that use engine oil now like turbos. Even then I would expect them to be way more reliable than turbos on average, given the lower temperatures. Turbos can be real drama queens with maintenance.

[xwd]

The turbo on my diesel truck is at 290000 miles. There is a reason almost all OEMs use turbos.


However superchargers like the Eaton TVS used in the Cosworth kit are not meant to be changed unless it sees heavy load like racing or towing.

[brianhj]

Originally Posted by dwx

The turbo on my diesel truck is at 290000 miles. There is a reason almost all OEMs use turbos.

Why? Because you just install it and forget, correct? And that they require no maintenance?

[Koa]

Originally Posted by rs999

The Innovate kit I think is belt and oil every 30K. This extra maintenance makes me want a turbo more which is more install and forget it.

turbo installs are definitely not install and forget, but I am not saying that they aren't lower cost of maintenance. Also have to factor in the additional initial cost of a turbo rig; extra piping, EWG (if done up proper), etc

all these factors play into time and $$, but what doesn't have a billion requirements and conditions nowadays, innit

[zkv476]

The extra maintenance just comes from having separate oil. Vortech V2's using engine oil are on the same maintenance regimen as turbos: change the oil regularly. I wouldn't call it "special" maintenance. I had a Vortech before my turbo, and it has one of the shorter change intervals, every 7,500 miles.

OEM's use turbos because they're simpler in the grand scheme of things and more efficient. If you had a turbo FA20 and supercharged FA20 making the same crank hp, the supercharged one would be stressed more, since it's really making more power to drive the supercharger. Sure turbos have backpressure losses but not as many losses as taking directly from produced rotational output at the crank.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by JoonPrime

car noobie here who cant seem to find his papers he got when he first got the SC installed.....
ive got a kraftwerks supercharger(the regular one, not upgraded pulley)

-is the maintenance as simple as a oil change? like for engine oil?? and if so, how many miles in does it last?? ive tried using the search function but found no definitive answers....sorry and thanks people!

It depends on the supercharger.

Vortech that use engine oil require no extra maintenance for the supercharger.

Rotrex kits (Kraftwerks, Jackson Racing) require you to change the rotrex fluid once every 2 years or 50k miles.

[campy]

Originally Posted by rs999

The Innovate kit I think is belt and oil every 30K. This extra maintenance makes me want a turbo more which is more install and forget it.

I have never met a turbo owner who would describe the experience as "install and forget".

Before getting my supercharger, I was 100% set on a turbo. But when I started talking to turbo owners, I asked if they would have done anything differently with their build. Surprisingly, the majority said they would probably have just gone with a supercharger instead, because they felt like they were frequently coming back to the shop to get their cars retuned, or to get parts replaced/tweaked. That was convincing enough to turn me to the supercharger side.

Also, there's a big difference between OEM and aftermarket setups for both turbos and SCs. OEM units are built with longevity at the forefront, and run pretty conservative tunes (to give an example, you can tune a bone stock FRS to 200whp on a really aggressive tune). Aftermarket kits are designed for more power because that's what customers in the aftermarket are demanding.

[rs999]

Originally Posted by campy

I have never met a turbo owner who would describe the experience as "install and forget".

You're looking at one

On my VW GTI, I have an APR Stage 3 turbo kit. I don't do anything out of the ordinary for the kit other than change the cone filter every 20K miles.

Otherwise oil and cooling and all other maintenance is the same. And it has been that way for the past 41K miles since install.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by campy

I have never met a turbo owner who would describe the experience as "install and forget".

Before getting my supercharger, I was 100% set on a turbo. But when I started talking to turbo owners, I asked if they would have done anything differently with their build. Surprisingly, the majority said they would probably have just gone with a supercharger instead, because they felt like they were frequently coming back to the shop to get their cars retuned, or to get parts replaced/tweaked. That was convincing enough to turn me to the supercharger side.

Also, there's a big difference between OEM and aftermarket setups for both turbos and SCs. OEM units are built with longevity at the forefront, and run pretty conservative tunes (to give an example, you can tune a bone stock FRS to 200whp on a really aggressive tune). Aftermarket kits are designed for more power because that's what customers in the aftermarket are demanding.

Which kit did you pick, and why? How long have you had it and how many miles have you put on it?

[campy]

Originally Posted by rs999

You're looking at one

On my VW GTI, I have an APR Stage 3 turbo kit. I don't do anything out of the ordinary for the kit other than change the cone filter every 20K miles.

Otherwise oil and cooling and all other maintenance is the same. And it has been that way for the past 41K miles since install.

Haha I was referring to FRS/BRZs. I also own a BMW Z3 on which I did some research for FI, and it seemed like those held up pretty well too. I'm not too familar with GTIs, but the straight six BMW engine has been long enough that there is already sufficient R&D. The FA20 has been around for 2 years, so we are still learning its limits, as well as the limits of every part around it. I am sure there will be a time when turbo kits are totally plug and play for the FA20, but I don't know of any kits that are currently like that.

The GTI engine and surround parts could also just be better suited for higher outputs/FI.

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Which kit did you pick, and why? How long have you had it and how many miles have you put on it?

I went with the Jackson Racing SC kit. It's been on for a week and it has about 200 miles on it currently (so I admit, I lack long-term personal experience lol). The biggest selling point for me was that it came with its own tune, and it was a relatively conservative tune at that, so it would be a reliable DD but if I decided later that I really wanted more power, I could throw a header on and get a more aggressive custom tune.

My original power goal was 300whp, but I found out at those power levels, you will need a new clutch, injectors, fuel pump, and more supporting mods depending on which kit you bought. I wanted to use as few aftermarket parts as possible, so 250-280whp was good for me.