Preparation for the STILLEN supercharger

RCZ

Well, if you phrase it like that perhaps not. However, that's not exactly a realistic situation. A big factor with this kit is going to be upgradability. A supercharger that has a larger housing from the start may suffer a little bit on the low end, but has much greater potential. I think with those figures you were referring to the power levels between the stillen kit and the gtm kit? If Im not mistaken that was around the difference in the power curves.
This is all purely theoretical because we have no idea what the production power output of the CARB legal Stillen kit. They have said it several times. It may end up being higher or lower. So to answer your question I'll say this:

It is absolutely worth it to me for two reasons. 1) The power potential and 2) Price of upgrading. You say 10-12hp peak advantage? I say you aren't scratching the surface of the potential of having a bigger housing at 10-12hp. I think You are looking at more of at least a 50+whp power difference with some very slight alterations. That takes me to my second point, ease and price of upgrading. Changing a pulley and a tune may cost a few hundred bucks all said and done, labor included. So if you wanted to upgrade from say a stillen stage 1 to a stage 2, you would simply keep the compressor housing, but change the pulley and the tune. Correct me if I'm wrong, but GTM said that each staged kit uses a different compressor housing. That means that if you wanted to upgrade from a stage 1 to a stage 2, you wouldnt be looking at a $300 anymore, now you're looking at a $1000 minimum between parts, labor and a tune.

So absolutely, its worth it for me to lose 5% of power in the mid range in exchange for the potential to make so much more and very cheaply. After all, in any situation where you are actually using the power, your RPM's aren't dropping below 4k. That little bump in mid range tq more or less becomes meaningless.

(just to clarify, I don't know that upgrading Stillen will be $300 or that upgrading GTM will be $1000, those numbers are just there to point out the fact that there is a BIG price difference between a pulley change and a compressor change)