hey, im thinking about boosting my 02 with a supercharger (turbo is too much maintenance for me), but I'm a car noobie though and a little afraid that I wouldn't be able to handle daily driving a car supercharged.

Can you give me your thoughts on the kit and just being supercharged overall? Is it a lot of maintenance?

If something went wrong, I wouldn't know what the hell to do. Should i stay way from FI?

I saw that comptech owners were making 50-60hp. seems a little low for all that money. I'm not completely sold on the vortech kit just yet though because I'm also looking for the kit that requires the least amount of work/upgrades.

 

money=hp. The more you spend on aftermarket parts as far as injectors and ems the more power you can potentially make. SC'ers are pretty simple though as long as you have a speed shop locally I would say go for it.

 

Yes, i know that there are a lot of extra adds on I could get to increase power. But I'm looking for something that I could just bolt on and be ok with. That is part of the reason why I chose not to go the turbo route.

Here is what I've concluded so far from doing a few searches.

Comptech- easier install, less work, but less power

Vortech- more work required to install, but more power

 

If you go SC plan on putting in a new clutch soon, or better yet, do it before you put on the SC. Also plan to change the spark plugs every time you change the oil (it costs you 10 bucks and 15 minutes of your time). The car acts just like stock, the only time you know it isn't stock is when you get on it.


301hp 192tq, Comptech SC w/ comptech exhaust. MY 2001 dyno'd 4/24/2007 with +74,000 miles (and 50,000 of those are boosted miles).

 

turbo requires no more maintence then a supercharged system does, by the way.

I change my oil at 3k miles and check my spark plugs, no different of a routine from when I was completly stock...



Now the question of whether you can "handle the power of FI" is something only you can answer. A SC will be much friendlier then a turbo set up but both require you to be on your feet.

 

I like to compare going FI to meeting/marring the love of your life. No one can tell you when you are ready or when the right time is... You just know. ANY FI you choose to go with can be VERY rewarding in the Fun to Drive aspect. But it also has the potential to be your worst nighmare if not tuned and driven right(blown head gaskets, spun rod bearing, cracked pistons, blown trannys, clutches and rear ends, the list goes on). I say if you have to ask the queestion you probably arnt ready.

And i agree whole heartedly with Spec_Ops2087. In the hands of a good tuner, the turbo setup requires no more maintainace and is everybit as reliable as a supercharger setup. Plus you almost always get more hp per psi.

 

Comptech makes 290-300 WHP compared to 200 WHP stock, so you're math (50-60 HP) seems flawed.

As for whether or not you'll be able to handle the power, only you can know for sure. It's like asking if you can handle the power of a liter bike. It's easy to handle the power, but more power can get one into trouble more quickly if one has a lapse (or failure) in judgement.

I don't actually do any extra maintainence on my car, but only because I was overly anal about the car even before the SC/AC was added. I change oil at 3,000 mile intervals, read the plugs and inspect the retainers, and more, at every oil change, but that's overkill. The SC/AC does complicate any task that involves pulling the engine or transmission, so if you think you're going to destroy the stock clutch then you should consider replacing it before the SC is installed. If you're sticking with OEM tires and stock boost levels, and don't slip the clutch excessively, the stock clutch will be fine, but if you're hard on clutches ... LOL, another thing only you can answer for sure. I've done hundreds of burnouts since the SC/AC went on my car, with the stock clutch, and it hasn't been an issue. Increase grip and/or boost levels, or mistreat it, and the OEM clutch is likely to be marginal.

The Comptech is a very easy install, and you don't have to tap the oil pan. I reworked the plumbing for the wet side of the aftercooler because I didn't like the way Comptech did it, and even with that extra effort, the install was straightforward. The HARD parts are getting under the dash and in the trunk for the ESM and fuel pump. The job is a LOT easier if you have a couple helpers, and having someone around who has done it before is priceless.

All in all, my Comptech SC/AC has been just as reliable as the S2000 itself, and I have no complaints or regrets.

 

I'm not worried about the power. because even boosted, it will probably feel the same if not slower than my e46 m3. I'm just worried about maintaining it. I don't really want to have to always open my hood to check to make sure everything is ok. I don't have a mechanic with me 24/7 to tune this and tune that to make sure its running ok

It seems like many of the ppl I know that went turbo are constantly worrying about their turbo running right. Seems like they always had problems with it.

ps. If you check one of the comptech threads, many ppl made less than 275 hp to the wheels with the comptech.

 

[QUOTE=RED MX5,Jun 30 2007, 01:02 PM] Comptech makes 290-300 WHP compared to 200 WHP stock, so you're math (50-60 HP) seems flawed.

 

Doesn't really matter at this time I guess. I'm going to wait for the JRSC to come out. I heard a lot about them when I had a prelude and they made a nice kit for it.

their 5.5psi kit should run around 3k new