GT Motorsports: 370Z Supercharger system development

Zsteve

now my next question is, will a SC be more of a install and forget than a turbo? When I upgraded to a bigger turbo in my TT it seemed like little things just keep coming up, like a boost leak or the extra heat causing hoses to go bad quickly, which caused me to buy a bigger IC. Im hoping a SC will be install and forget.

JoeD

In a nutshell...yes.

Don't listen to anyone who says that turbo setups are reliable. They are lying. This applies for any turbocharged car which came NA from the factory as it's just the nature of such extensive modification. While it might be "reliable" in the sense that you won't blow your engine or need to replace a turbo so long as you're careful, as you mentioned..."little things just keep coming up." One day it's a boost-leak, followed by an oil-leak, a faulty sensor here and there, hoses going bad, boost-creep issues, misfiring, and on and on. So many people go turbo and love the car the first week/month but never end up having it run the same or make the same power since its initial tune. It's a constant headache, or in many cases a nightmare, that doesn't go away until you sell the car.

For the most part, supercharger installs are more of a "set it and forget it" deal. I'm not saying that your car will be as trouble-free as stock, but it's a no-brainer compared to turbos. Beyond the reliability factor, the headache and stress factor drops significantly when talking about supercharging an NA car vs. turbocharging it. Yes, I'm being very general, but this opinion stems from years of observation and experience, both first-hand and through friends/forums. I've been in the game long enough, and I dare anyone to tell me I'm wrong.

The above is not only limited to Zs, either. The same holds true to everything from S2000s and RSXs, to Mustangs, Corvettes, Vipers, and M3s. But of course...everyone has a "boy" who has a turbocharged _________ and has been problem-free for xx,xxx miles. LOL.

Sardis

Lots of truth to the above statement. Even turbo cars from the factory, when they go larger turbos/mass upgrades they get these little annoyances.

Went on a twistie run with a Subaru/Mitsu group this last weekend. Big power on some of those cars, most running E85.. Quite a few of them had minor annoyances they were fixing when they stopped.

Boosting an NA car will always lead to some annoyances, if you can work on your car, it's not as bad..

But damn is that power intoxicating

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"Because in a split second, it's gone." - Ayrton Senna

kannibul

There's also something about turbos and turning off your car. I nearly bought a cobalt SS (I know - lol), and I did a bit of research on turbo-cars, and you're supposed to wait 30 seconds to a minute before shutting off the car, so the turbos can spin down as much as possible so that when you shut off the engine they don't burn the oil (out of) in the bearings/seals due to heat and continued movement until they stop spinning. This can cause issues with the bearings and seals getting damaged, causing pressure issues and leaks.

S/C - you turn the engine off, it stops, no parts moving afterwards without oil pressure.

Turbo cars also need their oil changed more often - they add a lot of heat cycling to the oil, making it "wear out" faster.

At least, that's what my research has suggested. I have no experience on the matter.

JoeD

I can't quite put my finger on why, but I LOLd while reading this. Seriously.

kannibul

OK. Thanks for sharing.

So, cars come with a turbo-brake on them now to prevent them from burning the oil in the bearings?

I mean, most oils start to have issues around 400F. Exhaust temps are what, 1300F....

You shut off the engine, you lose all oil pressure. What's feeding the bearings to your turbo, that's still spinning...?

Compare that to a belt driven supercharger...you shut off the engine, the supercharger stops spinning.

LiquidZ

Turbo timers help prevent oil cooking issues with aftermarket turbos. Essentially, they allow your car to idle for a minute or less once you remove the key from the ignition. This keeps oil circulating through the engine and turbo to not only allow for any necessary lubrication of the spinning turbo, but to circle the oil throughout the engine to help cool it.

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kannibul

So is it something like an auxillary oil pump, or something else?