Back in 2009 I purchased a 2008 Honda Civic Si based on the Rotrex R&D work that Oscar Jackson was then doing with/for Skunk2/Kraftwerks. Having previously done (along with a very FI-experienced friend) the R&D work and setup for a C30-94 Rotrex installation on a Toyota MR2 Spyder, I was very impressed with the potential for such a Rotrex setup could also have on a daily-driver Civic Si.
When Kraftwerks finally released their Rotrex kit with the C30-94 for the Civic Si, I was one of the first buyers (IIRC, that was around 2012). While those of us with the early installations were challenged by some minor issues, the folks at Kraftwerks were very responsive in terms of either changes in their kits/parts or changes/clarifications in the instructions to the buyers. Bottom-line, I have had that installation on my 8th Gen Civic for 5 years now with absolutely no issues beyond those initial teething issues.
When I first acquired my 2007 S2000 three years ago, hoping to achieve Rotrex benefits I was able to snag a great deal on a new, Kraftwerks close out, C30-94 kit for the S2000 (I wasn't looking for max power, just a really nice power bump with civilized drivability) . While I have found several threads about issues guys have had with the higher boost C38 Rotrex kits, since I am finally getting ready to do the installation I am curious whether there were any (similar) out-of-the-box issues with the initial C30-94 kits.
Thanks guys,
Curt

 

Hi,

There were some initial problems with the original KW kit for the S2000 too. Mainly tensioner issues and pulley bearing failures. I got my kit in April of 2009 and never experienced any failures of any kind. Oscar Jackson Jr offered to upgrade one of my pulleys to the latest version about 6 months in and I took him up on that. My kit was on my car from 5800mi to 22,500mi and ran flawlessly the whole time. It was just a street driven car and had no track time.



Brian

 

No other input???

 

Buy SOS.

 

I chewed up a tensioner around 20K miles. I'm right at 40K on my kit with no other issues. My kit is a summer 08 build.

 

My buddy has the first gen kw kit and had the 3 to 4 supplied 10mm bolts holding a bracket to vtec solenoid break multiple times. Ended up going with stronger bolts seems to be holding up now. He also had his belt shred and rip twice now. Just upgraded to 90mm kit. He noticed now his pulley makes contact with the steering rack and had to grind down the steering rack to make fit. Having looked at it he prob needs solid motor mounts and etd to prevent any movement of the motor causing the pulley to hit the steering rack. But with that comes a lot more vibration thru the cabin. This is all very recent so no info on how long his newest setup has lasted.

 

KW kits are so hit or miss that id opt for another option... SOS is a solid kit.

 

I’ve had a similar experience. Had the vtec solenoid bolts break and did grind down a bit of the steering rack but haven’t had any other issues worth noting. If I were to do it all over again I would go straight to PTuning turbo kit (like I originally intended but backed out of).

 

SOS is fuss free, and has the same or better power potential if you get the optional Novi 1200 with the kit.

 

I did see a guy with the ct engineering rotrex kit make 500whp @16psi e85 blend on a dynapak. He said he has had zero problems with his kit.