I'll be the bad guy and say can't agree. 2nd to 3rd hand knowledge reviews don't bring much insight.

If we look at the 350z, there are some obvious points:

1. Stillen kit was a complete failure in price and performance. It's small niche was CARB certification, but Vortech had that too. If we had a way of collecting numbers I bet the Stillen kit was removed in the highest % to be replaced with another kit (turbo or supercharger)
2. GTM's/HKS kit was a commercial failure (based on how many kits sold). Good performance numbers, but initially a very high price and the biggest claim to fame over the Vortech kit was it was quiet. Can't argue there - owned the Vortech and the low RPM rattle was annoying.
3. Vortech by far is the most used supercharger on the 350z. There was a bad batch of them a few year back. Vortech brought the most completely kit at that price level. No oil feed into the newer V3's are a nice improvement. I haven't heard a V3 yet to know if it is quieter.

Hmmm...if you don't agree that fstrnldr shared some good information on Rotrex and Vortech blowers (he wasn't talking about complete kits, just the actual SC units), please explain which of his points are incorrect.

1. What does Stillen's roots-based 350Z kit have to do with fstrnldr's thoughts on the Rotrex or Vortech units? He wasn't talking about the old Eaton blower at all nor was he talking about any company's complete SC kit.

2. What does HKS's commercial success on it's 350Z SC kit have to do with the fact that the Rotrex unit is pretty quiet and has been used in various SC systems like the Honda kits by kraftwerks/Oscar Jackson? I don't think he was implying that Rotrex's unit was used in more applications than Vortech's or anything like that.

3. Was he incorrect about any of the facts concerning Vortech (solid peak power potential, improved design due to no longer using the engine's oil, the bearing issue that happened with some of their older units, etc.)? Was he incorrect in any of his points about the Rotrex (newer company with not as much info about it, quiet design, good midrange power for a centrifugal unit, etc.)? Those were accurate points, as far as i know.

Thanks guys, some good info so far. I personnaly dont know a whole lot about SCs and want all the info I can get to make the best choice possible. Some things I like about the kits so far are:

I like Stillens new water to air cooler design, its cool, but does it do better than the tried and true FMIC?

With Stillen using the new intake which is now a one filter intake, does GTMs two filter intake allow for more air flow which is why they can keep their TQ above 300 for the majority of the time and Stillen cant?

Still waiting for Stillen to come out with a more final dyno and PSI number to get a better comparison between the two.

If one SC is 8 psi and another is 6 psi is that enough of a difference that the higher one will shorten the life of the engine or are they both low enough that it wont matter?

I wouldn't call my knowledge 2nd or 3rd hand by any means. I have been in the "import scene" since the beginning, and have been working in automotive field for more than 15 years. This includes working in performance shops, and owning my own for several years. I was around to install and test the vortech kits when they were released for the B series Hondas back in the day, and was around to see what they did at the track, and how long it lasted before the blower had to be replaced. I have installed superchargers from multiple companies on the Z33, as well as other platforms. I have also owned factory supercharged cars to see how those engineers made things work, and what they chose to do to create more power and more important made it last for hundreds of thousands of miles.

The points i made that i didn't have hands on experience with, i tried to make it very clear that i didn't have hands on experience with them as to not confuse people. IF you have a different facts, and opinions on the chargers themselves outside of the two companies that are producing kits for the Z34 like the original poster asked for, then i would say post them up.

I don't believe that his points, nothing 1st hand, brought any extra value. Anyone with the ability to use a search button already know rotrex are quieter than Vortechs. Specific to these kits, the position in the engine bay will only compound this difference.

1-3. I quoted you ,not him. My 1-3 points have nothing to do with him. They are my opinions on the history of superchargers on the Z platform which I have actually owned, worked on, or at least seen in person.

I like Stillens new water to air cooler design, its cool, but does it do better than the tried and true FMIC?

This is going to depend on a lot of factors. including size of the heat exchangers (air/water) and the IC (air/air) they both have advantages and disadvantages, and i could go on for a while about them, but i'm trying to make this short before i head off to work.

With Stillen using the new intake which is now a one filter intake, does GTMs two filter intake allow for more air flow which is why they can keep their TQ above 300 for the majority of the time and Stillen cant? IF this was a problem with the air filter you would see it in the top end power more so than the low end torque. With out knowing all of the data like air fuel and boost curves (not just max boost) its just guessing. This is however one of the things that Rotrex is suppose to be good at.

If one SC is 8 psi and another is 6 psi is that enough of a difference that the higher one will shorten the life of the engine or are they both low enough that it wont matter?

at the end of the day to make XXX hp it still will take a set amount of air and fuel to make it work.

Eh, we'll have to agree to disagree then. IMO, there's definitely value In sharing accurate info with many on this forum who aren't as knowledgeable about these superchargers.

Are there pics of Stillen's intake placement and design? I don't think I've seen that yet.

There is a pic of the engine bay way back in their thread. The SC is in the front drivers side part of the engine so the intak will probably be on the drivers side in the front bumper.

I haven't really said anything yet but I feel like I should now...

I think this idea is fantastic and I look forward to it.

However, there isn't enough information about the two kits to be able to have an educated discussion. For example, we have not gone to a single intake design, we have two seperate intakes and two seperate MAF sensors.

This is just my opinion but how about we start a new thread discussing the features and benefits of each kit after the STILLEN press release and photography is available. We're not far from having it ready.

I just don't like having inaccurate information being discussed and as we've said before, we want to present it all to you guys in one complete, concise format so that no information gets lost later on.

ya but we all don't wamt to wait until next year.

Josh and I are putting together our press release and working on having everything ready for you. There is a lot of data and it will take sometime to thoroughly and completely explain all of the engineering and development that has gone into this kit.

Also, the kit is being switched over to the Z right now and we won't have final dyno numbers on that for a few more days.

We have always said that we would have a press release ready in early March. We will be very close to that.

well after the 7th you are looking at it being mid march

Wow, I just now saw that the GTM kit is stealth. That looks very nasty.

Sorry kyle, I just *** umed it was one cuz I couldnt see everything. But this is what this thread was meant to do, get info out to others. So far we have got more info out now than there was before the thread and thats good. I was hoping this thread would kinda do that along with get the pros and cons of both systems. Gotta remember as consumers who are waiting for a product we start comparing as soon as one comes out. Nature of the beast. Dont be mad at the consumer for wanting something that was said to be out at a certain time. We are just trying to put more money in your pocket.