Nitrous, Super Chargers, & Turbos - About the supercharger

Im going to get one this summer in my 00' HX. What is all involved in a supercharger?
I know Ill have to get a special radiator, blow off valves (what ever thos are) and other stuff. What would the total cost involve? I cant install one by myself (I wouldnt dare do it) how much would it cost to do so and how long would my baby sit in the shop? one more thing, do they have to be replaced after awhile? I dont see why it would thoguh but I want sum info. Help a fellow civi owner out PLZ!

a positive pisplacment blower (or roots style) which your civic will use bolts directly to the block making it hard to intercool and you wont need a blow off valve because they come with pre mounted dumps which do the same thing, but without the cool sound.

I installed my s/c myself in about 3 hours, and that includes the time spent installing the ECU. Your s/c shouldnt need to be replaced anytime soon and the s/c oil needs to be changed like every 200,000 miles so dont worry about that stuff.

What all is involved? its pretty simple, alot less complex than a turbo setup. Its basically a 1-piece supercharger, possibly an extra/larger injector, and an ECU that will be needed. After that, its small stuff like putting on a new belt, changing to colder spark plugs, and sometimes changing the flywheel bolt.

As for intercooling, I had to get a water injection kit which is arguably just as good as an intercooler. If you want me to go into detail about that then just ask. Hope this helps

they come with pre mounted dumps which do the same thing, but without the cool sound.



Is that the cool sound that a turbo makes? LOL I saw a thing that makes that sound for like $20! haha

It helps a TON! Ill have to get somebody to help me with it. When it comes to your life... I dont wnat to do it my self the first time.

One more thing, what kind of ecu will I need and why.... I was told by my dealer the ecu registers actual mileage of the vehicle... will I lose that? I dont have an RPM guage... is that ok( i really dont care that much that i dont have one)?

I cant wait till the day I can pull up next to a celica or a maxima and say " I bet ill smoke your a$$"

the blow off valve makes the "psssh" sound, the turbo itself is more of a whistle.

As for the ECU, its used because with the added air the engine is getting the stock computer cant keep up. I've never heard of an ECU keeping mileage?? Also, with forced induction it would be wise to invest in a tac, definately worth it.

it does have a rev limiter on it. although Im going to have to devise a way to sort of hide it. Scuse me about that... i know im going to be laughed at but i always though the ecu was the same as the computer.

the ecu is the computer, and its different with Polos car, cause its a Corolla. yours will come with some sort of piggyback fuel controller, it basically lies to the ecu about airflow, tricking it into dumping more fuel when needed. hey polo, so you think all i need for that SC on my wifes 01 is a new hood with more clearance?

She has the 1zz-fe right? Then yes, everything i've seen and read is that the only problems were hood clearance and the ECU. You wont be able to use the TRD ECU piggyback, it will have to be an aftermarket ECU like jetchip, unichip, etc. They sell the S/C kit alot cheaper without the ECU so check into that.

Cool. What brand should I look at. I was looking at jackson brand but its not talking about the horsepower I want

Well, polo is definitely the authority on this one, so take his word over mine, but you might look at Vortech as well.

vortech and Jackson... you really cant go wrong with either.

As for the numbers that you are seeing... those are the numbers with the stock blower pulley. You can up the boost by installing a smaller pulley and leaning out the a/f ratio for some better numbers.

ahhh. Pulley, so baiscally when i get t a S/C, might as well instal lighter pulleys too. What is the link to Vortech?

it isnt really a lighter pulley, its a smaller pulley (in diameter). When its smaller then that means that the blower is spinnng faster, hence more boost.

the site is http://www.vortechsuperchargers.com/

i figured that. i was talking about aluminum pulleys that are "lighter". I dont see why theres a 10 hp increase from a slighty light pulley. pretty much anything that is cylindrically balanced should always be easy to spin. the blocky peice of art outside the metro (i think) in newyork is balanced perfectly, even a child can spin it and its like 15 feet tall and HEAVY.

Smaller aftermarket pulleys on SC's are great for hp and torque, but they are limited. As you increase boost pressures, so does the heat, and results in KR.
You can fight KR at the track with higher octane, or run water/alcohol injection in concert.

BOV's are cool sounding, but if you want a truly hair-raising sound, listen to the whine of a Supercharger at 16000 rpm's ;) The straight cut gears in the nosedrive
sound similar to an Indy car trans.

the aftermarket (accessory, not SC) pulleys drive the accessories slower than usual, so it takes less power to turn them. thats where most of the power comes from. and IMO-Vortech=[:'(] its Roots or nothing!

Roots is the way. Your intelligence must be due to your proximity to Davis ;)

I have an Eaton Helical Roots on top (factory), running a much smaller pulley. Currently building an intercooler......tough trick with the Eaton sitting on top of the LIM. Hoping to step down another notch or two in pulley diameters.

I've played around with water injection quite a bit, and have found it to be of great benefit. A friend at work is also doing this with a Neuspeed Eaton kit on a Jetta. Both of us have seen significantly reduced KR. Springtime will bring some more testing, with a 50/50 water/methanol mix.

Got whine? I got a couple whining vids.......
www.williamwren.com/bonnevillepics/100mph.mpg
www.williamwren.com/100mph.mpg <<<<<different vid than above
http://www.williamwren.com/splash.mpg

Live for the whine.

Sounds sweet, Im running an Eaton M45 (TRD badged though) with a 2.3" pulley and water injection. Also an Additional injector controller which also controls my w/i.

The whine at 16,ooo rmp is music to my ears.:D

I'm running the M62 at 16000 on a 2.2" pulley. pushing to 2.1" and 2.0" this spring in stages. Can't go smaller without using the input shaft as the pulley. I'm injecting pre-rotor until I get my IC built and installed (about 3 weeks). Post rotor then. I'll have another temp sensor installed in the IC, too.

Right now I'm only running WI at WOT. Not for everyday use, really, and it suits me fine that way.

sounds close to my setup, Its too expensive to IC my setup so im stuck with just WI until someone decides to mass produce an IC and sell it at a decent price. My WI is set at full boost, but I need to tune it through my AIC and set it at a specific RPM. I'd love to go to a 2.2" or even a 2.1" pulley, but without an IC im too worried. The roots runs pretty warm as it is and my ride is a daily driver. My injection point is about 3 inches before my TB and seems to work great.

Have you heard of the Gatorbelt? I heard it works wonders... I get a feeling that my belt is slipping, but im not positive.

Both of my belts are Gatorbacks (good year). I had slip with the 2.2" (stock was 2.5") even with the oversized idler pulley until I got the gatorbacks. The gators allow the belt to wrap a tighter circumference than a standard grooved belt. Works like a charm until you shred one at the dragstrip :(

Neuspeed or someone that knows their blower kit for the Jetta is building (or has built) an IC that drops into the plenum between the roots and intake manifold....in your avatar, you'd take it and machine a block out in the 'fingers', then drop the core in there.

If your SC is like that avatar pic, you could leverage. Looks identical to the Neuspeed M45 setup.

ORIGINAL: red91civicDX

Neuspeed or someone that knows their blower kit for the Jetta is building (or has built) an IC that drops into the plenum between the roots and intake manifold....in your avatar, you'd take it and machine a block out in the 'fingers', then drop the core in there.


I'll have to look into that, do you know any sites or is that it?

I'll get some info for you on monday from a bud at work. He's got the neuspeed M45 on the Jetta.....and he's the one that told me about it. It seems like a pretty inexpensive setup. Just have to pull the blower (or plenum if it's seperate) and have it machined for the core.

I'll get what info I can. But really, the idea is sound. If you were to find a core the right size, you could fab it yourself, and not buy the kit ;)

You have a pic of your setup?

I wish I knew that much... installing and tuning a blower is no problem. Custom building an IC on a roots is a problem, haha.

man I love talking FI.:D

One you've tasted boost, there's no going back. I'd do something to my 91 Civic if it didn't have a quarter-million miles on it. It's my commuter/winter beater while I work over the beast:

http://www.williamwren.com/billsig2.jpg
That's my M62 in there. Intercooler is going in as soon as I fab adapter brackets for the alternator bracket (which attaches to the ND) and lengthen my fuel rail to reach over.

I have pics in the link in my sig, they were from when the blower was first put on. I need to upload some newer ones.

Do you have fuel starvation problems? Im thinking of getting a boost-a-pump. My friend just put one in and its amazing.

No, my stock fuel pump and injectors will take me up to 400hp. What you're looking at is the grandson of the Buick Grand National 231cubicinch Turbo, turned sideways, and switched to roots.

All the 92-99 Bonnevilles came with the Strut bar standard, and the SSEi's got the Supercharger, forged internals, beefier fuel pump and bigger injectors. We've got a guy running 12's with stock fuel delivery. Got another in the 10's, but I think he finally went with a bigger FP and Injectors.

Looking at the pics, it's hard to tell, but there might be room in the plenum to insert a core. I'll check out the TRD kit on their website and get the neuspeed IC info. Might be some possibilities here, but I'm also betting I'm not the first to suggest it for the TRD setup. Sooner or later, everyone will push the roots to the point they wished they had an IC>

ORIGINAL: red91civicDX

but I'm also betting I'm not the first to suggest it for the TRD setup. Sooner or later, everyone will push the roots to the point they wished they had an IC>

Yeah, there have been talks of people going with a custom IC, but the price tag was up there. I've pushed mine to the point of wanting an IC when it was first bolted on. The pulley and WI was just a quick fix, haha

WI is a bandaid for KR, but has it's other benefits. I just tore down my whole top end (been 50K since the last time) and it's alot cleaner. Motor looks like it has 5k on it.

SEE!!! i told you guys water was a good decarbonizer!!!

;) Always has been. I've used it in my old 'carb cars' by disconnecting the downpipe, and spraying it in the carb while at high idle. Blows carbon chunks out the end. Modern gas is alot cleaner, so you generally don't get the chunks, and in the modern world of PCM's and fuel injection, you don't have the dieseling problems carbon buildup caused in the carbs, but you still get a film coating on everything, especially with PVC and EGR systems piping right back through your intake manifold.

You don't need to set up a WI system to use water for it's cleaning methods.....but we're getting off-topic here.

WI is a favorite topic of mine. Been playing with it for awhile, built 4 systems from scratch.

sorry to jack the thread, but i suggested that as a decarbonizer a while ago, but everyone thought it would hydrolock. its like" damn, not that much." just spray a little in the intake while the cars running with a spray bottle, itll take a lot of the carbon out. running a little (like an ounce or two in a whole tank" diesel can clean the fuel system too. i use a little when i make my octane booster.

You can't spray enough to hydrolock while the engine is running. If you keep it up, or your WI fails, and bleeds off while NOT running, then boom.

thank you for clearing that up.....NOW, BACK TO THE SUPERCHARGERS!!!! WHOO HOO!

on a turbo if you want bosst high you lower the compression because a lot of pressure is put on the pistons and rods, but what about in a supercharger? where does most of the pressure go and what can you do to protect from messing something up?

you lower the compresion to lower the final compression ratio. you use forged internals to withstand the higher cylinder pressures. and the motor doesnt care how the boost is coming in, the prep is mostly the same.

the supercharger and turbo act the same way on a motor (compression wise)

( <---- got jealous after seeing polo's sled for the first time... wants to kill him and take his car...)

ummmm, this from a guy named after a shotgun......usually you wouldnt take it seriously, but .......:D

lol! I only shoot game. pretty much skeet and duck. For the dumb dumbs out there, that wasnt a threat.

yeah, thats true. i know what its all about, but others that dont grow up around that stuff might take it seriously. but a 20 GA is a bit light for ducks. dont you have to use steel?

but a 20 GA is a bit light for ducks.

I went duck hunting with a 410 once... couldn't kill anything.

yes we do. i use a 20 ga for challenge. and kappa of course you couldnt shoot ****, its a 410. they call the 20ga a gentlemans gun... i consider 12ga cheating

well, i grew up with a 20, but then i got into goose hunting, and using a 20 gauge, i couldnt even shoot, i knew it was a waste. but now ive got 3 1/2 inches of 12 gauge backin me up. BTW, that Benelli Nova pump, is a sweet ass gun for the price.:D

(thread jack!!!!)

3.5"???? That's one hell of a sawed-off...

well, it would be, but no one in their right mind would saw off a Benelli. that'd be like saw-zalling the roof off of a mint 79 skyline GT-R. i mean, if you have to have a convertible, you can get a lesser car to start with.

Did I totally misinterpret what you said up there? but now ive got 3 1/2 inches of 12 gauge backin me up. It's very likely that I did...

But yeah, a Benelli Tactical 12 would be tits. And if I ever saw someone about to take a sawzall to a 79 GTR, I would use it...

ORIGINAL: sacicons

well, it would be, but no one in their right mind would saw off a Benelli. that'd be like saw-zalling the roof off of a mint 79 skyline GT-R. i mean, if you have to have a convertible, you can get a lesser car to start with.


no, it would be like slapping in a Kia engine into an 2005 Range Rover.

I dont know much about shotguns, so im going back on topic:D

Whats a sled? haha, thanks for the compliment... I think

Fancy word for a car...

thats what I thought, I hear whip alot.

i dont like the expression whip... sounds retarded. I use sled because its like a slang gheto term and it sounds funny. You can also use sled's to describe your shoes LMAO

Yeah, that's where I've heard the term used more often.

not to jack the thread but is the d17 pulley bigger then the d16z6 if so you could get more boost from your supercharger just a thought