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My track buddy, Zach <Slambo> from Houston and I spent a day at the Kraftwerks headquarters in Norco on Friday 6/5 on our way to run Button Willow and Laguna Seca.
We received an unexpected royal treatment with a complete tour of the Kraftwerks/Skunk2 joint manufacturing/testing facilities. OJR and Oscar Sr. spent the entire day with us, answering questions and demonstrating their super charger designs and kit philosophy. As you will see I was completely impressed with what I saw and learned! I'll post some of the photos here, because I think maybe some current and potential Kraftwerks kit owners would like to see what we sawl I am a kit owner -- one of the first out of the box -- but am not connected any way with marketing or promoting a product.
I came away with even more respect and trust for these guys than I arrived with -- even though I was completely happy with their product and their outstanding customer service.
The S2000 test mule that we saw in 2007 at the Honda Homecoming and in Temple of VTec..
Kit assembly and shipping operations
Manufacturing facitlities
Pulley design and testing. Oscar explained that every pulley used or manufactured by Kraftwerks in its kits is checked and approved independently by published serpentine belt system consultants.
But he says that early on there were some failures by inexperienced kit assemblers to include the proper pulleys with the specified part numbers in the kit packaging, so the wrong pulleys were sent out in the kits. Further he says, these mistakes have been limited and have been readily corrected when they occurred.
Oscar Sr spend lots of time explaining to us the design and function of the Rotrex super charger unit. He has been connected with the development and improvement of the Rotrex system for over ten years and was present for the major breakthough in the roller design that insured the reliability of the blower. Serendipity! They discovered that one blower never failed under stress like all the other testers. You guessed it; careful examination showed that on that blower, one of the rollers was slightly smaller than the other two allowing optimal compression. Bingo!
Any potential failures due to abuse are now largely predictable under well understood conditions, so spin speed is limited to factory tolerances by pulley size on the Rotrex. These guys know what they are doing!
There were several cars in the shop area that were being prepared for racing at the track. Kraftwerks is constantly testing it's products at the track, so they know the durability and limits of their systems from their experience in putting the systems under full stress.
Oscar Jackson Sr. with OJR's racing Miata that was due on the track the next day.
This mean EVO was being loaded for transport to the track. Other cars were loaded in later. The front of the van is an RV with all the comforts of home.
This is Dr. Charles -- master Skunk2 engine builder
Our MY07 S2000s were thoroughly inspected, and serviced by Oscar Jackson Sr -- a wealth of experience and knowledge about race engine building and forced induction. If you are lucky you could learn some of the fine details from this guy! WOW!
As usual with FI systems there have been a couple of issues with pulleys registered by kit owners. Kraftwerks is confident that their pulleys are appropriately designed for their stock kits. OJR and Oscar Sr. made it clear to me that they stand ready to deal with any questions or problems that may arise concerning pulleys or any components of the kit. For my part, if I were to have any future problems with my Kraftwerks kit, I will contact them by phone and stay in touch with them. Personally I trust these guys to stand behind their designs and to correct any potential faults. And just for peace of mind, I check the pulleys regularly and carry a 52 and a 56 in my tool kit for any eventuality. (I also check the tires on my car and change them when they get worn.)
Kraftwerks USA in Norco:
