Titan supercharger

Kyle@STILLEN

I think the most important thing to do before purchasing a supercharger or turbo kit for your vehicle (this applies to any car not just the Z) is to have a clear understanding of what you expect out of the kit you are interested in and what you plan on doing with your car. If you want crazy high horsepower and money is of no concern and you do not care about emissions legality or reliability. I would recommend turbo's. Turbo-chargers will supply you with the most horsepower possible and they sound cool, look cool, and work well.

Pros of a turbo system:

1) High horsepower capabilities
2) Very cool associated sounds
3) Looks great
4) Re-uses exhaust gases to produce additional power, which means no parasidic loss.

Cons of a turbo system:

1) Turbo's run extremely hot and n/a cars use hoses and seals (rubber components) that are not designed to withstand those high temperatures for long periods of time.
2) Requires a little bit more maintenance than a supercharger kit only because there is more heat involved
3) Turbo lag at low RPM
4) If turbo is not properly sized the powerband is like a light switch...stock, stock, stock, stock, holy-**** I'm backwards!
5) It is nearly impossible to get emissions legality with an aftermarket turbo system
6) A lot of the aftermarket turbo kits that I have seen, remove the crash beam and replace it with an intercooler. This crash beam in the front of the car houses the airbag sensors.
7) Turbo kits generally require a more lengthy installation due to the large diameter piping that needs to be run through the vehicle for the intakes and intercoolers and what not.

Pro's of a supercharger:

1) Lower underhood temperatures
2) dramatically decreased boost lag (sometimes none depending on type of supercharger and sizing and vehicle application)
3) Possibility of achieving emissions legality
4) Beautiful supercharger whine (I love it, some people dont' like it...personal preference.)
5) Generally easier to install than a turbo system because there is less plumbing required. Also, most turbo kits require hours of tuning and most supercharger systems do not

Cons of a supercharger:

1) Not as much power potential
2) Parasidic loss because the engine does have to power it
3) Possible hood clearance (again depending on vehicle and supercharger used)

Obviously we are fans of superchargers even though we do a lot of work on turbo vehicle's. These are some of the reasons that we prefer to go with supercharger systems for our production kits. They meet or exceed all of our requirements and for the average person they are the perfect solution.

I would love to hear more thoughts on the pro's and con's that I listed though!

bullitt5897

Great post kyle! I am one of those turbo heads I love superchargers but with the newer technologies I feel the turbos have really stepped up to the plate in regard to price/performance.

I agree with many of your cons on the turbo systems however I find that heat problems can many times be negated with HPC coatings vented hoods and other means. Also, Reliability is all in the tune and anyone familiar with FI knows thats the key! so we cant go around saying turbo systems are unreliable... *tisk tisk tisk* You can have two equal cars on with the same driver and different tunes and one will blow up while the other is perfectly fine same for a supercharger. As far as the airbag sensors cant they also be relocated to retain their functionality? Turbo lag is now non existent with full boost hitting in most cars and kits at below 3500 rpm where as a SC will hit full boost at peak rpm.

In racing we all know it is about the power under the curve! Turbos win in that league but dont get me wrong SC are making the way with new technology and I will be excited to see them put down big numbers like Turbo systems! SHOOT I WELCOME IT!

Thanks for adding another meaningful post kyle!

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Shop Cars: 2013 318whp Nismo VspecII 370z *SOLD*, 2009 1000hp+ 93oct 4.0L TT 370z Fast Intentions STAGE 4 #054

Kyle@STILLEN

You are correct bullitt and please allow me to elaborate...

When I say that turbo kits aren't as reliable I am not referring to the engine reliability or tune. I am referring to the issues that arise due to the heat such as cracked turbo's due to rapid changes in temperature (basically stopping after a hard run) and oil leaks and stuff like that. Those are all user generated reliability issues most of the time though.

The reliability of the engine is 100% up to the tune(r.)

JoeD

Exactly. Engine-reliability is completely dependent on the tune and how far you chose to push the envelope, but reliability in this context has nothing to do with weather or not you're going to blow your engine. Where a supercharger has a turbo-kit beat hands down is overall worry-free operation, and this has almost nothing to do with power-level.

Togo

It's whether, not weather.

Thats all i have to say.

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This will decimate all after you put about fifteen grand in it or more, and if we have to, overnight parts from Japan.

Joe Clem and Koeppel Nissan

JoeD

Cool.

BTW...it's that's, not thats.

Togo

DAMN!

Touché

__________________
This will decimate all after you put about fifteen grand in it or more, and if we have to, overnight parts from Japan.

Joe Clem and Koeppel Nissan

JoeD

Actually, it's only the centrifugal-style superchargers which are designed to make full boost (or close to) near redline. Positive-displacement superchargers are there very soon after WOT, regardless of engine-RPM.

However, you can't compare turbo-lag to a centrifugal supercharger's "lag" citing it only makes full-boost at or close to redline. Technically, lag is the wrong word in this context which is why I put it in quotes, as boost-response is almost instant (obviously...because it's driven off a belt). Regardless of boost-level, you still have positive manifold-pressure from the second you tip into the throttle, even with a centrifugal SC. This is certainly not the case with turbo(s).

terrycs

The impact sensor is not mounted to the impact beam which itself is only rated for about 5MPH.

C&P from FSM:

DTC B1035 [COMM FAIL] CRASH ZONE SENSOR
Main “G” sensor that generates signal voltage, when it detects deceleration beyond the specified level caused by vehicle frontal collision.

OPERATION
When ACU defines both signal voltage of the “G” sensor and the safing sensor to be that of collision which exceeds specified level, the driving circuit switches on and feed the electric ignitor of both driver and passenger air bags and pre-tensioner seat belt.

STRUCTURE
Integrated type of the G sensor element for frontal collision with output terminals for signal voltage.

INSTALLATION
Crash zone sensor is installed on the radiator core support assembly with fixed nuts.